Unfortunately, those two types don't cross very well.

Now, the interesting thing is that music that you download from Zune Pass CAN be played in Windows Media Player. I know this because right now I'm listening to J.J. Johnson and Al Grey in WMP -- music that I downloaded a few days ago using Zune Pass.

So right now, it appears that things aren't on a two way street. I agree with those who want to have a digital copy of the movie to work on their Zune. It would save the hassle of having to rip the DVD and hope that you format it correctly for the screen and everything. Plus, and this is my opinion, it would alleviate some of that urgent need people have for a movie marketplace.

Your thoughts on this?

1. What type of Zune do you currently own?
Both a 30g White and Black Zunes

2. What have you learned from your friends at Zune Social?
I have learned about a lot of good new music and artists.  One of the nicer things about the Zune is that it really opens up ones taste in music and one can experience so much more especially with the Zune pass.  I also have learned I have strange taste in music too (haha).

3. What made you decide to get a Zune over any other MP3 player?
I had a iPod and never really enjoyed the sound on it.  Zune has a lot better sound and features for what I like to use it for.  Radio, Wi-fi, Channels, Zune Pass among other things.  Zune just wins hands down.

4. What type of music do you listen to (name as many as necessary -- genres/groups)?
Top 40, Rock, Hard Rock, Classic Rock, Country, Jazz, Blues, Pop, Christian/Gospel.  Some of my favorite artists are: Kiss, Iron Maiden, Aerosmith, Pink, Britney Spears, Taylor Swift, Disturbed, Green Day, etc.

5. What's your favorite thing about Zune (favorite feature)?
I would have to say my favorite thing is the Zune Pass and Channels.  Great way to get to hear new music each and every week.

6. Where do you use your Zune? Working out? At the office?
I use my Zune mostly when I am out and about, in my car and just sitting around the house.  I am a huge music buff and don't think I could live without having my music with me at all times.

7. What are some of your hobbies? What's your life like away from Zune Social?
Some of my hobbies include: Video Games, Reading/Writing, Comic Books, Music, Movies.  My life away from the Social is actually rather quiet, not a lot happening in my life right now.  I have been married for 18 years and counting.  Music is my life, and always will be.

The return of Happy Hour. Everybody YAYY!

You apply the lyrics to EvEry situation you encounter in daily life.






















Your turn!
Finish the sentence: You listen to a song way too much when...

Starting February 1, 2009, Inside the Circle will present a month-long series called Jazz 101. As most of you know, February is Black History Month. Jazz is not only one of the major historical contributions of African-Americans, but it's also considered "America's Classical Music" because it was born and bred solely in the United States.

The Jazz 101 series won't be meant as a be-all, end-all look at the music. It will be designed more as an introductory "course" allowing everyone to get an understanding of where the music came from and allow for an end of the month discussion on where the music might be headed. There won't be drawn-out 4 page long posts with all of this detailed historical information. It's swaying away from that and will instead present bite-sized information, photographs, social playlists, recommendations (books, albums, etc), trivia (did you know?) and other things.

On a more personal note, as a student of jazz (it's what my college degree says) it will allow me to re-connect with a music I've kind of gotten distant from. It's a funny thing when you love music so much to have the Zune Pass come along. I've been so involved listening to other genres, styles and artists that there have been times I've neglected one of my most favorite forms of music. So this February will present me a chance to reconnect (pardon me if I get a little teary eyed).

In addition, my Zune Card (starting today) will be playing nothing but jazz for the entire month. I won't even be syncing my device for as long as possible, to allow nothing but jazz to appear on my Zune Card. Those of you with Zune Pass subscriptions can sync my card and constantly have different types of jazz to listen to and sample.

Feel free to leave me comments on Jazz 101 posts, through Inside the Circle's email address or messages to me on the Social about what you're learning and what you would like to know about as the month progresses.

