Tag: spotify
0 Episode 69 – 01/23/13 feat. Connor Boran & Emily Dyess
Connor and Emily join Dan and Adam in the studio to live by Buffering’s law and discuss streamables. And such. Dan throws down a big list of recognizable movies coming to Netflix in February, and there’s a compare and contrast between Pandora and Spotify. From there, the group jumps into a round of Movie Bluff. And there were good times had by all.
Taped at The Wheels Brewing Co Studio, Minneapolis, MN on January 23, 2013.
Check out photos and this week’s bonus tracks by clicking here.
Click here to listen: Episode 69 – 01/23/13 feat. Connor Boran & Emily Dyess
0 Soundtrack your life with Songza
Originally, the article was going to include a sub-title: “Why don’t you have Songza yet?”, because, really, why don’t you have Songza yet?
During a conversation in Episode 62, Matt Walstead mentioned that he was using Songza (www.songza.com) as one of his recent primary streaming services, and based on his description, I decided to investigate.
I had mentioned Songza on the show before, from a news story long past (most likely a launch story, or something of the like), but I had never played around with the iPhone app or the web site.
It’s AMAZING. It’s what a song discovery service SHOULD be. It’s the contextualizing of music into the rest of your life, based on “Playlists by Music Experts”, as the site claims, and, honestly, they are not giving the playlist generators enough credit.
For example, there are SEVEN different ways you access these playlists, including lists based on Genre, Activities, Moods, Decades, and Culture. After messing around with this app, I’ve determined my favorite playlist group is aptly named Record-Store Clerk, as its suggestions of playlist sub-groups include “Dance Music That’s Not Assaultive”, “Indie Music That’s Not Too Weird”, “Mustache Music (Or: Cool In The ’70s)”, and “This Will Piss Your Parents Off”. It really is that organization of music that you expect to find in the hipper realms of metropolitan areas, in the mostly deserted record shop where the staff knows exactly what you’re looking for, based on the two notes stuck in your head.
ON TOP OF THAT, there’s MORE. I know what you’re thinking: “But Dan, there are TOO many features already. This is too good to be true.” And you would be wrong, generic infomercial seeded audience member. For there’s the Concierge service. Based on time of day, with a dash of societal paradigms, the Concierge service will suggest genres FOR you. For example, I am writing this on a Friday night, and the Concierge is offering me the following options: “Bedtime”, “A Sweaty Dance Party”, “Pre-Gaming with Friends”, “Putting on Your Party Dress”, “Creating a Cool Atmosphere”, and “Unwinding”. Seeing as I already have my Party Dress on, in a manner of speaking, I went with the Cool Atmosphere one, and, as a result, it is narrowing down the tunes I should listen to into ANOTHER six categories, this time based on genre.
I spent the work day today bombing through the multitudes of dubstep available, to give it an honest chance, and I was really impressed by the volumes of music available in these playlists. But that’s the catch that I’ve mentioned a number of times: it’s a pre-set collection of playlists. You don’t experience the flexibility of Pandora’s lists, or the “control EXACTLY what you want to hear” of Spotify, but when used properly, it fits comfortably into most situations.
Like most streaming music sites these days, there is a social media aspect included, where everyone on Facebook knows you’re listening to the “Cry Yourself to Sleep” playlist, unless you disable the feature. It isn’t as invasive as Spotify’s “POST EVERY TRACK” setting, but it’s also not a feature I’d actively seek out.
There are also a few extra clock-related features, where you can set a specific playlist to start playing as an alarm at a certain time, and the ability to play music while displaying the app’s built in clock, but they aren’t anything to write home about. I imagine you could go through the Concierge service (which you can also set different days of the weeks, and times of day, kind of like looking at future traffic on Google Maps) and set certain appropriate playlists to pop up when you expect to be commuting to work, or doing housework, or what have you.
Right. So it’s great, right? Now let’s get down to brass tack. It’s available for iPhone, Android, Kindle, and computers for free (with clickable, but not audible, ads). So far, I’ve played with the iPhone app and the web site, and the user interface is nice. Not too complicated to navigate; not to noisy to sift through. “Nice” is really the most appropriate word for it. It also has the Pandora “You’ve Skipped Too Many Tracks For Now, But If You Switch Over To Another Playlist, You Can Keep Skipping” license restrictions, but with the number of playlists available, this shouldn’t hold you back.
I don’t think it’ll replace my iCloud use, or the occasional Spotify use, but I do think this may replace Pandora in my eyes, at least until I exhaust the playlists I am actually interested in hearing. I say it’s worth checking out to see how well the Concierge matches your moods, and to laugh at some of the playlists and categories. It’s not like it’ll cost you anything. I’m with the folks on the Apple App Store: 5 Stars for this one.
0 Episode 60 – 11/13/12 feat. Katie Best & Maianne Preble
Katie and Maianne join Dan and Adam in the Wheels Brewing Co Studio for a goofy, fun, light-hearted episode after surviving election season. There’s talk of streaming services and media, e-books, radio, and more. They also play a round of “Movie Bluff”.
