Spotify is a polished program similar to iTunes that offers you access to more than 15 million songs with excellent sound quality. With one click, you share your playlists with friends on Twitter or Facebook, or see what they listen to most. The best thing of all, it’s free!
For the first time in Internet history, you can listen to any track, any album, legally, at no charge, with a few restrictions. Once you launch the Spotify software, it automatically recognizes and displays your music collection stored in iTunes library or Windows Media Player. There you can manage your songs and incorporate them into playlists, including songs offered by Spotify.
In Europe, approximately 84 percent of Spotify’s 10 million listeners choose to stick with the free plan, which is what I use. You’ll hear occasional ads and see banner ads in the Spotify software, but it’s bearable. Keep in mind if you stay with the free version, you’ll be limited to 10 hours of free music per month.
Monday, November 28, 2011
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Hungry Ear
Music is a universal language, and Hungry Ear Records in Kailua has been a staple for music lovers since its inception in 1980, boasting the largest selection of new vinyl on the island. This week, the beloved music store, owned and operated by Kailua natives Dennie Chong and Ward Yamashita, is taking the opportunity to thank its loyal customers and celebrate 31 years in the business.
“When people come to Hungry Ear they can expect personal, knowledgeable customer service and items that are hard to find anywhere else on the island,” says Yamashita. “You’ll find a large selection of compact discs, vinyl records and vinyl accessories at our store. There are plenty of bargains here on a daily basis, including $1.99 bargain CDs, and most used CDs are around $5 to $8 each,” he adds.
Hungry Ear Records specializes in Hawaiian and local music, reggae and classic rock on compact disc and vinyl, and also buys records and CDs that you may want to get rid of.
Chong and Yamashita are grateful for their many years in business, but admit that Hungry Ear is part of a dying breed of independent record stores that thrive on the rabid music fan rather than the casual mall customer.
Fortunately for independent record stores like Hungry Ear Records, Yamashita says the music industry is seeing a resurgence in vinyl record sales.
“There’s a wide range of customers buying albums now, from high school kids just discovering the beauty of the format to the older crowd who bought records in their youth and are still drawn to the sound, graphics and even smells that only come from a vinyl record album.
“Hungry Ear is probably the only place on the island or in the state where you can still buy needles and cartridges for your turntable,” he adds.
Hungry Ear Records is located at 418 Kuulei Road. Call 262-2175 or visit hungryear.com.
“When people come to Hungry Ear they can expect personal, knowledgeable customer service and items that are hard to find anywhere else on the island,” says Yamashita. “You’ll find a large selection of compact discs, vinyl records and vinyl accessories at our store. There are plenty of bargains here on a daily basis, including $1.99 bargain CDs, and most used CDs are around $5 to $8 each,” he adds.
Hungry Ear Records specializes in Hawaiian and local music, reggae and classic rock on compact disc and vinyl, and also buys records and CDs that you may want to get rid of.
Chong and Yamashita are grateful for their many years in business, but admit that Hungry Ear is part of a dying breed of independent record stores that thrive on the rabid music fan rather than the casual mall customer.
Fortunately for independent record stores like Hungry Ear Records, Yamashita says the music industry is seeing a resurgence in vinyl record sales.
“There’s a wide range of customers buying albums now, from high school kids just discovering the beauty of the format to the older crowd who bought records in their youth and are still drawn to the sound, graphics and even smells that only come from a vinyl record album.
“Hungry Ear is probably the only place on the island or in the state where you can still buy needles and cartridges for your turntable,” he adds.
Hungry Ear Records is located at 418 Kuulei Road. Call 262-2175 or visit hungryear.com.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Lex Brodie
One of the original Waikiki Beach Boys, the Kauai-born Brodie opened a Kaneohe service station in 1958 and three years later began selling tires out of a one-bay shop next to Whitney’s in Kaneohe.
“It was a Chevron station and they wanted him to sell their brand of tires,” says Brodie’s son Sandy. “The tires weren’t particularly good and the margins were lousy. He made better money on the retreads than he did on the new tires. He wanted to sell other tires, but Chevron said no because it violated the franchise agreement. So he opened his own store.”
