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When I reviewed the Sonos system back in late 2008, I absolutely fell in love with it. I listened to more music while I had the Sonos review units than I had the entire previous year. I was extremely disappointed to have to give them back when the review period was over. Since that time, I've wanted to own my own Sonos gear, but frankly the price was prohibitive. Not only were they expensive themselves, but they requires speakers. I've never had high quality speakers of any sort, and adding those to the cost of the already expensive Sonos system was just not practical for me.

Sonos has changed their line-up a bit since I reviewed them, though. They now offer their wireless magic packaged into two different speaker selections: the Play:3 and the Play:5. They're still expensive, but the bundled units felt like a more approachable price. Additionally, they consumed less space than the older product plus external speakers. I decided to splurge and buy one of each, plus the requisite Zone Bridge to tie them together. This was ostensibly a Christmas gift for the whole family.

I waffled for a long time before committing to the purchase, because it's a sizeable investment in something we didn't really need. Moreover, I considered just getting a pair of Play:3 speakers but finally decided that the line-in on the Play:5 was a worthwhile investment should we ever decide to use it as the speaker for our movie watching. I ultimately reconciled the high price with the knowledge that this was an investment into something we'd be enjoying for a very long time.

Since they arrived, we've been making great use of them. Whether we're streaming music from Pandora, or listening to our collection of MP3s, or just streaming NPR stations, we've been using them daily. We listen to more news programming while at home -- while eating breakfast or eating dinner -- now than ever before. Sure, a simple radio in the kitchen might have accomplished this same task, but being able to use our various smartphones and tablets to find programming from all around the world is a real joy.

And being able to switch from news to music with the push of a button is simply wonderful. The kids both have the Sonos app installed on their iPod Touches, and enjoy controlling the streaming music for the whole house. They can crank the music in the living room while romping with Josephine while Angela and I can have a conversation in the kitchen while listening to the same music at a more modest volume.

The Sonos system was as easy to setup as it was when I reviewed it three years ago. It's simple, and it just works without any surprises or fuss. I was a little disappointed to find that Last.fm requires a paid subscription in order to stream to Sonos, but Pandora works just fine. And of course I have tens of gigabytes of MP3s of my favorite music available to stream at any time. All in all, the Sonos has been a terrific purchase.

I've been thinking about Sean's list of 8 heartbreaking songs for a little while now. I'm not familiar with all of his choices, but I concur on several of them. Johnny Cash's cover of Hurt is great, and while I prefer the original Leonard Cohen version (or the U2 cover) of Hallelujah I agree that it's a wonderful song. I was recently struck by I Will Follow You Into the Dark by Death Cab for Cutie, which I found to be pretty heartbreaking.

When I was younger, I preferred music that was loud and fast, and preferably angry and offensive. As I've grown up, my musical tastes have matured a bit, and I find myself really enjoying a great variety of music. I've rarely had a "favorite song" above all others, instead preferring different songs and different artists at different stages of my life. For the last couple of years, though, I have had a favorite song: Don't Worry About the Government by the Talking Heads.

The music is pleasant, and easy to listen to; but more than anything the lyrics almost always bring a smile to my face. There's something enviable about the somewhat naive worldview that a building can make someone happy and content. I often think about this song when my own life gets hectic and I begin to feel frazzled. I think about the guy in this song, looking forward to working in his building, and taking a break when his loved ones come to visit him. He genuinely wishes that everyone could find contentment in the right building.

     Some civil servants are just like my loved ones
     They work so hard and they try to be strong
     I'm a lucky guy to live in my building
     They all need buildings to help them along

He's okay, and doesn't want you to worry about him. And when I listen to the song, I don't worry about him. I envy him. His life is uncomplicated. He has loved ones, and looks forward to sharing with them the contentment he receives from his building.

It's too easy in this day of modern conveniences to lose track of what's really important. We find ourselves wanting new cars, or new clothes, or new gadgets. It's important to reflect upon what we do have, and what happiness those things bring us.

