Came across these two remixes- "Lovesong" by the Cure and "B.O.B" from Outkast- and the mix between the two works better than I would have ever thought. Nice job; hit up the link below and check out both MP3s.

Visit our podcast page over at the Zune website. You can subscribe via the Zune Marketplace or by using our feed in your favorite feed reader. Or download the MP3 file here.

• Hosts: Marques Lyons and DJ Sista Stroke
  
• Running Time: 39 minutes
• Intro and outro music by Shohei Urata
• Server space provided by Travis Pope and Paige Aiden

• Today's show consisted of a one-on-one conversation between Marques Lyons and DJ Sista Stroke. The conversation consisted of house music influences, what it's like to open for Method Man, differences between the different types of clubgoers and our love for house music and video games.
• Please note that this conversation took place using a Skype call from London to California, so the audio quality may not be as pristine as desired, but darn doncha know, we had a good time talking!
  

• Sista Stroke's Website
• Sista Stroke on Virb
  
• Brick City House Podcast
• Chicago House FM
• Follow DJ Sista Stroke on Twitter
  

Thanks for listening!

Update: Care to listen to some of Sista Stroke's DJ skills? Check out some of her mixes care of ReverbNation!

Since I'm going to be visiting with family until 24 January, I might not be up to date in the posting of the free music-ness.

• Nine free downloads from 21 December, click
• Yesterday's five free are here
• And State Radio with "Counting Crows"

Inside the Circle is proud to be joining forces with some of the awesome gaming communities to bring you a fun and festive meetup. The event will be taking place at the Dave & Buster's gaming/food/drink/debauchery center in Orange, CA on Saturday, January 2nd, 2010.

It's been organized and coordinated through Talking About Games!

It will be starting at 2pm and lasting until at least 5pm. Some of us will be bringing along prizes to giveaway (I'll be slugging along a few of these Zune Originals Poster Packs) and we hope that many of you are able to join us.

By the way, about this picture I'm using: Who seriously looks that excited to be playing that game!? People you won a bunch of tickets not the California State Lottery!

Anyhow, from what I could gather, the communities involved are:

• TheMarriedGamers.net
• TalkingAboutGames.com
• GamingAngels.com
• Ve3tro.com
• XboxPulse.com
• Coin-Op.tv
• InsideTheCircle.net
• 360Junkies.com

This is Zune weather and I love me some snow. I do not know if you have heard, but the East Coast had a bit of a storm system going on. Short to say, up in Massachusetts a little snow fell; namely to the tune of about twelve to fourteen inches. Further down the coast, in the Mid-Atlantic, I hear stories of upwards of two feet of snow. So my question is this, when snow falls, what music do you listen to when you have to dig out? Check out my Zune Playlist:

Visit our podcast page over at the Zune website. You can subscribe via the Zune Marketplace or by using our feed in your favorite feed reader. Or download the MP3 file here.

• Hosts: Marques Lyons and Neville Williams
• Running Time: 39 minutes
• Intro and outro music by Shohei Urata
• Server space provided by Travis Pope and Paige Aiden

• Agenda Rundown
• Call for new Inside the Circle writers and Marques' moonlighting gig
  
• Opinions: The Zune HD Twitter App
• Thoughts on the overall App Story
• The Zune Affiliate Program
• Marketplace Recommendations
• Bonus Track (within podcast feed) - Free MP3: "Walk On" by Stars Go Dim
  

• Check out Marques' journalistic skills over at The Examiner
• Marques' Planned Conferences: CES | MVP Global Summit | Bandwidth 2010
  
• The Zune Affiliate Program
• The iTunes Affiliate Program
  

• "The Other Side" by Paul Van Dyk [zune marketplace]
• "Cray-Z" by Fu-Schnickens [zune marketplace]
• "Pretty Fly for a White Guy" by The Offspring [zune marketplace]
• "Summer Girls" by Lyte Funkie Ones [zune marketplace]
  

Thanks for listening!

As brought to you by Roxy, here is "Bodies".

