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This is the second edition of SMOKING Hot Music! These albums and artists are simmering in my playlist. Some are new, others are old albums I just discovered. Click on any album cover to read my mini-review. I’d love to know what you think.

Special thanks and a little link love for some music friends…

• Steven Russel for the Joy Whitlock tip. Joy actually goes to Steven’s church. How cool is that?
• Brody Harper for the Katie Herzig tip and tons of other great music. If Brody recommends something I can almost go out and buy the album without listening to it. Great taste in music.
• Brian Alexander for the Ryan Star tip (I’m still waiting for your first music video)
• CJ Mills for being so cool and having musical tastes so similar to me it’s scary (remember CJ, what we have is very special)
• Reba Baskett turned me on to Brooke Fraser and has awesome taste in music. I would like her more if she didn’t go to so many cool concerts and make me jealous.

Is there new music out there you think is good enough for my SMOKING Hot Music list? Leave a comment with your suggestions.

Last week a revolutionary new music download service was launched that, in my opinion, will redefine how independent artists get their music to new listeners. This new service is called NoiseTrade and was started by none other than singer/songwriter Derek Webb who in 2006 gave away over 80,000 downloads of his ‘Mockingbird’ album for free online.

The concept behind NoiseTrade is simple, “A great record is its own best marketing tool,” says Webb. “All the marketing dollars in the world can’t accomplish what one great record can, especially if it’s set free to roam around and connect with the right people.”

NoiseTrade gives you two ways to download music.

1. Tell 3 friends about NoiseTrade or
2. Pay what you want

That’s right. This service lets you actually set your own price for what you think the album is worth. Even better, 90% of what you pay goes directly to the artist as opposed to iTunes where well over half what you pay gets split between Apple and the record label (see this article).

Even though this service was launched last week I’ve already seen the catalog of albums offered grow. Even better, there are some excellent artists getting in on this such as Joy Whitlock and Katie Herzig. I’m convinced that this represents a huge paradigm shift in the way that new music is distributed in the future.

What do you think of the NoiseTrade concept?
If you had a choice, would you pay what you thought was fair for good music?
What do you think is fair for a digital album download?

I always like to learn new things about my readers, but first something you may not know about me. Did you know, I’ve been on the Internet long enough to remember connecting onto Compuserve through a 28.8k modem? Downloading 35k .wav clips, listening to MIDI files and downloading “high res” jpeg images at 800×600! Ahh, those were the days.

I know this is total blog/web/computer geek curiosity but I’m just wondering, what kind of Internet connection do you have now?

Cable?
DSL?
Dial-Up?

Indulge my geeky curiosity.

Chewbacca getting footloose with a sandman and Darth Vader dancing to Thriller.

On a Saturday, it doesn’t get better than that.

If you hadn’t noticed, I got hammered in yesterday’s blog post. I’m talking two black eyes and kick to the stomach. Even my own wife disagreed with me!

First of all, let me just say how awesome it is to have an environment like this where you feel comfortable disagreeing with me and expressing different viewpoints. This is exactly the kind of discussion I want to have on my blog.

So let’s continue the conversation from yesterday. As you know, I picked up a bottle of Ethos water from Starbucks and wrote that that it was a “simple way to make a difference.” The point I was trying to make (and actually one I still stand by) is that a lot of people doing a little can make a BIG difference.

However, several valid points were raised that are worth discussing:

1. Ethos only donates 5 cents from each $1.79 bottle towards clean water efforts.
2. Their marketing is somewhat misleading and could lead you to think it is a purely charity-driven product
3. Fixing one problem (lack of clean water around the world) could cause another (8 out of 10 plastic water bottles don’t get recycled causing build-up in our landfills) - a case of Aegrescit medendo (the remedy being worse than the disease)
   

I’ve read through all of your comments and I appreciate those you of you who took the time to write them. Here are a few observations:

1. While it’s true that 5 cents out of bottle of water that cost $1.79 isn’t much, it’s better than .00 cents donated from the $.99 cent water we normally buy. At the very least I commend companies who at least recognize and participate in social action on any scale even if it’s not to the degree we would like.
2. The biggest argument against products like Ethos is, Why not skip the bottled water or go with a cheaper water alternative so you can give more? To which I reply, ABSOLUTELY! That is undoubtedly the best solution to solving the global water crisis - make do with less so we can give more. My question then is, so how much are you giving up and how much have you given? It’s easy to point fingers at corporate giving practices and ignore our own. Could Ethos give more than 5 cents a bottle? I’m sure they can. Could I give more than I’m giving? Absolutely.
3. A bigger problem is the issue of creating excess waste to the tune of over 38 billion plastic water bottles in our landfills every year. It takes over 1.5 million barrels of oil to manufacture one year’s supply of bottled water. That’s enough oil to fuel 100,000 cars. Not very good environmental stewardship.

There are some very real issues facing us and I for one, don’t want to sit on the sidelines. Social change first begins with awareness, then education and results in action.

So, what are we going to do about it? I’ve got some ideas but I’d like to hear yours.