As previously stated, I grew up listening to heavy metal music, and still enjoy listening to it today. I've been disappointed with the Metallica albums of late, starting with Load, because the music was substantially different from what I had come to expect from the band. Don't get me wrong: I think every band should be encouraged to experiment and grow as artists, and I'm glad Metallica had the guts to try some new things. Their experiments weren't very satisfying to me, as a fan, so I didn't pay much attention to them.

When Metallica released their latest album, Death Magnetic, earlier this year I was cautiously optimistic, and greatly encouraged by initial reports that this album was a return to the style of music that made Metallica famous. I listened to two songs while riding in Rick's car, and I was immediately impressed. The music and vocals were extremely reminiscent of their earlier works, and the energy of the songs was really impressive. I later listened to the entire album, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Mike was a little more reserved in his endorsement of Death Magnetic, saying that each song sounded like the band screwing around for three minutes before finally remembering that they were, in fact, Metallica for the last two minutes of each song.

Last night I got to see Metallica play at the Schottenstein Arena on the OSU campus, thanks to my buddy Jay. He had a spare ticket, and graciously offered it to me. I met Jay at the Varsity Club, just up the street from the venue, and enjoyed a few beers before the show. Maybe it was the bar, but I was really surprised to see so many older fans waiting for the show. The average age of the folks in the Varsity Club must have been close to 40. Unsurprisingly, everyone was extremely enthusiastic and really looking forward to the show.

The stage was opened on all four sides in the middle of the arena, and the place was nearly full. A large crowd of fans surrounded the stage in the "floor seats" section (thankfully no seats were there). Metallica took the stage in darkness, and the opening song was accompanied by an extremely impressive laser light show. I wouldn't have associated Metallica and lasers, but the lights did a really good job of creating an exciting atmosphere, and the crowd went absolutely wild.

Having seen songs from Death Magnetic played live, I can absolutely refute Mike's assertion that the new songs "warm up" to traditional Metallica style. The new songs were played with enthusiasm, and it was all Metallica, with no hesitation. The band was clearly having a good time, and their good time easily spilled over onto the crowd. They played a fantastic mix of old classics along with their new material, and the play list was extremely well coordinated. They played one song from Death Magnetic (please forgive me: I haven't committed the new songs to memory yet) that has a rhythm very similar to Creeping Death from Ride the Lightning. As I stood, enjoying the thumping music and the audience screaming enthusiastically around me, I thought to myself "Creeping Death would be the perfect follow-up to this song." I was a little disappointed when the song ended, and the band took a quick breather, but within moments they were back on stage and lo! the opening riff from Creeping Death ripped through the arena.

It was interesting to watch Metallica play. They were filled with energy, and really interacted with the audience. They've grown not only as musicians, but as entertainers: James Hetfield engaged the audience, and really got the fans excited. When he asked how many people were there to see their first Metallica concert, I was stunned to see at least half of the audience raise their hands. Hetfield noted that a young boy was in the front row of the general admission crowd around the stage, and asked how old he was. The kid was 11, and Hetfield thanked the kid and his parents for coming to the show together. As I looked around, I noticed that this was not an anomaly: there were lots of families together at the show. It was really something to see kids rocking out next to their parents, huge grins on everyone's face as they all sang the lyrics together.

The night included many of my favorite classic Metallica songs, including the full version of Master of Puppets, Leper Messiah, Jump in the Fire and Ride the Lightning. Fan favorites like One, and Wherever I May Roam were well received, and the evening closed with Seek and Destroy, during which several dozen gigantic black beachballs, emblazoned with the Metallica logo, fell from the rafters. It was quite a spectacle to see the balls flying through the air, and the folks in the general admission section scrambling to catch them. It struck me as simultaneously silly and pretty cool that such a thing would occur at a Metallica concert.

As my buddy Jay said at the end of the night, Metallica has realized it's okay for them to be the band that they are. They still have the energy and passion to produce and perform fantastic music, and I'm really glad I got the opportunity to see them again. Thanks, Jay!

