Powerhouse Radio Newsletter
Return to the list of newslettersBroadband Wars: Cable vs. DSL and Internet Radio
November 18, 2004
This issue includes...
1) Broadband Wars: Cable vs. DSL and Internet Radio
2) Powerhouse Radio Cube Posters
3) How to Care for CD's and DVD's (You've Burned)
4) Music News: Anita Baker, Michael Jackson, Rick James
5) Concert Dates: Who's on Tour?
6) Saturday November 20, 2004 maintenance
7) Ray: a brief review
8) Newsletter back issues
9) Lightning in a Bottle
10)Powerhouse Radio Specials
11)Who is Bama?
12)Your Feedback via email to King at Powerhouse Radio
Forward this issue to a friend
Subscribe at https://powerhouseradio.com
1) Broadband Wars: Cable vs. DSL and Internet Radio
90% of Internet radio listeners check out their favorite stations using a high speed Internet connection at their workplace.
Both the cable companies, and the telephone companies, are offering deals on high speed Internet connections to entice home users to upgrade from dial-up.
As a dial-up user since 1997, I decided to take the plunge for a high-speed home connection earlier this year in April (from my cable company).
Six months later, my personal experience reveals that there are certain times of the week when the cable company's high speed Internet connection slows down considerably.
I logged all of the brief connection outages for six months, and it's clear that at predictable times of the day/week, high speed Internet from the cable company is not very reliable.
The cable company was not very responsive, nor did they acknowledge, intermittent problems.
Only within the last three months has DSL become available in my area. I should have waited for it.
Not only is it less expensive, $29.95 a month versus over $40 per month for the cable company's version, my DSL connection is highly reliable. Not one brief connection outage in over a month.
Technically, with DSL, (digital subscriber line), you get your own dedicated line from your home to the telephone company (using your existing phone line).
You plug in a simple frequency filter to every telephone jack in your home, so that you can be online and take voice calls simultaneously.
Voice calls use one frequency range, DSL uses a different frequency range, so both activities can take place on the same line at the same time.
You don't share bandwidth with your neighbors when you have a DSL connection.
With high speed Internet from the cable company, you are on a "party line," sharing the bandwidth with everybody in your neighborhood.
Lots of kids downloading movie trailers or videos across the street while you are online? Well, your connection is going to slow down.
My experience is not just anecdotal. I ran speed tests at BroadbandReports.com:
http://www.dslreports.com/stest
I was able to do this since I had both cable high-speed Internet and DSL at the same time (one month of overlap before canceling the high speed Internet from the cable company).
Speed test results:
Download speeds were only slightly slower with DSL.
Uploads speeds were consistently faster with DSL.
Your experience and/or results may be different. So right now, I'm a big DSL fan.
----------------
written by King for the Powerhouse Radio Newsletter
2) Powerhouse Radio Cube Posters
Classic R&B artists including Marvin Gaye, Chaka Khan, Earth Wind & Wind, Diana Ross, and the Isley Brothers are on the Powerhouse Radio Cube Posters:
2021 Update: Cube Posters have been sunset
Pick your favorite, or get them both
3) How to Care for CD's and DVD's (You've Burned)
The National Institute of Standards and Technology, (an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department), has a list of many useful tips to care for CD's and DVD's that you've created (burned):
2021 update: This new version is much more comprhehensive and is still valuable
Care and Handling of CDs and DVDs — A Guide for Librarians and Archivists
Here are just a few of the tips...
* Handle discs by the outer edge or the center hole
* Store discs upright (book style)
* Store discs in their packaging
* Don't touch the surface of the disc
* Don't bend the disc
* Don't expose to extreme heat or high humidity
* Don't use a pen, pencil, or fine tip marker to write
on the disc.
4) Music News: Anita Baker, Michael Jackson, Rick James
Anita Baker
----------------
Anita Baker, who's been on several TV shows this week, is promoting her first "new" album in 10 years, "My Everything."
The "Sweet Love" lady has recently been a stay at home mom. She returned to the recording studio after agreeing to collaborate with producer Barry Eastmond and singer Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds.
Michael Jackson
---------------
18 scholars from United States universities spent two full days at Yale recently discussing the artistic and racial aspects of Michael Jackson's life. This is reportedly the first academic meeting to "study" MJ.
Rick James
----------
According to RickJames.com, a new Rick James CD, completed just before his death, is scheduled to come out hopefully by the end of 2004.
5) Concert Dates: Who's on Tour?
