'Only Be One' video: Millennium

Login required. Thanks to Dev Bhatia for uploading it. Hopefully the other Millennium videos will also be uploaded soon.

About Covers

You can tell Indian music scene has started to evolve when a school band starts covering Indian bands (this one a cover of Zero's PSP12):

Indus Creed

Note: This post ends abruptly... You've been warned.

I don't think I'll ever get bored of listening to Indus Creed's self-titled album. From the amazing string picking intro on Fly to the amazing chord change in the chorus in Trapped, to the wacky lyrics on Best Friend, the list can go on. I'm amazed that this album was released in 1995. The album would do well, even if it was released today!

The things I like about Indus Creed's music is the guitar work by Jayesh Gandhi and mahesh Tinaikar, especially the string picking on Fly, Pretty Child, Cry, the vocals by Uday Benegal and the lyrics. Consider the following lines from Trapped:

trapped in a dream and you can't even scream
'cos there's no one ever here

and

chased in a dream by a freshly rested team
of black horses drawing a hearse

Or the following from Cry:

under the ground beneath the bones
beneath the sadness, tilling stones
machines humming, insouciant drone

They were one amazing band!

NoTunes

Ever since I got my iPod Shuffle, like a zillion other people, the one problem I found with it ... the iTunes/Amarok/RhythmBox dependency. There was no way you could simply copy mp3s onto your iPod and make them "playable" ....

Then the Godsend ... the shuffle db (re)builder ... a python program that you must copy to your iPod Shuffle and run after you've copied all your mp3s onto the iPod ... and there it is ... the builder rebuilds your iPod database with all of the folders (or tracks) and makes them playable ...

The rebuilder also has a "smart shuffle" feature which makes the shuffling "more" random.

Here's a snapshot of a UI (which Ill call "NoTunes") that I built for the builder ... I moved some "In the Mood" functionality (as seen in bottom pane) inside NoTunes for sh#%s and giggles too ...

Some more loose ends and then no more iTunes for me ...

A word of caution ... do not try this program on regular iPods ... it has been built for shuffles only ... if you want to be free of iTunes with regular iPods, you should try reTune ...

BTW ... couldn't make it to the Millennium show in DL on account of ill-health ... cant miss BLR ...

Stay frosty ...

Riffmeister

UPDATE: Implemented volume read/write in NoTunes. Also, implemented un-governed clustering of collection based on song mood. Check out the new avatar. You can export clusters to cross-app playlists as well as move them to your iPod.

Dream Theater at Rock in India !!!?

Several sources (Gigpad, Music Ballroom) have reported that Dream Theater may play at the Rock in India festival. Dream Theater recently finished the Asian leg of their world tour and most recently played in Australia (Feb 1st) to promote their latest album called Systematic Chaos. So they might very well be in the area. While the band site doesn't mention anything about this concert, Jordan Rudess in an interview had said that India "would be an interesting place to give a show". So it might very well happen! If so, Wow!

Update: I guess it was too good to be true! As Crayogenic_Death points out, DT have a show in Caracas, Venezuela on March 14th. So the chances of DT playing in Bangalore the same day is close to zero! I should have done a bit more research myself before posting! Apologies for spreading the rumour!

Millennium!

Yes! That is me wearing a Millennium tee! Riff recreated the design on the cover of I Concept 2 Live album! This was my way of celebrating the reunion of Millennium after more than seven years for a concert in Delhi today (Feb 1st, 2008). Unfortunately, I couldn't be at the concert, but I'm waiting to read reviews of the concert. They will be performing again at the Rock in India festival in Bangalore on March 14th, where they will be opening for Megadeth.

Btw, if you haven't heard the 1 Concept 2 live album yet, you can find a link to download it on this forum thread on Gigpad.

Update: Updated the date of the Rock in India concert. For some reason I kept thinking the concert was on February 14th! I must have been stuck in some kind of a time warp.