PianoWow

I’m running out of ideas.  There are a few expensive ($25+) iphone apps I was considering buying at the beginning, but that seemed like cheating.  One looked interesting that was like $75, but it must not have been that interesting, because I don’t really remember what it was.  Maybe it was a voice turn by turn GPS app or something.  I have a GPS already aside from my phone, so I can’t really justify that purchase.

I suppose I could simply continue to fill in the gaps of my jazz music collection.  I don’t have enough big band recordings.  And I don’t have enough John Coltrane.

Decisions, decisions.

I went to see Muse in concert last night, and this video is a nice, but shallow memento of the experience.  It’s all footage from their live show for the Resistance tour.

It didn’t occur to me while I was there, but to the guys in the band, all of the lights, the mobile platforms, the lasers, the confetti-filled balloon eyes, etc. all must have been just another day at the office.  I wonder how many times the band has had those eyes thrown at them on stage. I wonder how many times they have had to climb up those massive sky-scraper light buildings.

I only wish the fourth, mostly-unseen member of the band could have seen the spotlight more often. He was the keyboard-playing glue that held the three rockstars together.

Click here for photos of the event

Balance: $55.09

Days Remaining: 33

When I wrote earlier that Mr. Gone was my favorite song by Weather Report, I was mistaken.  My favorite Weather Report song is actually Dream Clock, which is on this album, Night Passage.  Same group of guys as the previous album.  Different inspiration, and more mature.  Fusion at its best, in my opinion.  It has elements of post swing, hard fusion, and lots of soul, even for a bunch of (mostly) white guys.

I’m beginning to really fall in love with Wayne Shorter’s writing.  I had a professor in college that forced me to play his music, and I’m so glad he did.  I need to get back to that, and soon.

Balance: $57.08

Days Remaining: 34

I was on the bus, without access to the Internet, and wanted to look up the definition of a word. I was out of luck. For some reason, I never got a quality dictionary to use offline. WordBook is an affordable dictionary with many features included in the much more expensive, brand-named dictionaries. There are three voices for pronunciation: one synthesized, and two recorded voices that are downloaded on demand. Included is a thesaurus, dictionary, word of the day, and links from every word to the associated definition, and a wikipedia button for more information. All the definitions, thesaurus entries, and synthesized pronunciations can be used without Internet access.

Balance: $67.07

Days Remaining: 35

With classics like “Punk Jazz”  and “River People” this album is a must-have.  I can’t believe I didn’t already have it.  I did have the one title track, “Mr. Gone” which has always been one of my favorites by Weather Report.

Wayne Shorter on sax can do no wrong and Jaco Pastorius on bass is a legend.  Joe Zawinul on keys, while weird, has to be respected.  I wish Zawinul’s synth work didn’t sound so dated, but it is to be expected coming from such a young instrument like his.

The compositions are mature and fun to listen to at the same time.  This album has personality.

Current Balance: $69.18

Days remaining: 39