“The Million DJ March will express the history of the culture and show appreciation to the people that are truly the backbone of music and entertainment.”

Well that was the quote I originally read on the Web site. It has since been removed and the site has gone through two visual design changes as well.  I’m not sure if this speaks to the uncertainty some feel about this Aug. 28-30 event in Washington, D.C., but it does make me question if they are clear on the message they want to present to the world.

Along with the above changes, the event itself has moved from a 72- to 48-hour event, and given the schizophrenic nature of these changes, I encourage anyone interested to check the Web site often for updates.

But hey … nobody ever said DJs were stable. =)

One topic tossed about online in discussion of this event is unionization of this base industry.  Can you imagine unionized DJs?

“DJ embargo on!!!!”

The silence of Duff-Duff music might make some people happy, but what about those who love the original old-school Hip-Hop from the likes of Grandmaster Flash.  I can’t imagine Flash would ever go on strike and *not* spin the music he loves, especially for the fans that appreciate his skilz.  Not to mention there would probably be a revolt.  Led by… well… me. =)

Because like many, I do need my DJ fix on a regular basis.

A lot of “DJs” have received criticism lately, especially those who now spin CDs instead of vinyl.  And don’t even mention those DJs who are now showing up in the club spinning what’s loaded on their iPod’s.  iDJ’s get no respect from purists, at least not yet.

That said, if “It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back,” it might take A Million DJ March to move things forward.  Power to the people, or DJs in this instance.  And as the World’s Famous Supreme Team said, “Hey DJ just play that song….”

Peace!!

It’s all over the interwebs already, but in case you haven’t heard, Dell made a pretty big –and colorful – splash today with the launch of Studio—a sleek, colorful and nicely loaded new product line designed to unleash the blogger/poet/novelist/artist/scrapbooker/YouTuber/Annie Leibovitz in all of us.

The first tranche of systems in the new line is two laptops – Studio 15 (15.4”) and Studio 17 (17”). John Biggs at the New York Times notes, “It’s summer, so why shouldn’t one’s laptop match one’s hot-pink bikini?… Optional Blu-ray or DVD recording drives ensure you can watch a movie under your beach umbrella, while built-in Wi-Fi, cellular broadband and Bluetooth keep things connected.”

For a quick overview of these systems take a look at this video with John New from Dell’s notebook team:

Of all the color options (seven different solid lids, plus four graphite with color insets), pink seems to be the most popular callout. The fashionable gearheads at GQ made note of the pink option, but were also impressed with Dell Dock, a simple, customizable task bar that replaces multiple icons on the desktop and sorts applications by category, that’s premiering with Studio. Wilson Rothman’s overview and very nice slide show on Gizmodo even hit the front page of Techmeme. To answer your question, Wilson, you can move the dock around.

For more on the Dell Dock, take a look at this vlog:

After backing in to a compliment about Studio’s “mouth watering colors” and “a few tasty extras, Charlie Sorrel at Wired also gives Dell Dock props and suggests that “The Studio is looking like a nice alternative to the MacBook.” Note to Charlie: Not exactly the way we’d put it, but thanks!

If you think beyond the box when buying a computer – read: if you accessorize whenever you can – don’t miss the color-matched Designed for Dell line of bags, mice/mouses, portable hard drives and other personalization options.

Lots of interesting ground to cover, so look for more on Studio, Dell Dock and Designed for Dell over the next few days.

I recently posted about Reebok NXT Speaker Backpack vs. the Boom Box, and if you have been following me on Twitter, you might also be familiar with my weekly “Happy Friday Dance” updates.  As you can see I like music and music related products … and if you haven’t figured it out yet, I happen to like Twitter as well. 
So when Mashable recently posted about Blip in “Blip Is Twitter for Music Discovery,” it caught my eye and I decided to take it for a spin.

The interface is very similar to Twitter so it was quick to set my account.  Blip also has the ability to provide updates to FriendFeed, Twitter, Pownce and several other social media sites.  This is a great feature if you like to keep your friends updated on which songs you are listening to, however I imagine it could become quickly annoying if you’re anything like me and love to switch songs repeatedly.  

Many of the music searches that I initially attempted pulled up artists of interest, however many of the streams were not available when I selected play.  But after a few failed search attempts, I was finally able to locate some songs that were playable.  Using the Preview feature with the search results also helped cut back on needless spamming of dead song titles.  It seems that if your song of choice is no longer available, the software substitutes a completely random song in its place … Which can lead to some surprising results.
So it’s working, but there are still a few bugs.  I didn’t see via Twhirl each of the Blips I submitted, but I could see them via the main Twitter.com Web page.  That said, I tested the application later and *was* able to see a Blip that I had forwarded.  So I’m not sure where the problem lies, especially given the instability of Twitter these days.

Another problem I encountered was that I wasn’t always able to Pause, or move to the Previous or Next song when listening to other feeds.  It seems as if the interface would freeze or lock up.  It was very slick when working correctly.

Overall, I liked Blip… however I would love to have this functionality within Twitter as opposed to having to use Blip AND Twitter to share the music I’m listening to.

