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Showing posts from December, 2007

Lowe on Cash

Listening to Nick Lowe being interviewed on Fair Game with Faith Salie made me realise, I knew the obvious Lowe songs - "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding?", "Cruel to be Kind" etc. - but I never realised that he was Johnny Cash's stepson-in-law and the writer of "The Beast in Me" as well as other great Cash tunes. Or that he made so much from "Peace Love and Understanding" being on the soundtrack to the Bodyguard that he became a millionaire. It seems weird to me to grasp the difference in scale of sales that royalty income could spike from a well-established song - to me the Elvis Costello version should have made him wealthy already.

iPod headphones

I'm looking for a nice pair of in-ear headphones for my iPod. Since a lot of what I listen to these days on the go are spoken-word podcasts, I'm not necessarily looking for the absolute best sound reproduction (as long as it's nothing too tinny). But I do want a pair that have a good seal with the ear canal for sound isolation, and are fairly hardy - my original iPod ear buds' rubber is falling off, and the left earphone on my Philips replacement set has gone kaput. Oh, and whose cord doesn't tangle too often! Anyone have experience with the Sennheiser CX300s or the Shure SE110s ?

Bhutto assassinated

Pretty shocking news . My memory of Benazir Bhutto was watching her deliver a lecture at the JFK School of Government and her fielding (fairly ably) a barrage of questions on her finances. That, and when I was at the Harvard Crimson, we always had to remember to put in her year of graduation and her Crimson editor status in any news report about her (since she was a fellow Crimson editor - sports desk, if I recall correctly - hockey fan). Assassination news is always shocking, and for some reason even more so when you've seen the person in question.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas one and all, to friends, to people who've read this blog for years, and to all readers who stopped from slashdot . Now for a surfeit of Sufjan singing, and to Christmas dinner...

Salmonella

In view of recent news events, a public service announcement: When you mix eggs together Remember the hot weather Don't leave the cream out to stand And don't forget to wash your hands Now don't try to be too clever Know that we still have bacteria You can get salmonella (ella ella eh eh) On the one hand, I recognise that those are terrible lyrics. On the other hand, the original ain't Shakespeare either: You're part of my entity Here for infinity "Part of my entity"? Apparently Rihanna just acquired someone through a merger.

20 managers 1 rap

I see the whole brouhaha over the MDA rap video has reached the point where it got featured in last week's episode of VH1's Best Week Ever (a great podcast to get by the way) - cue it up about 19:19 into the video. Ah, international pop culture fame.

A Christmas Playlist

The Flaming Lips, "A Change at Christmas (Say It Isn't So)" Jump Little Children, "You're All I Want For Christmas" Neko Case, "Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis" Weezer, "The Christmas Song" Okkervil River, "Listening to Otis Redding at Home During Christmas" Sufjan Stevens, "Come On! Let's Boogey to the Elf Dance!" Smashing Pumpkins, "Christmastime" The Darkness, "Christmas Time (Don't Let the Bells End)" Jimmy Eat World, "Last Christmas" Kate & Anna McGarrigle, "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve" (with Rufus Wainwright singing)

December

I can't believe it's already December! 2007, where did you go?