I remember being a TA for Music 78A and Music 78B. Those were the non-major courses in Jazz History at the University of California, Irvine (Go Anteaters!). I would always ask students when they came into the course what did they expect to learn in the 20 weeks between the beginning of A in the winter and the end of B in the spring. 95% of the time they said that we'd spend 10 weeks on Miles Davis and another 10 weeks on John Coltrane. It's amazing how many students, at the end of taking both classes, came to me with a new appreciation for the music once they found out a bit about the historical context surrounding it.

So again, I hope that the Jazz 101 presentation is informative and engaging. I'll try my best not to bore you too much, but again feel free to let me know what you would like to know about specifically and I'll try to address them in the course of the series.

So be here on Sunday for the opening ceremonies (read: Sunday Treasures music video).

Note: The picture used is the infamous Harlem picture of many of the most famous jazz musicians. The photo was taken by Art Kane. Please visit his website to find out more about this extraordinary man. If you click on 'harlem' the image on his site includes a mouse-over display of the musicians in the photo.

I had the good fortune of seeing Loch Lomond live a few months ago when they opened for the Decemberists in Philadelphia.  They played a great, atmosphere opening set and I was impressed enough to purchase their CD right after the show.  I got the CD signed by the band and chatted with some of them (I even got the grainy camera phone pic, too).  They're a great group of people and I am glad to see they have a new EP out- and it's a free download as well!  They're accepting donations for it, too, so if you like it, show the band some love.

There have been plenty of free flowing information out there about the demise of Zune. This information is based upon the news of the 54% decrease in Zune sales, plus the laying off of members of the Zune Staff (most notably Cesar Menendez -- Zune Insider).

I want to assure the Zune users (past, present and future) that Zune is full steam ahead. In fact, Zune users can look forward to new hardware and software sometime in 2009.

And how do I know this? The MVPs and reps from the Zune team had a nice discussion concerning the recent news, layoffs, etc. I can tell you that by the end of 2009, you'll see some new things come out of the Zune laboratory.

So everyone stay aboard the Zune Express, kick back, turn on the jams and enjoy the ride.

Re-printed from an email correspondence from Beatport. Click here to go vote.

 What is Songsmith?

Songsmith generates musical accompaniment to match a singer’s voice. Just choose a musical style, sing into your PC’s microphone, and Songsmith will create backing music for you. Then share your songs with your friends and family, post your songs online, or create your own music videos.

Click here to experience Songsmith. Warm up those vocal chords first.

1. What type of Zune do you currently own?
I currently own 3 Zunes… a Pink 4GB, Pink 8GB and my very special custom Blue Zune 16GB w/artwork and Free inscription…! (Had to upgrade for more space !)

2. What have you learned from your friends at Zune Social?
Actually a lot more than I ever thought I would… especially from the younger Zuners… those who are from 13 to 22 – they are so mature and very aware of all the problems in our world and think about everything a lot more than I would have thought they would… since I really didn’t at their ages. I have also been amazed at the high caliber of people who have Zunes… from their extreme intelligence, to their beliefs and life perspectives and their chosen careers… Many of them are dedicating their lives to making other people’s lives better and that is very important and noble to me…

3. What made you decide to get a Zune over any other MP3 player?
Well, like so many others here – I didn’t want to buy into the whole iPod monopoly as I’ve always been someone who looks for the unique product w/in the common herd… so I did a lot of research on various websites and in addition to liking everything I read about the Zune and the focus/vision of the Zune Team, wanted to be a part of a new venture and help to topple iPod’s reign on the Mp3 market… and I didn’t even know about the Social until I went to register my first Zune…

