posted by Mike on January 23, 2008 10:35 AM in Music
In what may be the greatest idea ever, Nigel Godrich - famed producer of Radiohead, Beck, and Paul McCartney - is bringing his totally eargasmic show to select TV networks in the states. Starting February 22nd, you'll be able to catch live in-studio candids from the likes of The Shins, PJ Harvey, Sonic Youth, and Thom Yorke.
The show, titled From the Basement, is really a more relaxed version of Jools Holland's variety music stanzas. Other artists featured on the show are Jarvis Cocker (of Pulp fame), The White Stripes, and Damien Rice.
At times, I've been critical of his production value, but Godrich has some key ins with a choice group of musicians and compiling them all in this bullshit-free platform is really what music television has needed for a long, long time. So if you're one of the five lucky bastards who gets the Rave HD channel, tune in to this show if you have any sense whatsoever.
On last night's podcast we spoke briefly about the advantages of digital distribution over physical media and the changes that are likely to occur in this direction eventually. One of those changes is the removal of DRM, and it appears that Sony has stepped up to the plate.
Sony has announced their new DRM free download service which they (presumably) hope will allow them to relax Apple's stranglehold on digital distribution of media. Debuting in the U.S. and Canada on June 15th, Sony's digital distribution service, called MusicPass, will act much like a gift card system. Essentially, customers will purchase an album card (for $12.99) from a physical store, and then use the card to download their music. Once the full roll out has been completed cards will be available in Best Buy, Target, Fred's, Coconuts, FYE, Wherehouse, Spec's, and Winn-Dixie.
Granted this isn't the best way to accomplish digital distribution, however, Sony is the last major music distributor to effect a DRM free digital distribution service. As such, the inception of this service marks a momentous occasion, that now a majority of music distributors at least have a DRM free digital distribution system in place.
It may be a while before a majority of users adopt a digital distribution system as their main source of music acquisition but it's important to keep in mind that changes in policy (staunch policy at that) by large corporations are often a reflection of market desire. The wave was started long ago, but we're finally starting to see the crest; are you ready to give up your hard copy? I know I am.
posted by Chris on December 24, 2007 6:07 AM in Music
The time of the year to make our elitist decrees has come, and we here at The Weekly Geek think you should listen to our opinions. Because we are indie rock elitist bastards, that's why. Tune in to 2007's Top 10 Albums of the year podcast where Mike and Chris discuss what music stuck in their heads this year. From The White Stripes to Radiohead to John Vanderslice and more bands you probably haven't heard of. It's a long one, clocking in at over 2 and a half hours, but well worth it. Discover a new band today! Download the podcast here, or just subscribe to our feed. Podcast is about 100mb and 2 hours long. NSF56k!
posted by Mack on December 10, 2007 2:31 PM in Music
Optimus Rhyme have blown the damn doors off every year at PAX and this year was no exception. You can have your MC Frontalots and your MC Chriseses, but I'll take OR in a lyrical battle or a ping pong tournament any day. Here's the song at PAX06 that hooked me for life.
posted by Mike on November 13, 2007 8:58 AM in Music
Composer, Friend to Animals, Superhero - just a few of the things Sufjan Stevens embodies to many. Last year, if you remember, Stevens launched a massive Christmas Box Set into the cosmos comprised of songs he had written mainly for family members as Christmas presents. This year he has an even more outrageous idea - he's pawning his music off in some sort of crazy White Elephant exchange that actually rocks. Here's the skinny from Asthmatic Kitty, his label:
Just like a gift exchange, Sufjan's song becomes your song. You can hoard it for yourself, sell it to a major soft drink corporation, use it in your daughter's first Christmas video, or share it for free on your website. No one except Sufjan and you will hear his song, unless you decide otherwise. You get the song and all legal rights to it. We get the same rights to your song.
By submitting your song, you also give us permission to stream it online.
Being something of a songwriter myself, I think this is the perfect time to debut my previously shelved soon-to-be Christmas Music Sensation: "Jesus and Santa Roast The Devil Like A Chestnut Over An Open Fire*".
*Not an actual song. Title chosen to pander to Sufjan's love for Christianity and long song names.
The theremin has always seemed like one of most useless yet interesting musical instruments out there, much like the glass harmonica. It's always nice when an enterprising geek combines their love of two basically pointless yet amusing and entertaining things to create a neat piece of art.
Greetings loyal meatbags! It's time once again jump aboard the Weekly Geek Express straight down to forum town. I promise that our trains are not creepily anthropomorphic and you won't be accosted by a tiny Ringo Starr or George Carlin. I can't make any guarantees about Alec Baldwin, though. That guy is crafty. C'mon down to our station, register, and stay a while. And then talk with all the other passengers about things such as:
posted by Mike on October 28, 2007 2:25 PM in Music
You're out on a cruise or a transatlantic flight, on or over the ocean - it doesn't matter. But disaster strikes, people start screaming, and you're marooned at sea. After days of unintentionally gargling salt water and fighting off sharks, you make sweet, sweet landfall. And there in your pocket, you had almost forgotten about it: your top 5 albums are on your new iPod Shuffle. It's rigged to magically run on coconut juice, so you start listening to the only music you'll have to comfort you until exhaustion or a wild boar claims your life.
No this is not a bad episode of Survivor, it's one of the great queries of human kind. Hit the jump for the Weekly Geek's Top 5 Desert Island Albums. And feel free to post yours in the comments.
Last month, I pointed out a neat little widget that works well to stream 45 handpicked songs to your MySpace Profile (yes, although we geeks hate it, i think it's safe to say most of us have one) and/or your Wii: FineTune. Instead of tossing you another iPod Dozen via imeem, I've decided against it - they've fallen out of favor with me recently when they seem to be axing full versions of songs off your playlists and throwing up crappy 30 second clips instead. Major buzzkill!
