Web Site Review: Selling Your CDs

A thought: If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is. I've told myself this countless times, but it never seems to sink in.
Sell, sell, sell: I recently decided to sell my 260+ CD collection and move to all digital music. I came across the Web site, secondspin.com, that buys and sells used CDs. They appeared to offer better buy-back pricing than all of their competitors. So, I carefully cataloged my entire CD collection and created a spreadsheet. I then went to their site and began entering my CD information. Immediately I noticed how archaic the user interface was for this site. (I should have taken this as a red flag.) I decided to just write down the prices on my spreadsheet, as it was much easier to do this than create a list on their Web site. After I completed, I sent the list to their sales department. Their reply (a few days later) informed me that I cannot use "Web prices" for a bulk order. Their bulk pricing is actually 10 to 20% less than Web prices. So I returned to their site, as I was forced to create a "to sell" list online. It took me about 4 hours to complete. It was extremely slow and not at all user friendly. Once I finished, I packed up all my CDs very carefully and shipped them. A week later I received a reply that they would only accept 30 of my 260+ CDs. What!? I couldn't believe it. A complete waste of my time. Everyone knows that CDs scuff easily. 90% of scuffs never affect playability. Their "strict quality control" they mentioned is NOT emphasized enough on their site, secondspin.com. They state that CDs must be in "good" condition. My CDs were in good condition. I always took care of them and kept them in the jewel cases. And for the cherry on top - they lost one of my CD inserts and said it was "missing." Just perfect.
Sing! I will sing displeasure on this site until the cows come home. And no, I will never do business with them again.
Rating: I'm not even going to give them A star. The hours I spent getting everything in order only to have my CDs sent back to me was a slap in the face. Down with secondspin.com. I hope their selling side is better, but I'll never try to find out.

Web Site Review: 10-Cent Music Downloads?

What?! Yeah, you read the title correctly. Thanks to http://www.mp3search.ru/, we can now legally download music mp3 files for only 10 cents per song.
How Can This Be? So you have scoured sites like iTunes.com or MusicMatch.com only to find songs are priced a whopping 99 cents each, or $9.99 per album. The price doesn't sound too bad, but just start downloading. It adds up quickly. And thanks to download technology, you can get the songs you want lightning-fast. If this is the case, then how does mp3search.ru sell for only 10 cents per song? Well, for starters, the site is physically based in Russia. Thanks to international trade laws, downloading from this site is no different than traveling to Russia, purchasing a discounted CD, and returning with it to the states... at least this is how I understand it. If anyone has more info on this, I am all ears.
How Does It Work? For starters, it isn't as fast or seamless as purchasing music through iTunes eStore. You begin with loading your account with a pre-set dollar amount. In my case, I chose to load it up with $40. In addition to my deposit, I was given 60 free downloads once my $40 is completely used. As soon as I set up an account, which was quite simple, I could begin downloading. I could select to purchase a single song or the whole album. Purchasing the whole album at once even gave me 10% off the 10-cent per song price. (Note: Save your single-song downloads for your freebies at the end. You cannot purchase a whole album at once with the freebies.) Albums average about a dollar each... That's a dollar for the whole album as opposed to a single song. Once you purchase, you then right-click "Download" on each individual track and tell it where to save. There is also an optional "download manager" tool available for download, but I passed. Downloading each song can be a bit slow, but again, the price you pay for the 90% discount.
And In The End? The songs you take is equal to the buck... you make. Come again? Just a hint that there is a huge Beatles catalog on this site. Yes, really. And when it is all said and done, $40 gets you 460+ legal songs to add to your collection.
Risk? Yes, I, like most people, was a bit apprehensive about putting my credit card information on a Russian site. I called my credit card company in advance and told them of my overseas purchase. I've been watching it for a few weeks now, and no problems. Whew!
Rating: There aren't enough asterisks to represent how cool this is. I'll give it all I've got. *****