I’m excited to announce something that I’ve been waiting a long time to say:

MY WIFE HAS A BLOG!!!

That’s right - the love of my life, my baby’s momma - has now joined the blogosphere! If you want to get inside the mind of the only woman in the world crazy enough to marry me, here’s your chance.

When you visit make sure you read the post “Why do boys pee standing up?“ (for the record, I have great aim!

So give her a grand welcome - subscribe, leave a comment, twitter. I love her and I’m pretty sure you will too!

A bottled water for you.
Clean water for children around the world.
It’s a no-brainer.

To date Ethos has raised over $6.2 million which will help an estimated 420,000 people gain access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene education.

If you’re going to pick up a bottled water anyway, grab one of these instead from your nearest Starbucks.

What are some of the little things you do to help make a difference in the world around you?

Like any good husband I usually get the monthly request to pick up feminine hygiene products. I get the phone call or see it snuck in on a grocery list.

Often times when I run out in the evening I’ll see other guys aimlessly wandering the hygiene products isle with a look of confusion and bewilderment on their face. They finally grab a box, stuff it dutifully under a bag of frozen peas to disguise it and make their way to the checkout.

As they stand there in line they’re thinking the same thing every guy thinks when he has to make this kind of purchase,

“Dear Lord, I hope I picked the right one!”

Because God knows NO man wants to be on the cell phone in the middle of a store having this conversation,

“Honey, what kind of Tampon do you need again?
Super what?
I don’t see Super Plus Tampons here, what about Extra Super Tampons?
What? Look, can you just tell me what color the box is?”

Can someone please explain to me why you need that many options and brands to choose from when purchasing a Tampon?

Ladies, let me explain something to you about men. We like to appear confident and self-assured. We like to know what we’re doing. And nothing destroys our confidence quicker than sending us out to buy Tampons. I honestly believe that they purposely label the products to try to trip us guys up.

Light Tampax?
Extra Light Tampax?
Super Tampax?
Super Tampax Deluxe?
Extra Super Deluxe Tampax?

Would you like fries and a drink with that?

Here are a few questions I have.

1. Is there honestly some rhyme or reason behind the names they put on the boxes? Or are they result of some misanthropic lady in the marketing department designed to confuse the men that have to pick them up?
2. Do you really need to wait until the very last minute before sending us out to pick them up? Isn’t this something that happens fairly close to the same time every month?
3. If this is a product that you know you’re going to keep using for at least then next 15-25 years, why not buy it in BULK? Heck, get 3 or 4 years worth. This may be crazy guy-talk here but hear me out. You’ll save money and avoid sending us men out to buy the wrong one! It’s a win-win!

To all of the wives out there - your men love you. We honestly try to pick up the right thing but there are just some things that guys weren’t meant to pick out. Tampons are one of them. Now, on the other hand, if you’re looking for a new TV for the living room…

Guys, are you tracking with me? Have any of you asked the same questions? Got a funny Tampon story to tell?

Gals (those of you who are still subscribed after reading this), help us out. Am I off track?

There is just so much going on in my life right now. I’ve got enough design work to keep me busy for a while - trust me, I’m not complaining - but don’t you ever just wish you had another copy of you that could help you out? Reminds me of this scene from Multiplicity (one of my favorite movies).

Although with my luck my clone would end up like #4.

It seems everyone from Kroger to McDonalds is getting in on DVD rentals these days so it didn’t surprise me to see a rack of DVDs to rent at Staples when I was picking up some office supplies. What did surprise me was the sign above the DVDs, “NO RETURN DVD RENTAL!”

That caught my attention.

I picked up a DVD just to check it out for myself and see how it worked. According to Flexplay, the process is as simple as open, watch the movie as many times as you would like during a 48 hour period, and then recycle the disc when you’re done.

Here’s a description of the technology used from Flexplay’s web site:

Like regular DVDs, Flexplay DVDs are made from two pieces of plastic one or both of which have a reflective coating that are glued together. Information on the DVD is read by a laser beam focused on that reflective surface. Precise focus and clear transmission of the laser beam is required for playback of the DVD.

Flexplay DVDs use a proprietary, patented adhesive to glue the plastic disc halves together. Removing the Flexplay DVD from its sealed package exposes the disc to oxygen, triggering a gentle, controlled chemical reaction with the special Flexplay adhesive. After 48 hours, but not sooner, the adhesive begins to interfere with the DVD laser beam’s ability to read the disc. This all happens inside the disc, with no exposed chemicals or coatings. Flexplay DVDs are designed to ensure perfect playback during the entire 2-day viewing period.

It’s a very interesting concept that fills a very niche market. At $4.99 the price point isn’t as good as Blockbuster, Netflix or iTunes for everyday rentals. However, if you’re traveling or are on vacation and want to stick a few movies in your laptop case and not worry about how long you’ve had them and when you’re going to watch them, Flexplay might be an option.

What do you think of No Return DVD Rentals? Would you pay $4.99 for a DVD you didn’t have to return?

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