Day Trotter

So I was at my local coffee shop today and I was listening to my same old music I always do when it dawned on, I do not really have any new music. Then I remembered a site that I stumbled upon awhile back that could help me out but I could not recall its name. So I searched and searched for hours and hours (really 5 mins) and now I am delighted to direct your attention to The Day Trotter.(Link) This website gives you a daily dose of new music in the form of in depth reviews, interviews and of course free music downloads! Now I know you come to my blog to learn about kick ass new musicians but these peeps know what the hell they are up too. The Day Trotter covers all kinds of music but their main focus seems to fall in the alternative music scene. It has covered bands ranging from mainstream artists like Death Cab for Cutie to lesser-known artists like Aesop Rock. All and all this website deeply immerses you within each band it reviews so much that you feel as though you have known the for years.

Thanks For Reading!

Yours Truly,
Joe McGowan

Liquid Mac

This will most likely be my shortest blog to date. I want to show you a cool pointless mac application called Liquid Mac.(Link) All it dos is move water like stuff across your screen as you tilt your mac from left to right. It is off the chain!!

Thanks For Reading!

Yours Truly,
Joe McGowan

Pandora Radio

Okay lets face it, normal radio sucks excluding stations like 89.3 The Current.(Link) Companies like Clear Channel Communications own most of the airwaves racking in almost $3.5 billion a year. How do you think they make all that money? By airing commercials and taking cash from the 4 main music companies so there artists will get that majority of the airtime. Now I don't think that is what people had in mind when radio was invented. Well when there is a problem there is most likely a solution online. That solution is Pandora Radio(Link) which is a website that makes you the DJ of your own radio station. With a few simple steps you will we be able to enjoy your favorite music for FREE while at the same discovering new music of the same genre. Ohh ya I almost forgot, NO commercials! Just type in an artist that you like and bingo you have created a radio channel dedicated to that artist and any other artists that are related to them. This makes discovering new bands almost effortless and once you have found a new band you like you can then make a channel about that band to find even more new bands! Pandora Radio has endless hours of content that will make even the most avid music fans discover something new.

Thanks For Reading

Yours Truly,
Joe McGowan

Eyedea And Abilities

If you are one of my friends there is no question that you have heard of the Rapper/DJ duo known as Eyedea And Abilities. If you have not yet been enlightened, allow me to do so! These cats hail from the Minneapolis/St. Paul area that already has as a well-established underground hip-hop scene. But to say the least these guys have made the Twins Cites blow up in the last few years. This is due to how well each artist is known separately on the national stage. Eyedea is known for his extraordinary freestyle rapping skills that have labeled him Scribble Jam Champ (1999) and Blaze Battle Champ (2000). While his DJ counterpart Abilities has shown us what he can do with his hands by wining both the 1999 and 2001 DMC Regional DJ championships. It was a no brainier that these two would be dope group if paired together. With two studio releases (Both of them ill) their are no signs of letting up. Eyedea and Abilities both on their albums and in live performances bring an irresistible conversation between a Rapper and his DJ. Most DJ's are used as a pawn so the rapper can be the main focus but not in this case. Both of these peeps are as large of a part as the other. According to wikipedia they are now producing a new album set to drop sometime in 2009. Until then if you like Midwest underground hip hop then these guys may be right up your ally.

Now (Download)

Thanks For Reading!

Yours Truly,
Joe McGowan

Camouflage

I for one am not that organized of a person. Most people strive to be as organized as humanly possible but seem to fail after their bad habits come running on home. For example, look at the current state of your desktop.... no for real do it. I don't know about you but my desktop is nothing but a wasteland for all of the different zip files and old term papers that I am too lazy to throw away. It is SO cluttered their is almost no point to changing my background. Which by the way is this really cool Ratatat logo. Any who, dont you wish you could still use your desktop as a landfill for your files but as the same time see your beautiful picture of Hannah Montana set as your background?*** If so then your wish is my command allow me to introduce you to Camouflage(Link). This FREE program is really basic but it makes your desktop look ohhh so very nice. After downloading this program it will attach it self to your toolbar so you are then able to turn Camouflage on and off by showing or hiding the icons that clutter your desktop. Simply it makes it appear as though you are an organized person with only one click. Now you might ask, "Joe how do I access the files that were on my desktop?" Well there is a simple answer to that, all you have to do is double click your desktop and out of thin air pops up a finder window already set to your desktop. Now hopefully this program will give you the push needed to start becoming an all around organized person. But if not, at least you can see your background again.

Thanks For Reading!

Yours Truly,
Joe McGowan

*** (If this is your background please refrain from reading my blog for let me think FOREVER!)

Sorry Jeff!!!

I want to say I am sorry to Jeff an anonymous reader who was frustrated by the fact that I have not updated my site in sometime. So to make it up to him I will be writing and posting 4 new topics... TONIGHT. By doing this I will be back on schedule and hopefully Jeff can find it in his heart to forgive me, if not I don't know if I can keep on writing this blog.

Yours Truly,
Joe McGowan

Mobile 17

Have you ever had the excitement of getting a new phone only to be disappointed due to it's lack of ring tone options? Well we have all been their and most of the time the only way to pimp your phone is to shell out your hard earned cash to get a random 30-second clip from a song you sorta like. Well times have changed and that is all due to mobile17.com(Link) You no longer have to pick from a small collection of artists and songs because Mobile 17 allows you to take any song from any artist that you have on your computer. Wow! This feature alone makes this website fan-fuckin-tastic. But wait theirs more. Instead of having to settle with a random 30-second clip you get to pick where your ring tone will begin and end for up to 40-seconds. You can also use this website to send any pictures you may have on your computer as well. To gain access to all of these features all you have to do is sign up and give them your basic phone information; number, service provider, and make and model of your phone. Their are a verity of ways you can receive your ring tones, all of them being fairly convenient. Mobile 17 is a free service but you may have to wait some hours before you will receive your ring tones. But if you really need that ring tone RIGHT NOW you can use their express sending option at the cost of a small donation. All and all this website should save you lots of money while at the same time giving you all the amazing features one would ask for.