This inside look at the Twitter app for Zune HD is more a mash-up of multiple reviews than a complete review coming from a single source. Presented in three parts we have initial impressions coming from both myself and Marques.

First we have a my video review, showing the function and features of the Twitter app on the Zune HD:

Next we have Marques’ take on the app as posted over on examiner.com below is a snippet. To read the rest of his review be sure to check out his article over at examiner.com:

“So I've had the chance to fiddle around (as it were) with the Twitter application that was released this week for the Zune HD. As someone who uses Twitter quite often (and is a fan of Tweetdeck and Twikini) I had high hopes for the much ballyhooed Zune HD Twitter app. I came away thinking that it was a good version 1.0, but it left a bit to be desired…”

Full Story

Finally, the last portion of this inside look is the first portion of episode 8 of the Circle This Podcast. While Episode 8 is yet to be released be sure to tune in and listen to our commentary about the Zune HD’s first Twitter app and more, when it becomes available for download.

As always, your thoughts on the Twitter app are welcome below.

Update:

As many of you in Zune Nation have noted, the current version of the Twitter app censors certain words. Today, the Zune Team has a response saying that in a future release, such censoring will not be the case. Be sure to read the full story over on Engadget.

“The recently released Twitter for Zune HD application has been abbreviating some explicit words in tweets when viewed on the device; however these explicit words do appear in their full text on the Twitter site or on any other Twitter client. We have identified the issue and are taking steps to update the application as soon as possible to ensure Twitter for Zune HD users are able to view tweets in their original state.”

Engadget

Update 2:

It looks like Twitter v1.1 is go, sans bad-word censorship. The picture is ours but thanks goes to Engadget for the heads up on the fact that v1.1 was available for download. Be sure to sync the update to your ZuneHD via PC or download it through the wireless marketplace to get the latest in Twitter goodness from the Zune Team.

 

KartGo you are the winner of DLO’s CordSaver case for the Zune HD. Thank you for leaving your thoughts on what you think about apps and how they relate to the Zune HD. If you would be as kind as to send me a direct message via Twitter or a message on the Zune Social with your shipping address I’ll have this case off to you as soon as possible. You have until tomorrow, Friday 8pm PST, to get back to me, at which point I shall choose another winner.

As of yesterday, single day passes are available to you, the masses.
I would have posted something yesterday, but its finals week and I've got things to do that are slightly more important than blogging. =P

Zune has recently launched an affiliate program whereby individuals can get paid for converting people into Zune Pass subscriptions. The easy thing would be to have a person try the 14-day trial and then, if they liked the service, letting it continue. For your efforts, Microsoft and Zune will give you payouts.

For those of you who think this is just some cheap way for Microsoft to get Zune Pass subscribers, keep in mind that the person on the other end of this equation still has to accept and subscribe to Zune Pass. Just like a person who's an affiliate to a store, you still have to get the people to buy.

So if you feel that you can assimilate enough people into the Borg, er, Zune, head on over to this website and sign up. They ask that you are qualified going in. I would think that means that you should have a site or means to connect with those who could find Zune Pass something they'd consider checking out. In any event, go ahead and get your affiliation on!

Circle This: Episode #7: Tech Happens

Visit our podcast page over at the Zune website. You can subscribe via the Zune Marketplace or by using our feed in your favorite feed reader. Or download the MP3 file here.

Show Notes:

• Hosts: Marques Lyons and Neville Williams
• Running Time: 34 minutes
• Intro and outro music by Shohei Urata
• Server space provided by Travis Pope and Paige Aiden

Topics covered:

• Welcome back
• The ZuneNation Holiday Drive
• The Microsoft Mission Viejo Store Opening
• Neville's video recording of the new Zune HD games

Link List:

• The ZuneNation Holiday Drive

Marketplace Recommendations:

• N/A

Thanks for listening!

• Flight to Athena's free downloads page
• My pictures from the concert, if you're interested.

I love fueling your music addiction.

And I know you're in need of a fix right about now.

Here, have this. I'm not stingy, but you need to make it last a week 'cause that's when I get my next shipment from my supplier.

