lucis

I have mentioned Radio Paradise several times. I really like the music collection, and the fact that it is totally non-commercial. But after listening to it for almost three years now, the music started to get a little to repetitive, and I soon found myself looking for more chioces.

I didnt have to look far, and found a good alternative in the RadioParadise Listener Review Channel, where they sample new music to gauge listener interest. Another great source for 80’s pop and rock is Club 977. While some of the stuff at both these places is good, they both play music I cant stand far too often.

So for the past week I’ve been listening to a small Korean radio channel called Blue FM. They hardly have a website to speak of, but play some absolutely brilliant “contemporary instrumental music”. Perfect for background music while working, or even music to sleep to. They have a relatively small listener community, but if they continue to be this good, it wont be long before they are on the top of Shoutcast. Take them for a spin, you might like it!

Last weekend a few friends and I drove 350 each way to Cincinnati to attend a live concert by none other than Metallica. It was the first time I attended a concert by a high profile band. I am not a big fan of Metallica, but it was totally worth it.

Till the last minute it was not clear as to who all were going, or whether we were going at all! After a couple of false starts, we finally left Chicago around 2:00PM CST, a couple of hours later than what would have been ideal. A few wrong exits, and the ever-so-buggy MapQuest did not help matters. One thing I noticed during the drive was that Ohio is far more beautiful than neighboring Indiana, and Illinois.

We finally made it to the US Bank Arena about an hour and a half late, just in time for the last bits of Godsmack. The place was jam packed! Most people had more piercings on their face than I cared to count. It took another hour before they tore down the previous stage, and got it set up for Metallica.

Then it started! I absolutely loved the light work, the amazing sound, the fireworks, and the awesome use of fire! Well, not so much the music - I had heard very little of it before, and most was not really my type. They did play Nothing Else Matters, No Leaf Clover, and some other songs that I really like. Overall it was pretty amazing. Very different from listening to the music in an office room!

It was close to 1AM before we finally got to have our breakfast/lunch/dinner for the day. Thanks to McDonald’s not accepting credit cards, I’d had almost nothing since morning. Papa John’s pizza never tasted this good! After another six hours of driving, and sleeping, and sleeping while driving (try this at a speed of 80Mph sometime), we were back in Chicago. Another one of those experiences to remember for life…

Then it comes to be that the soothing light at the end of your tunnel Is just a freight train coming your way…

Medea was a powerful sorceresses, daughter of King Aeetes, and granddaughter of the Sun God from Greek mythology. When she learns that her husband, Jason had betrayed her and married Glauce, the daughter of Creon, she kills Gluace, King Creon, and finally her own two children, and flees with their bodies. Read more about her amazing story here, here, here, and here.

I recently heard this amazing song on Radioparadise by a little known Asian-American artist, Vienna Teng. The song really shows Medea’s side of the story just before she kills her children. Really beautifully written.

My Medea
inside the labyrinth walls
there lies a tiny child who sleeps alone
and as the daylight falls
the wind becomes so wild across the stone

for I have made her prison be
her every step away from me
and this child I would destroy
if you tried to set her free

so come to me my love
I’ll tap into your strength and drain it dry
can never have enough
for you I’d burn the length and breadth of sky

for it’s my thoughts that bind me here
it’s this love that I most fear
and this child I would destroy
for I hold her pain most dear

no haven for this heart
no shelter for this child in mazes lost
heaven keep us apart
a curse for every mile of ocean crossed

for I must die for what I’ve done
a twist of fate a desert sun
for I see what I destroy
sweet reflection knife into me
for I see what I destroy
I can see what I’ve begun

- Vienna Teng

Vienna Teng’s music is quite different from the stuff I generally listen to. One of the things I really like is how perfectly the words blend into the music. The music is a little slow sometimes, but it i guess it kind of grows on you. Check out her website for samples to her music (some full songs as well). A piece of trivia… she is a Computer Science graduate from Stanford, and even worked in Cisco for a year or so before deciding to change careers!

I recently came across Head Fi. This site has a bunch of discussion forums for talking about all music related hardware. This includes headphones, amplifiers, cables, portable players, etc. The people at this place are crazy! A $100 pair of headphones is considered cheap and pretty useless. Listening to music without a portable headphone amplifier is a strict no-no. $1500 is considered a tight budget for a decent sound system. CDs are considered evil, and real quality lies in vinyl (forget about the oh so lossy MP3s). This is the world of the hard-core audiophiles.

Based on recommendations here, I decided to get a pair for the “ultra cheap” Koss KSC-35. These are widely regarded as the best pair of headphones under $100, and they cost only $30. After using these for about a month, I am really impressed. At first I was concerned by the seemingly soft bass, but after the burn-in period, I think it is far better than what I had expected. The music is sounds more alive. They seem to be better than my older Sennheiser HD-497, and are far more portable.

For some wierd reason Koss decided to discontinue this model though. It was replaced by worse sounding and ugly looking KSC-50. This is still available on the Koss website until they sell out. I’ve heard of people buying them by the truckload so that they can continue using them forever!

It is hard to imagine how the sound quality can improve further. But then thats what I always thought when I was using my crappy Sony headphones. Up next for me is a little DIY project to build a CMoy headphone amplifier, followed by a PIMETA, or a MINT. And then the Sennheiser HD 600. I can dream, cant I?

I got my new iPod today. Wow! I’ve never been this impressed by any gadget! Yea, yea… its just an mp3 player. But I was totally blown away by the packaging, the great attention to small details, the quality, and all the other things most company take care of only as an afterthought. Opening the iPod box has been described as a religious experience by many. I would have to agree on this. Everything is so very neatly packed. Everything looks so clean, so perfect. The headphones, the power adapter, the CD, the cable with plastic tabs at either - awesome design everywhere!

The iPod itself is great as well. I really like the white body and the backlight. The touch buttons and touch-wheel are a great idea. One thing I would have liked is the ability to tap the touch-wheel instead of hitting the center button to select whatever is currently selected. The interface is really simple to use. iTunes transferred about 6GB of music in around 15 minutes. All my playlists were imported. All my song ratings, the top-played songs database etc. I can set song ratings either on the iPod, or the computer, and everything gets syncd the next time the ipod is connected (I wonder how it handles conflicts though). i am yet to play with all the non-music related features it has to offer.

I didnt like that they gave only a firewire cable. A USB cable is another $20. For this price they should have included it. Unfortunately my laptop doesnt have a firewire port

Totally worth the price. Why did I not buy this much earlier! Boy, I want an iBook/PowerBook more than ever now. Apple’s strategy is working just great!