trl.ca » Music

No Kill I

Todd Lyons — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 11:57:39 +0000

Classic Star Trek punk. Is that a real genre? A genre of one, perhaps. Here’s the eponymous track from the band No Kill I. Their name comes from the scrawling of an alien life form in the Star Trek episode The Devil in the Dark. Sad I never saw these guys when I had the chance.

My Tweets for Today – July 5, 2010

Todd Lyons — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 19:06:48 +0000

Some days, like today, my tweets all run along a similar theme. Today: tunes.

Nice to hear that Mr. Gwen Stefani has a new single out. I guess life can be boring when you’re arm candy for a major pop star.
I still miss Ronnie James Dio, the 20th/21st century’s foremost lyrical humourist. Also a musician, apparently.
The New Pornographers’ website isn’t nearly as engaging as their name suggests.
I love The Cure, but Robert Smith & Jenny Craig need to become fast friends.
@jentraplin Thanks again. My heart nearly stopped when I heard you introduce them [Bootsauce]. Cheers. =) in reply to jentraplin
@jentraplin A lost Montreal gem. Surprised they aren’t still on the radio. Brown Album is ripe with singles+deep cuts. Still good at age 20. in reply to jentraplin

Korea’s Answer to Steve Moore

Todd Lyons — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 12:30:59 +0000

Steve may be the latest example of a drummer whose showmanship is completely incongruent with the music he plays, but he’s certainly not the first. Check out this guy:

Steve Moore: That Drummer at the Wrong Gig

Todd Lyons — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 13:30:57 +0000

It’s been a few weeks since I first saw this, but it refuses to go away. Sometimes I use my blog as a personal bookmark for things I’ll probably want to watch again in future years. This would be one of those cases:

My first thought upon seeing this video was, “If Tommy Lee ever leaves Mötley Crüe, this guy is IN.” As it turns out, Steve’s roots are in heavy metal. For more information about him, check out his interview in CityPages, and visit his website The Mad Drummer.

Last.fm Fail Page

Todd Lyons — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 16:53:28 +0000

I’ve been on last.fm since late 2006 and don’t recall ever getting a failpage before:

Hopefully it’s a good sign: of increasing popularity, and not just inadequate infrastructure due to declining revenues and diminishing paid subscriber base.

Placebo’s Actual Lead Singer?

Todd Lyons — Sat, 29 May 2010 10:03:24 +0000

No, it’s not Brian Molko, even if that’s what it says in the album notes.

No, it’s not Brian Molko, even if that’s who appears in the video.

It’s Dave Foley, from The Kids in The Hall and NewsRadio. Now don’t brush me off so easily. Imagine Dave’s voice, then watch this video:

I’m right, aren’t I? Manservant Hecubus is moonlighting as a lead vocalist! Relax Brian, I ain’t gonna go to the newspapers or launch an ‘emotional distress’ lawsuit against you. I think we’ve all learned something from Milli Vanilli.

Ronnie James Dio (July 10, 1942 – May 16, 2010)

Todd Lyons — Mon, 17 May 2010 15:09:04 +0000

As much as I’ve enjoyed making fun of Mr. Dio for his biblical-babble fantasy lyrics; it was homage. No one sits down to craft careful parody for someone irrelevant or insignificant. Dio inspired me. I was an instant fan upon the release of 1983′s Holy Diver. While there were no secrets of the universe to be learned from his words, he had ten feet of voice in his five feet of body, and he wrote some truly great music.

Product #WIN: Kudos to Sandisk; respect for the Sansa Fuze

Todd Lyons — Sat, 01 May 2010 12:00:54 +0000

A lot of people write reviews for products they’ve used for a week. It seems to me that there’s limited value in that: kinda like the automobile manufacturers that struggle to get the J. D. Power & Associates Award for Initial Quality. That doesn’t impress me. How does the quality of the product and support hold up over the long term?

Over a year ago I bought a Sansa Fuze by Sandisk. I wanted a device with Linux compatibility and support for open audio file formats like Ogg Vorbis and FLAC. Sandisk is one of the few manufacturers I’ve ever seen to mention both Linux and MacOS compatibility in their specifications. Sandisk has even gone as far as to feature Tux, the Linux Mascot, on their packaging next to the Windows and Mac logos.

But open source and open format compatibility by itself isn’t impressive to me either. What’s the point of buying a device if it’s inferior to the competing products like the Apple iPod or Microsoft Zune? And what if the customer support pales in comparison to that offered by larger corporations?

No worries on either front: this device has been an absolute gem. The firmware has continued to be developed and improved long after my purchase, the community support has been good, and my interactions with tech support were extremely positive.

Sansa Fuze Features:

2GB, 4GB, or 8GB of internal storage
Expandable memory via microSDHC / microSD slot
Plays video (MPEG4 (SP) QCIF+ 20fps. Additional formats supported via the Sansa Media Converter software)
Plays music and audio books (MP3, WAV, WMA, secure WMA, FLAC, Ogg-Vorbis)
Displays photos and album art
Digital FM radio with 40 preset stations
Voice and radio recording with built-in microphone
Bright 1.9″ screen
A real, physical jog/shuttle wheel
Up to 24 hours for audio playback and 5 hours of video playback with internal rechargeable battery
Music subscription ready
1 Year Limited Warranty
Dimensions: 3.1 x 1.9 x 0.3 in. (HxWxD)
Available in five colours: blue, red, pink, black or silver

Would I buy this product again today? Definitely. At $80 CDN, it was a bargain one year ago, and the fit, finish and functionality still make it an excellent device today.

While I’m not against Apple, I do dislike the restrictions they build into their hardware and software. If you’d like to do your own investigation of the options beyond the iPod, I recommend you browse Anything But iPod for additional possibilities. I definitely recommend the Sansa Fuze, but if you’d like something even more compact and less expensive, I’ve read the same customer kudos about the Sansa Clip.

Best Led Zeppelin Songs Not Written By Led Zeppelin

Todd Lyons — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 10:47:45 +0000

(That is, songs that capture their distinct style)

Lonely Is The Night – Billy Squier

Get It On – Kingdom Come

Loving You – Kingdom Come

(Pretty much every track on Kingdom Come’s self-titled debut)

The River – The Tea Party

Save Me – The Tea Party

Fire In The Head – The Tea Party

(again, a lot of Tea Party tracks carry a serious Led Zep / Doors influence)

I’ll keep adding to this list as more tracks occur to me.

Perhaps I should have titled it Led Clones, seeing as the influence seems to flavour bands as a whole rather than individual tracks. I’m sure Gary Moore wouldn’t mind.

Best Beatles Songs Not Written By The Beatles

Todd Lyons — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 14:33:56 +0000

(That is, songs that capture their distinct style)

Just a few off the top of my head…

Look What You’ve Done – Jet

Live Forever – Oasis (and a bunch of others for that matter — to their credit they totally cop to Beatles inspiration).

Get a Job – The Offspring

Sowing the Seeds Of Love – Tears For Fears

…I’ll keep adding to this list over time.

For the record, I dislike “Get a Job”, but my wife loves The Offspring.