This pretty much means that I need music everywhere all the time.
Walkman, then DiscMan, then MiniDisc, then iPod solved the problem when far from home.
But Home has always been a problem.

I need to easily have access to any one of my 25 000+ song, in any room, at all time.
Seems easy. It’s not.

The first attempt to distributed music was Apple AirPort Express.
An as short as inconclusive attempt.
Second attempt, until recently was with Roku’s Soundbridge.
Wifi connected devices, with or without speaker, reading your shared iTunes Library.
Design of the product is average, interface is passable, and reliability uneven.
But it did the job, until one of the devices died.
Then came THE QUESTION:

Do I stick with this solution, or do I migrate to a whole other one ?

The other solution, you’ll have guessed, is Sonos.

For several months I wondered.
Then I took the plunge. Sonos it would be.
Sonos has nearly the perfect solution for ubiquitous music around the house.

To begin with, those nice white & alu little boxes fit perfectly in any interior.
Not the main issue, but important for us, aesthete.
Configuration : a breeze.
They choose not to rely on your crappy wifi network to provide the service; they create their own, without you even knowing. It’s fast, and streams my 320k m4a across the apartment when my Mac has sometimes a hard time finding my Airpot Extreme. And the more you add zones, the better is your coverage.

Once you point it to your iTunes Music Library, you can have your playlists and everything, without further configuration. You don’t even rely on iTunes anymore. The Sonos create it’s own stream, thus not being limited to 5 clients.
You interact with the system via an app on your mac, via the Sonos Controller, rugged and water-resistant, or, icing on the cake (three coats please) via a full featured free app on your iPhone.

What’s more to say… it works. Period.

All that is left is to choose a nice pair of speakers. I chose Jamo’s A102.
Not necessarily audiophile’s first choice (hey! let’s be honest, my bathroom isn’t the Vienna Opera Hall…), but nice performance considering size and look.

And for those of you needing more things on the cake, let’s say, a cherry, comes in the Sonos Customer Service. Nice people, actively contributing to Twitter, and ready to go the extra mile to make a customer happy.

It’s been a long time since I didn’t feel that way for a consumer product, and that feels good.

Of course, you could argue that it isn’t cheap.
I agree, but honestly, have you ever been really satisfied with cheap solutions ?
I figured not.

Life Is Good.

I just looove this band. My favorites artists right now. (And those who know me, know what it means…)
They have a few albums produced, and are preparing the next one.
They do great live performances too, 10 or more people on the stage, 2 hours performance, and really interesting mixes of their songs.

But…

this last show, I was a little disapointed.
It was a very dub interpretation of their songs, without the usuals syncop and breaks that make their music so enjoying.

I guess it’s a risk you have to take when you follow really talented artists. They search, research and evolve all the time. Sometimes you might not like it as much as the previous. Painters have their periods, why not musicians.

Anyway, as usual, here is a tatse for you to judge. FFD, Cay’s Crays, Paris Le Zenith, Nov, 12 2008.

 And don’t be fooled: I’ll be at their next 10 shows no matter what.

So, if I pass on these pretty remarkable stuff, what will I post about ?…
What about a recipe ?

Well…

Take a young Genius in the late ’70s, who played multiple music instruments way before 10, signed his first deal with WB at 17 (and that’s much more to say than today’s deals…), wrote dozens of hits, etc…
Add 30 years of successful experience : 30 albums or so, as many tours (each including hours of rehearsals, performance and after shows).
Mix with a few other well-known-geniuses : a dash of Miles Davis, a few drops of Ron Wood, a frosted Larry Graham, a tasty Lenny Kravitz, and a full Maceo Parker. If you have some George Clinton in your kitchen, pour some.
Shake everything with an incredibly tight band.
Spread over a large loyal-fan-base.

What do you get ?

Quintessence of greatness of Funky Music.
Nothing less.

If you had been nice, I’d have gave you a taste…
But we all know you are not…

But, even then, when Sly is on stage… Something happens. He still has his voice, and the talent flows in his veins (along with other illicit products…).
The show was pretty expensive (55 €), 70 mn long and 30 (top) with Sly on stage. But that was enough to feel happy.
Of course, I would have prefered a 2h30 set, hearing each and every one of his monster songs… but I still have his “Family Affair” tune in the head – the live one now…

Oh, and what the heck… since you’ve been nice, here is a present.
Enjoy!

So, in conclusion, it’s hard to see idols fade away.
But even then, there’s a reason if they are idols in the first place: they’re so talented…
We’ve been ill-educated: I’ve seen Ray Charles rocking the stage at past 70, playing Piano with his feet; I’ve seen JB funkin’ the stage at past 70, there was Barry White, Nina Simone, there is Marta High (she was opening for Sly. Wow!), Lyn Collins and so many other…
Every one was/is as good if not better than in their prime.
Sly is not. What a loss.