en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/ Thu, 1 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 Thu, 1 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 60 http://www.audioscrobbler.net/data/webservices http://www.last.fm/user/RyanManDS/journal The Last.fm journal for RyanManDS. Last.fm journals are a place to talk about all things music. http://www.last.fm/user/RyanManDS/journal/2007/06/04/x0g_it_begins! Mon, 4 Jun 2007 06:06:26 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/RyanManDS/journal/2007/06/04/x0g_it_begins! Hey all! Ryan here. Um, so yeah. I guess I'm releasing my first Chat Radio podcast. Soonish anyway... I'm listening to the rough edit right now, and it could use some cuts here and there. Anyway, yeah. Podcasts are beginning, moving into that new wave of internet phenomena then. So stay tuned for those, if you care.

...God I wish I didn't have a 12-year-old's voice.]]> http://www.last.fm/user/RyanManDS/journal/2006/08/06/x0f_and_so_we_bid_thee_adieu... Sun, 6 Aug 2006 07:59:53 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/RyanManDS/journal/2006/08/06/x0f_and_so_we_bid_thee_adieu... After three months of happy memories and excellent service, my iPod got fudged. It god fudged baaaaad. No more Oar on my weekly junk food run. No more Fall Out Boy while I'm mowing the lawn. No more Bound Together while I'm out for an evening stroll. I'm not gonna lie. It hurts.

It all started a couple days when I went to charge it. Plugged it into the PC and left to play video games. Came back a couple hours later and it said that I could update teh software. Sure! Why not. So I did. I left for another hour, and then came back to get it, because I was heading down to the post office and I needed some strolling tunes.

I unplugged it and everything seemed fine at first. I was a little confused that it asked me what language I wanted, but I figured maybe it had something to do with the update. Then I went to the about screen to see what version it had updated to, because I'm a huge nerd and version numbers make me giddy. It was then that I noticed that the iPod's name had been changed from "Ryan's iPod" to "e".

It was then that I realized something was wrong.

It also listed the number of songs as 0, yet there was only 74.8 MB of free space. Odd. I figured maybe I'd somehow glitched it out, and the songs were indeed missing. So I plugged it back in. I had noticed that on the iPod Updater screen that you could also wipe it back to factory settings. This was probably the best course of action, as factory default wipes always save the day. But then it got worse.

I plugged it in, and was imediately suspicious that iTunes didn't open right away. I tried opening it on the My Computer screen, but that just crashed Explorer. The computer was picking up the iPod (it shows up in Hardware Manager), but the two were refusing to communicate. I took it to my room and tried using my computer, but no such luck.

After trying everything I could come up with, I finally cracked upen the manual. Alas, I could not believe it, but there was no way to factory reset the thing by itself! It had to be done thorugh the iPod Updater! this was bullshat, pure and simple. Even the Apple tech support page lacked any advice, and they have no e-mail correspondance either, the assholes. So now I'm gonna have to call Apple and most likely send it in for repairs. What a pain.

So the moral of my story? Apple sucks. Why the hell wouldn't you program a failsafe into the hardware itself? Goddamnit! Every piece of electronics should have some sort fo self-contained contingency plan! Every last one! Do the Apple monkeys know nothing about technology and its tendency to fuck up? Yeesh. If I were making a product, that wold be the first thing I'd implement! But you know, that's just the kind of guy I am.

So I'm wondering if by any odd chance (and based on experience, it's very likely) that I missed something and maybe there is a way to fix it myself? If anyone reads this and knows something I don't, I beg you to help me out. I really don't want to be mad at Apple. They make such beautiful things. But for pete's sake, the damn thing broke after installing a software upgrade! That ain't right!

More connections (in hope that someone with an answer will wander in!): The Vandals, HIM, virt, The Beatles, Rush, Reverend Horton Heat]]> http://www.last.fm/user/RyanManDS/journal/2006/06/23/x0e_making_a_weak-ass_return... Fri, 23 Jun 2006 18:32:17 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/RyanManDS/journal/2006/06/23/x0e_making_a_weak-ass_return... NEIGHBOUR SURVEY TIME!! READ MY JOURNAL AND CROMMENT! I'M NOT FIXING THAT TYPO!

Ah. You know the rules, right? Well If you don't, that's too bad.