As MVPs, we listen to what people are say about Zune from many different places. Acting upon the information received, we try to distill it into concise and usable action items (e.g. add an equalizer, sell outside the US, more apps in the marketplace, etc.). One trend I’m seeing is a lot of discussion about the Twitter and Facebook apps that are still coming soon for the Zune HD.

No, I do not have any new information on their release date. Instead, I want to repost a few questions based on an article and subsequent comment I made over at Gizmodo. Thanks to Gizmodo reader Bigbadbikernerd for responding and then promoting my comment. It ultimately lead to this post. The questions originally posted were as follows:

Assuming you could chose one; would you rather have games that you've potentially played on [Xbox Live Arcade] before OR would you rather have some original games unique to the Zune HD?

Second, would you be willing to pay for these apps or would you not mind seeing an advertisement or two to keep them free?

Thirdly, would you rather see apps trickle out as they're finished or together as a group of four or five?

You can read Bigbadbikernerd’s original response here, feel free to leave subsequent comments below or back on Gizmodo. As always your feedback does to help in making changes.

 

UPDATE: Lets make this a contest. If you respond here, at Inside the Circle, and answer all three questions, you’re entered to win the previously reviewed JamJacket CordSaver case for the Zune HD. Also, if you have another model Zune I might be able to find a suitable pre-reviewed Zune case as a prize. Inside the Circle writers and previous contest winners, from contests hosted on our site or Twitter accounts (tromboneforehire or Solar257), are not eligible to win. Contest ends at 6pm PST on Tuesday December 15, 2009.

It's really cold out.
I don't care what "People Say" because yes, I will complain about being cold.

I get cold once the temperature drops below 70ºF.
I was raised in Southern California. What did you expect? =P

As we begin to wind down the chapter that is 2009 and head into 2010, I wanted to take some time right now to help explain not only the whole #ZuneNation drive concept and where I see it, but just give some overall reflections about the blog and schtuff.

I hope you can indulge me for a few minutes and forgive any grammatical or WTF!? errors you see on the page.

The concept of the #ZuneNation Holiday Drive was something that had been brewing in my head for at least 3 months now. I've taken the lessons from my high school teacher to heart and I wanted to be able to help out people as much as I could. It's probably why I enjoy being an MVP so much. Being able to have the tools available to really help people get the most out of their experiences with Zune (and to a larger extent, music) has been one of the highlights of my life ever since last year.

Yet, I knew that I couldn't simply just ask people to donate (even though since then I've put up a direct donation page, I know). So what I came up with was to have people do something they would normally do: shop on the internet. It was then asked that they used a particular Amazon affiliate code and know that in addition to making a purchase they would've normally made anyway, a portion of their purchase (read: the affiliate payout) would be going to the Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation -- an organization that is there to help kids realize their musical potential by providing them with instruments to help them discover music. Remember, good music starts with good musicians and this is one of those ways we could help.

Now, if the #ZuneNation drive made absolutely no money from the drive would I be disappointed? Sure. Yet, I also know that the idea had to be put out there. It had to start somewhere, sometime by someone. Every successful event you see now had to begin with a rough or less-than-desirable start (at least I would think that to be the case). I know that if I continue throughout the months and years to push events like the drive then eventually they will catch on and become a comfortable part of the culture.

While we're on this note I wanted to thank Travis Pope for being so gung-ho on the project. He was great at making the banners and promoting the drive on ZuneSpring. I also want to thank members of #ZuneNation who have helped with the drive by letting their communities know. At least getting the word out brings attention to what we're trying to accomplish and really that's all I could ask for.

So then let's focus some attention on this blog itself.

You know, when I started this thing in July 2008, I honestly didn't think it would make it this far. I didn't think that in December of 2009, I would even be considering new aspects and ways to make this little slice of the internet more engaging and entertaining for our readership. Yet, you guys continue to read us, you follow us on Twitter, you friend us over at Facebook and you game with us over XBOX Live.

