Favourite Things

Here are a few things that I’m into at the moment…

BitTorrent: Despite Van Morrison’s recent request that his live shows be pulled from sites like dimeadozen.org there is still a great deal of quality live shows by artists such as Elvis Costello, Nick Cave, Springsteen, Dylan and others of every genre. Since these are bootlegged shows and not official releases they are permitted, or at least tolerated, by most artists.

Last week I downloaded 3 of Neil Young’s recent concerts from his early March residency in London and a couple of Elvis’s 1996 shows with the Attractions. Brilliant stuff.

Hard drive space challenged beware, however. These shows are in FLAC format and usually clock in at half a gig a show. You’ll need a torrent tool like Azureus to capture them and a player like Winamp to listen, but they are worth the setup, and the sound quality blows MP3s out of the water.

The Castle in the Forrest by Norman Mailer: The last novel published before Mailer passed away in November of 2007. Its great to see a literary legend dying with his boots on, producing challenging work right up to the end. The novel is the dark and lyrical story of Adolph Hitler’s youth, told from the viewpoint of his guardian devil. It is a twisted and at times piercingly truthful story that could only have been produced by the Maestro himself.

Spring Training: Hope springs eternal, as they say. The Tigers have re-tooled and look tough. A health Jays squad might have their best chance in years to challenge the Yanks and Sox for the American League East. The Giants will have their work cut out for themselves in the suddenly super-competitive National League West, and the Mets will have a lot of ground to make up for after their spectacular collapse last September. Let’s play ball.

I’m predicting:
A Tigers v.s. Cubs World Series.
The Jays will win the American League Wild Card.
Barry Bonds will get signed by the Anaheim Angels, never play a game and wind up in prison by the end of the year.

What I’m listening to:
Buck 65 - The Situation
Nick Cave – Dig, Lazarus, Dig
Various Artists – Starbuck’s Artist Choice: Bob Dylan, Music That Matters to Him