Forecasting the Portable Media Center

I was headed out yesterday for a family Easter dinner and unfortunately had to leave right as the Michigan State/Kentucky game was headed to the second overtime.
What to do? Well, seeing how I didn’t have to drive, I brought along my handheld
TV.(It’s a nice little 2-inch Casio color screen, with VHF/UHF receivers. I think it cost about 100 bucks). On the way home four hours later, I realized I didn’t tape (yes, tape, not Tivo–unfortunately)
Arrested Development. Easy fix–turn on the little telly and watch me some
comedy.

All this got me thinking about portable media centers, the PSP, the planned Tivo To Go and the future of television. Given what has happened to music, it is clear that video will be headed towards portability as well, even if Steve Jobs is right when he says video and gaming are “foreground” activities. So who is going to make that killer app and/or killer device that will carry the concept into the future like the iPod did for music? The future rests on the shoulders of those who can find that perfect union of content, delivery and device.

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Frank Miller's Sin City

Adaptations are a funny thing. As I’m sure Charlie Kaufman would share if asked, they’re not easy. Stray too far from the source material and you risk alienating core fans while also losing what made the previous edition work so well. Slavish devotion to the original, on the otherhand, can lead to stiff storytelling and lack of visual identity. Sin City, adapted from the Dark Horse comic book–excuse me, graphic novel–series by Frank Miller and co-written and directed by Miller and Robert Rodriguez, flaunts all of these conventions. Rodriguez hooked Miller into the “unfilmable” adaptation by hyping his devout faithfulness to the work.

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Steven Soderbergh's Schizopolis

Released: 1996 (theaters), 2003 (dvd)
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Writer: Steven Soderbergh
Starring: Steven Soderbergh

Add to Netflix Queue // Buy from Amazon

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My 130 Favorite Albums of All-Time

Heady title, no? I specifically chose the word “favorite” instead of the usual “greatest” because by no means do I think these are the greatest albums of all time. These are simply the ones I like best. I think it’s a crucial distinction that many fail to make.

So why 130? Well, I’m eschewing the typical top 100 list for two reasons: a) I wanted to head further down my ranked albums list to show a bit more diversity, and b) 10×13=130. Ten thirteen is my birthdate and therefore a good number combination.

One more note…this list changes frequently, and the final results will be shown accordingly. It may change monthly or annually, but it will change. So without further adieu, I present a constant work in progress…

[editor’s note: last updated 3.29.2005]

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Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine

Released: March 2005
Artist: Fiona Apple
Guests: Jon Brion

There’s something about March that makes it a good time for shelved albums to find their way to the public. Four years after Dave Matthews Band’s unreleased masterpiece The Lillywhite Sessions exploded onto the internet, Fiona Apple’s long awaited, much talked about follow-up to her 1999 sophomore album When the Pawn… has finally seen the light of day.

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