Use ITunes to manage any MP3 player

I'm a HUGE fan of ITunes.  For my money, I think it's the best music download / MP3 management application available.  I'm not a fan of Rhapsody, and I frankly hate the Napster (and others) subscription model for the same reason I hate NetFlix:  Namely, after I watch all the movies (or download all the music) I've bee looking to watch, I end up paying a monthly fee and frankly barely using the service any further.  I'm much more the type of person who would rather just pay for what I want and not feel like I have to download stuff to make it worth the subscription price.  Add that to the "Genius" feature that has found me countless hours of new music, and it's simply my personal favorite music download site.

At any rate, lots of people use ITunes, but I get the same comment from many people:  I can't use ITunes because it doesn't work with my Zune, or my Sansa, or my IPOD Touch rip-off from China...

Well, those people are wrong.  You CAN sync your non-fruit-based MP3 player using ITunes... all you need is a little software help.  CNET makes a great, and better yet free, little tool called "ITunes Agent".  You can download it here.  This great little app will add an icon in your System Tray (bottom right of your screen) when you launch ITunes.  

To sync your non-IPOD device, first connect your MP3 device to your PC, then right-click on the "ITunes Agent" icon in the system tray and click "Preferences".  Then click "New".  

BIG IMPORTANT WARNING:  Just like the first time you sync up a new IPOD to ITunes, you will get a warning that the first time you sync up your device to ITunes, all your data on your device will first be erased, then the ITunes data will be added to it.  So... ya know... keep that in mind before you do this and wipe out your MP3 player and then try to blame me.

Anyhow, I assume you're OK with this process, since you wanted to sync up your MP3 device with ITunes in the first place.  So go ahead and fill out the fields for the new device as needed, then click "save".  Once that's done, right-click on the ITunes Agent and click "Synchronise devices"... and that's it.

So, please feel free to enjoy all the wonderfulness of ITunes on your Zen or Walkman MP3 with this great little utility.

Music Review: Miranda Lee Richards - Light of X

I spent the other night watching an episode of "Bones", when a suddenly haunting and melodious song began playing in the background during the final scene of the episode.  As I often do when watching TV, I was paying more attention to the music then what was going on in the episode.  Not that the program was all that bad.. it wasn't.  Bones is a terrific show.  But the song had me captivated.

So I put my most excellent Google-fu skills to work, and in about 5 minutes I had found the song, and more importantly, the artist.  And so another ten bucks was donated to the great Empire of the Forbidden Fruit as I downloaded the album from Itunes.

The artist, as you've guessed by now, is Miranda Lee Richards. Richards has an interesting background.  She grew up in San Francisco as the daughter of underground-comic book creator Ted Richards, who created "the 40 year old hippie" of cult comic book fame.  And her first real exposure to music was as a result of her best friend dating Kirk Hammett, the Metallica guitarist, who taught her to play some songs on the guitar.  She picked it up quickly and began writing shortly thereafter.

Fast forward to present day, where Richards now lives in LA and has already produced one acclaimed album, "The Herethereafter", and released "Light of X" in early 2009.

"Light of X" is a soulful, sweet and beautiful sounding effort that doesn't over-produce itself for the sake of being more marketable.  It is both ethereal and folksy, and harkens to the bluesy, guitar-laden tones put forth by groups like Cowboy Junkies and Mazzy Star.

The album has its own slow, calm pace.  None of the songs get too upbeat, and many of them have a feel of sadness and longing.  But to call the album "depressing" or "maudlin" does not do the songs justice.  This is a soft, deep, and meaningful album that allows the listener to 'feel' the music rather than just hear it.  The lyrics are generally heartfelt and uplifting, and Richards' airy, whispy vocal quality works well in this light; in other words, these are songs you'd want to hear sung by a voice like Richards'.

That's not to say there aren't some flaws... the album stagnates in places and some of the songs seem seem almost forgettable.  After starting off strong with "Breathless" and "Lifeboat" (the song featured on the "Bones" episode), both excellent songs with meaningful lyrics and catchy hooks, the fairly plain and forgettable "Savorin your smile" follows.  The album continues this way, with a couple of purely excellent songs interrupted with a mediocre and almost contrived effort.  This can be forgiven, however, in the modern day 10-song per album format we've become accustomed to.  How often have you bought an album where all the songs were choice?

Songs like 'Hideaway' and 'Early November', with their simple, melodious sound are more than enough to make up for the few weak tracks, like 'Hidden Treasure'.  And the album does take a more upbeat turn with the fun 'Pictures of You', and I can guarantee you that you will be hearing 'Here by the Window' on an episode of "House" at some point.  

"Light of X" conveys the perfect mood for heart-tugging drama, and I wouldn't be surprised to see its songs popping up in the background of some of TV's best shows.  Heck... that's what I would do if I were in charge of such things.