1.Silens (12.5379)
~Hirokazu Ando, Shogo Sakai, Tadashi Ikegami, Jun Ishikawa - N/A
~Capcom Sound Team - 4
~ŠJ”­ŽºPixel - N/A

2.Overclocked (9.6318)
~GACKT - N/A
~Hirasawa Susumu - N/A
~Yasunori Mitsuda - N/A

3.Halfwit72 (7.6249)
~Cinderella - N/A
~Whitesnake - 153
~Mötley Crüe - 142

4.Goldenrody (6.3573)
~Rush - 87
~Pink Floyd - N/A
~Led Zeppelin - N/A

5.neko_courtney (6.2431)
~Something Corporate - N/A
~Bad Religion - 63
~NOFX - 100

6.entombedvirus (6.1096)
~Disturbed - 36
~Evanescence - N/A
~3 Doors Down - 52

I didn't realize it until now, but now I wonder if maybe the purpose of this test is to show just how different everyone's musical taste is, even when they're supposedly similar. Just look at all those N/As! Also, it made me wonder whether tabs are really more efficient than having separate browser windows...]]> http://www.last.fm/user/RyanManDS/journal/2006/05/08/x0d_straight_out_of_blog_land Mon, 8 May 2006 16:11:41 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/RyanManDS/journal/2006/05/08/x0d_straight_out_of_blog_land *I literally posted this exact same entry in my blog, sans tags of course*

E3 starts tomorrow, but I've got something else on my mind at the moment: Guitar Hero 2. A couple days ago, the first few tracks in the game were revealed, which got me thinking about which songs I'd like to see. So with the revealed tracks ignored, Here's my dream track list for Guitar Hero 2 (Not necessarily in order of difficulty, but arranged in such groups).

Life Is a Highway
takin' care of business
Roll Me Away
Baby's Come Back
Chicks and Cars

Blue Collar Man
Lover's Lane
Line Of Fire
Peace Frog
Look What The Cat Dragged In

Kickstart My Heart
Don't De-Rock Me
Wake Up the Voiceless
North American For Life
My Michelle

Everybody's a Cop
Cemetary
If Looks Could Kill
Carry On Wayward Son
Hot Girls In Love

I Did It for Love
Razamanaz
Psycho Circus
Closer To The Heart
Unchained

The Artist In The Ambulance
The Boys in the Bright White Sports Car
Rock Brigade
Here I Go Again
A Million Miles

Note the inclusion of more than one Canadian band. At least Rush is confirmed for GH2.]]> http://www.last.fm/user/RyanManDS/journal/2006/04/28/x0c_the_unreal_supermix Fri, 28 Apr 2006 13:54:27 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/RyanManDS/journal/2006/04/28/x0c_the_unreal_supermix Five years ago or so, I was really into playing Unreal Tournament. I thought it was a Godsend. Though I never played online, mind you. No, other people were far too good for me. So I stuck to a group of computer-controlled players that, over time, I began to consider real people with unique personalities, and pretty much played as if I were playing with a bunch of friends. What can I say? I was really anti-social back in those days. I did have real friends, but couldn't be arsed enough to do stuff with them. But I'm getting off-track here.

Basically, I thought the music in the game was a little dull and ininspired; not exactly made for frantic combat. So I put together my own playlist that I would always play to. I rarely changed it, but it was a great bunch of songs to play to. Some because they matched the game perfectly, some because they seemed like the last song you'd be listening to as you're desperately trying to get across the Facing Worlds map. I can't remember the entire list (as it's been years since then), but I've done my best to recall what I can.

Du hast
Asche zu Asche
Links 2 3 4
Teenage Riot
I'll Remember You
Up Up Down Down Left Right Left RIght B A Start
Ladylike
Bring the Noise
Cummin Atcha Live
Ballroom Blitz
Rock You Like a Hurricane
800
Your Disease
Spy Hunter Theme
Bodies
Hey Man Nice Shot
TNT
Shinobi Vs Dragon Ninja
Drawing Board
Cadillac
Super Beast
When Worlds Collide

There's likely a couple missing (I think that there may have been some Aerosmith in there?), but that should be the most of it. Sadly, I don't listen to a lot of these bands anymore. It's sad because I still like most of them. Oh well. So, for conversation's sake, do you ever mute your video games and listen to other music instead? Blah blah blah something else that you might be able to respond about?]]> http://www.last.fm/user/RyanManDS/journal/2006/04/25/x0b_the_slow_week_round-up_(apr_16-23) Tue, 25 Apr 2006 12:28:57 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/RyanManDS/journal/2006/04/25/x0b_the_slow_week_round-up_(apr_16-23) I didn't bother doing a Round-Up last week because I didn't really listen to a lot of music [on the computer] that week. I was barely even on the computer. This week was even worse, but I'll do a simple one anyway. We'll just go ahead and pick a favourite album and song [from the selected album] for each of the ten.

