Worth a Buck

I haven't written a Worth a Buck list in a while. So, here's an extended list of songs that should definitely be on your iPod.

Let It Ride Ryan Adams Cold Roses
Back to Me Kathleen Edwards Back to Me
Shame The Avett Brothers Emotionalism
White Bird KT Tunstall Drastic Fantastic
Right Hand on My Heart The Whigs Mission Control
Turpentine Brandi Carlile The Story
Darlin' Do Not Fear Brett Dennen So Much More
Sentimental Heart She & Him Volume One
You Are My Face Wilco Sky Blue Sky
Fuck Was I Jenny Owen Youngs Batten The Hatches
Fake Empire The National Boxer
How Lucky We Are meiko
The Song of Shine and Shame nico stai PARK los ANGELES
Ur So Gay Katy Perry Ur So Gay
Is There A Ghost Band of Horses Cease To Begin
It's Gonna be Alright Priscilla Ahn Priscilla Ahn EP
Click, Click, Click, Click Bishop Allen The Broken String
Foundations Kate Nash
On Call Kings Of Leon Because Of The Times
1234 Feist The Reminder
Living With the Law Chris Whitley Living With the Law
New soul Yael Naim Yael Naim
Magic Bruce Springsteen Magic
See You Through Alex and Sam Sounds Like This
Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa Vampire Weekend Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa
Secret Missy Higgins On a Clear Night
Paranoia In B Major The Avett Brothers Emotionalism
The Cheapest Key Kathleen Edwards Asking for Flowers
Red Right Ankle The Decemberists Her Majesty
Black Horse/Cherry Tree KT Tunstall Eye to the Telescope
I'm Amazed My Morning Jacket Evil Urges
My Song Brandi Carlile The Story
What Sin Replaces Love (live) Ryan Adams Easy Tiger

Free Rice Dot Com

Hat tip to IV for this one.

Here's a time sponge that might get some rice to a U.N. food program and improve your vocabulary at the same time.

I can't seem to push beyond level 45.

Update: I hit level 49, so I can now go to bed.

Free Rice Dot Com

New iPhone

Since several members of the Scent Weakly family are members of the cult of Apple, here's the latest iPhone info. via Engadget

So we've got it on authority that the second-gen iPhone is already well into testing, and numerous units are floating around in super secret pockets. A trusted source got a chance to check one out, here's what we've heard.

* The first thing people will notice: the 2nd gen iPhone will be about the same size and shape as the first gen.
* It will, of course, have 3G. And proper GPS!
* The most noticeable physical difference is back of the phone is no longer metal -- the whole thing is glossy black, from top to bottom. The volume buttons are now chrome.
* Because it's got a little less metal to deal with, it doesn't have quite as many angular edges. The battery is (still) not removable.
* The phone itself will be slightly thicker than the first gen device.
* The headphone jack will no longer be recessed, and will finally be flush with the body.
* The device itself uses roughly the same size and resolution screen as the first generation product.
* No solid word on battery life or storage capacity.

It could ship (or be introduced) as early as July -- but it's worth noting that none of this is necessarily finalized, and any of it could change between now and its introduction. You really never know with Apple!

On Radar: Alex & Sam

Perhaps some of the buzz the duo She and Him has generated will spillover onto another talented but relatively unknown pair. I've been listening to Alex and Sam this week, and really like their stuff.

You can check them out here: Alex and Sam

They have several songs on the site that you can download. I've put "See You Through" on my driving to work playlist.

SW Recommends: Live Music

I'm looking forward to seeing several great bands in the near future. Tickets are available. Come join us.

Sat. May 3 KT Tunstall @ Spreckels Theater
Wed. May 14 Kathleen Edwards @ The Belly Up
Tue. May 27 The National @ The House of Blues
Fri. June 20 The Drive by Truckers @ The Belly Up

On Radar: Nico Stai

I've been listening to Mr. Stai for a couple weeks, and he's slowly working his way into heavy rotation on my iPod.

I couldn't find any mp3s floating around, so here's a link to his MySpace page.

Nico Stai

Song of the Day

Feist (who we're going to see in July) teamed up with The Constatines for a cover of the Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers classic, Islands of the Stream.

