Sep
02
2010

Blog Fixes

Brought To You By Insomnia!

(Add / View Comments) (0)Thursday, September 2, 2010 - 07:19:22 PM
(Posted Under: Web Development)
Well, that's been one of my most productive bouts of insomnia in a while. It's been recently brought to my attention that both the search and viewing categories on my blog was majorly foobar.

The whole not being able to sleep made for a good opportunity to get those bugs sorted out. Oh how I love working with a spaghetti of xpath expressions.

It was also an opportunity to spruce up the comments section of the code somewhat, which has been getting a fair bit of action lately. Check the new icons.
Now Playing: The Maine - The Way We Talk
Sep
02
2010

Insomnia In AZ

(Add / View Comments) (0)Thursday, September 2, 2010 - 03:07:31 AM
(Posted Under: This Desert Life This Desert Life)
So tonight I thought that it might just be cool enough to kill the AC and sleep. Well, I thought wrong on that. It lasted about 2 hours before the inevitable Arizonan heat insomnia kicked in.

It's at times like this that I can't help but sing Dust Mouth. And think how sometimes it hits a little too close to home. [wink]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, dry fucking heat. Well my electric bill swiped me clean. I swore that I wouldn't be here one more summer.
Not that I'm complaining, but I'm looking forward to something like cold. To keep up the Norm quotes. [wink]

Typically winter pays for summer, but out here, summer definitely pays for winter. I used to think that Phoenician's love of winter was crazy. But I now understand it, on such a deep level. [smile]

Again, not that I'm complaining, just sayin'. [smile]
Sep
01
2010

Album Longevity

(Add / View Comments) (0)Wednesday, September 1, 2010 - 01:46:17 PM
(Posted Under: Music Music)
Some albums have it, and some don't. One that came up in an argument recently is Major Lodge Victory. In light of that, I just consulted Hitter to see if it would back up my point, pretty sure that it would. Indeed it does. Over the past 5 years, Major Lodge Victory sits as my 8th most played album. Which doesn't seem right. But if you look at each year breakdown, it makes a lot more sense.

Chart positions from when it came out stack up a little like this.


2006 - #3
2007 - #20
2008 - #41
2009 - #146
2010 - #41

What is clear is that it's an album I played the hell out of. But only when it first came out. Of the 784 track plays that gets it to sit at #8 overall, a whopping 79% of those occurred within the first two years. 61% in the first year. And the most staggering statistic of all, is that 50% of those plays had happened in the first 3 months of having the album.

I grant you that 2010 looks like a resurgence in the album, but 42% of that placement comes from the two songs on that record that I still like an have on playlists I play often. Actually, it still looks like an inflated figure. But it's I guess not, every other song on the album has been played twice this year, rather than once last year. Of course, except for California Sun, which is banned in these parts. [lol]

We can compare it with an album that does have longevity. What better example that Dead Hot Workshop's Heavy Meadow? A fair contender, as it came out around the same time as Major Lodge Victory. An album that is my #2 played album of the past 5 years. Here's the per year rundown.


2006 - #2
2007 - #1
2008 - #14
2009 - #8
2010 - #7

What speaks volumes about this is that Heavy Meadow came out in the second week in November 2006. Which gave Major Lodge Victory a good 3 month head start on it in 2006, yet Heavy Meadow still piffed it for the #2 slot. Five years later, the spins keep flowing, and the album barely drops out of the top 10.

And there you have it. The difference between an album with longevity, and one that clearly doesn't.

I'd really love if my Hitter stats went back to before 2006. Not only because I'd have beaten lastfm to the punch and would be making millions off it [wink], but to see where New Miserable Experience would come up. Well, not so much that, I know where it would, but to see to what extent it would crush every other album in plays since 1993. [smile]

For the record, for the past 5 years, it sits at #21*. And we're talking about an album I have been playing the hell out of for 12 years previous to recording plays.

Now there is an album with longevity for ya!

* It's worth mentioning that plays of other versions of this album (Deluxe Edition, Rarities Edition etc.) I have are not aggregated and hence don't count to this figure, so the position is probably actually higher than reported.
Now Playing: The Black Moods - Sick In Bed
Aug
30
2010

Zia 30th Anniversary

(Add / View Comments) (1)Monday, August 30, 2010 - 10:25:06 PM
(Posted Under: Music Music)
What better excuse to go to Zia tonight than 30% of used CD's for their 30th Anniversary. Sweet. Picked up a couple of local discs at good prices. And surprisingly found a Jebadiah / Jimmy Eat World CD. Who would have thunk that Jimmy would have a split CD with an Aussie band?

The highlight of the night for Katie would be getting to the counter and spotting the Zia Records environmental bags. That would have to rank highly as the coolest in her collection.
Aug
29
2010

Chalmers Green @ Iguana Macks

Josh Kennedy, Breaking Tables All Over The Place

(Add / View Comments) (0)PhotosSunday, August 29, 2010 - 12:21:29 PM
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene Tempe Music Scene, Music Music, Live Shows)
Last night with Chalmers Green last night too much fun. We were fashionably late, as usual, and unfortunately missed a good deal of the first set. Which was acceptable, since the band was playing all night. Iguana Macks was packed, anybody who is anybody was there. Case in point that Chalmers needs to be back together. It's just too much fun seeing Josh in 100% rock n' roll mode.

Although we knew tonight's show was going to be mostly covers, it actually surpassed our expectations. Chalmers is just such a party and a rock 'n roll show, whether it's originals or covers.

Highlight of the night would have to have been when the venue moved a table in front of the stage, encouraging Josh to get up there. And y'know, Josh breaking the table, and not missing a note as he came crashing down. Most guitarist break strings - Josh Kennedy breaks tables. And keeps playing. [smile]



Most ironic moment? When Josh had the douche that was hitting on everyone's wives/fiances ejected once it his fiance was getting harrassed - in the middle of Give Me Three Steps. "Come on, show that guy the door". Perfect timing. [lol] As a side note, we later got to see this security put this asshole to the ground when he tried to get back in.

Despite the all covers show, the guys did pull out Virginia, which was a crowd favorite obviously.

If I haven't said it before - Chalmers Green need to be back together permanently. [smile]

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