4. What type of music do you listen to (name as many as necessary -- genres/groups)?
Music is such a vital part of my life that I am always on the lookout for new diverse artists and groups… So I love R&B with Luther being my forever favorite, Smooth Jazz, Blues, Country, Easy Listening, Soft Pop/Rock, Soft Christian, World/International and many New Age artists… some top favorites from these groups would be: Fourplay, George Benson, Lee Ritenour, David Arkenstone, David Lanz & Paul Speer, Wynton Marsalis, John Denver, David Archuleta, Mandisa, Leona Lewis, Roberta Flack, Oleta Adams, Gladys Knight, Babyface, Kenny Loggins, Michael W. Smith, Phillips, Craig & Dean, Steven Curtis Chapman, Kathy Matea, Diamond Rio, Alan Jackson, Trisha Yearwood, Sarah Brightman, Celtic Women, Loreena McKennit, Keith Urban, Andrea Bocelli, Neil Diamond, Regina Belle, Martina McBride, Michael Buble, Charice, Patrick O’Hearn, The Rippingtons, Queen Latifah, Robert Cray, Sarah McLachlan, Seal, Shadowfax, Stevie Wonder, Take 6, Suzanne Ciani, Tevin Campbell, Tuck & Patti and so many, many more…

5. What's your favorite thing about Zune (favorite feature)?
I LOVE the touchpad… the way you can just skim across it w/your thumb and scroll effortlessly and easily… it’s somewhat magical to me… :D

6. Where do you use your Zune? Working out? At the office? 
Everywhere I’m allowed to… at work, working out, whenever I travel out of town, as I’m hanging out in the Zune forums, waiting in the doctor’s office, reading magazines/novels and when I’m building houses/community lots in my Sims2 game…

7. What are some of your hobbies? What's your life like away from Zune Social?
I am a voracious reader of fiction, love to keep up on the entertainment world, create poetry, an avid swimmer, create beaded jewelry, belong to several wolf/wildlife and environmental protection charities… My life away from the Zune Social is pretty quiet… as I’ve been unemployed for many months like the rest of millions of Americans… to occupy my time I attend Coastline Baptist church and play a lot of Sims2… I also try to be a positive influence in the lives of everyone I meet… to bring a smile to their faces… encourage them in their goals/dreams and to love them as God would have me do… :D

So here’s the scenario. You’re using the Zune device and you plug it into the computer. You’re watching it sync, but you notice that the device icon displayed in the software is different than the number that the device is giving. Why tha hell does that happen?

It’s best to pay attention to the number displayed by the software. According to a knowledge base that I found, the device is not taking conversion of any videos into account when it gives it’s total. However, the software IS taking into account any files that have to be converted, so the software is the more accurate number. Of course, you could just wait until the device says ‘connected’. Then everything is just fine.

How cool is this commercial. It features singer Keri Hilson. If you want to check out the link in the commercial, click here. Sometimes watching MTV has its benefits. :-)

 Song: Bad Babysitter Artist: Princess Superstar / Album: Princess Superstar Is [Explicit Content]

So I’m sure you’ve heard by now that iTunes has gone DRM-Free with its entire catalog. No longer are their customers bound to the iPod/iTunes matrix to get their music fix. You’re now allowed to purchase your music anywhere and use it on any device. Which, for me, leaves this question:

Since you can now get your music from anywhere and use it practically anywhere, where is the competition?

My answer. Devices. I think part of it now comes down to the devices that you’ll use to take this music wherever you want. So I wanted to ask you all for your opinions. With basically a DRM-Free Marketplace out there, now including iTunes is it Zune Pass that will separate Zune from iPod? Is it the device features? Any thoughts as to where all of this is going?

Hey, Cesar -

We are all stunned and saddened by the news that you are no longer a member of the Zune team. You have been the face, voice and go-to guy for all of us in the community who wanted to know the latest and greatest about Zune software and devices. Each and every time that we've reached out to you, you have responded in-kind with valuable information and a sense of humor that is irreplaceable.

When news of the Microsoft downsizing came down, many of us became worried about who would be leaving. We had no idea that today we'd be hearing news that you would no longer be a part of our Zune lives (a part in the capacity of Zune Insider).