For your listening pleasure: Islands of the Stream

On the Horizon: Ben Kweller

Evidently Ben Kweller has moved to Austin and his next album, Changing Horses due out in September, will reflect his new home.

Here's a poor quality live version of Waiter at the Station that is supposed to be on the album:

Waiter at the Station

The Web of Wrath

The internet is down in South Park. Sheer genius.

On Radar: Kathleen Edwards

Kathleen Edwards's music definitely comes from the same countryish/rockish place where the music of Linda Ronstadt Brandi Carlile lives. One reviewer described her as a female Ryan Adams, which is as good as a description as any.

She'll be in California in May (I think I know where I'm spending my birthday).

Wednesday 05/14 Belly Up Tavern Solana Beach

Friday 05/16 Troubadour Los Angeles

Saturday 05/17 Sings Like Hell Santa Barbara ,

Tuesday 05/20 Independent San Francisco



For your iPods Back To Me

A Question

So, when did Pabst Blue Ribbon become the beer of choice of the young hipster crowd?

On the Horizon

Truth be told, I'm not a big fan of My Morning Jacket's recorded music, but I am a huge fan of their live show. The band has a new CD, Evil Urges, coming out in June and from what I have heard my opinion hasn't changed much. It's not bad, but I don't think it's going into heavy rotation on my iPod.

They've taken some risks by venturing into some unusual genres (funk, R&B) which upon first listen do not work very well. Their classic rock inspired tracks just aren't that memorable. What gets me excited though is the tour they'll go on to support the record. We haven't had a MMJ show in these parts in 18 months.

Evil Urges

Field Trip: Mike Blum/Jackie Greene/The Mother Hips

Eth and I made a trip to Solana Beach to see Jackie Greene and others at the Belly Up last night. I've seen Greene a couple times in the past 18 months, and while those shows were excellent, after last night's show I'm about to add Greene to my "Bands I Want To Follow Around the Country In A VW Van" list. Mr Greene has made the transition from Dylan-esque singer songwriter to rock star to great effect. Awesome show.

Mike Blum opened. He has an excellent voice, but his set was standard bar band fare. The Mother Hips closed. Eth and I left after 4 songs. They have a loyal following, but after JG's performance they paled in comparison.

Fuerzabruta

If I can find my mushroom dealer I might head to New York to check out Fuerzabruta.

A couple clips:

A Catchy Pop Tune

Here's a catchy pop tune for a summer-esque April weekend.

Ur So Gay

More Bruce

You gotta love YouTube. Here's a video from last night of Springsteen and Morello shredding "The Ghost of Tom Joad". It looks like I wasn't the only one who thought last night was something special. If you read the comments for the video a lot of veteran Springsteen fans were impressed as well.

Bruuuuuuuuuce

When VH-1 puts out (if they haven't done so already) an 8 Wonders of the World: Pop Culture Edition, seeing Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band perform "Born to Run" has to be on it.

I last saw Springsteen about 30 years ago, and last night reminded me that BS is the gold , make that diamond standard, with which to measure rock bands. There are a lot of great bands (The Hold Steady, Arcade Fire, etc.) who have been strongly influenced and inspired by Springsteen, but as good as those bands are, I gotta say they are pretenders to the throne. Bruce remains the reigning monarch of rock.

Highlight of last night. Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine joined Springsteen for an epic version of "The Ghost of Tom Joad". Awesome

Review: April 8, Anaheim

Twitter

I think Twitter (the microblog/messaging service) may soon or has already reached some sort of tipping point. The buzz has become a roar in the tech blogosphere, and all of a sudden I have 70 or so people following me.

Twitter is a very open platform and a lot of people are creating interesting mashups. I don't think a mass appeal killer app has been created yet, but I think there's a chance Twitter may beak into the mainstream.

Twitter

Updates

Not much going on in my blogging arenas (but plenty going in work arenas) the result of which is a lack of blog updates. That will change as I'm headed to Orange County tomorrow afternoon to see Bruuuuuuuce. Since, going to a Springsteen concert should be on everyone's life to do list, I'm taking Springsteen newbies Annette and Jeff. I also get credit for giving them awesome 50th birthday presents.

Programming Note

Set your DVRs. Battlestar Galactica returns on Friday, April 5 at 10:00 pm.

Not a fan, then perhaps Dwight Shrute will convince you.