1. Boston - Boston - More Than a Feeling

2. Fall Out Boy - Take This to Your Grave - Grand Theft Autumn - Where Is Your Boy

3. Alkaline Trio - Crimson - Back to Hell

4. Oar - Stories Of A Stranger - Wonderful Day

5. Private Line - 21st Century Pirates - White-Collar Crime

6. Hawksley Workman - Lover/Fighter - Autumns Here

7. Span - Mass Distraction - Baby's Come Back

8. Lucky Boys Confusion - Commitment - Atari

9. Motoi Sakuraba - Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean (disc 1) - Vitriolic a stroke

10. Monkey Steals The Peach - N/A - Guitar Hero]]> http://www.last.fm/user/RyanManDS/journal/2006/04/10/x0a_ryan%27s_weekly_music_round-up_(apr_2-9) Mon, 10 Apr 2006 19:34:33 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/RyanManDS/journal/2006/04/10/x0a_ryan%27s_weekly_music_round-up_(apr_2-9) This week's gonna be standard issue, just a short blurb about what comes to my mind when I think of each band.

1. Motoi Sakuraba - Yeah. Got my paws on the soundtracks to both Baten Kaitos and Baten Kaitos 2. Forget Nobuo Whoever, this is the composer you want for awesome tunes. I'm totally hooked on The True Mirror ~Guitar Ver.~ and The valedictory elegy ~guitar ver.~. The guitars make me squeal like a schoolgirl.

2. Oar - I told you that they'd be hanging around here for a bit. Very sweet band that's definitely got a sound all their own, and they make great use of their brass instruments.

3. Span - I know I was listening to Span on my iPod, but I can't for the life of me remember listening to more than one or two songs by them this week. But I guess the charts don't lie, do they?

4. The Beatles - Baby, you can drive my car.

5. Lucky Boys Confusion - You know, the biggest problem with listening to the same bands every week is that you ahve to find something different to say about them each time. Well, if you keep a dumb weekly journal of what you're listening to, anyway.

6. The Doors - It's funny, I know I like them, I really do, but I rarely have any desire to actually listen to them. Has anyone else ever had this happen? I know it's new to me. In any case, Peace Frog is still one of my favourite songs ever.

7/8. Private Line - OK, so number seven is a single song that features a couple other artists, but it's such a great song that I'm actually kinda surprised that it didn't place any higher on the list. Otherwise, my Private Line craze is slowing as expected.

9. We Are Scientists - Again, it was all about Mothra Versus We Are Scientists. I just enjoy the song so much. I can't help myself.

10. Pod - I didn't see this one coming. I could ahve sworn I listened to [track artist=monkey steals the peach]guitar hero more than I did POD on the whole. But once again, I guess the charts don't lie.

Yeah. That's all. These are getting more half-assed every week. I need to come up with more fun themes like that "one-sentence review" thing I did last week. At least, things I find fun. Really, I guess I'm mostly just writing these to entertain myself.]]> http://www.last.fm/user/RyanManDS/journal/2006/04/08/x09_itching_for_a_good_face-melting%3F Sat, 8 Apr 2006 13:05:20 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/RyanManDS/journal/2006/04/08/x09_itching_for_a_good_face-melting%3F So I've been thinking lately. Yeah, don't do it often, but every now and then... But that's besides the point! So I was on the bus the other day and I was listening to the less-popular half of the Guitar Hero soundtrack, and it got me thinking about how sad it is that so many people will never get to experience some of these bands/songs. Mostly because like half of them are composed of members of the Harmonix staff, and not a whole lot of people will ever play the game. Anyway, check out the track listing and try to find a few. Almost all them embody perfectly what rock 'n' roll is all about. It'll be worth your while, I promise.

Fire It Up
Cheat On The Church*
Caveman Rejoice
Eureka I've Found Love*
All Of This*
Behind the Mask*
The Breaking Wheel
Callout
Decontrol*
Even Rats*
Farewell Myth
Fly On The Wall*
Get Ready 2 Rokk*
Guitar Hero*
Hey
Sail Your Ship By
Story Of My Love

(* = editor's choice)]]> http://www.last.fm/user/RyanManDS/journal/2006/04/04/x08_the_one-sentence_round-up_(mar26_-_apr2) Tue, 4 Apr 2006 18:24:24 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/RyanManDS/journal/2006/04/04/x08_the_one-sentence_round-up_(mar26_-_apr2) I wrote this all out once already, but it got blown up somehow, and I don't feel like doing it again, so I'll take a page from Something Awful's Video Game Article and do one-sentence "reviews". though they won't really be reviews. Just one sentence about something vaguely related to the band.

