Napster? D+

Okay, a lot folks saw my rant on July 7, I didn't like PressPlay. Well, Napster (the repackaged PressPlay with the famous Napster name) is better. But the bit rates ARE still 128!! 128!!! Maybe I'm an audio snob, but that's horrible.

I-Tunes is next.

Bobby?

If you ever become a national sportscaster, please refrain from calling OU's head football coach, Bobby Stoops. According to sources, the nickname surfaced when he was at Florida. Don't get me started on the "Sooner Nation!"

Sept. 9 Nightly Music News Links

The Vines Talk About Their New CD
Marilyn Manson Cleared Of Assault
More Manson Reaction
Moby to Work With Britney Spears??
Deftones Go On Tour

Summer Vacation

LAWRENCE, Kan. -- Jennifer and I are visiting a friend in the Lawrence and Kansas City area. Bittner is filling in Monday and Tuesday night. There's some pretty decent record stores here in Lawrence. However, there is nothing close to The Spy except maybe KU's KJHK. I'll be back Wednesday!

Electric Six

Here is the link to the Electric Six story I talked about Wednesday night on the Nightly Music News. Click here. This story has a photo of the band's leader dressed as a South American dictator.

A Cold in July!?!

So, I was out tonight (Wednesday) with a sore throat and the sniffles. Geez! I usually get sick only 1-2 times a year. The first time for 2003 was back in January. It was right after I started doing the Spy All Night show. I was really bad back then, lost my voice completely. I'm stupid and I do not enjoy going to do the doctor. I will wait and see if I feel better tomorrow. I hope you enjoyed Bittner filling in for me. I'll be on from 10-Midnight Thursday night after Ferris broadcasts live from the Bricktown Brewery from 8-10 p.m. for the Reverend Horton Heat show! Don't forget the Rev will play live from The Spy's Area 51 Thursday afternoon at 3. Have a great night!

College Students Sued By RIAA Seek Funding

Two of the college students who settled with the RIAA have been seeking funding to help pay for their costly settlement with labels. One student, Jesse Jordan, raised all of his $12,000 that he had to pay. Find out more about Jesse and fellow student Daniel J. Peng at Jesse's site here.

File Sharing Failure

So, I tried PressPlay (ya, know the legal file-sharing system devised the labels). Weak!! If you pay $10 a month you get unlimited downloads. However, the bit rate is 128!!! Horrible. If you are going to pay for the music, the bit rate should be at least 256 or 320! This greatly affects the sound quality when you put the songs through any kind of sound system, in your car, etc. A lower bit rate sounds decent in headphones. And there's a $1 charge (per song) to get the WMA file to be able to burned on CD!! Weak.

As I ranted last week in the Nightly Music News, the labels in the U.S. treat the music customer like their sworn enemy. No wonder record sales are down.

Nirvana and 13 Year Olds

Here's a question Bittner and I debated over the weekend in the halls of The Spy. Is Nirvana relevant to today's 13 year olds? What do you think? E-mail me at joelspy@nme.com.

Wayne Disses Beck

According to the Flaming Lips' Wayne Coyne, Beck is prissy and Richard Ashcroft is a pompous fool. Read the entire article from The UK's Observer here.

Ween: Where'd the Cheese Go?

Ween recorded a couple of jingles for Pizza Hut last year. Pizza Hut backed out, but people seem to like when I play Ween's versions.

Check out version #1 here
Check out version #2 here

I Suck At Blogging

So, my last post was June 16th. Geez, Joel. Since then . . .

-We got another cat. This makes three now. I'm a moron. I mentioned to my wife that one of my co-workers in sales had found a 6-week old kitten. Suddenly, we had a new member of the family -- Miguel Jose.
-The White Stripes show was awesome and the people at the show were very cool. Thanks to all who came out to say hello. It was very cool.
-We've since found out that Pearl Jam is leaving Epic records. Word is that PJ is talking with Clive Davis and J Records. Hmmm.
-And some other stuff that I'm sure that I have forgotten.

Pearl Jam: Did They or didn't they?

I talked on the air about Pearl Jam leaving their record label, Epic (a Sony label) awhile back. It was reported in their "Rumor Pit" section (on their Epic page no less) that they were not with Epic. The question was,"Has Pearl Jam left their record label yet?" The answer was, "Yes."

But, there has bee no offical word. Pearl Jam is still listed as an Epic artist on the website. Is their some last minute negotiations going on? Is Eddie pulling a Vedder and being difficult?

Spurs Win

I jinxed the Nets. It's true. My work includes producing promos for WWLS The Sports Animal. I worked on a Game 7 promo and then walked back to the TV. With 9:59 left in the game, Emanuel Ginobili stole the ball from Richard Jefferson and finished with a dunk. Three minutes later, the Spurs had the lead. They held it and took the series.

You can thank me. Or hate me.

Looking for more inane drivel from Joel that you already don't get on the radio? Check back here often.