mike

Last time I did this was Feb 12th.
This is based on my iTunes play count, which goes back to last September when I got my Mac.

1. Straylight Run – The Tension and the Terror
2. Hit the Lights – Loose Lips Sink Ships
3. The Academy Is … – Attention
Adelphi – Attention
Something Corporate – Watch the Sky
Yellowcard – Finish Line
7. Fall Out Boy – Of All the Gin Joints in All the World
Jack’s Mannequin – Into the Airwaves
Panic! At the Disco – London Beckoned Songs About Money Written By Machines
The Starting Line – Surprise, Surprise

Some Changes in 7 months. Since I listen to CDs and work which don’t count toward the total its hard for newer songs to climb up.

I didn’t do my most played songs list because I thought that would be the only thing on here, would that be better than nothing? Since I’ve been in a posting mood and there is a lot of snow outside I thought I’d post my currently list. I looked back and the last time I did it was November 29th.

1. Straylight Run – The Tension and the Terror
2. Yellowcard – Finish Line
3. Fall Out Boy – Of All the Gin Joints in All the World
Hit the Lights – Loose Lips Sink Ships
Something Corporate – Watch the Sky
The Starting Line – Surprise, Surprise
7. The Acadamy Is … – Attention
Cartel – Hey, Don’t Stop
Fall Out Boy – XO
Hawthorne Heights – Ohio is for Lovers
Jack’s Mannequin – Into the Airwaves
Rise Against – Swing Life Away
Straylight Run – Existentialisn on Prom Night

2+ months later and the list isn’t all that much different. I listened to The Tension and the Terror so much in a short span it likely won’t be caught for some time.

Thought I’d pass along what iTunes tells me I’ve listened to the most. This takes probably from the last 2-3 months, whenever I got my Mac. If you have not heard any of these then you need to get to work. I was pretty impressed with the list.

1. Straylight Run – The Tension and the Terror
2. Something Corporate – Watch the Sky
3. Fall Out Boy – Of All the Gin Joints In All the World
Panic! At the Disco – London Beckoned Songs About Money Written By Machines
Straylight Run – Existentialism on Prom Night
Yellowcard – Finish Line
7. Don’t Look Down – Weak Me
Fall Out Boy – Sugar, We’re Going Down
Hawthorne Heights – Ohio is for Lovers
Hit the Lights – Loose Lips Sink Ships
Jack’s Mannequin – Mixed Tape
Jack’s Mannequin – Into the Airwaves
Rise Against – Swing Life Away

I know what you are thinking … Why isn’t Sugar #1? I don’t tend to play it on my computer or iPod all that often because I heard it on Sirius just about everytime I’m in the car. Of All the Gin Joints is my favorite song on the Fall Out Boy CD and since its not on the radio I listen to that much more often. As for #1 I really got hooked on that Straylight run song and listen to it quite a bit.

Blink’s Greatest Hits album comes out tomorrow. I was a little disappointed when I first saw the track listing a few months ago. It has 15 greatest hits tracks and 2 ‘unreleased’ tracks. ‘Not Now’ is being played on Sirius quite a bit now and they are labeling it ‘New’. I first heard the song when I was in Minnesota meaning its at least a year and a half old. I tried to put together my greatest hits but it was a 2-disc set. After some tinkering I was able to get it down to 19 tracks. Read on to see them. Any Blink songs you love that didn’t make the list?

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Don’t ask me why but I went on a CD ripping kick today with all my old CDs. I looked through my CD case and found that most of my older CDs are not on my computer. They were at one point but from what I can remember I had to clear my hard drive a few years ago and all non-essential music was not backed up and I just never got back around to ripping the CDs again. I think listening to The Pulse on Sirius has gotten me back into the mood to listen to a lot of the music I stopped listening to when punk took over my stereo.

Now what I have is a 90s playlist, which might start to cut into the 2000s but I’m considering 90s as more of a genre than a time period. Here are the bands currently occupying my 90s playlist:

Barenaked Ladies, Counting Crows, Dave Matthews Band, Eve 6, Goo Goo Dolls, Harvey Danger, Hootie & the Blowfish, Lifehouse, Matchbox Twenty, Oasis, Third Eye Blind, and Vertical Horizon.

