But I digress.

Five years ago, WordPress was a new and cutting edge stack for desktop publishers and content owners. Five years ago, I was stuck dead in the mud of having my own websites built from my own [...]]]> Part of what makes today’s Internet so much fun is the tools and toys.

But I digress.

Five years ago, WordPress was a new and cutting edge stack for desktop publishers and content owners. Five years ago, I was stuck dead in the mud of having my own websites built from my own efforts. Code, design, everything. And then, I got busy. And as I got busier I had less patience for it and stopped caring so much about doing the work myself.

What I wanted was someone to make my life easier for me and provide me with tools that were flexible and easy to use to publish things. My first foray into giving in was letting go of this website as something truly custom by trying WordPress. Quickly thereafter I celebrated this decision because it made my life easy. And so, once I gave in with this website I did so in kind with my other passion, photography. Part of that decision was using the tools that were gaining popularity around photo sharing, management and more, namely Flickr. As a result, Flickr has turned into one my favorite tools. Ever. I have most of my photos from the last 8 years or so on Flickr and feel very safe about that.

With my growing reliance on Flickr and the tools they provide me for my iPhone and desktop to manage my photos I no longer need a custom website to share my photos. (Queue the cheesy shmaltzy organ music) And so with THAT, it’s time, DUE time for me to say goodbye to an old friend, www.globalpause.org which up until this very article I am writing, has stood as my keeper of photographic flame. Unfortunately for it, but fortunate for me, I no longer need it.

Looking through the website though, I feel a twinge of sadness….a twinge of pride and a lot of “wow, I remember that day” kinds of feelings. I used to be hell bent on redesigning the site every year or so and then of course lost that passion. And since that passion waned, so too did my updates to the website and my interest in maintaining it.

So, goodbye old friend.
Thanks for the last 8 years.
It was fun, real fun.
You did your job very well.

And…….scene.

But, what I have found WAY more compelling are all of the articles [...]]]> So I posted recently about being jazzed about Spotify, and, I was totally geeked to try it out. I’ve been using it now for about 2 weeks and feel like I have a good sense about the product and it’s features.

But, what I have found WAY more compelling are all of the articles anad conjecture that have made it’s way online regarding the service over the past 2-4 weeks. Some people have even claimed Spotify to be an “iTunes killer” which I find just completely ludicrous.

Then there are people that claim Spotify and Netflix are the ultimate bait/switch experiences as they are both heavily fortified by content providers (true) such as Hollywood for Netflix and the music industry for Spotify (also true) respectively.

To me, both of these points of view miss the boat entirely. Let’s take this notion of Spotify as iTunes killer.

The issue at hand is not a new model coming to replace another. If we go back in time, iTunes was more than a new model for the business of music. It was a new EXPERIENCE and catered to a shifting demand from music consumers. Folks wanted their music digital and Apple merely provided that means to do so wrapped in a compelling experience and more importantly, managed and served in AWESOME software (iTunes) and hardware to play it in (the iPod). All Apple cared about then and now, is selling devices. They don’t give 2 sh**s about being in the business of music. They care about selling devices and iOS. PERIOD.

So, taking that point of view, Spotify is merely a new OPTION for music consumers. For the folks that love iTunes, they can still BUY their music, share it across iOS powered devices and synch them to multiple computers at home/work and stream that content throughout the house via a local wireless network (preferably Apple’s of course). For Spotify fans (and other services like Pandora/Rdio/GrooveShark/Rhapsody/etc), users can STREAM endless content for a flat fee monthly and sync that content in the form of playlists to their mobile device of choice via the TOTALLY awesome Spotify app.

The conversation should be about OPTIONS for the consumer, not about “killers” of other services. In the end, this is what we as consumers want; options. I LOVE having the choice of services as options to facilitate my music listening and consumption habits. I can see myself using both a streaming service like Spotify side by side to the vendor/service I trust to purchase from (iTunes). It also makes sense to me. At the gym, I LOVE listening to my Spotify playlists through the Spotify iPhone app while I pound out a couple miles on the treadmill. At home, I like to fire up my iTunes app and stream my music throughout the house that I paid for. It works, and it makes sense to use both. To me.

Of course, there’s the future to consider too that Apple is marching too. With iCloud looming out there in the future, we can expect Apple to provide a new layer on TOP of iTunes that provides both streaming and purchase letting users store their purchases in Apple’s cloud service and stream from the same place. Now, when THAT happens, this notion of killers MIGHT be a conversation to have. Might.

Until then, I like the options we have and I think the many services out there will all mature (Pandora is set to launch and entirely new experience soon as well) to a point where options will be the conversation. Not killers.

A post came out over the Inter-tubes the other day directing traffic and prying eyes to a new website [...]]]> Happy New Year to everyone by the way.
And indeed for me, New Years came with many gifts.
Not the least of which was hearing that Soundgarden are coming back in 2010.

A post came out over the Inter-tubes the other day directing traffic and prying eyes to a new website for the band. On the whole, I am very excited for this and it really solidifies my thinking about great bands and the fragility of making music.

If you go back in time to 1997 when they split up, Soundgarden seemingly could do no wrong. Along with Alice in Chains and Pearl Jam, Soundgarden were the owners of the new rock space. Grunge had given way to a whole new sound that (in my opinion) Soundgarden defined. “Down on the Upside” provided a view into where rock was headed. Huge riffs, pounding rhythms, Chris Cornell’s banshee scream, and time signatures a plenty. On top of this, was a layer of melody that was both sophisticated and interesting. Frankly had they continued, I think Soundgarden would have become the biggest hard rock band walking the planet. I was interested to see where they were headed and then…..well, they broke up not being able to agree where they were going.

So now, we get the chance to see where they would have gone.
I hope they take it seriously and deliver a sonic slab worthy of being called “Soundgarden”.
Because frankly, the only redeeming thing any of them has done since is Matt Cameron joining Pearl Jam.
I can’t consider Audioslave music but hey, that’s me.

C’mon guys, deliver the goods.

His skills are well known and his talent prodigious.
What I like is how happy he looks when he plays.

He seems completely connected to the instrument and brings so much passion to his playing. He gets a lot of flack from some [...]]]> I give you for Friday, the genius of Tony Royster Jr.

His skills are well known and his talent prodigious.
What I like is how happy he looks when he plays.

He seems completely connected to the instrument and brings so much passion to his playing. He gets a lot of flack from some ends of the drumming spectrum for being just another super technical player but I think he has unique energy AND technical supremacy.

Check this clip out with his childhood band ASAP.

Enjoy.

Here is a fun tour of the primary production facility in Finland.

Well worth the watch: http://gizmodo.com/tag/legotrip/

The video’s are truly fascinating and not many get an inside view into the almost completely cyborg driven assembly process.

Enjoy.

And he should know a thing or 5 about good D having been with Phil since the Bulls days.

Check this insightful article out with Jim from True Hoop today.