I think I speak for all of us when we say that Cesarisok is alright for a ZuneTag, but CesarisAwesome would be much better.

We wish you the best in everything that you do. Rock, rock on, buddy!

Sincerely,

• Marques Lyons (tromboneforhire)
• The Inside the Circle Readers & Writers
• The entire Zune Community
  

Let me tell ya, I love this man’s stuff. You may not know that, but that’s probably because I put his stuff on my PSP and use it as the music for my baseball game. Not so much being played on my Zune ( although that could change too ).

Oh, who is this guy? He’s Shinichi Osawa, a great electronic artist. Rcrd Lbl is offering a track of his for free at their website. It’s called “Off the Rocker”.

Funny, that describes me sometimes.

Hey, I dig The Counting Crows. So it was cool that Gibson (gibson.com) is offering a free MP3 of one of their songs.

The song is "When I Dream of Michaelangelo" -- which has nothing to do with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. :-)

Go check out, download and listen.

1. What type of Zune do you currently own?
Black Zune 30GB

2. What have you learned from your friends at Zune Social?
What I’ve always known – that we are more alike than we know or see.

3. What made you decide to get a Zune over any other MP3 player?
I’m a diehard Microsoft fan.  I wanted nothing else.

4. What type of music do you listen to (name as many as necessary -- genres/groups)?
Everything, Absolutely Everything - Rap/Hip-Hop, Rock, Alternative, Indie, Pop, Other, Christmas, World, Electronica, Country, Blues, Folk, Dance, Classical, Christian/Gossip, Soundtracks, R&B/Soul, Metal, Latin, Jazz, Mashup, Reggae, Psychedelic

5. What's your favorite thing about Zune (favorite feature)?
All-in-one Device – music, videos/movies, radio, podcasts – everything I love in one place.

6. Where do you use your Zune? Working out? At the office? 
I bring along my Zune when I travel.  My second favorite travel companion.

7. What are some of your hobbies? What's your life like away from Zune Social?
My favorite hobbies are listening to music (and you know I gotta dance) and reading, and I love to travel.  My life away from Zune Social is spent working and spending time with family and friends.

Let me ask you guys a question. In my travels through the forums I'm running into a few of the same issues/wishlist items from Zune users. I'm gonna present three of them here and I want your opinion on how much of a priority these features should be in being part of a future release.

• The ability to use digital copies of movies (the ones that come with DVDs) on Zune
• Being able to use your Zune device as a portable hard drive
• Volume leveling (being able to make all of your tracks maintain the same noise level)

Personally, I'm for all of these taking place, especially the digital copy thing. Many of the people in the forums who bring up that particular issue are people who bought the Dark Knight and wanted to be able to take the pristine (studio made) copy with them when they take their Zune.

Sidenote: The reason that the digital copy doesn't work, currently is this: People note that it plays in Windows Media Player but not in Zune (and that adds to the confusion). What is happening is that the digital copy of the film is using a special form of DRM. I want to say that it's the PlaysforSure (Works with Windows Vista) DRM. That's why it works in Windows Media Player and other devices that can sync with WMP. Zune, however, uses a totally different DRM system and, unfortunately, can't read PlaysforSure-DRM files.

Now back to the wishlist features. Which of these do you think would be priority #1? Is there another one to add to the list. By the way, I know that Marketplace in Canada has become the new "we want clock" in the Zune forums. However, I'm talking specifically about the devices and software management at this point.

One of my friends, who works at a local store, snapped a picture and sent it to me. What you're seeing is a picture of a product scan for the Red 8GB Zune. Next to the word status (which tells the retailer the stock status of a product) is the word *discontinued*. You can click the image if you need a better view. My friend checked around other places and discovered that the 4GB, understandably, is no longer in stock, however the other 8GB colors are still marked in-stock.So why is the Red 8GB Zune labeled as discontinued?