Who am I missing? I need some help because I don’t own a ton of CDs from that time. Actually I do own a ton from that time but they all fall under those bands.

I thought of some that I don’t own that I’m currently bidding for on ebay. Its a great idea to wait about 10 years to buy a CD, because then it will only cost you $3. I’m bidding on Matchbox Twenty – Yourself or Someone Like You, The Wallflowers – Bringing Down the Horse, Live – Throwing Copper, and Third Eye Blind – Blue. Again, what else do I need to complete my CD collection? I do have things like Nirvana – Nevermind, Pearl Jam – Ten, and Smashing Pumpkins – Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness.

Now Sugar is everywhere. Its been on Sirius Hits 1 for a while now but today I heard it on The Pulse. The Pulse’s selections come from ‘The 90’s and Now.’ Its gone completely mainstream now, its crazy. Two and a half years ago when I first heard Headphones (which is actually Homesick at Space Camp) I knew Fall Out Boy was going to be huge, but I had no idea this would happen. The only thing that disappoints me is that Take This To Your Grave is a so much better album than From Under the Cork Tree. I have to imagine that if the Teeny Boppers that have fallen in love with FOB heard Grand Theft Autumn then we’d have another Good Charlotte on our hands.

iTunes turned out to be painless. Plus, there was no tax so it was cheaper than going to the store. I am just going to have to be careful to backup my files, which was already on my short list of things to figure out how to do on the Mac to make me 100% comfortable with my Mac. Will I become an iTunes junky now? Perhaps when I get an income.

As for the CD … Actually that’s the first thing to discuss. When you buy an album on iTunes you can’t call it a CD anymore, its an album. I guess whatever comes after downloading will be called a CD (see how that works?)

As for the album … Its a solid pop-punk album. Sounds great and is really well produced. My problem with it is that it isn’t really unique in anyway. I’m not going to listen to this album on its own and none of the songs really stand out. None of them are bad, every song will probably wind up in my playlist with a 3-star rating. If you want Mest go get Wasting Time and Destination Unknown.

Here’s a question, have you bought anything from the iTunes Music Store? Or any online music store for that matter? Now that I only use a Mac I am iTunes exclusive for my music needs. As you should know I have a number of problems with the program but it meets enough of my needs.

I have been hesitant to purchase any music online. I feel much more comfortable having an actual CD and knowing that I’ll be able to do whatever I want with it. With these online companies I’m nervous that I will one day lose a file and not be able to get it again. Or that I will use more computers than they allow and I won’t have access to my music. Also on a CD there is bonus material included.

When you think about it though I only use my original CD once to rip it onto my computer and 99% of bonus material I don’t even watch (the only ones I can think of are Fall Out Boy’s EP and comedy albums that also include a DVD).

The reason this comes up is that there is a CD that came out today that I want to get: Mest – Photographs. Mest is one of my favorite bands from when I first heard them Freshman year. In fact Wasting Time is one of my Top 5 albums. I can either go out tomorrow and buy it at Circuit City or get it right now on iTunes. Same price either way. I don’t need to hear it right now and going out to an electronics store would be the highlight of my day. On the other hand its just another CD Case that is going to sit in the pile in my room and eventually be put into a box that will forever be moved along with me.

The details on what you can do with music you buy on iTunes seem pretty fair but obviously they don’t give you complete freedom. At any one time you can have 5 computers authorized to play your music. You can deauthorize computers at any time. Five seems like enough since I only really keep my music on one system and stream it to the others if needed. Still, I’d like to be able to move it all around. The biggest concern is that if you do lose the file you can’t download it again. You have to buy it. This to me is ridiculous. Even if they said you could download it only a few times per year in case you lost a hard drive that would be fair. I understand not allowing unlimited downloading of what you buy wince that bandwidth could add up quickly.

I think its about time I try out this iTunes deal and see what happens. This is just one CD and only $10. At worst I burn it to a CD and then really I have the same thing I would have if I bought it at the store, minus the DVD, artwork, etc. So here goes, wish me luck.