Brodie realized the action was in Honolulu and opened the Queen Street location. It would become headquarters of the company that now has five locations on Oahu with licensees on the Big Island.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Lex became a celebrity and his business a landmark. Jack Lord was a good friend and customer, and the current edition of Hawaii Five-O has found interest in the famous caveman sign and has featured the Queen Street store on the program.
Sandy Brodie says by 1991 his father had gotten tired of the business and was in need of a new challenge. He found it after taking a tour of Farrington High School upon the invitation of Sandy’s wife Lynn, who was a teacher at the school. What he found angered the feisty former salesman.
“He was just appalled at the conditions, and decided he would do something,” says Sandy. “He started by talking to some of the legislators about creating a bill for school safety because they were lacking on their inspections. They found some fire exits that were chained shut to keep kids from skipping class.”
The bill passed, and based on his success he decided to run for the Board of Education in typical Lex Brodie style: simple and direct.
“He called me up one day and said, ‘I just spent $25 registering for the Board of Education election,’” says Sandy. “He said, ‘I’m not going to spend any more money. I’m just going to wave a sign on Punchbowl.’ And that’s what he did.”
Brodie won in a landslide and for eight years toured
schools, fought with board members and pushed for changes in Hawaii’s public schools. It was with this example in mind the company created the Lex Brodie Foundation to celebrate Lex’s 90th birthday and began handing out its “Thank You ... Very Much Award.”
“It was a Chevron station and they wanted him to sell their brand of tires,” says Brodie’s son Sandy. “The tires weren’t particularly good and the margins were lousy. He made better money on the retreads than he did on the new tires. He wanted to sell other tires, but Chevron said no because it violated the franchise agreement. So he opened his own store.”
Brodie realized the action was in Honolulu and opened the Queen Street location. It would become headquarters of the company that now has five locations on Oahu with licensees on the Big Island.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Lex became a celebrity and his business a landmark. Jack Lord was a good friend and customer, and the current edition of Hawaii Five-O has found interest in the famous caveman sign and has featured the Queen Street store on the program.
Sandy Brodie says by 1991 his father had gotten tired of the business and was in need of a new challenge. He found it after taking a tour of Farrington High School upon the invitation of Sandy’s wife Lynn, who was a teacher at the school. What he found angered the feisty former salesman.
“He was just appalled at the conditions, and decided he would do something,” says Sandy. “He started by talking to some of the legislators about creating a bill for school safety because they were lacking on their inspections. They found some fire exits that were chained shut to keep kids from skipping class.”
The bill passed, and based on his success he decided to run for the Board of Education in typical Lex Brodie style: simple and direct.
“He called me up one day and said, ‘I just spent $25 registering for the Board of Education election,’” says Sandy. “He said, ‘I’m not going to spend any more money. I’m just going to wave a sign on Punchbowl.’ And that’s what he did.”
Brodie won in a landslide and for eight years toured
schools, fought with board members and pushed for changes in Hawaii’s public schools. It was with this example in mind the company created the Lex Brodie Foundation to celebrate Lex’s 90th birthday and began handing out its “Thank You ... Very Much Award.”
Monday, November 07, 2011
Andy Rooney
Andy Rooney, the "60 Minutes" commentator known to generations for his wry, humorous and contentious television essays - a unique genre he is credited with inventing - died Friday night in a hospital in New York City of complications following minor surgery. He was 92, and had homes in New York City, Rensselaerville, N.Y. and Rowayton, Conn.
"It's a sad day at '60 Minutes' and for everybody here at CBS News," said Jeff Fager, chairman of CBS News and the executive producer of "60 Minutes." "It's hard to imagine not having Andy around. He loved his life and he lived it on his own terms. We will miss him very much."
Rooney had announced on Oct. 2, 2011 in his 1,097th essay for "60 Minutes" that he would no longer appear regularly.