Conventional wisdom says that Zune is planning stuff for 2009, but are new flash devices part of the equation? Discontinuing the 8GB (when you're notably getting rid of the 4GB) only leaves the 16GB. Why just leave only the 16GB? It's things like this that can definitely add fuel to speculative fire.

Anyone care to make any guesses as to what a discontinued Red 8GB Zune can imply?

Folks, one of my co-workers hipped me to something interesting. Imagine Stephen Hawking (yes, that Stephen Hawking) if he decided to try and outdo guys like 50 Cent and Tupac. The result is MC Hawking. There's a guy who basically uses a voice box to rap over hip hop beats.

Honestly, as I'm typing this post, I realize that anything I say won't do the performer any real justice. So let me tell you this: 1) He's offering free music to download at the official site; 2) One of his CDs is available at Zune Marketplace.

You give it a listen and then you tell me what you think. Much credit to my co-worker James Medina for this musical gem.

I’m curious: Do any of you have special talents that you want to share? I’m sure you know that I’m a trombone player and have been since 7th grade. It got to a point where I actually made it my study focus in college, but I want to hear from you guys.

Can you play an instrument? Sing? Say the alphabet backwards? Thread a needle on the first try? Share with us your talents.

Look at that cover. Do I need to tell you that this is some indie psychedelic rock being offered from Odawas? "Harmless Lovers Discourse" is from the band's forthcoming album Raven and the White Night. Indie Rock Cafe has the track for your audible pleasure. And did I mention, have you seen that cover?

I’ve been checking out this podcast for the last few weeks and I’ve found it quite entertaining. It’s hosted by Paul Thurrott, who runs the Windows Supersite and Leo LaPorte. They discuss everything related to Microsoft (yes, that includes the Zune). What makes the podcast so great is that Paul and Leo aren’t afraid to give criticism about things that Microsoft does, which makes it a very refreshing listen.

If you want to check it out for yourself, you can subscribe through the Marketplace or just click this link to go to the official podcast page.

Those of you interested in some *ahem* hot Swedish action may want to check out Lykke Li. I downloaded this track over the weekend and found it to be quite cool. Your opinion may be different, of course, but you won’t know until you download, so hop to it.

Click here to download.

 Song: Satisfaction Artist: Benny Benassi / Album: Hypnotica

Those who visit my Zune Card know that my top artist is Seal. Imagine my pleasure to be able to see him live for the first time last year at the Pacific Amphitheatre. Sure enough, he put on one hell of a show, playing pretty much all of his album “System” along with a few classics.

I’m including a video that I made of part of the opening number. Enjoy.

<br/><a href="http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?vid=0f9be966-a0eb-412a-bc6d-b82bb00e2144" target="_new" title="Seal in Concert">Video: Seal in Concert</a>

So how about a few more free music downloads? Say.. 20?

Just so you know, there IS an expiration date on these tracks; read the fine print at the bottom of the Rhapsody page to know when the tracks will no longer work.


Get to downloading!



Some songs contain explicit content that you may not want the kiddies to hear.

7/25/2010 Update: I went through this article, resized pictures, and updated the post to include tips for the newer Zune 4.0 software and Windows 7.

Using the Zune software, I was watching my music play. With the Zune software, this pastime happens to be an engaging and relaxing process. I have started trying a desktop layout where I maximize the Zune software window and let other windows sit on top of it to create a DreamScene-like effect on my PC. While browsing the web, Zune showed a picture in the My Chemical Romance montage that I particularly liked; and a thought struck me.

"There should be more concert pictures included in the artists' photo rotations"

Remembering our previous coverage of this feature, it seems like I am not the first to reach a similar conclusion. Still, there was just something engaging about the picture of My Chemical Romance rocking in this small club. As a result, I took a screenshot. Looking at the result, I realized something cool. I could use resulting picture as a desktop wallpaper. Essentially, I just used the Zune software to make a desktop wallpaper. The process is relatively simple so I thought I would share.

