Very sad news, in that Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse fame has committed suicide. Rolling Stone has the story. One of my favorite artists - the world is a sadder place today...

For those of us who love Americana, just in is the new Giant Sand album. First few listens and its sounding like a good one, quirky and moody, with some cool backup vocals from Neko Case and Isobell Campbell Should hold me over while waiting for Calexico's and Damian Jurado's new releases...

Sad news from Sweden - jazz pianist Esbjorn Svensson died yesterday after a diving accident, aged only 44. His very popular trio e.s.t. was one of the best in the jazz world today, and he will be greatly missed.

After all my whining I thought I would give some praise to Apple for actually curing the syncing problems with the iPod Classic and iTunes. The iPod now registers quickly in iTunes 7.5 as fast as any other USB device, doesn't constantly freeze the computer while syncing at 100% CPU usage for...

Which mp3 players apart from the iPod use ID3 tags for information and navigation, rather than drag and drop folders? And assuming that others are out there, what software is used to support them, and how does the whole set up work? I would love to consider mp3 players other than an iPod, but...

Anyone got the new streetstyle Sennheiser PMX100s yet? If so whats the word on the sound? How are they structurally for strength and comfort? Do they fold up small like the PX100s? Is that enough questions for now?

I have been cruising these forums for a while and I finally have dared to contribute (well ask for advice anyway!). As a total newcomer to portable amps would a cMoy amp coupled with an iPod and Shure E4 headphones be of much use? Or do I have a horrible impedance/amp mismatch or some other...