Now I'll admit there have been a lot of things tried here at Inside the Circle. Some were successful in execution (like the Sunday Treasures music videos, the Social Spotlites, Jazz 101, and the abundance of free music locations) and there were some things that had potential but for whatever reason didn't quite fly. I call them as having the "Albatross Effect". Things like the gaming nights, for example. Well I'm happy to say that after doing this for a full year, I've figured out what I would like to accomplish in 2010 and I wanted to share with some of those plans and ideas. Again, I know that some of these will take off and some of these will flop, but the fun is in the attempt.

The "Circle This" podcast will not be going anywhere. In fact, Neville and I will be recording the re-start episode this week. We're still going to bring you news about Zune, music, tips/tricks and how to get the most out of your Zune and music experiences. I think Neville and I are ready to hit this thing full throttle and I'm going to make a more concentrated effort to have on additional guest hosts for round table discussions and Zune team members for insight on life inside Zune. Plus, you can expect more "Bonus Tracks" to be added to the "Circle This" podcast feed -- I like the idea of being able to include free music for listeners.

Interestingly, because I've gotten to know so many wonderful musicians throughout the year, I'm going to add a second show: The Lyons Den. While I thought of adding the musician interviews to the Circle This podcast experience, I knew that would take the show into 60 and 90 minute territory. So rather than do that (and to keep things bite sized) I'm going to branch off the artist interviews part into it's own series (kind of like Green Room). I think only cats like Major Nelson could pull off effective 2 hour shows every week.

Gaming nights will return except now they will be under the ZuneNation banner. I hope to again communicate with different communities out there to co-host nights where we all can get together and frag, sing and slam dunk against each other. I completely enjoyed those nights that were co-hosted with 360 Junkies and SFX-360 and I refuse to let that style of event fall by the waistside.

I hope everyone has been enjoying the "Artistic Expression" posts that have gone up so far. I was very nervous about this project because I knew musicians could be very busy people. The idea of asking them to write one post, especially for a blog that doesn't have the name "Billboard" or "MTV" attached to it was nerve wracking let me tell you. Yet, I've been humbled and appreciative of the artists who have taken that time to offer us such wonderful prose that we could share. I hope to continue this series into 2010 and I may ask some of these artists to make return appearances.

There are other things I have brewing in my head (meetups, event coverage, etc) so I suggest that you be on the lookout for Inside the Circle in 2010 as we start to take this thing to the next level. However, that does bring me to something else I should address:

As you know, Inside the Circle has been skillfully manned by three awesome writers: Neville, Julio and Alfa. I can honestly say that this blog would never have made it this far without their contributions, enthusiasm and skills. Why don't I include myself in this group? I don't know, that's not who I am. I'm more about showing appreciation for those that have helped Inside the Circle along the way. I'm sure they know how deeply I appreciate everything they've done for this blog (I think I've said it to each of them on numerous occasions) but I wanted to make one more public acknowledgment of how much I enjoy working with them in this capacity.

Yet, I also know that Inside the Circle, if it's ever going to grow, should take on maybe a couple of new writers; some fresh blood, folks who could bring some new perspectives on music and Zune. Therefore, if you would like to begin contributing to Inside the Circle, feel free to contact me. I will be more than happy to discuss what ideas you would like to bring to the table.

So here it is in a nutshell:

Thanks to all of our readers who have consistently chatted with us, shared music, and brought tons of energy, fun and conversation. Because of you, we have created things like #ZuneNation over on Twitter, which has become a great community of both Zune enthusiasts and music lovers.

Thanks to all of you who have became our friends on Facebook or followed the writers on Twitter. Being able to chat with you all has been (and will continue to be) an honor and a privilege.

So I hope you're willing to stay with us for the ride into 2010. We've got the Zune HD plugged in and the speakers turned up! LETS GO!

Thanks again, everyone.

Til next time, stay safe and keep the beat!

So let me get this straight: In order to get the actual two good tracks an artist puts out, I have to shell over 800 points (or more) to get the entire album!? You're actually going to weigh me down with all of this music I don't want in order for me to get the songs that I do want!? Um, sorry, in my world that won't work. You see, I like to cherry pick.

What I'm saying is that I don't understand this concept of 'album only' purchasing in the Marketplace.