Thanks For Reading!

Yours Truly,
Joe McGowan

Synergy

So last night I took it upon myself to look up as many new mac applications as I could and I am happy to report that I have found a plethora of useful apps. The program that I will be talking to you about today puts iTunes even closer to your fingertips. Synergy(Link) is a FREE application that allows you to play/pause and skip tracks from the convenience of your menu bar. No more having to dig past all of your open applications to find iTunes to change it to the song you have been waiting all day to hear. This program is as nice to look at, as it is functional. Every time a song is played it give you all of the basic info you have come to expect; track name, album name, and artist name in a sleek transparent bubble in the bottom left hand corner of your screen. This program is not necessarily revolutionary but it solves a common problem that most users come across.

Thanks For Reading!

Yours Truly,
Joe McGowan

Power Hour (For Ages 21 and Up)

If you have ever been at a college party you have most likely seen a few people with their eyes glued to a clock with a shot glass in one hand and a beer can in another. When you see this for the first time most people are extremely confused about what the hell is going on. Well my friends you have just witnessed a game called "Power Hour". The rules to this game are pretty simple, every minute for one full hour (60 mins) you take a shot of beer. The most common way to keep track of time is to sit by a clock and wait patiently till it changes. For most people that can get boring really fast. There must be a better way to go about this. Well for every question their is an answer and the answer here is a little program called simply, Power Hour (Link) This program is extremely simple to use, all you need to run it is 60 songs and iTunes. Firstly you have to make a playlist in your iTunes with 60 songs or more that you want to be entertained by for the full hour of the game. From there the program takes a random 60 seconds from each songs and switches songs when it is time to take each of beer. Lets say you want to play this game spur of the moment and you do not have your laptop on you. Well problem solved, this program also offers a tool were it can generate a full CD or iPod Power Hour playlist so you can take the game on the road. Again like most of the programs I feature on this blog it is completely and utterly FREE. Before you try this drinking game let me advise you that during the coarse of this game you will be consuming the equivalent of 7.5 cans of beer. Now that you have discovered this program remember to always drink responsibly and to never drink if you are under legal age.

Thanks For Reading!

Yours Truly,
Joe McGowan

Sixty Force

Do you remember the days when musical acts like The Backstreet Boys, The Spice Girls, and Hanson ruled the airwaves? Well if you do then you will remember arguably the best video game system of all time...THE N64! It was a god among men, the be all and end all of modern gaming. At its launch all you needed was $200 to call this baby yours. Well times have changed; some people are quick to forget about such a revolutionary gaming council. Now you can pick up an N64 for less then $30 at any used electronics shop. If you still have a place in your heart for games like Mario Kart 64, Golden Eye, and Legend of Zelda, The Ocarina of Time then you will love this program I stumbled upon called SixtyForce(Link). SixtyForce is considered a Nintendo 64 emulator available only for the Mac. This program can be used to play any N64 game that has been transferred into a ROM file, which is practically EVERY game. All you need is to find a N64 ROM Site(Link) which can easily be found using Google. Now SixtyForce offers one free version and one version costing only 16 bucks. The $16 version allows you to save game progress witch is really nice but the free version is good enough for most games. This program gives you the ability to play all of the classic N64 games for free. To say the least it will make us old nostalgic gamers have wet dreams.

Thanks For Reading!

Yours Truly,
Joe McGowan

South Park Studios

Are you sick of shelling out hundreds of dollars for your favorite TV shows on DVD. Well you are not alone. But for you South Park fans their is relief in site, look no further then South Park Studios.(Link) This website gives you full access to all 12 glorious seasons of South Park at the reasonable price of ZERO bucks. Yeah you read that right... zero dollars. Of course you will have to sit through a commercial or two while you watch and episode but it is a small price to pay for such a great deal. The site also offers a full episode guide and over 30 South Park games. Lets just say once you find this site you will find hours and hours of entertainment that dos not strain your wallet.

Thanks For Reading!

Your Truly,
Joe McGowan

Ratatat (Rat-a-tat)

Alright, I am going to get down to business... RATATAT! These guys are flippin ill! They call themselves an electro band but that is only their exterior. Almost all of their songs are aimed toward the hip hop fan. Of all of there albums my fav is called 9 Beats which is hard to come by cus it was never officially released. If you are able to get your hands on a copy you will come across the best beats to freestyle rap to EVER. No lie. They have simple back tones so the wackiest rapper can sound like the next Biggie but at the same time complex high tones to make the most seasoned rapper satisfied. They have also released 3 studio albums all of them fantastic but it is there two mix tapes that truly make them off the chain. Calibrating with mainstream hip hop artist like Missy Elliot, Jay-Z, and Kanye West shows the versatility of there music. These guys are far from done. On there website they have released a new song, new tour dates, and a new CD due to drop some time in 2009. If you like to call yourself a music connoisseur you must exsplore the music stylings of Ratatat NOW!

Track 01 (Download)

Thanks For Reading!

Yours Truly,
Joe McGowan