Music Review: Muse - Absolution

The Band: Yes, they sound like Radiohead. There, I said it. Can we move on now? Check them out at http://www.muse.mu. Spectacular Web site for an amazing band!
The Sound: From the moment I first put this CD into my player, I was mezmerized by its haunting beauty. Singer/songwriter Matthew Bellamy has a talent that is rarely found in music these days. True, his voice does resemble that of Radiohead singer, Thom Yorke, and also like Yorke, Bellamy plays the guitar and piano... very well I might add. I would go so far as to say Absolution picks up where Radiohead left off with "The Bends." While Absolution was released in 2004, it is really just now getting airplay and attention with the single, Hysteria. I had the rare opportunity of purchasing this album, falling in love with it, and seeing the band play live, all within about a two-month timespan. I wish I was this fortunate with every new CD I purchased, because it really completed the experience of Muse. If you are a downloader, I would recommend the singles, Hysteria and Stockholm Syndrome. The second of these two cuts, Stockholm Syndrome, truly encapsulates everything I love about music. That is something I have never said about any single song before. Just amazing.
Warning: If you are captivated by this album, as I was, I do forewarn you. Their older albums, while good, do not carry the same effects as Absolution. Most retailers don't even cary their previous albums... perhaps for a reason.
Rating: Best of the best. 5 out of 5 asterisks*****. This album will be a part of my "top-played" for years to come.

Music Review: The Mars Volta - Frances the Mute

With an album this artistic, I'm wondering which member of the band will be cutting off his ear and ending up in an asylum.
The Band: If you are looking for something different, and I mean really different, check out The Mars Volta (http://www.themarsvolta.com/). If you remember the band named "At The Drive-In" from a few years ago, the singer and guitarist kept a similar sound alive with the birth of The Mars Volta.
The Sound: Take a bit of Led Zeppelin, a dash of Carlos Santana, and a whole lot of male diva, and you begin to get the sound of TMV. Their debut album, De-loused in the Comatorium was the beginning of their new sound, and they have really developed this new art form in their latest cut, Frances the Mute.
Warning: I have listened to their albums enough now to say it is definitely an acquired taste. Not everyone likes Picasso. If you hear the track titled "The Widow" on the radio or on Mtv, don't let that song be the deciding factor. The rest of the CD takes on a very exploratory, epic feel... Tool's newer albums should come to mind. Several tracks demand one of two things: Patience or the fast-forward button. I will give this to them, once they actually get a song started, they rope you in with those catchy Page-esque guitar riffs. My only other caution would be this... don't try to make too much out of the lyrics. They are bizarre, to say the least.
Rating: Killer album - 4 out of 5 asterisks ****

Gaming System Review: PSP

Initial reaction: Well done.
The latest in handheld gaming is now on the market, and it is made by one of the world's largest names in gaming... No, for once, not Microsoft. Sony has taken the success of their Playstation 2 and slammed it all into a sandwich-sized portable gaming device. Asthetically, it is very pleasing: not too heavy, easy to control, and the screen... wow. This is one of the nicest screens I have ever see on a device of this size. The resolution is absolutely stunning.
What does it do? Well, I'll leave all the details up to Sony to explain, but I must say that the plastic-covered discs lend to a scratch-resistance we could only wish for on CDs. These discs are a bit smaller than the typical CD or DVD, so when you see the demo playing Spiderman 2 (which comes with the PSP), please keep in mind that you have to purchase PSP movies separately... and no, they can't play on your DVD player. Aside from gaming and movies, this device can also store all types of data and pictures with the removable memory card. And like so many digital cameras, while Sony was nice enough to include a memory card with the PSP, its storage capabilities will quickly dwindle for the average user. Figures. And yes, they will be happy to sell you a larger memory card.
What it doesn't do: One of the first questions out of my mouth (and the next person that looked at the PSP) was this, "Can I hook this up to a TV and just use the PSP as a controller?" As I understand it, the answer was no. If this information was incorrect, please inform me differently... because I just couldn't believe this was true.
For features, visit: http://www.us.playstation.com/Content/Sites/65/Info/...
and be prepared to take a nap while the fancy intro downloads.

Rating: Great device. I'll have to give this a 4 out of 5 asterisks ****. I would expect the next generation of the PSP to receive a 5. They were just too close on their first attempt. So where is Microsoft?