1. Navigate to 'Now Playing' by clicking on on the purple bars to the right of the fast forward button, or by clicking on the album art of the track currently playing in the software.

2. Make sure your mouse is not hovering over any of the play controls such as 'pause ' or 'exit.'

All yours courtesy of the editor's of Blender and Rhapsody, for your listening enjoyment, The Blender Mix, Volume Seven.

Apple Introduces Revolutionary New Laptop With No Keyboard I saw this and thought it was just f'n funny. Check it.

The Decemberists have made available a free download of "The Rake's Song," from their upcoming album Hazards of Love. The page requires a sign-up to receive the MP3, but if you're not averse to such things, go grab your free copy.

While I was considering doing this long, full-fledged report about my adventures in Vegas, I figured that it would be best to just offer this up in chunks. That way you'd be able to digest it better as a reader, and I'd be able to keep my sanity as a writer. Therefore, I'm going to do the first Vegas Report on probably the event of most interest to you all the Zune Party at the Palms (and some of the events that followed). Plus, this tale in itself it's pretty lengthy.

Also I'm in the process of fixing up the pictures. I should have them ready for viewing by Friday.

First off, if you've never been to the Palms Hotel/Casino, it's a very nice venue. While waiting for the Zune Party (I have this horrible habit of showing up to places about 90 minutes too early), I sat in the Mint (located next to the High Rollers tables) and had myself a couple of cocktails. I was also enjoying some basketball on the TV screens and listening to men tell stories about how they're wives should be grateful that they lost $2500 because it saved the wife from buying some more expensive shoes she wouldn't ever wear again (yeah, I think by now that same guy is living in a Motel 6 somewhere).

  

The Zune Party itself took place in one of the SkyVillas. When I checked in, the lovely young lady had looked at me for all of like 5 minutes til she said "Are you by yourself? No date?" I know she meant well with the question, so I just replied (jokingly) that no woman was worthy enough to be with me for such a prestigous event. At least I hope she understood that was a joke.

After making my way up the elevator and through the hall, I entered the SkyVilla. I was at a party last year that took place in one of these so I already knew what to expect. The thrill of it this year was being able to greet and say thanks to members of the Zune team. For being a 31 year old man, I couldn't believe how much like 21 year old I had suddenly became.

Zune was cool enough to offer an open bar (open meaning different types of beers, sodas and wine). I managed to mingle with some of the other patrons of the party there. They were very upstanding gentlemen and suddenly I remember how old I actually was again. Out of nowhere, this figure comes beaming towards me and instantly I recognized that it was Cesar. He introduces himself to me and I was very honored to finally meet the guy who's become one of the main faces of Zune. We did some chatting and I managed to also meet Jared of Zunited. He was a very upstanding gentlemen. I met his blogger buddy, Anna. We had these great conversations, including how Cesar helped Inside the Circle get it's official (and final) name because he had started the trend of naming the blog after the URL.

Oh, did I mention there was a food spread as well. Yeah, I had carrots. My mom would totally be proud of me. Amongst some of the other initial people I met was Zac (from Australia). He was tall. Yes, I'm saying that. He was tall. He was also an awesome person to chat with.

Let's just get this straight. I met way too many people to try and detail it all here, so let me just give you the gist of it. Grahm from AnythingbutiPod was a spectacular individual. He and I ended up hanging out the following night at Rain (with Jessica Zahn and her hubby, John). Before Rain, Grahm and I sat down for cocktails and to discuss the state of blogging, advertising and music. He was very opinionated, but that's what I enjoyed most.... oh, back to the party....

As you may know, the Zune Party was rocked by DJ Morgan Page. I got my picture with him (pictures are forthcoming, be patient). Someone at the party looked over at the table and said "Isn't it kind of ironic that he's using a Mac for this thing?" I later found out it was a Dell (at least from my vantage point it looked like a Dell). Someone else also made the comment (I believe it was Zac) that the TV in the room should've been playing some of the 'now playing' screens that you can see in the software. That actually would've been awesome to see.

