Imogen Heap’s NEW Album is Out!

WooHOOOO!  I can’t wait to get it…   You can listen to her tunes on Pandora: www.pandora.com, the online radio site.

Mp3 Player Update

 Just a quick update to let you know how I like my Creative Zen V mp3 player.  What a GREAT player! Here’s how I use it:

1. Being able to have my calendar and schedule with me in such a small, multi-use device is extremely convenient. I can answer scheduling questions on the spot without having to carry heavy, single use devices as well as my mp3 player.  VERY important when one works for 7 employers (HEY I’m an artist! I’m incredibly lucky to be employed doing my own thing in the arts!).

2.  I can carry pix in this device.  Nice to have when people ask me “what kind of art do you do?”. 
How cool is that?  And the quality is great though small.

Precious metal clay branch on polymer clay pin

3.  I have the Oprah with Eckhart Tolle class on it – the actual VIDEO! I can watch and listen. Since that isn’t a big action film or something, this is the perfect use for video, other than maybe a music vid.

4.  I have audio books loaded into it so when in a waiting room or hanging a new exhibit, I can actually listen to a book, too.  OR music, of course!

5. Speaking of which, it came with a patch cord/splitter to hook it up to a stereo with a line for each speaker.  So I load it up, plug the patch cord into it and it plays in my studio while I’m working. I don’t have to get up to change the CD and the sound quality is excellent!

  This device is easy to navigate, the bookmarks function for audio books is fabulous. I can switch around to do different things, like watch a vid, and then go back to my place in an audio book.  In fact, the device rewinds a touch so that you can get your bearings before launching into new territory in the story.  Thoughtful design note there!

Music: Gregg Alexander (New Radicals)

  Okay – I’m hooked!  I’m putting Gregg Alexander on my list of great songwriter’s/musicians right along with Peter Gabriel, Robbie Robertson, Imogen Heap, and my old favorites: Sarah Mclachlan, Toni Childs, Dave Mathews, Yes and Supertranp.   His music is amazingly versatile. If you haven’t listened closely to the New Radicals only album “Maybe You’ve Been Brainwashed, too” try it.

  For that matter, if you haven’t listened to any of the above named artists closely, check them out. Particularly Imogen Heap. The beats, musicality combined with lyrics are deep – like Gregg Alexander.

  So if you could decide who played at the ultimate concert, who would you pick?

MP3 Players and Audio Books

  It seems that just about everyone has at least one or three of these things floating around in their world somewhere. Mp3 players are such handy devices for creating the environment that you want or need instead of being subject to what is around you.  Like riding on a bus for instance. It’s more enjoyable to be listening to your own taste in music or a podcast than staring at people’s shoes and listening to their every day conversations while on their cell phones, right?

  Okay, so I’ve had an Mp3 player that I hardly used for the first year of ownership. I hate those ear buds. They don’t fit me at all (is this just me?).   

  My biggest wish was to listen to audio books. I found that our county library system has many audio books online for download and I could listen to them in the car, working in the studio or when I’m traveling and too tired to see to read.  I thought it would be a snap but apparently everything, absolutely everything is geared towards music and podcasts.  However I have finally sussed it all out.   For today, that is.  

  If you’re interested in listening to audio books from the library then any mp3 player will do since those audio books are mp3 files.  Subscription files are where the tricky part comes in. Those protected files only play on some players!  Audible files are AA format (a WMA DRM or protected format), for example. Not all players have the ability to play that format so really check into a player to see if it will play subscription service files like Napster or Audible.

     I’ve found that the Creative Zen V Plus is a small, light, model that bookmarks with a nav to bookmark feature, includes a clock with alarm/snooze, syncs to Outlook, does data storage, has a line-in so you can record CD’s directly to it, shows video and .jpgs, and plays files of all types (protected and unprotected) so works with Napster, Audible, library systems, etc.  It comes in 2- 16 GB models and weighs only 1.5 oz.  because it’s a flash drive.

  Have you figured out what I’m thinking about getting?  

     =)