1. Firehouse - Prime Time is totally as good as their earlier stuff, no matter what any music snobs say.

2. We Are Scientists - There's a fansite that offers up most of their music at http://www.nebulizemymind.com/music/music.html.

3. Hawksley Workman - Treeful of Starling > j00.

4. Thrice - Now that the obsession is over, they're just part of the regular rotation.

5. Span - I want a new album, but apparently they're breaking up.

6. Lucky Boys Confusion - Found some more LBC stuff, and I'm satisfied with it.

7. The Beatles - After nearly 20 years of exposure, I'm finally getting into them.

8. Journey - Journey's a pretty good band, so why do so many people hate on them?

9. Pod - I generally dislike rap, but I love On The Grind.

10. Oar - OAR is awesome, so expect them to rise up my top artists chart pretty quickly.

There you go. That's it. Getting my ideas through in single sentences is much harder than I thought it would be. It wasn't overly difficult, but required a little finesse. I'll most likely be doing the Round-up like this sometime again in the future, as it is kinda fun.]]> http://www.last.fm/user/RyanManDS/journal/2006/04/03/x07_the_revolution_project_(opera_of_innovation) Mon, 3 Apr 2006 14:41:43 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/RyanManDS/journal/2006/04/03/x07_the_revolution_project_(opera_of_innovation) So I was working as normal the other day, and I had Revolution stuck in my head. It's a great song, so I didn't mind it being there. But then I was struck by a stroke of genius. Maybe not genius per se, but it was at least an interesting means to an end.

Lately I've been "trying out" all sorts of new music in an effort to expand both my library and my tastes. You know, diversity and all. But it was then, while I was pulling shit back and forth (as that is pretty much all of my job) that I came up with my ingenious plan to find a whole load of music at once. There were three phases involved in my plan, much like how the Underpants Gnomes operate.

Phase one was already complete by the time I rightly began the project. It was simply to come up with a single word. For various reasons (Mostly because I'm getting hyped about the Nintendo Revolution (Yeah I'm a nerd, so sue me)), I chose the word "revolution" as my key word. It would play a very vital role in my plan.

Next was to do a simple lyric search. With the help of http://www.letssingit.com, I performed a search for the single word "revolution". It turned up a great many results, and I was pleased that everythign was going according to plan.

The final phase was to search out and acquire a number of the songs that came up in the results. I chose the magic number twenty as my goal, as it seemed like a good target number, should I later choose to record my findings to a compact disc. So off I went to get twenty tracks, and the results couldn't have come back better.

I snagged twenty songs, and it ended up being an excellent hodgepodge of musical styles, languages, and genres. I knew some of the songs and bands, and some were entirely new to me. Obviously, I was leading up to this point the entire time, just trying to create some false drama (though at the same time, unintentionally driving off people who don't want to read a short story), and now I shall list the twenty tracks (alphabetically - by band) that I chose to make up my creation, known now as the RevMix.

Revolution
Tangled Up in Blue
Road To Zion
Revolution
Volunteers
Self-Revolution
Revolution
That Was a Crazy Game of Poker
Don't Look Back in Anger
Revolution Is My Name
Revolution
Revolution Calling
Street Fighting Man
Street Fighting Man
Never Never Love
Give It Revolution
Ultra Blue
Talkin bout a revolution
La revolution
Love Revolution

Total time: 1:27:15

Notes:
-Revolution is a cover of Revolution. It's tearing me apart trying to decide which I like better.
-Obviously, Rage Against the Machine covered The Stones. I think Rage wins this one.
-The last two tracks are in French and Japanese, respectively.
-ZOMG! Oar is an awesome band! And That Was a Crazy Game of Poker is an incredible (if a little lengthy) song.
-I'm not crazy about hip-hop, but I can easily get along with the couple tracks of that genre that are included.
-Originally, storaged was included, but if there's one band I cannot stand (and I've tried, really I have), it's SOAD.
-I never realized how well Killswitch Engage's gutarist can riff until just now. Literally. As I type this.
-It's slightly too long to burn onto a CD... By about seven minutes.]]>