Check Blip out and let me know what you think.

Real music lovers – like my wife, who is amassing a collection of digitized tunes that at last count can run non-stop for 28 days – are always on the hunt for new ways to glean more information about favorite artists and discover new ones. ReadWriteWeb highlights a Web site called The Rock Hard Times, which is described as a combination of IMDB for music and Wikipedia because it allows you to add content about musicians and bands.

There’s a lot of information on some artists – Kanye West’s page for example – but if you search for artists like Dolly Parton or John Maher Mayer, you find there is little to none. Not to discount it entirely, the site has great potential once people add more content. But it’s not quite on the level of IMDB or Wikipedia just yet.

So if you’re a music fan and want to help get this project off the ground, head over to www.trht.net and share your knowledge.

Some of us can remember when a Boom Box was the hip thing to have on the streets when listening to music.  It wasn’t about ear buds and a portable MP3 player.  It was about sharing with (or annoying) others,  with the loud sounds from your favorite tape or radio station.   And it had to be blaring from the biggest box on the block.  It was about listening to Midnight Star and Jam on it Nucleus.  It was about being immersed in the beats and the sound from the streets, so to speak. =)

Well now you can enjoy that experience again, albeit in a much more discreet way tailored for the next generation.  Reebok has released the NXT Speaker Backpack, which will not only allows you to carry your notebook, spare clothes, books and snacks, but you can also carry your portable MP3 player and jack into the backpack’s external speakers.

According to Crave, the backpack is “powered by two AA batteries and will blast tunes from anything that can connect to its 3.5-millimeter jack.” As I’m “Old School,” I can see one glaring problem… the speakers are on the bottom of the backpack and pointed backward when they obviously need to be toward the top to sit on your shoulders.  Reebok are you listening?

Our SXSW co-hosts at indie music blog Stereogum are trying something really interesting today. They’ve turned over the blog to members of Death Cab for Cutie, who are “trolling YouTube, refreshing The Hype Machine, and surveying all the news crossing Stereogum’s RSS” in support of their latest album, Narrow Stairs.

It’s a really cool approach to inviting subjects/subject matter experts into direct conversation with their community.

How do you think that might work here on Your Blog? And I don’t mean getting Vampire Weekend to post about Vista.

Heading out of town for Memorial Day weekend?  Here are some cool things you might want to drop in the beach bag:

• Zune - Everyone needs a soundtrack…think Bob Marley or Jimmy Buffet for an island getaway or a day at the beach.
• Canon PowerShot - Tiny enough to take along in just about anything but powerful enough to zoom in on that seagull that flew off with your friend’s snack.
• CushTop Laptop Platform - You shouldn’t be the only one having a comfy experience. Let your laptop lounge on this cushy space.
• Carrying Bag – I’m told this messenger bag can double as the little black purse for a holiday weekend.
• Web Camera - So you can show all your friends what they’re missing!  (Maybe even some rather interesting beach attire.)

I love technology – that’s why I work at Dell. I like hearing about NEW ways to use technology and then sharing that knowledge – that’s one of the reasons why I enjoy my position in product communications. I often hear about new, cool things to try from co-workers, friends, media contacts, you name it, and then evangelizing it.

I’m also the mom of a beginning driver –so it’s with slightly mixed feelings that I bring you this post – which does advocate multi-taking while operating a moving vehicle. But after some robust discussions with my co-workers and family members, I am resolute that an activity like this is simplifying multi-taking, therefore contributing to better driving. And frankly I’m ready to try it myself – I often have some of my better ideas (we all know where the BEST ideas happen –the shower –but that’s a different story)  when driving to-and-from the office, but they soon get lost in the tyranny of the moment- answering emails, helping with homework, doing laundry etc. So let’s start capturing those Wayne’s World moments for posterity together!

Your Car = Your Mobile Recording Studio

If spend a fair amount of time in your car, listening to your mp3 player—or, *GASP*, the radio—may work just fine for you. But if you love to write and record music, there’s got to be a better option.  So…why not set up your laptop to record while you drive? 

What would you need to do this?  

• a laptop (complete with recording software - Sony ACID Music Studio works well)
• a microphone (preferably a little computer mic, but the one built in to your computer could work, too)
• your voice

Simply set your laptop to begin recording, put the mic in your cup holder, start the car, and drive along recording your thoughts, ideas and music.  

Warning: other drivers might laugh at you for singing along to the music.  Little do they know – you are the music. 

If your trip home is longer than a couple of hours, you might want to consider buying a power adapter that plugs in the 12v power outlet (aka the cigarette lighter). They’re not too expensive, and what could be worse than losing power in the middle of a great idea. When you get home, just splice your songs, record over tracks and make things sounds the way you want.  
                                       
So how did I come up with this? Someone pointed me toward Jenny Westbury, an art student at the University of Houston, who found that her two-hour commute to class every day is much more bearable now that she feels like she’s accomplishing something. She said, “It’s like a really long voicemail to yourself.” She finds that the things she records in her car are often better quality than when she uses true recording equipment. Check out Jenny’s MySpace page to hear some of her car creations.