THE BEATLES ON ITUNES. FINALLY.

I had to write about this. I love it when two of my favorite things come together; in this case, the Beatles and Apple computers. The Beatles and Apple finally settled their differences. The Beatles albums are finally available 7 years after the iTunes store was launched. This is pretty exciting. I'm curious to see what kind of sales this will make. I think this is history in the making...at least in my history book. I had to take a screenshot of this. This won't be up for long.

HEAD-FI.

This is a real treat to write about. This is probably one of my oldest obsessions. Headphones. I take my music quite seriously so...I'll try not to sound too geeky.

I just picked up these bad ass headphones - the TMA-1 by AiAiAi (eye-eye-eye); a creative company from Denmark. In the world of architecture, graphic communications and industrial design, Denmark has a god given gift for brilliant design. The TMA-1 is no exception. It takes minimalism to the next level. I'm still looking for the logo! Where is it???

Headphones need days of burn-in time and out of the box, the AiAiAi's are okay. They're a little too bassy for my taste but quite fun to listen to. I'm hoping after a few days, they'll open up.

When it comes to the sound, I'm pretty serious. I'm comparing the AiAiAi to my AKG K701 and my Grados, which are both legendary. But we're comparing apples and oranges. The AKGs run at about 400 USD, however, the Grado SR60s only cost 80 bucks. The AiAiAi's were about 150 USD.

If you're serious about headphones, I'd go for the open-back headphones like the AKG K701. Huge soundstage, meaning it creates an environment around you. You feel the instruments separate from each other. You hear the imperfections. It's that accurate. Voices are elegant. Instruments are brilliant. It's a real pleasure to listen to music.

If you're on a tighter budget, go with the Grado SR80 or the SR60. With it's awesome performance, history and following, the Grados are nothing but legendary. They won't disappoint. Large soundstage, great bass response, crystal clear mids and highs. I love these headphones but unfortunately, very difficult to travel with.

[there used to be a photo of the MDR-7506 here but the "photographer" decided to claim their copyright. instead of giving this person the satisfaction of getting credit on this blog (which nobody even reads and doesn't make any money), i would rather remove the photo as suggested. this doesn't hurt the blog. the "photographer" is happy. everyone wins.]

I just remembered the last pair of headphones I own - the Sony V6 or MDR-7506. These are the industry standard. Radio Stations, sound studios, and film sets, they all carry the MDR-7506s. They're durable, sharp, accurate headphones. They run at about 100 bucks.

So where do that AiAiAi's stand? Well, so far so good. As for sound, they're okay. They have a monolithic presence. I saw them for the first time 4 months ago and finally gave in today. I'd pay 150 dollars just to display them in my house.

THE ARCADE FIRE. THE SUBURBS.

So here's my latest obsession on iTunes; an indie rockband from Montreal. They've got a really cool sound and each song in the album is completely different from each other - tunes from a rusty music box to a completely electronic sound.

Anyway, put some headphones on and check out the song above. It's totally 80's. Perhaps Blondie inspired?

OLD EYE. DIGITAL BODY.

Kudos to this creative character. The man puts a 102 year old lens onto one of the latest cameras out there, a Canon 5D Mark II. I've found myself walking all over the city looking for pawnshops selling old, moldy lenses to sit on my 5D MII. Not working...

Check these out. They're incredible images. The character and quality of the shot makes it feel like a window to the past.

DUBAI. A GALAXY FAR, FAR AWAY.

My lovely girl showed this to me on CNN and I was completely intrigued by it. Perhaps it's because I used to live in this alien city called Dubai and got used to this odd environment. Quite strange how perfectly natural this concept is. It's an ultra-modern city in an ocean of sand.

Anyway, the images are by Cedric Delsaux. Beautifully crafted pieces.

Hmm...STAR WARS IN DUBAI. Makes sense to me.

BRIGHT EYES.

I was fortunate enough to have been shown this by a good friend. I'm not exactly sure why this is not more popular but this is a wonderful song and a beautiful video. There aren't enough videos out there that use real emotion. It'd be impossible to create the chemistry in this video with actors. It's indescribable.

The concept is so simple. I don't want to ruin it. You'll just have to watch it.

THE WORLD OF JAPAN.

Now, I don't know what these guys are smoking over there but whatever it is, I need a hit. Japan is its own microcosm of creativity. They are so far ahead that, to us, they're aliens.

So what's Japan doing that the rest of the world isn't?

Here's my guess. They celebrate individualism. I know there is the stereotypical image of Japan as a sea of black suits but as far as fashion, technology and game shows (which I'm addicted to on youtube) go, they're light years ahead.

Japan isn't looking at the rest of the world for inspiration. It's all there in front of them. It's not that they're richer when it comes to culture. They just know where to look.