My Own Little World

I'm back at trying out music streaming services after auditioning both Spotify and Google Play Music. I didn't care for Spotify at all , and Google Play Music, while better,  still had its own issues . I moved onto what seemed like the next best option: Jay-Z's service, Tidal. Tidal relaunched itself this past March with Jay-Z and a slew of other artists (including some personal favorites like Coldplay and Arcade Fire, as well as Beyonce, Nicki Minaj, Daft Punk, and others) touting themselves as co-owners. They all signed a declaration at the launch event that basically said Tidal would revolutionize music streaming as we know it. Here's the problem: it didn't. Tidal didn't catch on with the general public and is generally regarded as a business failure. They're on their third CEO since their relaunch and have failed to attract any kind of significant subscriber base. This really sucks, especially considering that I love the way Tidal works. I love t

I'm back, after trying out another music streaming service. In my search, I'm continuing to find different ways that different services work with my ways of listening to music. This time, I'm going to the one made by my favorite software company: Google Play Music. If you're thinking that I have some kind of bias towards Google and their products and would choose Google Play Music just because of that, I wouldn't blame you one bit. I'm publically in support of Google and unashamedly tout Android as the best mobile operating system. So, when coming over to Google Play Music for a month-long free trial, I expected a lot. Instead, I got a little less than I wanted. Now, Google Play Music works much better for me than Spotify did, mostly because of the way it handles playback. It's very easy for me to use with my preference of listening to albums. I can search for an artist or album on either the mobile app or the web player, select an album, and place i

I feel like it's safe to say that I'm a bigger Bond fan than most of the people I know. Unlike many that I know who proclaim to like the James Bond franchise, I have seen the classic films with Connery, Dalton, and Moore. Now, I love Daniel Craig's portrayal of 007 more than any of theirs because it eschews the suave and smooth for realistic and cunning. He feels more human and less ideal than all of theirs, and his films reflect that. I have no problem with people loving Casino Royale  and Skyfall  (let's face it: Quantum of Solace  was just not good) and that being it. They're great films that deserve the admiration they get from my generation. However, I've got this sinking feeling that Spectre  won't be quite as well-liked by those who have only seen Craig's films. Why? Because Spectre  is classic Bond.  Some call it formulaic; I call it a return to what's been missing. Yes, we still get Craig's gritty world in Spectre ; but we also