Tag Archives: Music

2nd Generation iPod nano

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Two days ago, I purchased an iPod nano (2nd Generation). I bought the 8GB black model. With the exception of the point that I didn’t really have the money (thank you BestBuy Rewards Card), I justified my decision this way:

  • My 4GB iPod Mini is probably worth $50-75 used. It is still under warranty until July 2007 and has never had an issue. A college roommate is interested in buying it.
  • I had a $10 gift certificate at BestBuy.
  • Combine those two, I will be able to knock roughly $60-85 off the $249 I paid for the nano. So instead of $249, I could end up paying $164 for an 8GB color iPod Nano.
  • I really wanted to get the Nike+iPod kit so I can keep track of my running progress. Running is something I really want to get into (I ran a 5K in August) and this seems like the perfect thing for me. I could see myself getting into some running challenges with friends.
  • The best thing is I wanted a music player that was extremely thin, light, and with a color screen. The iPod nano has all of this covered.
  • 8 GB of space gives me a lot more flexibility with my music collection. I have several smart playlists syncing with it, keeping fresh music on the iPod without me even thinking twice. It also allows me to experiment with photo syncing.

My review of the 8GB iPod nano? Fantastic device. I can’t believe how light it is (my cell phone is heavier). I am almost afraid of putting it in my pocket and running it through the washer machine by accident.

The nano sounds fantastic, works flawlessly, and has some really nice features that I could see myself using. I thought the ability to put photos on it would be a gimmick, but I have set it up to sync with iPhoto and automatically download my latest roll of pictures. So I can show someone at work a place I went to the other day, without worrying about uploading the pictures to the web beforehand.

Also this iPod is extremely rugged. I won’t have to worry about it scratching or getting banged up. In theory, a flash player will last much longer as well.

I plan on writing up a review on the Nike+iPod kit when I buy it. I will probably get it in a few weeks.

Random notes (August 26th)

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Some random notes from the past week:

  • I went to IKEA today with Katie. What an amazing store. It was only the second time I had ever gone there, but this time I purchased something: a very nice coffee table. Very easy to assemble, took about a half hour and is incredibly sturdy.
  • I used a trial of eMusic to download a couple of albums that I have always wanted, including an album that was out of print by a band called Samiam. I then canceled the trial, as I could not find much music that interested me outside of the 50 songs I downloaded from the trial.
  • My brother Justin was offered two jobs the past few days, both with major graphic design firms in Boston. He is still deciding which one he is going to choose, but that is a good problem to have. Congratulations go out to him for his fantastic work.
  • My youngest brother Dan is one week away from starting his 5 years at Northeastern, majoring in Computer Science. Almost makes me want to cry…
  • I have been working out for the past month at the company gym, 3 times a week. Never worked out in my life before and I was pathetic my first time on the weights. However I am doing really well a month later…I can push 135 pounds with my legs (which is slightly more then my weight, which is starting to gain with the muscle I’m adding) and I am at 75 pounds on the other machines. I am actually starting to notice significant improvements in strength and feeling in shape for the first time since high school.

The new album smell

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There is nothing better then the feeling you get when you buy a newly released album the day it comes out, pop it in the car stereo while still in the parking lot, briefly looking at the artwork and jewel case insert, and blasting it as loud as you can take it while heading home after a long day of work.
I may do some reviews of the new Tool and Pearl Jam albums if I get a chance the next few days.

Super Tuesday

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2006 has been rather boring in regards to new albums and music. I don’t think I have bought a single recently released CD since last year. You would think the record companies would get a hint.

Well finally there are some good CD’s coming out this Tuesday:

Been a long time since even three good bands released new albums on the same day.

I will definitely be purchasing Pearl Jam’s and Tool’s new albums. Not sure about Thursday yet.

That "Whir" Song

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Just now I was listening to some tunes while surfing the net and iTunes starts playing the next song in an endless shuffle. That song stops me dead in my tracks. Made me crack a smile and think back to a good memory of mine.

Back in high school (man does that feel so long ago or what), circa 1999, we had an interesting assignment in my English class. My English teacher wanted us to pick one of our favorite songs and  basically tear it apart to find out the meaning of its lyrics. At the time, I had this illusion that I actually could play the guitar (sorta), so I had been writing a ton of lyrics to try to go with my 2 chord songs. So this assignment really struck a cord with me and I went off looking for a song to deconstruct.

That night, while listening to some mp3′s on my computer, I stumbled across a song from a Smashing Pumpkins B-Sides album named “Pisces Iscariot.” So I started listening to it, knowing that good old Billy Corgan had a way of really putting some interesting concepts and thougths into his lyrics.

Track #4 starts to play. A very soft and sappy song, with a single acoustic guitar strumming at first then the rest of the band joining in. One of those delicate and perfect songs that catches you right away. And at the time, the lyrics struck something I had been through, so it was one of those “someone is feeling what I am feeling” moments that angst filled teenagers tend to have fairly often.

Anyways, I deconstructed the lyrics to that song and did a whole paper on basically each line of the lyrics, along with what I thought Corgan was trying to say. If I recall correctly, I received an A+ on the paper and I had parts of it read out in class. One of my favorite moments where something in high school interested me to the point that I was proud of what I did. I wish more school’s did school work like that…assignments that a student could relate to.
That song was “Whir”. Of course it comes on tonight when I am using the computer. Makes me think of those high school years, so far away, just like the fading acoustic guitar in that song…