Kindly direct your browser to this excellent Greg Wilson interview.

If you haven't yet, go check out the newest installment of the Pop Manifesto.

iPhone- Overcoming the Carrier Barrier (Forbes.com)

Has Apple made a serious miscalculation charging $499-599 for a device that must be used on Cingular? According to the above article, the industry wide average cost to cancel an existing carrier contract is $179. On top of that, how many people have an existing iPod or PDA that doesn't quite need replacing? What about concerns over an easily scratched touch screen (as was the problem with earlier iPod generations) and poor battery life? Steve Jobs is a master of marketing (ie: the sizzle), but one has to wonder how this will play out (the steak).

On top of all these concerns, the company is ratcheting down more restrictions in regard to DRM (Digital Rights Management). This NYT article has a lot more detail on the matter.

An excerpt:

Here is how FairPlay works: When you buy songs at the iTunes Music Store, you can play them on one — and only one — line of portable player, the iPod. And when you buy an iPod, you can play copy-protected songs bought from one — and only one — online music store, the iTunes Music Store.

The only legal way around this built-in limitation is to strip out the copy protection by burning a CD with the tracks, then uploading the music back to the computer. If you’re willing to go to that trouble, you can play the music where and how you choose — the equivalent to rights that would have been granted automatically at the cash register if you had bought the same music on a CD in the first place.

So, to summarize the problems facing iPhone- consumers are being asked to do the following in exchange for this beautiful new piece of equipment:

1. Sign up with another carrier
2. Pay a price that is around 5 times the cost of a new cellphone with contract
3. Toss out their old PDA/iPod
4. Subject yourself to lackluster battery life and all of the bugs and design oversights that come with buying a v1 product
5. Subject yourself to overbearing DRM restrictions

Perhaps the truly Mac faithful will be happy to swallow this pill, but I have some serious doubts that the company will make their ridiculously high sales projections (29 million before September 2007, says one analyst) for the v1 device.

If you're a fan of the Pilooski edit series from the folks over at Dirty, then check this exclusive mix over at the ever-reliable Music for Robots. Also, check this affiliated music blog-- one of the best I've seen in awhile.

März- The River

J Spaceman- Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space (Live at The Lowry, 11.24.06)

Photo credit

Photo credit.

Dimbiman- I Can Hardly See It Shining In The Sunlight

Virgin America has launched a viral campaign to make the case that they should be able to fly US routes. Check a walk-through of the incredibly impressive planes here.

At present, the US DOT has rejected their proposal due to "concerns" about the ownership structure. Due to antiquated laws, it must not have over a certain percentage of foreign ownership. I think one of the real reasons may be rooted more in the lobbying of existing US carriers who are fearing having their lunch eaten in a lucrative market.

If this plays out, and Virgin America cannot fly, I fear the real loser may be the US flying public. As domestic air travel continues to spiral down in a race to the bottom (despite improving numbers for many airlines like American), what Virgin seems to be bringing to the table would be a breath of fresh air to routes that badly need it: NY to SF, and NY to LA.

Here's the link to the petition on their website.

My interview with Tim Sweeney is in the new Pop Manifesto. Go check it.

Brennan Green- Divisadero

A quick teaser for the forthcoming Arthur Russell documentary.

A must-read interview with J.Spaceman.

An excerpt:

Today, he plays down the brush with death, which has never been made public ("It's not the sort of thing you 'announce'"). However, he seems more forthcoming than in the past. He vividly remembers waking up in intensive care. The first thing that shocked him was that wards are shared. "It's not like in the movies," he says, where there's one person on their own with machines and doctors all around them. Pierce was in with six other people, each with their own heart monitor, beeping away, an experience he found "really beautiful".

"Everyone's heart machines are going at a different rate," he smiles, "you've got all these weird polyrhythms." He knows it sounds stupid, but there he was, on the brink of death, "listening to this music".

When the other five people in the ward died around him he thought, amazingly, "Your odds are looking good now J, because someone's got to get out of here."

A Pop Manifesto planning session:

colinjnagy: flat beds on aeroplanes
colinjnagy: sunrise over the north atlantic as viewed from 35,000 (under a duvet)
colinjnagy: with a hot toddy
colinjnagy: that is how i want it to feel
colinjnagy: ARE YOU WITH ME?????
yokoilinono: YES
HAHAHAHHAHA

Not sure how I slept on this Lovefingers mix from Beats in Space. Go check it-- it is undoubtedly one of the highlights of the show in the past few months. Also, check the last quarter of the Michael Mayer mix, where he certainly pulled out some special selections to suit the BiS vibe.

Andreas Dorau- 40 Frauen (Superpitcher mix)

Speck Mountain- Hey Moon

If you find yourself in NYC, go see them on Saturday night in Williamsburg at Rolyn/Glasslands Gallery. The bands start at eight. Nate at Unconscious Repeat has more MP3's over here, and for more info on the band click here.

Troy Pierce feat. Gibby Miller - The Day After Yesterday

I heard Konrad Black start out a Watergate set with this back in April of last year, and then let it drop off my radar. Well worth a listen. An added bonus is that the vocals are from Gibby Miller of MOC fame. ???!

Kiran Sande (aka Mr. Soft) with the definitive wrap-up of techno in 2006. Go read.