I grew up in the eighties, but I didn't listen to what is today considered "80s music" until the latter half of the 1990s. Although there were a few notable exceptions, like the Beastie Boys, along with the Dead Milkmen and The Violent Femmes, both of which my sister introduced to me, and Suicidal Tendencies, I didn't listen to many of the iconic bands of the 1980s. Instead, during most of the 80s and early 90s, I was listening to heavy metal music. I listened to an awful lot of Iron Maiden, Anthrax, Metallica, and Guns N' Roses. I also enjoyed Motley Crue, Poison, Cinderella, Twisted Sister, Megadeth, Ozzy Osbourne, WASP, Dokken, and more. I stayed up late with friends to watch MTV's Headbanger's Ball as often as possible. I loitered around music stores looking for new cassette tapes or posters to purchase. And I tried to see as many big-name concerts as I could.

Telling Stories

On the whole, I wasn't interested too much in bands or music that were focused on sex, drugs and rock-and-roll. Of course, large portions of the heavy metal catalog are filled with nothing but songs about sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll, and some of the lasting anthems from that genre can't be avoided. Similarly, I wasn't particularly interested in bands that I perceived as mean spirited or overly aggressive (though I did thoroughly enjoy listening to Rigor Mortis when I discovered them).

I always liked bands and songs that expanded my horizons, and gave me something more than just a catchy refrain or a powerful guitar riff. Iron Maiden was always one of my favorite bands because many of their songs told stories which I found to be interesting, and inspired me to go beyond the music. I memorized all of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's Rime of the Ancient Mariner because I so enjoyed the Iron Maiden song based on that poem. I read books on ancient Egypt after listening to Iron Maiden's Powerslave. They also have a song about Frank Herbert's Dune; and their Seventh Son of Seventh Son is a concept album that sparked a lot of my own ideas.

Although Iron Maiden was probably the most influential in terms of my exploration of themes and source material for their songs, they were by no means the only band that told stories with their music. I was introduced to the Cthulhu mythos by "The Thing that Should Not Be" by Metallica. Anthrax wrote a number of songs about Stephen King novels, most of which I had already read, so I was immediately able to appreciate the musical adaptations. Other bands sang about stories and movies with which I was not familiar, and was prompted to seek them out.

The Band

As with most teenagers into heavy metal music, it was always my dream to be in a band. My inspiration was Steve Harris, bassist for Iron Maiden. I knew I wanted to play bass, and never had much interest in guitar, drums, or singing. My parents purchased for me a bass guitar and a cheap amplifier, and signed me up for bass guitar lessons at the local music store. I didn't apply myself very hard to the lessons, and the instructions never really stuck with me. I'm deeply regretful that I didn't try harder, as I would love to have some inkling of musical ability today.

Needless to say, my aspirations of being in a band were relatively short-lived. Interestingly enough, though, I recently learned that my dabblings with bass guitar are directly responsible for my friend Andy's success in various bands through the years. At a recent housewarming party of his, he confided to me that he has always remembered sitting in my room watching me play a few Iron Maiden bass lines, and he can clearly point to that moment as his own inspiration for learning to play bass, which later led him to be the front man for various acts over the years. I have only the vaguest of memories of Andy hanging out with me while I played bass, but I'm glad that my own absolute failure to carry on provided some impetus for him to succeed!

Diversifying

In college, I was introduced to industrial music, to which I took an immediate liking. It shared much of the same styles and themes as the metal I had grown up with, and I appreciated the intellectual quality of many of the songs. And of course, with cross-over bands like Ministry, it's easy to blur the lines between industrial and metal. Industrial music exposed me to gothic music, and some of the slower-tempo music of the day (it also exposed me to techno and dance music, though that wasn't the kind of stuff I would often listen to on my own).

It was also during the latter portion of my college years that I finally began to listen to, and appreciate, the iconic 80s bands. This was largely because Mean Mister Mustard's, my favorite college bar, had a fantastic 80s Night regularly attended by many of my friends: I couldn't help but learn to like the music! Most of my friends were intimately familiar with the music played at 80s Nights, because they had actually listened to it all when it was new music. It took me a little while to warm up to the songs, but soon enough I knew them as well as any child of the 80s should.