It's the reason that AC/DC music isn't available anywhere for digital distribution and it's something that I've ran into when I tried to get music by P.M. Dawn (that's right... P.M. Dawn!). I love both groups but not all of their music is something I want in my collection. I want to create my own Greatest Hits set. I want to be able to single out those songs that have a true impact on me. I want to be able to still show my support for the artist, but let's be real how many artists put out albums where you liked the whole thing from top to bottom?

Could you imagine if movies took a stance like this: In order to get one movie, you had to get all of its sequels and prequels, even if they sucked. What if you walked into your local movie store and every aisle was filled with all-or-nothing propositions. Um, no that doesn't work for me. I liked Nightmare on Elm Street, so much so that I bought the entire box set. However, I thought the Friday the 13th series was getting long in the tooth (read: stupid) as the series wore on. So if I walked into Blockbuster and they said "In order to get Part I you have to get all of the sequels" I'd have a few choice words, a still full wallet and empty hands.

So here we have labels and/or artists making their albums 'album only' purchases. You know what: Seriously, just go ahead and make it available by individual tracks. Let your fans and public decide which songs they want to clutter up their hard drives with, don't make the choice for them.

Sure, I understand there are contracts in place, but this is more for the labels than for Zune. Get off your high horse and give me a choice. If I want the whole album, believe me I'll buy the whole album. If you really see your whole album as a 'full experience', do what Prince did with LoveSexy and make it just one long-ass track. Unless you're willing to do that, then let's put little (buy) buttons next to each song, shall we?

I don't know, what do you guys think?

I suppose the motto "be prepared" also carries over to the music lover. On Friday I went to my friend’s house party. People started to complain that the CDs in the player were playing “the same music.” Fortunately, I had my Zune HD with me and he let me work some musical mastery.

The people who saw the device, were impressed. One girl called it "an amazing piece of technology." Her friend was surprised it was made by Microsoft. Both told me they were Modern Warfare 2 players on Xbox360 (I got their gamertag). Finally, one guy kept trying to change the track, regardless of what was playing. This lead me to muse on the situation via Twitter. I wonder if he was telling me something about my selection. You tell me, Zune Nation; below is my playlist from that night:

Next week, the #ZuneNation Drive and the joys of community continues as ZuneSpring and Inside the Circle invites you to join us for back-to-back gaming nights on XBOX Live. Let's all get together in the spirit of putting a grenade in someone's stocking.

Travis and I will both be hosting a night of Halo 3 madness on Thursday, December 10, 2009. We invite you all to join in our room and have some fun fragging each other. The event will run from 7:00pm PST to 9:30pm PST. The following night, Friday December 11, 2009 (moving to a later date, stay tuned), I will be hosting Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer. This event will also run from 7:00pm PST to 9:30pm PST.

Look for harlems or tromboneforhire online.

We look forward to gaming with ya'll!

• Here is the official Grammys website.
• This is the official Grammys Facebook fan page.
• And CBS's official Facebook fan page, click.

I've recieved word that Windows and ReverbNation's successful "Sponsored Songs" partnership is going to another level. They've launched "Playlist 7". It's a program designed not only help people discover great music, but now you'll have a chance to keep 7 for free.

Folks who follow them on Facebook, MySpace and Twitter will be given access to a weekly pool of 50 new featured artists to sample. You can then download up to 7 of those songs free. Depending upon what's download determines what songs will be offered for general availability the following week. You can basically influence what great songs others get to hear.

For more information about "Playlist 7", visit the official website.

Haha, and notice that on the page, the Playlist 7 Player is in the shell of a Zune HD.

Ok, we are going to try something different here. Inside the Circle and ZuneSpring are presenting the 2009 ZuneNation Holiday Drive, benefitting the Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation. This organization, inspired by the movie of the same name aims to provide underprivileged kids with musical instruments and a chance to make music a part of their daily lives. As someone who knows the benefits of music, I think this is a worthwhile charity to give to.

So how do you participate?

We have an official donation page via the Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation website. So show how much #ZuneNation cares and click here.