News, sports, politics, blogs and forums for Jordan, Minnesota • (952) 492-2224

Jordan, Minnesota

December 5, 2008 • (952) 492-2224
Keep up with the Independent! Sign up for email newsletters and RSS feeds.
Click to Login
No account? Sign up!

Advertising

download

Sound Off: iPods, albums and 2007

Submitted by jennyjean4 on January 2, 2008 - 3:48pm.
» Read similar stories filed under:

I got an iPod for Christmas! I’m excited about all of my new listening options, but does having an iPod mean no longer buying albums? I’m not sure what sort of downloader I’ll become. Will I download entire albums, or will I just grab singles? I suspect I’ll download entire albums simply because I love the idea of an album. An album is (or, at its best, should be) a continuous, cohesive flow of thoughts and music, put together by the artist. The only problem with downloading albums is that some musicians no longer write for the long-play format - they can make more money by writing singles. I don’t know what the fate of the album will be, but I will certainly miss them if they die out. Since 2007 might be the last year of the album, I thought I’d list my personal top 5 (though I know there were others I just didn’t find the time to buy that likely would have made my list). And for all you single-song downloaders, I’m suggesting a song from each album that might pique your interest.

1. "Sky Blue Sky" by Wilco - beautiful lilting melodies over soaring ‘70s-sounding guitar - this band knows how to write an album (Download - "Either Way").

2. "The Reminder" by Feist - this album blew me away, way beyond the iPod commercial - after my first listen, I just wanted to keep playing it - it’s infectious in a good way (Download - "I Feel It All").

3. "Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga" by Spoon - love, love, love Spoon - they have a musical style all their own, and Brit Daniels delivers some of the best vocals out there (Download - "Don’t You Evah").

Advertisement. Article continues below.

4. "Because of the Times" by Kings of Leon - this genre-hopping album features some U2ish guitar leads, a thumping rhythm section and an incredible mix of musical styles - all without straying from the sound that made us love them to begin with (Download - "Charmer" if you like punk or "On Call" if you like a more melodic sound).

5. "Neon Bible" by Arcade Fire - really like the big dramatic sound of this album and the early Springsteen sound that comes out on some of the tracks (Download - "Keep the Car Running").


I’ve come close to buying...

Back to page top
Brandon's picture

I’ve come close to buying “Sky Blue Sky” so many times, but I’m never able to justify the cost to myself. I agree that it’ll be a shame if the album dies out. My favorite album of the year, though, has got to be “Do You Feel” by Rocket Summer. It was catchy, fun, and wonderful even if it had a song about dancing on it. A close runner up, though, was “Five Score and Seven Years Ago,” by Relient K.

My other favorite album purchases of the year (not necessarily albums that came out this year) were “My Aim is True,” “This Year’s Model” and “Armed Forces” by Elvis Costello; “Home” by Delaney and Bonnie; “This is the Modern World” and “All Mod Cons” by The Jam; “Fancey” by Fancey; “Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton” by John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers; “John Denver’s Greatest Hits;” “Cry Like a Baby” by the Box Tops; and “The Collection” by Sly and the Family Stone.

Typing this list out, though, I realized I spent way too much money on CDs last year.


Submitted by Brandon on January 3, 2008 - 10:23am.

Good choices. I just got the...

Back to page top

Good choices. I just got the Lily Allen CD: I dig it.
Good call on the Elvis Costello as well. I've got Armed Forces on vinyl.
Yes, I'm old school. I have yet to purchase an iPod.


Submitted by Leah on January 3, 2008 - 4:34pm.

Seriously, iPods are well...

Back to page top
Mathias Baden's picture

Seriously, iPods are well worth the money. I'm happy I have a Shuffle, though, because I don't need to have 17 million songs on it, just enough to keep me from being bored until I download a different playlist onto the thing.

The current list is all rock, lots of Counting Crows, Weezer, and then some weird stuff.

(Mathias Baden is the editor of the Jordan Independent. He can be reached at editor@jordannews.com.)


Submitted by Mathias Baden on January 3, 2008 - 5:10pm.

We got an 80G iPod, a home...

Back to page top
jennyjean4's picture

We got an 80G iPod, a home docking/speaker system, and a radio tuner for Christmas. It's pretty cool, because now we can have all of our music in one portible spot. We can listen to it at home, in the car, at work, or pretty much anywhere. So far I'm thouroughly enjoying it, but I still have a lot more music to put on it and playlists to make. The one complaint that I have is that it doesn't keep the song order that the album had. Instead, the songs play in alphabetical order. With some of the Beatles albums it really sucks, because they're supposed to be played in a certain order and some of the songs are supposed to flow together.


Submitted by jennyjean4 on January 4, 2008 - 1:55pm.

I think that’s an option...

Back to page top
Brandon's picture

I think that’s an option you can select on the iPod or in iTunes. My iPod plays the songs in the order they are on the album, but I often choose by artist and album, and rarely by playlist.


Submitted by Brandon on January 4, 2008 - 3:13pm.

I got the 80GB iPod as well,...

Back to page top

I got the 80GB iPod as well, and also got an under-the-counter docking station and radio.

We love it. I have been putting a ton of songs on there, I think I have about 1,700 or so on there. It is great. Although, it can be kind of addicting. I dont' get much free-time and lately when I do, its been playing around with that...not necessarily the best use of my limited free-time.

I also dont' get some of the organizational items on there, like the "Cover Flow" among others. I will have an album on there, with the correct name, and correct artist, yet it won't be in the correct alphabetical order in the cover flow. And then, I go to look for the artist in the artist section and they aren't there. The only place I find it is going to the album category and it is there with the correct name and artist...Who knows.

(Brian Hall is the Sports Editor for the Jordan Independent and Shakopee Valley News, and can be reached at bhall@swpub.com.)


Submitted by bhall09 on January 4, 2008 - 2:58pm.

My iPod may be headed for...

Back to page top
Brandon's picture

My iPod may be headed for that great big playlist in the sky. I tried in vain for a good 20 minutes last night to restart and/or fix the thing. I’m hoping it doesn’t die completely. While I’d be happy to have a new iPod, I don’t know how easy it would be to go without until I could afford such a luxury.


Submitted by Brandon on January 31, 2008 - 9:14am.

Advertising

Recent comments

Advertising

Who's online

There are currently 0 users and 94 guests online.

Who's new

  • tb833
  • edwardharold
  • bigtimekicks
  • Tom Vogel
  • hartygirl

Hot Jobs

Security Officers, Securitas Security Services
Front Desk, Canterbury Inn

Advertising