Friday Music

Here we go again with another Mix Tape of Teh Interwebs. I need to get back in the habit of posting these earlier in the day.

Autumn finally started creeping in to Kansas — this morning was barely into the 50s. I’m ecstatic, since Fall is my favorite season (one of only ones where I can breathe without difficulty, that’s a big part of it). So, I figured that I to start with this: 10,000 Maniacs – “Like The Weather.”

While I’m in an 80s mood, I figured that I’d post a couple of my favorite tracks from Men Without Hats. Seriously — if “Safety Dance” is all that you know, track down a copy of Rhythm of Youth and give a listen to the other tracks on the album. I wore out two cassette copies and a CD — no joke. Both of these are from that album: Men Without Hats – “I Got The Message”, and Men Without Hats – “Antarctica.”

Back to the present (future) — the lead-off track from the new album from the Austin-based metal band, The Sword. Warp Riders is a sci-fi concept album — which I’m not ashamed to say is what got me to listen. There seems to be an upswing in those recently (Janelle Monae, etc.), and as a geek I heartily approve. Anyway, here is a smoking bit of instrumental mood-setting: The Sword – “Acheron/Unleashing The Orb.”

Cling is an new trip-hop duo from Epping in the UK. I am very, very happy that this isn’t a genre that didn’t die out with the turn of the millennium. I’m a big fan of mixing big beats, ambient synths and smoky female vocals. Cling – “Beyond Your Dreams.”

I’m not sure that mass marketing works on me like it’s supposed to. Here’s another track that I discovered via a television commercial. It didn’t make me want the product that it was selling (Diet Coke, in this case), but made me want to track down the song. Some of you may also know this from the soundtrack to 500 Days of Summer (which I haven’t seen). The Temper Trap – “Sweet Disposition.”

If any of you missed this earlier in the week, I’m going to link to it here. It’s not an mp3, but you can buy the mp3 from iTunes. It’s a collaboration between Ben Folds, Nick Hornby and Pomplamousse, and I love it a LOT. Folds/Hornby & Pomplamousse- “The Things That You Think.”

Enjoy.

SXSW Panelpicker Voting Now Open

SXSW’s panelpicker is now open — an opportunity to give your opinion on which user-generated proposals are most appropriate for daytime programming at SXSW Interactive, SXSW Music and SXSW Film. It’s a neat process, and as someone who has submitted a proposal, I would very much like your vote.

My proposal is: +5 Sword of ePublishing: Lessons from Tabletop RPGs.

Basically, I would talk about the fact that the tabletop RPG industry were early adopters of ePublishing, and have already faced the challenges that are currently causing such agita for traditional mainstream publishers. I’ll talk about the solutions we found, as well as some of the lessons we learned about electronic publishing along the way.

Voting is open until Noon CDT on August 27th.

There are quite a few very interesting proposals out there — and you’re not limited in your vote. Check them out, and give a thumbs-up to the ones you think are interesting.

GenCon Bound

Off to the wilds of deepest Indianapolis for GenCon — a convention which featured in a fairly good overview article on io9 today.

I try my damnedest not to set a schedule — I like to be able to change things up as interest and opportunity strikes. Those few things that are set in stone however:

Wednesday night are the Diana Jones Awards. I’ll definitely be there, as Adamant is a sponsor for the event, and plus it always makes a great kick-off to the Con to gather with folks I haven’t seen since last year and catch up before working 48+ hours in the next four days. If you’re in the industry, you know where this event is being held. See you there.

Thursday through Sunday during exhibit hall hours, I will most likely be found at the Cubicle 7 booth (#315), and if I’m not there, somebody there will know where I am.

In the evenings– Dinner? Drinks? Who knows? We’ll see.

The best way to reach me during the show will be to @reply me on Twitter (folks who already know me can send a DM and I’ll give you my cell# for text messaging, etc.).

My first GenCon was in 1991. My first as an exhibitor was 1994. Tallying up the years that I missed, and this is my 15th year in attendance. Round 15, here we go….