So, here's my FineTune. It plays at random, which is a drawback when you're hankering for a particular artist, but it's a cool little deal with nearly 4 dozen full songs for you to devour. If you feel inclined, fire it up on the Wii.
posted by Chris on June 24, 2007 9:04 PM in Podcast
Chris and Caspian are back to bring you the best music this summer. This is roll-your-windows-down and sing along music, Weekly Geek style. In this quarterly music podcast, we hope to turn you on to some of our picks for the best stuff currently being released, and show you some of the other artists we are currently obsessed with. If you like our regular video game and geek-themed podcast, you'll love the music podcast. Honest! Hit the jump for full show notes and links to purchase the tracks featured in the show. Have any comments or questions? Send them to mailbag@weeklygeekshow.com.
I spotted a funky looking playlist on my friend's MySpace profile the other day- a slick flash widget with full album art, 40 song streaming capacity, and links to buy the music directly from Amazon and/or iTunes. My interest was bagged. So I spent an hour handpicking cuts for my spiffy new FineTune gadget and threw it up on my various pages. I didn't unearth the real benefit of this thing until I fired it up on my next-gen Nintendo Console. Turns out my new FineTune player not only detected my browser, but it launched a version designed especially for the Wii. For a test drive, punch in my user name "Caspian" (duh) and scope my set. Next time you get sick of plungering deranged bunnies on Rayman, this might come in handy.
This is truly an awesome thing to listen to. It's like some sort of lovely monkey language from the future, or perhaps the ancient Aztecs contacting us from the future.
Listen. Suppress your appetite and feel satisfied all day.
posted by SecksCab on March 27, 2007 8:04 PM in Rant
SexCab takes you into the wild, wild world of compilation albums, and how to know which ones are a gem. The poor man's Caspian, SexCab throws a block of awesome at your solar plexus with a mighty pelvic thrust. It's like a trip to the Goodwill of music!
posted by Chris on March 23, 2007 7:55 AM in Podcast
Caspian and Frodo present to you the best music of 2007 so far with a very special music podcast! They cover the biggest indie albums so far this year - Modest Mouse's We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank, Arcade Fire's Neon Bible, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah's Some Loud Thunder
and The Shins' Wincing the Night Away. They also discuss the Deerhoof Milkman Ballet, The Knife, John Vanderslice and a super excellent compilation of 8-Bit covers of Kraftwerk music called 8 Bit Operators. Also stay tuned for their 2007 music preview, as they talk about Bjork's new album, a possible new Portishead album, the Sasquatch festival and a brand new Elliott Smith double-disk.
Also mentioned is how Rolling Stone is stupid and you should listen to us for music reviews. If you like our video game podcast, you'll love the music podcast. Download it now or subscribe to the podcast on iTunes!
posted by Chris on January 4, 2007 7:50 PM in Music
You guys, I have a problem. I can't stop listening to Joanna Newsom. She is a classically trained harpist with a voice that has been described as similar to Lisa Simpson in The Simpsons Sing the Blues. She is also battling the great Colin Meloy for the title of Grand Champion Vocabulary Master given only to the best of the best (English majors). Her songwriting is beautiful and epic, her music style is so completely different and refreshing, and her voice is unique and finely-honed. Check out one of my favorite songs off her first album. It's mesmerizing.
posted by Chris on December 20, 2006 1:30 PM in Podcast
Frodo and Caspian, the huge music nerds they are, have recorded a special holiday treat for you. We bring you the Weekly Geek Top Ten Albums of 2006 Podcast! In it, we discuss our picks, why we picked them, and play cuts from each. If you like the regular old vanilla Weekly Geek podcast, you'll love the double-fudge with sprinkles Weekly Geek Top Ten Albums of 2006 Podcast.
Download it here (41mb), and hit the jump for the list and links to where you can grab our picks on iTunes.
posted by Mike on September 28, 2006 12:01 AM in Music
The Weekly Geek's Top Ten Video Game Soundtracks are As Follows:
Caspian
1. Legend of Zelda - Link to the Past
2. Final Fantasy VI
3. Grant Theft Auto - Vice City
4. Mega Man X
5. Final Fantasy XI
6. Elder Scrolls IV - Oblivion
7. Metroid
8. Street Fighter II
9. Yoshi's Island
10. Castlevania
White Mage
1. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles
2. Wild Arms
3. Final Fantasy VIII
4. Final Fantasy X
5. Final Fantasy Tactics
6. Kingdom Hearts
7. Final Fantasy X-2
8. Final Fantasy VII
9. Kingdom Hearts 2
10. Final Fantasy XI
The Geek
1. Final Fantasy VI
2. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles
3. Katamari Damacy
4. Kingdom Hearts
5. Final Fantasy Tactics
6. Mega Man 2
7. Metroid Prime
8. Super Mario World
9. Shadow of the Colossus
10. Xbox Custom Soundtrack Feature
Frodo
1. Mega Man 2
2. Katamari Damacy
3. Final Fantasy VI
4. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles
5. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
6. Super Mario World
7. Metroid Prime
8. Super Mario Bros. 3
9. Final Fantasy XI
10. Animal Crossing
Honorable Mentions:
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Actraiser
Super Mario Kart
Secret of Mana
Check it out! Frodo and Caspian explain their favorite game soundtrack picks after the jump.
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SexCab takes you into the wild, wild world of compilation albums, and how to know which ones are a gem. The poor man's Caspian, SexCab throws a block of awesome at your solar plexus with a mighty pelvic thrust. It's like a trip to the Goodwill of music! 
