I am a real lover of good music.  I was a radio DJ in college, and through that, I developed an admiration for good music and talented musicians…regardless of the genre. 

When I heard that Bowers & Wilkins, the makers of some extremely nice iPod speakers (watch for my review of their speakers coming soon) had begun a new kind of music club, I knew I would have to check it out.  And boy am I glad I did.

The B&W Music Club is unlike any music club I have seen.  Many of you are probably thinking, as I did, of something like select 12 CD’s for a penny and buy 5 at the regular price over the course of the next year.  Well, you can forget about that notion entirely.  The B&W Music Club is no Columbia House.  In fact, if you are looking to complete that last CD in your Guns and Roses collection then you are in the wrong place here.  However, if you are looking to discover new and exciting musical talent…well, just hit the jump and we will take a look.

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There it was.  At last!  Writ large upon the outer wrapping of the new Sony NWZ-A828K Digital Media Player (which most of you will know as a Walkman).  There were the words I have longed to hear from a media player for so many years.  The box read:

WIRELESS.

Enjoy music wirelessly with the supplied Bluetooth stereo headset.

Yes, that is right folks.  This will be my first media player review without the patented Bluetooth rant.  And really, having found a media player with Bluetooth, I might as well end the review right here.  Nice job, Sony!  But no, as long as I have the media player, I suppose we should take a closer look and see what else this thing can do…besides transmitting music, “wirelessly with the supplied Bluetooth stereo headset,” that is.

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I still remember when I started seriously playing the guitar.  I was in seventh grade.  At that time, we were given a choice of band, chorus, or guitar.  But you had to pick one.  Well, by then I had already determined that I was done with the clarinet, so I would not be joining the band.  And I had no illusions about my ability to sing  (I was always the kid in my fourth grade concert who stood in the back lip syncing).  So, it was off to guitar for me, and I was pretty excited about it.  I mean, what seventh grader didn’t have visions of Eddie Van Halen dancing in front of his fingers…The second fortuitous event that happened was Dr. Jones, who taught guitar to my seventh (and eighth) grade class.  I only had him for two years, but he really instilled a lasting love of the instrument in me.  I have played the guitar off and on ever since (sometimes much more off than on).  But every time I pick it up again, I wonder why I ever stopped.  It is a great way to relax, and impress your friends.   The problem is that every time I pick it up, I also realize how much I have forgotten.  I have to relearn chords, remember how to tune it, and even think about which string is which.  I can’t afford the time or money involved with private lessons, which means teaching myself from books and sheet music, which can be difficult.  Learning guitar is much easier when you can mimic a more experienced player, and see how their fingers move across the strings.  That is pretty tough to do with a book.  Well, now there is another way…and potentially a better way, ivideosongs.com.  This new website offers your own private lessons of your favorite songs, right there on your computer screen.  Let’s take a closer look.

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