Taped at The Wheels Brewing Co Studio, Minneapolis, MN on November 13, 2012.
Check out photos and this week’s bonus tracks by clicking here.
Click here to listen: Episode 60 – 111312
0 Episode 59 – 11/06/12 feat. Caity Shea Robertson & Dave Wheeler
Dave and Producer Caity join Dan and Adam in the Wheels Brewing Co Studio on ELECTION NIGHT! And it’s also 99% election coverage free! Everyone chats about what they’ve been viewing, or listening to, recently, plus a bit of news. There’s a little bit of everything in this one, as Dave, Caity, Adam and Dan are no strangers to riffing from conversation to conversation. Plus, we play Movie Bluff!
Taped at The Wheels Brewing Co Studio, Minneapolis, MN on November 6, 2012.
Check out photos and this week’s bonus tracks by clicking here.
Click here to listen: Episode 59
0 Episode 58 – 10/28/12 feat. Amber Hendricks & Spencer Knapp
Amber and Spencer joined Dan and Adam in the Wheels Brewing Co Studio in Minneapolis for a post ‘night on the town’ recovery, and chat about exposure to streaming signals. It’s a chill Sunday in the studio, and we discuss what everyone is watching, including Amber and Spencer’s first steps into “Doctor Who”. After that, everyone opts for a few rounds of Build a Title. Enjoy!
Taped at The Wheels Brewing Co Studio, Minneapolis, MN on October 28, 2012.
Check out photos and this week’s bonus tracks by clicking here.
Click here to listen: Episode 58 – 102812
0 Episode 57 – 10/24/12 feat. Kris McNeal & Jeff Priesmeyer
Kris joined via Skype in Duluth, while Jeff joined Dan and Adam in the Wheels Brewing Co Studio in Minneapolis for a high school reunion, and to talk about streaming stuff. Kris talks briefly about his experience around the Great Lakes, and he and Jeff talk about what they’re watching online right now. There’s also a lot of great rambling, and then Kris and Jeff learn how to play “Movie Bluff”.
Taped at The Wheels Brewing Co Studio, Minneapolis, MN on October 24, 2012.
Check out photos and this week’s bonus tracks by clicking here.
Click here to listen: Episode 57
0 Episode 56 – 10/16/12 feat. Jon “Alaska” Maakestad & Lauren “Lola” Schauer
“Alaska” and “Lola” join Dan and Adam in the studio to discuss the importance in finding neighbors who do not know how to encrypt Wi-Fi routers, and to discuss what they’re watching. This was a good cycle of discussion regarding what everyone is listening to, watching, and planning to watch, as “Alaska” and “Lola” discuss their upcoming adventures. ‘Bout half way through, everyone teaches “Alaska” how to play “Movie Bluff”. Good times. Take a listen!
Taped at The Wheels Brewing Co Studio, Minneapolis, MN on October 16, 2012.
Check out photos and this week’s bonus tracks by clicking here.
Click here to listen: Episode 56 – 101612
0 Episode 55 – 10/09/12 feat. Molly Garczynski & Matt Walstead
Molly joins Dan and Adam via Apple FaceTime and Matt joins Dan and Adam in the studio to figure out whether or not Molly’s a robot, all the while, talking about what they’re streaming. Followed by that was many a tangent, some news, and a round of “Movie Bluff.” Molly and Matt are two really funny folks, and riffed well off of each other. Check it out!
Taped at The Wheels Brewing Co Studio, Minneapolis, MN on October 9, 2012.
Check out photos and this week’s bonus tracks by clicking here.
Click here to listen: Episode 55 – 100912
0 Episode 54 – 10/02/12 feat. Ben “Rodge” Rodgers & James Wheeler
Ben & James join Dan and Caity in the studio to discuss everything they’re absorbing digitally in the web, BS their way through some news and play “Movie Bluff.” With Adam out sick after the MN Ren Fest, Caity fills in as Dan, Ben & James chat her up as the conversationalists they are. Enjoy!
Taped at The Wheels Brewing Co Studio, Minneapolis, MN on October 2, 2012.
Check out photos and this week’s bonus tracks by clicking here.
Click here to listen: Episode 54 – 100212
0 Episode 53 – 09/25/12 feat. Curtis James & Dave Wheeler
Curtis and Dave join Dan and Adam in the studio to discuss everything they’re listening to and watching on that there Internets, banter like mad men, and play “Movie Bluff.” Curtis and Dave are super detail oriented in that which they intake from streaming, and bestow an excellent conversation upon Dan and Adam. Enjoy!!
Taped at The Wheels Brewing Co Studio, Minneapolis, MN on September 25, 2012.
Check out photos and this week’s bonus tracks by clicking here.
Click here to listen: Episode 53 – 092512
The Buffering Podcast 