There’s a new Dell advert on TV with a very, very catchy song. When I first saw it I was pretty sure it was Devo, and indeed it is. The song is called ‘Watch Us Work It’, was recorded for this ad, is now available on iTunes, and is damn good!
See the ad here, you non-American readers 🙂
It was just shy of 90 degrees yesterday (Fahrenheit). And yes, that means in under ten days the temperature had risen almost 60 degrees (remember it was snowing just over a week ago). It has gotten cooler now, which is a good thing because it was borderline oppressive yesterday.
The semester is winding down. There is less than two weeks left of classes, during which I have a quiz, an exam, and must give a presentation. So I’m busy preparing. I also have to prepare a poster for a department meeting this weekend, and do a second presentation for a group meeting. None of this is super detailed (or important) stuff, but time consuming nonetheless. I didn’t get a great deal done this past semester with respect to my doctoral work, mostly because for about two months my x-ray detector was broken (the repair company is scheduled to ship it back today), but I’ll be working over the summer to make some progress (hopefully).
Not much other news. Pokemon Diamond and Pearl came out for DS last weekend, and we’ve both started playing them. Only this morning I unlocked the GTS, which is a system, that lets players wirelessly trade Pokemon with players anywhere in the world (the first few trades I browsed were Japanese players). The game includes a nifty world map that will fill up as trades are completed, so you can see just where on Earth your Pokemon originated. Very very cool, especially for a DS game. (Note to Adam: buy this game so we can battle/trade Pokemon)
Here’s a shot of my DS library as of last week. Not as good as I’d hoped because I chose bad lighting. The idea for doing this was born online; it seems to be a good way to show off ones collection (DS boxes tile well together)
With 85 games in total (including Pokemon Diamond and Pearl, not in the above photo) I have more DS games than 18 of my 21 total systems. Only for PS2 (with 109) and Gameboy Advance (with 138) do I own more. However, I have been accumulating DS games at a far faster rate – an average of slightly over 3/month – than for any other game system I have ever owned…
Another item I got for Christmas was an iPod Shuffle. This fabulous little (and I mean little, about as big as a postage stamp) mp3 player has great fidelity and is absurdly portable. ‘m loving it so far.
According to Apple it holds about 240 songs, but this is an optimistic number based on short songs or reduced sampling rates. My estimate is closer to 150-170 songs.
So which songs?
My 60GB iPod Video has 3094 songs on it right now, which I estimate is about 99% of all the CDs we own. There are also quite a few songs obtained from friends CDs and whatnot. How do I pick 150 only for the shuffle?
I want a very diverse and eclectic playlist (ie. I won’t just fill it with Alphaville), so I’m toying with the idea of having no more than 1 (or maybe 2, space permitting) songs by each band I have music from. In some cases this is absolutely trivial (for instance, Dexy’s Midnight Runners) but for others – like Bowie or Nick Cave – how can I pick just one? (Front runners would be Lady Stardust and Sail Away respectively)
I’m no doubt update when I decide. Maybe I’ll find a way to post the complete playlist.
In other music matters I received The Swing by INXS for Christmas. It’s been many, many years since I’d heard this album and it’s every bit as grand as I remembered. This was INXS in their glory, before they ‘sold out’ (insert grin here). The INXS son on the shuffle will certainly come from this album (can you guess which one?)
A quick anecdote before the PA coverage…
About 20 years ago, when she was in London, KLS visited a clothing shop ran by the band Dr & The Medics. She remembers seeing a pair of mannequins dressed as the two girls were in the clip for Spirit In The Sky:
So I bought 21st Century Boys, the Sigue Sigue Sputnik ‘best of’ album from 2001, containing singles, b-sides and rarities from all their releases up till then.
< 21st Century Boys
It is, of course, amazing. I think they describe themselves best in the lyric to the ‘song’ Video Trailer Mix, which goes:
From the nighttime neon wastelands of the 1980’s music scene
Comes the group that will take the fifth step into the future of Rock’&’Roll.
A group whose principal interests are TV, Star Wars, Home Computers,
High Tech Sex, The Ultravixens, Andrenaline and Excitement.
Get ready for the 5th Generation of Rock’&’Roll!
This album is the first time I am hearing such ‘classics’ as Buy EMI and Barbarandroid. Guess what’s on heavy rotation on my iPod now 🙂
Oh yes, check out www.sputnikworld.com, especially the history section. The amount of name dropping Tony James manages to cram in is mind-boggling, and there’s something in there for just about anyone with any interest in the 1980’s-1990’s UK music scene (including lots of discussion of Eldritch and The Sisters). Alas, no details on that cancelled SSS C64 game which was to feature the band, Eldritch, Billy Idol and others…