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Music From the Cube: What Am I Listing To Today?
Please post your suggestion for a charity that can help Katrina survivors with their long-term needs.
People looking for the start of my Death-by-A-Thon entry for![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
booster17 titled The Acme Heartbreak Repair Kit, click here for Part 1 and click here for Part 2.
As for the comptuer issue, nothing appears to be working. Any attempt to run any spyware, virus detector, restoration tool, or software tool results in a refusal to write to disc. I was up until 2:30 a.m. trying everything.
*sigh*
I've got to bite the bullet. Thankfully, I have restore discs (I'm running Windows ME) instead of just the in-built restore system. Meanwhile, I'd been thinking of buying an external hard drive so I could backup my MP3s and documents and the keys to the two pieces of software that I've bought online is safely stored in several Web-based email accounts (why, yes, I've always been suspicious of computers).
So, I guess its time I do just that: buy the external hard drive to use as backup, like I've been threatening to do for a year. Thankfully, there's only about 10 GB of stuff that I need to transfer over, which means I have the option of lowballing. However, with my CD collection, I admit it's tempting to go for a mega big drive and just burn everything I have to it.
I feel guilty making a purchase like this right now. I can (with great ouchiness) make room in my budget for purchasing this 80GB external drive, which is on sale at Staples for $70. I don't need anything fancy: just a back-up drive for when crap like this happens (and you know crap like this happens too often).
Sorry about the whining. It's guilt for spending this kind of money right now when there are a lot of people out there who could really use that $70 for more than just buying a hard drive.
At any rate, I can limp through writing The Acme Heartbreak Repair Kit for the rest of the week, but I'll have to go "dark" Friday night to begin the process of saving my computer. On the upside, there's a lot of crap on it that needs to be dumped. Also on the upside: everything I want to keep is in the "My Documents" folder anyway. So rescuing the really important crap won't be that hard.
I hope.
On to the tunes!
Just be aware: Megaupload is acting a little persnicketty today. Just be patient.
Bangles, Greatest Hits Rating=$$$$
[Support the Artist]
How I Got This CD: Bought new something like 15 years ago.
I have a soft spot for this melody-drenched 80s band. I admit, I liked them slightly more than the Go-Gos and thought they had a little more talent, even if I thought Susanna Hoffs was overrated. Not much to say, except that if you miss the 80s all-girl bands and think the girls with guitars had more musical talent than the boy bands of the 1990s, this CD is well worth having in the collection. Oddly enough, my choices from this CD are not "greatest hits" for the Bangles. I think these three songs actually fall more under "songs the band liked, but the radio didn't play." The first one, 'Following,' is a creepy bluesy number that is mostly devoid of the band's trademark harmonies or Hoff's leading vocals. 'Be With You' is a little closer to the band's traditional sound, minus Hoff's usual lead vocals. For the hell of it, I also threw in 'I'll Set You Free,' which has all of the usual Bangles trademarks from harmonies to Hoff's lead vocals, but it's a song that came out during the band's downward spiral and didn't get much airplay (too bad, it's a lovely song).
Sample Songs Download: Following; Be With You; I'll Set You Free
Barenaked Ladies
[Support the Artist]
Rock Spectacle Rating=$$$$$
How I Got This CD: Bought new in Rhode Island.
Shut. Up. I love BNL. And I always forget how much I adore this CD because I tend to overlook the fact that I have it. Of course, it could be because playing it on the computer is a pain in the ass due to the multimedia goodies on the disc. Multimedia goodies are all well and good, but it's annoying when I'm trying to just chill to the music. This CD, their breakthrough hit in the U.S., has a nice mix of hits and lesser-known (at least to U.S. audiences) songs. Plus, it sounds like BNL does a good live show. The two selections from the CD are more on the mellow side. 'When I Fall' hits a lyrical sweet spot for me, probably because I'm afraid of heights and the song (at least on the surface) is about a window washer.
Sample Songs Download: When I Fall; Jane
Stunt Rating=$$$
How I Got This CD: Bought new.
A nice follow-up outing. Solid musically and some really decent tunes that shows BNL working to change their image from their early novelty act rep to a band that could (and should) be taken seriously. I call this CD the "straighten up and fly right" CD. The lyrics are still sly, but there's nothing in-your-face funny like on some of the earlier songs. The low-ish rating might surpirse some people, since I do like BNL and I do like this CD. The issue is that I tend to like pieces of this CD more than the whole. Take the track, 'In the Car,' for example. There are pieces of that song that I adore and send chills down my spine. There are some lyrics that just catch the ear in a good way. But there are entire musical passages in the song that make me want to rip my ears off. The whole CD is like that for me. If you're a BNL fan, grab it. If not? Wait to find it in the used bin. Of the two tracks below: I think 'Some Fantastic' is the second-best song on the CD (next to 'It's All Been Done').
