First time this lifetime that a powerful song (to me) found me through social networking. After more than 10 years. OK, I asked for it, and people sharing their art on-line certainly helped. Here's the thing: while embracing the music and the ease of paying for it gave me a powerful lift, technology let me down - crash. Really driving home why "upgrading" isn't. But that is already the middle of the story. It began on twitter. Chronicling habits that lead to surprising discovery and emotional experience.
What happened
Follow Friday on twitter is for me a Friyday-night review of new followers. Taking a minute to scan profile, recent tweets, sometimes faves, and website, I decide whether to
- report spam - easy to see, these follow hundreds, few followers, and tweet, um, spam
- block - when I see an annoying name or avatar, don't want to associate
- let'em follow - newbies or others who might enjoy my sharings
- retweet - one of their recent tweets as a sign I noticed,
- list'em - might follow some day, more lists means higher esteem
- follow back - easier to hit the button if not a frequent tweeter
- a combination of 3. through 6., the more, the higher my esteem
My quick rule of thumb helps me progress throught the stages in seconds, only following links if I do not understand a tweet or if I am really intrigued. Also sometimes when I am in a relaxing mode. It is Friday night, we have no appoinment, so here we go.
Meet @rawphoenix
Kasha Glazebrook | Melbourne
Web: facebook ...
Bio: ... Starseed, Crystal healer, ... (intriguing, let's see a tweet)
New Video from me...'Angel Love" Enjoy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XKrHDJVmBU
7:46 AM Sep 3rd via web
An angel video?
Maybe the quickest way to decide... I click through. Find the footage less inspiring, yet that song goes just so under my skin. I use pretty clear speakers for the computer and this womanly vocal art spells magic down my spine. I let it run till the end, watching for music credits - darn, nothing. Open the explanation, mmm, it is about angel experience. (Later, I find the song credit in the explanation on YouTube.)
But, look-a-there: Youtube is so kind to relate videos and offers Uninvited Alanis Morissette, cover by Moniange. That's my cue. Quick check, same song, good. Off to iTunes, whew, got just enough on account for one song.
Shopping experience
Smooth sailing. iTunes quickly finds more than a dozen takes for Alanis Morissette - Uninvited, actually 36. I sample the version most popular, on The Collection. It sounds overdriven, distorted, unclean, the bass modulates the other instruments. The clearest mixes are the unplugged version (oh this voice, this tingle) and the City of Angels movie soundtrack. Ah, Angels again, so that is how this serene song caught Kasha's attention for the remix? Satisfied with the shopping experience, I pay. While the song downloads, I check out a few others, on The Collection. Not really my style.
Got a new piece of music to enjoy. Thank you, @rawphoenix for helping this song find me. I appreciate your work.
Thank You
The story could have a happy end here, but it gets better before it gets worse. While my new song downloads, I sample Thank You by Alanis Morissette. Oh, wow, I know this song! On the radio decades ago, I liked it very much. Wanted to know artist and title to get the CD, but never really hit upon it or dug for it.
Shopping again
Now, my account is too close to zero, need a new iTunes card. Just then my wife calls from the nearby computer shop, she wants me to select an iPad case for an upcoming birthday present. The iPad is already at home, waiting for its unboxing time. Quick dash to the shop, select the case, get the card, walk home together, fill up account and download Thank you by Alanis Morissette.
She spells more magic down my spine. Grab the headphones, and I understand more of the lyrics. Awesome. Want to listen to her on the home theater system downstairs, so a quick sync to the iPhone 3GS, and down in anticipation of fine acoustic immersion. I connect the iPhone through the digital iPod cable with the AV amp Pioneer VSA-LX52 (Japanese equivalent to VSX-23TXH).
"Loading"
That is all the AV amp says now ton iPod mode. It used to load the playlist and allow either the amp to control the iPod functions or the iPod to play a song and get it digitally converted inside the amp for clearest listening. Nothing. Wait 5 minutes, stuck.
Unplug, re-plug, restart amp, restart phone, reconnect, same result. What the ...? Darn! Between the last time I played music and today, I upgraded the iPhone 3GS to iOS4 (current version, 4.0.2). "Upgraded", my a**.
Noticing my growing anger/disappointment my wife offers her 3GS. It loads her small playlist but is then stuck as well. My son connects his iPhone 4. Same sh**. AV interface broken courtesy of Apple software upgrades. As it says on the website:
Compatibility
iOS 4 works with iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, and iPhone 3G. Not all features are compatible with all devices. ...