Rooney wrote for television since its birth, spending more than 60 years at CBS, 30 of them behind the camera as a writer and producer, first for entertainment and then news programming, before becoming a television personality - a role he said he was never comfortable in. He preferred to be known as a writer and was the author of best-selling books and a national newspaper column, in addition to his "60 Minutes" essays.
But it is his television role as the inquisitive and cranky commentator on "60 Minutes" that made him a cultural icon. For over 30 years, Rooney had the last word on the most watched television program in history. Ratings for the broadcast rose steadily over its time period, peaking at a few minutes before the end of the hour, precisely when he delivered his essays - which could generate thousands of response letters.
"60 Minutes Overtime": Remembering Andy Rooney
There is no better way to celebrate Andy Rooney's work than to let Andy do the talking.
Each Sunday, Rooney delivered one of his "60 Minutes" essays from behind a desk that he, an expert woodworker, hewed himself. The topics ranged from the contents of that desk's drawer to whether God existed. He often weighed in on major news topics. In an early "60 Minutes" essay that won him the third of his four Emmy Awards, his compromise to the grain embargo against the Soviet Union was to sell them cereal. "Are they going to take us seriously as an enemy if they think we eat Cap'n Crunch for breakfast?" deadpanned Rooney.
Mainly, his essays struck a chord in viewers by pointing out life's unspoken truths or more often complaining about its subtle lies, earning him the "curmudgeon" status he wore like a uniform. "I obviously have a knack for getting on paper what a lot of people have thought and didn't realize they thought," Rooney told the Associated Press in 1998. In typical themes, Rooney questioned labels on packages, products that didn't seem to work and why people didn't talk in elevators.
Rooney asked thousands of questions in his essays over the years, none, however, began with "Did you ever...?" a phrase often associated with him. Comedian Joe Piscopo used it in a 1981 impersonation of him on "Saturday Night Live" and, from then on, it was erroneously linked to Rooney.
"It's a sad day at '60 Minutes' and for everybody here at CBS News," said Jeff Fager, chairman of CBS News and the executive producer of "60 Minutes." "It's hard to imagine not having Andy around. He loved his life and he lived it on his own terms. We will miss him very much."
Rooney had announced on Oct. 2, 2011 in his 1,097th essay for "60 Minutes" that he would no longer appear regularly.
Rooney wrote for television since its birth, spending more than 60 years at CBS, 30 of them behind the camera as a writer and producer, first for entertainment and then news programming, before becoming a television personality - a role he said he was never comfortable in. He preferred to be known as a writer and was the author of best-selling books and a national newspaper column, in addition to his "60 Minutes" essays.
But it is his television role as the inquisitive and cranky commentator on "60 Minutes" that made him a cultural icon. For over 30 years, Rooney had the last word on the most watched television program in history. Ratings for the broadcast rose steadily over its time period, peaking at a few minutes before the end of the hour, precisely when he delivered his essays - which could generate thousands of response letters.
"60 Minutes Overtime": Remembering Andy Rooney
There is no better way to celebrate Andy Rooney's work than to let Andy do the talking.
Each Sunday, Rooney delivered one of his "60 Minutes" essays from behind a desk that he, an expert woodworker, hewed himself. The topics ranged from the contents of that desk's drawer to whether God existed. He often weighed in on major news topics. In an early "60 Minutes" essay that won him the third of his four Emmy Awards, his compromise to the grain embargo against the Soviet Union was to sell them cereal. "Are they going to take us seriously as an enemy if they think we eat Cap'n Crunch for breakfast?" deadpanned Rooney.
Mainly, his essays struck a chord in viewers by pointing out life's unspoken truths or more often complaining about its subtle lies, earning him the "curmudgeon" status he wore like a uniform. "I obviously have a knack for getting on paper what a lot of people have thought and didn't realize they thought," Rooney told the Associated Press in 1998. In typical themes, Rooney questioned labels on packages, products that didn't seem to work and why people didn't talk in elevators.
Rooney asked thousands of questions in his essays over the years, none, however, began with "Did you ever...?" a phrase often associated with him. Comedian Joe Piscopo used it in a 1981 impersonation of him on "Saturday Night Live" and, from then on, it was erroneously linked to Rooney.
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