Sample Songs Download: I Told You So; Some Fantastic
***
Read the index for previous thumbnail reviews.
***
Rating system:
None = Avoid at all cost. Worth cutting your ears off to avoid if someone threatens to play it for you. When faced with even the threat of its cellophane-wrapped presence, your best option is to RUN AWAY! RUN AWAY!
$= If you stumble across it for cheap in a used bin, it might, maybe, perhaps could be worth the buy, but only if you need a cheap coaster for your cold drinks or a cool-looking frisbee.
$$= You might want to give this CD/artist a try, but only if the sample track tickles your fancy. Don't bother buying this one new because the good tunes you'd get out of this one ain't worth that kind of money.
$$$ = Worth looking for on a casual basis and maybe even buying new, but no big rush.
$$$$ = Definitely worth having in the ol' CD collection and definitely worth buying new, but don't re-arrange your personal "must have" list to get your hands on it.
$$$$$ = Why haven't you bought this CD yet? Go. This is a "Want. Take. Have." situation because you so want this.
People looking for the start of my Death-by-A-Thon entry for
booster17 titled The Acme Heartbreak Repair Kit, click here for Part 1 and click here for Part 2.As for the comptuer issue, nothing appears to be working. Any attempt to run any spyware, virus detector, restoration tool, or software tool results in a refusal to write to disc. I was up until 2:30 a.m. trying everything.
*sigh*
I've got to bite the bullet. Thankfully, I have restore discs (I'm running Windows ME) instead of just the in-built restore system. Meanwhile, I'd been thinking of buying an external hard drive so I could backup my MP3s and documents and the keys to the two pieces of software that I've bought online is safely stored in several Web-based email accounts (why, yes, I've always been suspicious of computers).
So, I guess its time I do just that: buy the external hard drive to use as backup, like I've been threatening to do for a year. Thankfully, there's only about 10 GB of stuff that I need to transfer over, which means I have the option of lowballing. However, with my CD collection, I admit it's tempting to go for a mega big drive and just burn everything I have to it.
I feel guilty making a purchase like this right now. I can (with great ouchiness) make room in my budget for purchasing this 80GB external drive, which is on sale at Staples for $70. I don't need anything fancy: just a back-up drive for when crap like this happens (and you know crap like this happens too often).
Sorry about the whining. It's guilt for spending this kind of money right now when there are a lot of people out there who could really use that $70 for more than just buying a hard drive.
At any rate, I can limp through writing The Acme Heartbreak Repair Kit for the rest of the week, but I'll have to go "dark" Friday night to begin the process of saving my computer. On the upside, there's a lot of crap on it that needs to be dumped. Also on the upside: everything I want to keep is in the "My Documents" folder anyway. So rescuing the really important crap won't be that hard.
I hope.
On to the tunes!
Just be aware: Megaupload is acting a little persnicketty today. Just be patient.
Bangles, Greatest Hits Rating=$$$$
[Support the Artist]
How I Got This CD: Bought new something like 15 years ago.
I have a soft spot for this melody-drenched 80s band. I admit, I liked them slightly more than the Go-Gos and thought they had a little more talent, even if I thought Susanna Hoffs was overrated. Not much to say, except that if you miss the 80s all-girl bands and think the girls with guitars had more musical talent than the boy bands of the 1990s, this CD is well worth having in the collection. Oddly enough, my choices from this CD are not "greatest hits" for the Bangles. I think these three songs actually fall more under "songs the band liked, but the radio didn't play." The first one, 'Following,' is a creepy bluesy number that is mostly devoid of the band's trademark harmonies or Hoff's leading vocals. 'Be With You' is a little closer to the band's traditional sound, minus Hoff's usual lead vocals. For the hell of it, I also threw in 'I'll Set You Free,' which has all of the usual Bangles trademarks from harmonies to Hoff's lead vocals, but it's a song that came out during the band's downward spiral and didn't get much airplay (too bad, it's a lovely song).
Sample Songs Download: Following; Be With You; I'll Set You Free
Barenaked Ladies
[Support the Artist]
Rock Spectacle Rating=$$$$$
How I Got This CD: Bought new in Rhode Island.
