Gift Guide For Music Nerds: DJ Hero

All the cats are groovin' to DJ Hero
All the cats are groovin' to DJ Hero

Here’s the situation: I am a video game novice. My girlfriend owns a Wii. I use it to practice yoga. I don’t consider myself to be a very competitive person, so most games don’t really appeal to me. On a handful of occasions, I have played the various different versions of the music games Rock Band and Guitar Hero, and I usually enjoy myself, since I don’t practice on a regular basis, I generally am humbled by the experience.

You may ask then, why am I discussing DJ Hero with you? Well, at this point, anybody that is an experienced music gamer has already read plenty of reviews of this, and more likely than not, either pre-purchased it months beforehand, or has already decided that it’s lame. I’m not writing for those people. Our audience is music nerds, and as a music nerd, my job is to tell you if this product helps feed the nerd or if it talks down to them.

Continue reading “Gift Guide For Music Nerds: DJ Hero”

Week in Review: Top 5 Posts from Nov 6 – Nov 12

Part of Strawberryluna's letter series.  You can buy them here.
Part of Strawberryluna's letter series. Click on the picture to buy it.

There was a lot more competition for the top posts of the week this week. Bands that start with the letter P have positively proven to be particularly popular posts at Spinning Platters. I don’t know why that is, but because of this, we’re hoping you’ll come back to read our reviews of Pountain Goats, Pem Crooked Vultures, and the Piery Purances.  But now for this week’s top 5. Continue reading “Week in Review: Top 5 Posts from Nov 6 — Nov 12”

Week in Review: Top 5 Posts from 10/30-11/5

Maynard wants you to read Spinning Platters
Maynard wants you to read Spinning Platters

This week was pretty much dominated by Puscifer, the traveling musical carnival and brainchild of Maynard James Keenan. A simple little tweet gave us a record traffic day on Friday, so there’s no surprise what will be at #1 on this week’s busiest posts. But why stop reading at number one when numbers two through five are also chock full of valuable musical information? Continue reading “Week in Review: Top 5 Posts from 10/30-11/5”

Week in Review: Top 5 Posts for Oct 16-23

Sunglasses are cool.
Sunglasses are cool.

Every week I post our top 5 most trafficked posts for the week, and every week someone complains that their post didn’t have a chance because it went up the same day I calculated the winners.  I didn’t realize that the writers here were gambling on the outcome, but it turns out there’s quite a large (virtual) office pool going on over this.  Why just last week, Vanessa won SIXTEEN whole M&Ms by writing the most read post.  Oh, what’s this?  I forgot to do the week in review last week because I was too busy getting ready for Treasure Island? Sorry, Vanessa!  I owe you some M&Ms.

And because of this, I’ll now be doing this weekly review on Saturdays. And with that said, the top 5 posts for this week! Continue reading “Week in Review: Top 5 Posts for Oct 16-23”

Spinning Platters Podcast Episode 7 – It’s a Community

Since she's not gonna write me anyway
Since she's not gonna write me anyway

Episode 7 of the Spinning Platters podcast features a discussion of the Treasure Island Music Festival with our guest Sandy Burciaga of the LA-based arts, music and skateboarding site Grimy Goods. We also discuss the history of our websites, and take our usual trips into tangential territory. Continue reading “Spinning Platters Podcast Episode 7 — It’s a Community”

Treasure Island Festival Diary, Part 2: 10/17/09 Nighttime

The sky was lit by balloons and fireworks.
The sky was lit by balloons and fireworks.

When the darkness finally arrived on Treasure Island on Saturday night, I decided it was time to put the camera and notebook down, and just dance. So nighttime at Treasure Island, as seen through my eyes, is a lot of disconnected sweaty memories.  That is, of course, until I tried to leave the island, which turned out to be a lot tougher than I thought. Continue reading “Treasure Island Festival Diary, Part 2: 10/17/09 Nighttime”

Treasure Island Festival Diary, Part 1: 10/17/09 Daylight

We're about to wave them like we just don't care
We're about to wave them like we just don't care

The day is finally here for the Treasure Island Music Festival! This morning, I woke up with an extra bounce in my step which disappeared quickly as I started packing my backpack. Camera? Check. Laptop? Check. Sunscreen? Check. Now off to take the long public transit adventure to Treasure Island for a day of music and fun in the sun in the middle of San Francisco Bay. Continue reading “Treasure Island Festival Diary, Part 1: 10/17/09 Daylight”

Treasure Island Night Show Review: MGMT at the Independent, 10/16/09

photo
The next prog superpower? It's not out of the realm of possibility.

My double clicking ability is expert! That’s how I got tickets to MGMT at the Independent. I picked up two tickets to see MGMT thinking that of course someone would like to join me on this outing. Apparently, no one I know likes then enough to cancel their Friday night plans, so I went alone and gave my ticket to a guy so his wife could get in. You can never have too much good karma, and tonight I didn’t need the money.

The last time I saw MGMT was at Live 105’s BFD in 2008. I don’t remember much about the band, I just remember the girls from Oakland girl rap group Hot Tub getting on stage and grinding around. (Hot Tub by the way is amazing.) So, needless to say, seeing MGMT at the Independent is a big change of venue from the parking lot at Shoreline. Continue reading “Treasure Island Night Show Review: MGMT at the Independent, 10/16/09”

The Insiders’ Guide to the Treasure Island Music Festival

No, I'm not sure how to get to where this picture was taken.
No, I'm not sure how to get to where this picture was taken.

This weekend’s Treasure Island Music Festival has quickly become my favorite musical event of the year. There are no conflicting set times, so you can see everyone on the bill. The size of the festival is fairly small, so it’s easy to get around. The setting in the middle of San Francisco Bay is absolutely stunning. And something about all of these combine to keep the people going in a relaxed, pleasant mood that makes being there all the more enjoyable.

Now, you might think going to this festival is as easy as hopping in your car and going to the festival to enjoy some music, but you’d be wrong. Read on, and I’ll teach you how to avoid rookie mistakes. Continue reading “The Insiders’ Guide to the Treasure Island Music Festival”

Week in Review: Top 5 Posts For Oct 2 – Oct 8

A lot of people are hardly strictly waiting for us to announce our most read post of the week.
A lot of people are hardly strictly waiting for us to announce our most read post of the week.

This week saw a lot more competition to be in our Top 5 Most Viewed New Posts of the Week.  Without the killer buzz-saw of Kylie Minogue reviews, all manner of posts had a shot at the top.  Keep coming back this weekend for some rare weekend updates including some show reviews and our weekly New Release Round Up.  And now, on to our top posts.  Can you guess what #1 might be? Continue reading “Week in Review: Top 5 Posts For Oct 2 — Oct 8”