OK, my fault. Should have seen this coming. Can I downgrade? Search web. Find pages of reports from people frustrated by their upgrades (mostly speed issues) and a few instructions on how to downgrade. Some require jailbreaking and I do not find the indicated OS3 files on my hard disk. No go. Apple does not want us to go back to a software version we know works for us and we paid for.
What say forum members at Apple support: iPod not working on iOS4.0.1 Happened to me earlier and has a workaround. I offer my advice and vent my frustration.
Re: iPod not working on iOS4.0.1
Posted: Sep 3, 2010 7:08 AM in response to: TrottskyIf other apps slow to a crawl and even phone use and keyboard entry gets erratic, double click the home button, tap and hold on one of the icons now revealed in multitasking mode until they jiggle. Then close the apps one by one to free up memory.
This is a kludge caused by the apps not cleaning up after themselves, and I dislike having do it multiple times a day, but without it I would waste even more time bringing the device back to Apple for a permanent fix. One can only hope.
Currently raging mad at Apple iOS4.02 for breaking the iPod playback of the 3GS via AV amp (Pioneer VSX-23TXH in U.S.). Trust totally lost. Never "upgrade" without a way back. Jailbreak suddenly looks desirable.
Just yesterday wife bought an iPad for me, still unopened. Feel like returning it as-is in the box and wait for the German designed WeTab (started as WePad earlier).
MBP 2.4GHz 17" 4GB Mac OS X (10.5.6) iPhone 3GS: never "upgrade" without a way back
Upgrade an iPhone 3GS? Upcrippled.
So this is how a Customer feels as a pawn in a greater scheme of things. Lesson learned: Before an upgrade of any software be sure you have a way back to trusted territory, i.e. the system you know that worked. Apple and its walled garden iTunes disallow this. If possible, postpone upgrades until you get the idea that enough gullible early adopters like me report back acceptable results on the price of living at the bleeding edge of technology. Disable automatic upgrades if you wish to retain a bit of the illusion of control. Functions used by a minority may not survive, but how do you know which minority you are?
This story could end on the positive note, that I got an analog cable to plug my "upcrippled" iPhone cum iPod into the AV amp and enjoyed listening loud and clear to Thank You by Alanis Morissette. And that I am grateful to @rawphoenix and the people behind Twitter and iTunes for bringing two exciting pieces of music into my universe - rather easily and saving me good time to have a great time - the technology glitch aside. In the course of 24 hours, I have listened to these two awesome art pieces, I guess half a dozen times each. Thank you for Thank U, beautiful, but I could not catch all of the lyrics. So I went to
Meet Alanis
virtual presence at alanis.com. Beautifully laid out, with a simple mobile version, too. While browsing in her a flash-animated notebook, I found her music videos. The one I clicked, Thank You was not available. "This video is private." Others were. Checked via YouTube, offhand found three movies withdrawn by owner or locked down. Univited videos galore. What gives? Google to the rescue: Enjoy.
Alanis Morissette - Thank You (Video)
Embedding disabled by request
Why I felt so frustrated
The next day, I searched for the lyrics for Thank You. Upon second reading and listening with Alanis singing, I found the reason for my deep frustration about the broken iPod / AV conncetivity. It stomped out a flow of magic discovery. Apple, as a company serving artists, can you put that in your specifications?
Thank you - Alanis Morissette
how 'bout getting off of these antibiotics
how 'bout stopping eating when I'm full up
how 'bout them transparent dangling carrots
how 'bout that ever elusive kudo
thank you India
thank you terror
thank you disillusionment
thank you frailty
thank you consequence
thank you, thank you silence
how 'bout me not blaming you for everything
how 'bout me enjoying the moment for once
how 'bout how good it feels to finally forgive you
how 'bout grieving it all one at a time
thank you India
thank you terror
thank you disillusionment
thank you frailty
thank you consequence
thank you, thank you silence
the moment I let go of it was
the moment I got more than I could handle
the moment I jumped off of it was
the moment I touched down
how 'bout no longer being masochistic
how 'bout remembering your divinity
how 'bout unabashedly bawling your eyes out
how 'bout not equating death with stopping
thank you India
thank you Providence
thank you disillusionment
thank you nothingness
thank you clarity
thank you, thank you silence 𝆓
Recent Comments