Cryptic Messages from My Shower Radio

I have a love/hate relationship with Top 40 radio. Mostly, I'm extremely critical; there's very little that actually strikes me as having real quality. However, I'm loathe to completely turn my back on it for fear of losing touch with any portion of not only the music scene as a whole, or this slice of pop culture. The idea of one day finding myself out of the loop is distressing and will be a sure signal that youth is no longer mine. In other words, I'm willing to put up with Ryan Seacrest's inane banter for the sake of knowing whether Jay-Z is or isn't retired...or for the sake of knowing what Miley Cyrus sounds like so I can roll my eyes in disgust. In any case, I have my reasons for tuning in.

But here's where my doubts come in. Back home, I have a shower radio. It doesn't pick up many stations, but the Top 40 station comes in loud and clear. This past weekend though, the signal was awful and in the process of messing with the tuner, I managed to pick up the other station that comes in loud and clear...the classic rock station. I've probably wasted a lot of time wincing through "Umbrella" 3,000 times and I think my radio got sick of it, because that classic rock station mysteriously took over the entire top half of the dial. Nothing but angry static and Led Zeppelin, dominating multiple frequencies.

Perhaps staying "in the know" isn't worth self-inflicted exposure to crap. Perhaps though, I will miss out on the next "Cupid's Chokehold" (I enjoyed that, admittedly). I don't know. I'm going to have to see what my shower radio has to say about it.

Summer Plans?

It's been a long time, I am fully aware of that and equally bothered. Sometimes there is neither the subject matter nor the time to keep the wheels turning, but here's to hoping that this funk will end shortly. After all, Death Cab's album is coming out in May and Coldplay comes out June 17. This will be nice. Until then though, I've got no idea what will be cooking. Sure, if you Google "music news" lots comes up but I don't necessarily think that the world needs another web site with stoned pictures of Amy Winehouse or the latest American Idol speculation.

Looking at web sites that claim to have release dates and such, it seems like every other band has got something slated, if not for 2008, then for 2009. I think I'll celebrate when the band decides to release the usual cryptic announcement via their own site. As always, The Musically Inclined is playing it cool for now.

A review that you will see, though, is Shine a Light. When this baby hits theaters, you better believe I'm there. I'm also plotting an album review of Vampire Weekend sometime this summer-- not sure when, but it will happen. Also, I'll be on a quest to find some new music that is not merely trendy, but actually good. From there, anything is possible. The Musically inclined is just stoked that summer is almost here and that means unbridled blogging...and lots of popsicles, of course.

So, don't go anywhere folks, we're still kickin'.

It Happened. Digital is King.

The other day I saw this this fascinating little story from CBS. iTunes has surpassed Wal-Mart in music sales. Not that I didn't see this coming, because you'd pretty much have to be living in your air duct not to get a whiff of this trend, but now that's it's official it's really something to think about. A little while ago I would have ventured that yes, the tangible record industry is doomed, but I would have given it a decade before CDs disappeared. After seeing the entire half isle devoted to pop/rock at an actual Wal-Mart, I'm giving it five years tops. Granted, megastores like Best Buy will probably hang around a little longer, but that's to be expected. Roaches supposedly can survive a nuclear attack. Eventually though, placing hands on an actual plastic disc will be a challenge.

Honestly, I still can't get my head around not having my music physically exist anywhere and I really hate to think about what this will do to album art. What's the point if the cover is only a couple pixels by a couple pixels? Sadness. I'm still getting over the death of vinyl. Stay tuned, kids.