It's funny to me that both classic 80s music, as well as many classic metal songs, are now featured in commercials and the background music played in shopping malls and retail stores.

Modern Metal

I don't listen to a whole lot of new metal these days, though I'll occasionally let last.fm play through the "metal" tag to see what's happening. It's entertaining to hear some of my favorite classic metals songs interspersed with new stuff I've never heard before. I don't pay too much attention to the new songs, using them primarily as background to fill the silence of my office, but sometimes I'll hear something that really catches my fancy.

Speaking of new metal, I've had my eye on Severed Fifth for awhile now. I know of Jono Bacon, the driving force behind Severed Fifth, through his participation in the Ubuntu community, and because his blog posts get aggregated onto Planet Ubuntu. I had the pleasure of meeting him when he was in Columbus as the keynote speaker at Ohio LinuxFest, and I spoke briefly with him about his musical project (I had asked for a sneak preview, to which he consented, but then the conference prevented me from following through). I recently downloaded the debut album, Denied by Reign, and gave it a listen. If you like hard-pounding heavy metal music, you should check it out! Plus, it's free, so you have nothing to lose!

Here and Now

My musical tastes these days are all over the map. I still enjoy the metal I listened to in my youth, as well as the 80s music I missed. But I also listen to classics like King Crimson, Kraftwerk, Talking Heads, The Cramps, and The Sex Pistols, and newer acts like Franz Ferdinand, Death Cab for Cutie, and Cake. I rarely listen to the radio, so the music I find is almost always recommended to me. You can browse my last.fm track list to see what I've been listening to.

If you have any recommendations for music -- new or old! -- feel free to leave a comment.

Rick invited me out to Byrne's Pub, another great local joint that I should have included in my list of Columbus attractions, to watch Scythian, a band he saw at the Dublin Irish Festival (another great Columbus event!). Given the choice between watching a small act in a cozy place like Byrne's, and watching a big act in a stadium, I'll almost always choose the former. You just can't beat the energy and the sheer fun of talented musicians doing what they love in front of a small crowd of enthusiastic people.

Rick and I arrived early, and took seats toward the rear of the establishment. The place filled up shockingly fast. I was surprised when a family took up stations behind us, with at least four young kids, the oldest of which was maybe 8 or 9. The kids were clearly excited (though whether for the band, or just the opportunity to feel grown up staying out late, I don't know), and while the family didn't stay long they all had a great time. They, too, had seen Scythian at the Dublin Irish Festival, and wanted to see them again. The band played a couple of songs specifically requested by the kids, and at one point at least one of the kids was in front of the stage dancing with wild abandon. There was, in fact, a lot of dancing, all throughout the bar. Many of the young women in the audience were doing a passable job of Irish step dancing. I was tempted to join in, but decided not to show off. ;)

The four members of the band were all terrific musicians, and the music was excellent. They played a variety of traditional Celtic music, a number of their own compositions, and some surprising crowd favorites (including an enthusiastic version of "Cotton Eye Joe", and closing out the night with John Denver's "Take Me Home Country Road"). The band was friendly, and most important to me, talkative. I've complained before about bands that simply play their music -- I can get that by listening to the CD. Give me something extra for making the effort to come see your show! Scythian did not disappoint, and they were extremely appreciative of all the folks out on a Thursday night. One thing that I noticed was that Dan, the guitarist, had a smile on his face throughout the entire gig. It seems like a small thing, but it really reinforced just how much fun the band was having, which helped the audience have a good time. The evening started with only a few folks dancing at the front of the stage, but by the time their set was finished the tables and chairs had been pushed to the walls and the entire pub was on its feet clapping, dancing, and having a great time.

Just before the final song, someone from the audience was invited to play the bass guitar with the band. I laughed out loud as I recognized the woman taking the stairs: it was none other then Stephanie, a girl I went to school with! She's now a member of The Ladies of Longford (in addition to being a music teacher at an elementary school by day!). She rocked out the John Denver with the band!

If you get the chance to see Scythian, I highly recommend it. They're a great act, and a great group of guys.