Shut. Up. I love BNL. And I always forget how much I adore this CD because I tend to overlook the fact that I have it. Of course, it could be because playing it on the computer is a pain in the ass due to the multimedia goodies on the disc. Multimedia goodies are all well and good, but it's annoying when I'm trying to just chill to the music. This CD, their breakthrough hit in the U.S., has a nice mix of hits and lesser-known (at least to U.S. audiences) songs. Plus, it sounds like BNL does a good live show. The two selections from the CD are more on the mellow side. 'When I Fall' hits a lyrical sweet spot for me, probably because I'm afraid of heights and the song (at least on the surface) is about a window washer.
Sample Songs Download: When I Fall; Jane
Stunt Rating=$$$
How I Got This CD: Bought new.
A nice follow-up outing. Solid musically and some really decent tunes that shows BNL working to change their image from their early novelty act rep to a band that could (and should) be taken seriously. I call this CD the "straighten up and fly right" CD. The lyrics are still sly, but there's nothing in-your-face funny like on some of the earlier songs. The low-ish rating might surpirse some people, since I do like BNL and I do like this CD. The issue is that I tend to like pieces of this CD more than the whole. Take the track, 'In the Car,' for example. There are pieces of that song that I adore and send chills down my spine. There are some lyrics that just catch the ear in a good way. But there are entire musical passages in the song that make me want to rip my ears off. The whole CD is like that for me. If you're a BNL fan, grab it. If not? Wait to find it in the used bin. Of the two tracks below: I think 'Some Fantastic' is the second-best song on the CD (next to 'It's All Been Done').
Sample Songs Download: I Told You So; Some Fantastic
Read the index for previous thumbnail reviews.
Rating system:
None = Avoid at all cost. Worth cutting your ears off to avoid if someone threatens to play it for you. When faced with even the threat of its cellophane-wrapped presence, your best option is to RUN AWAY! RUN AWAY!
$= If you stumble across it for cheap in a used bin, it might, maybe, perhaps could be worth the buy, but only if you need a cheap coaster for your cold drinks or a cool-looking frisbee.
$$= You might want to give this CD/artist a try, but only if the sample track tickles your fancy. Don't bother buying this one new because the good tunes you'd get out of this one ain't worth that kind of money.
$$$ = Worth looking for on a casual basis and maybe even buying new, but no big rush.
$$$$ = Definitely worth having in the ol' CD collection and definitely worth buying new, but don't re-arrange your personal "must have" list to get your hands on it.
$$$$$ = Why haven't you bought this CD yet? Go. This is a "Want. Take. Have." situation because you so want this.
Gah!
*shudders in fear*
Re: Gah!
It works just fine for what I use it for, and I'm too much of a Yankee to go buying a new computer as long as Windoze keeps supporting ME through updates.
no subject
Maybe I live a little too close to Canada ...
no subject
However, there are some people out there with otherwise fine musical tastes who hate BNL with a passion. *sob*
no subject
Do you have their first album, Gordon? At least it was released by that name in Canada. I bought the tape and then had my cassette player "ate Gordon".
no subject
I didn't buy "Maybe You Should Drive" (broke when it came out) or "Born on a Pirate Ship" (not sure why, probably because BNL was off my radar for awhile).
I still need to replace "Gordon" because I loved that cassette.
*sigh*
Not "several movies." Several moves.
dumpkof ---> me
no subject
Metaphorically, of course.
Now every machine in at the office is either XP Home or XP Pro, and life is much smoother.
If your home computer can handle XP Home, I suggest upgrading to that. If it can't, I'd say it's time to bite the bullet and get a new machine.
no subject
The thing is: I'm a high volume user, but I'm not a power user. I have zero interest in investing in $100 to $150 into XP when I'm going to be dumping my computer in two years anyway, especially since I've had so few problems with ME.
The external hard drive I can always use, so while I'm not thrilled about buying it, it's something that I will use again and again to backup my files.
Besides, my hard drive needed a good cleaning anyway. :-)
no subject
That said, I've found that doing a full reformatting and reinstall at least once a year gets rid of a lot of odd, niggling little problems that a less drastic measure doesn't seem to take care of. It's a bit of a scorched earth remedy, true, but there's no arguing with its effectiveness.
no subject
I'm seriously considering moving over to a MAC mini, because, as I said, what I use the computer for (writing, surfing the Internet, jukebox) really doesn't require a *ton* of power. Plus, the MAC minis will let me use all the peripherals I already have without forcing me to invest in a whole system. But I'd like the MAC minis to advance a little more before I spend the cash.
But, yeah, I think it's best if I scorch the earth on Saturday. It seems like the best way. And like I said, I can limp through the next few days with no problems since all I plan to do is work on the story. I just can't have more than one Window open at a time. A pain in the butt, but it reminds me of running a computer under Windows 95.