Music

I recently picked up an XM Radio kit at Costco since radio reception in my area is problematic and good metal is hard to find on the radio. I was very disappointed to find out that the heavy rock/metal channel is now only availabe online even though it was listed on the packaging. I wrote XM a letter noting my disappointment but I'm sure I'll just get a generic letter stating that they try and cater to the general public and the minority is sometimes over looked and how I can find two hours of metal weak on this station and how this other station is similar. I got this thing so I could listen to commercial free, uncut music that I can't find on conventional radio. I guess two out of three ain't bad but it's still very disappointing.

Anyone out there listen to Sirius and if so how good is their metel programming? I want to hear stuff like In Flames, Arch Enemy, Slayer, Iced Earth, The Haunted and Iron Maiden and not Godsmack, Creed, Slipknot and the like.

Ozzfest was actually good for the first time in many years. So many great bands including Iron Maiden, In Flames, Arch Enemy, The Haunted and Rob Zombie, I forced my self to endure Wicked Wisdom (they were by far the worst band there), Kill Switch Engage and Mudvane. The MTV rocker freaks were a mixed blessing as they provided entertainment in between sets as we poked fun at their outfits. We say one lady wearing a pink Ramones getup. Last time I checked Ozzfest wasn't pink and wasn't punk.

The highlight of the night was Iron Maiden. They were by far the best band there putting headliners Black Sabbath to shame. Bruce was his classic self taking every chance he could to poke fun at Ozzy and the music industry. I think this may have played a huge part in the attack on the band (rumored to have been organized by Sharon and crew) during the last Ozzfest date.

MTV, BlabberMouth, About


The attack could have also been because Iron Maiden was getting all the press. Sorry I don't have links to the original articles. This list was sent to me by one of my friends that went to the concert with me.

Pittsburgh Daily News – “The night belonged to Iron Maiden, and the crowd treated them like royalty, easily giving them the most raucous reaction of any of the bands assembled. Dickinson and Maiden put the younger bands on the show to shame, and Dickinson was almost giddy as he led the masses in singalongs of classics such as opener ‘Wrathchild’, ‘The Trooper’ and ‘Run To The Hills.’“

New York Times - 'Spry and mischievous as ever (he delivered a tirade against MTV and reality shows, which is mischievous only if you're about to cede the stage to Mr. Osbourne), Dickinson sounded and looked like a man leading his troops into battle, although under a foreign flag: he waved a huge Union Jack.'

Hollywood Reporter - 'Maiden held the second slot to Sabbath and in 70 minutes walked away with the whole show... Iron Maiden is the standout on this tour and - to paraphrase Dickinson - rocks ‘like a bastard!’'.

Chicago Tribune - 'Dickinson's soaring battle-cries held the near-capacity crowd spellbound while his high-energy performance made many of the festival's acts look lazy and tired.'

Boston Globe – “The band that stole the show yesterday was Iron Maiden, with Dickinson… climbing stairs to ramps at either side, from which he exhorted the crowd into a horn-saluting frenzy with such songs as '’Wrathchild’ and ‘Run To The Hills,’ aided by a triple-guitar attack and inflatable beast with neon blue eyes, and changing rear curtains that made their set feel like a Broadway play.”

The Freelance Star, Virginia – “Iron Maiden deserves every accolade thrown its way over many years of hard-rock excess… After decades of domination, Iron Maiden showed that well-structured songs, vocal brilliance and unabashed rock 'n' roll showmanship are a bloody good combination… This night belonged to Maiden.”

Indianaopolis Star – “Bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris… believes in speed and melody, traits that defined Sunday’s renditions of ‘The Trooper’ and ‘Run To The Hills’ [while] Bruce Dickinson provided the right amount of theatrics to ‘Phantom Of The Opera’ and ‘Number Of The Beast’… Iron Maiden saved the day”

Hartford Courant – “Coming second to last on a 20-act, 14-hour bill, Iron Maiden negated all of the 18 previous performances with a 60-minute set of bombastic metal. The English band's songs featured actual riffs, sweeping vocal melodies and gobs of frantic guitar solos, and the musicians - particularly singer Bruce Dickinson - displayed a charisma not seen among the other bands.”

I finally broke down and bought all the major parts I need to start building a HTPC for our HDTV. This is something I have been meaning to do for some time but was waiting for all pieces I needed to come out. I plan on using the HTPC for HD/Standard video playback, games, emulators, music, photos, etc. For the curious here is a list of the parts I have purchased so far.

Abit AN8 Motherboard
Athlon64 3000+ CPU
BFG 6600GT PCI Express Video Card with HDTV Out
1Gig DDR400/3200 RAM (2x512)

The rest of the parts are going to be left overs from old computers that I'll slowly replace. I did not purchase a capture card as I plan to keep using the TiVo for ease of use. Living in a rural area we only get CBS-HD reliably so I'm still debating on getting a HD capture card.

I plan on purchasing an XMystique sound card with Dolby Digital Live Real-Time encoding which outputs DTS-ES, DD-EX 6.1/7.1, DD 5.1 and DTS 5.1 over S/PDIF and coaxial outputs. I'm still debating on the remote but right now I'm leaning towards the ATI Remote Wonder II RF. For game inputs I have a USB to PS adaptor that I plan on using wireless Logitech controllers with. I have a wireless keyboard but I have yet decided what to do about a mouse for gaming. I'm left handed so finding comfortable mouse is a little harder since over half of them out there are designed for the right handed.

I would like to run a Linux distro with MythTV on the box but it looks like I'm going to have to go with XP Pro or XP MCE for compatability and games.

I finally broke down and ordered a new Series 2 TiVo since my Series 1 unit is on it's last leg. I was looking into some of the new TiVo HME software that people are creating for the Series 2 units and I stumbled across iSee iTunes. iSee iTunes allows you to control iTunes with your TiVo. Unfortunately the music does not play through the TiVo so you'll need an Airport Express if your TiVo and iTunes are not in the same room. I'm still waiting for my new Series 2 TiVo to arrive but I've been playing with it on the TiVo HME Simulator, that is included with the TiVo HEM SDK, and it works quite well.

My friend Ryan and I, mainly Ryan, installed my Alpine KCA-420i iPod Interface last night and I have to say it's pretty nice for a $100 unit.
The interface allows you to control your iPod from any AI-Net enabled Alpine head unit.

The install is pretty damn easy as all you have to do is plug a cable into your AI-Net out to the 420i and then plug another cable from the 420i to the iPod. Alpine gives you six feet for each cable which was enough to go from my head unit, behind the glove compartment, down the right passanger side trim and then under the seat. The other cable goes from under the seat to the glove compartment where the iPod is stored.

The ability to have 20 gigs of MP3s as apposed to 700MB is quite nice but the interface takes a little getting use to. From reading the manual it looks like people with newer head units will have a more intuitive interface but I can't complain since my 9815 isn't technically support. If you have a 9815 you just need to follow the instructions for the 9835 model.