 

Now it was funny, when I was introduced to people sometimes my first name wasn't used (as in "This is Marques"). It came out more as "This is Tromboneforhire". How interesting is that we've gotten to a point where we call people by their Zune Tag instead of their actual first name. Neville, you might want to be careful if you don't want people approaching you saying "Whats up, Solar?!".

Some of the other people I met were Harvey from Zunerama, Candice (Bliss16) from the Zune Team, Matt (Skipdeez) from the Zune Team, Brian (Mossyroc) from the Zune Team. I actually also wanted to meet Rob Greenlee because I wanted to talk podcasting with him, but he didn't make the trip :-(.

So now, we're all having fun at this party: mingling, taking pictures, ears on Morgan Page, etc. When it was done some members of the team were wondering if there was going to be an after party somewhere. Man, I love these people! Turns out that we all went to Blush (specifically me, Matt, Candice, Jessica and her hubby John).

Um, how can I put this diplomatically? The DJ was terrible. Picture a DJ with ADD. He'd start one song, wait 30 seconds, switch to another, decide he likes old 80s music so he'd switch to that, decide he likes music that sounds like 70s funk, then realized he like the original song he started with. This went on the whole time. Terrible, I tell you. We finally decided to call it a night and just go to our rooms and neuralize ourselves to forget we were even at Blush.

Now. Saturday night was an experience to remember. Grahm, Jessica, John and I went to Perfecto at the Palms which is an all-night party headlined on the turntables by Paul Oakenfold. For those who are new to reading Inside the Circle, I did a blog post about Perfecto at the Palms when I made my last trip to Vegas. I guess I was little too overexcited and tried to pretty much tell my friends everything about it leaving no surprises. However, the last time I went I didn't manage to stay until the final beat rang out. This time was different.

All of us bought those $60 VIP wristbands, which gets you instant admission to all of the clubs at the Palms -- $60 is not a bad deal for something like that. We walked almost immediately into Rain and got situated in the more VIP area of the place. The opening DJ was very good. Didn't get his name, but he was an awesome warmup act.

When it came time for Oakenfold to take the stage, the acrobatics began. Folks, picture Cirque Du Soleil with an electronic soundtrack. While the music is being spun, acrobats, robot walkers, ninjas and all kinds of performers are traveling around the club entertaining guests and handing out glow sticks (which made Grahm happy). By the way, I had to warn everyone that I can't dance like a raver. All of my moves are done with a hip-hop undertone. Grahm tried to show me how it works, but it was all for naught, haha.

We managed to stay at Perfecto until it ended at 4am. Not bad for a group of "old folks" like us. :-) This totally made up for the disaster of Blush. And, at least for me, gave me a great way to end my stay in Vegas. So between the Zune Party and Rain Nightclub, I can honestly tell you that the Zune team are an enjoyable bunch to know, chat with and hang out with.

Country music fans, rejoice!

Walmart is giving you some musical love by offering a free music download from Martina McBride. Plus, they're offering everyone a chance to view a live concert by Martina. It's all part of their Soundcheck section of their website, so go ahead and get your MM on :-)

Click here to download and watch video

There have been those who have wondered about a setting on their Zune device. When you go to settings and select music, you'll see this option that says "artist: album only". If you click on it, it changes to "artist: songs and album". Many users didn't quite know what this feature is about, so let me give a small primer on what it does.

I like to use the example of BT for this demonstration. It simply works like this:

If you have it on "artist: album only", when you go to the artist part of the UI on the device and click on BT, you'll see all of the albums that are attributed to BT. If you have it on "artist: songs and album" and go to BT, you will not only get the albums that he did, but you'll get the songs that he did that are on other albums in your collection. So you'll see a list of albums and then a list of songs. Usually those songs are attributed to a soundtrack that the artist participated in.

Hope that made sense. Let me know if anyone needs clarification.