Diana Ross
Friday, November 19, 2004
Chicago Theater
Chicago, IL
8:00pm
Diana Ross
Sunday, November 21, 2004
Mystic Lake Celebrity Palace
Prior Lake, MN
7:00pm
Kool and the Gang
Friday - Saturday, November 26 - 27, 2004
Atlantic City Hilton
Atlantic City, NJ
8:00pm Friday, 9:00pm Saturday
Dionne Warwick
Friday, November 26, 2004
Copley Symphony Hall
San Diego, CA
Millie Jackson
Saturday, November 27, 2004
Capitol Music Hall
Ottawa, Canada
James Brown
Monday, November 29, 2004
Massey Hall
Toronto, ON Canada
Brenda Russell, Dave Koz
Friday, December 10, 2004
Nob Hill Masonic Center
San Francisco, CA
Gerald Levert
Friday, December 10, 2004
Tower Theatre
Upper Darby, PA
Alicia Keys
Monday, December 13, 2004
Tweeter Center
Camden, NJ
Vanessa Williams
Thursday, December 16
Kravis Center for the Performing Arts
West Palm Beach, FL
7:00pm
Lionel Richie
Saturday, December 18
Caesars Circus Maximus Theater
Atlantic City, NJ
9:00pm
Teena Marie
Friday, December 31, 2004
House of Blues
West Hollywood, CA
Gerald Levert
Sunday, January 16, 2005
Atlantic Civic Center
Atlanta, GA
Gap Band
Friday - Saturday, February 4 - 5, 2005
Mohegan Sun Casino
Uncasville, CT
Jill Scott
Thursday - Friday, February 10 - 11, 2005
Paramount Theatre
Oakland, CA
6) Saturday November 20, 2004 maintenance
For 6 - 9 hours, the Powerhouse Radio music will stop Saturday, November 20, beginning at approximately 6pm Eastern (3pm Pacific), as important computer system maintenance is completed.
7) Ray: a brief review
What makes "Ray," starring Jamie Foxx so good, is that the movie is much more than a simple biography film.
I was expecting a routine bio pic, but what is brilliantly offered instead is a slice of American history between roughly 1953 - 1979, as seen through the career emergence of an extraordinary R&B mega superstar.
The spirit of Ray Charles as a fighter who beats all the odds weaves through the movie with gripping realism.
You have to respect how tragic events in his life morph into unparalleled career success, despite a very rocky road to the top.
Ray, the movie, is told with an honest point of view, a clever sense of humor, and an engaging capacity for top notch story telling by the film's director.
The radio, record, and recording studio aspects of this flick are very accurate, as are the civil rights related themes that are given serious but brief attention.
Jamie Foxx nails the role of Charles with a very strong performance. The supporting ensemble cast shines.
I was surprised by the large number of older teens representing different racial backgrounds who were in the audience the night I saw the film.
Clearly a group who probably aren't that familiar with his music, but were expecting an evening of good entertainment. They got it.
The broad and diverse spectrum of attendees during the sold out screening speaks to the crossover appeal of this timeless personality.
A long production, about 2 hours and 40 minutes, so be prepared.
You can believe all of the hype about Ray. It's that good. Even if you are not a Ray Charles fan, odds are that you will really enjoy this movie.
-------------
Review written by King for the Powerhouse Radio Newsletter
For more on Ray Charles, see our June 2004 tribute Issue of the Powerhouse Radio Newsletter...
https://powerhouseradio.com/newsletters/jun2004.html
8) Newsletter back issues
Our newsletter archive contains every article that we have published since June of 2002.
Check out all of our back issues in HTML format at:
https://powerhouseradio.com/newsletters/newsletters.html
9) Lightning in a Bottle
On February 7, 2003, a benefit concert took place at New York City's Radio City Music Hall to salute the art form known as the blues.
Three generations of musical legends performed, including B.B. King, Solomon Burke, Chuck D., John Fogerty, Mavis Staples, Macy Gray, Mos Def, Bonnie Raitt, India.Arie, Angelique Kidjo, Natalie Cole, Gregg Allman, Steven Tyler, Buddy Guy, Odetta, and many others.
The two CD set of songs from the evening is somewhat uneven, showcasing both traditional acoustic blues performances along with more hardcore R&B interpretations.
Executive Director Martin Scorsese, along with producer Antoine Fuqua, have captured the evening's performances on film, and the movie, "Lightning in a Bottle," is rolling out now in limited release.
The CD (same name) has been available since September 21, 2004.
It's a "one night history of the blues."
Currently, the film is screening in Pasadena, California, Denver Colorado, Austin, Texas, Champaign, Illinois, Chicago IL, Ann Arbor Michigan, and Brookline, Massachusetts.
If you have the Powerhouse Radio Toolbar, click on the movie link for more information about Lightning in a Bottle, or go to:
http://www.imdb.com
10) Powerhouse Radio Specials
Thanks for the feedback on our Labor Day weekend specials, Motown Songs from A - Z, and Motown Songs from Z - A.
We played approximately 150 Motown songs by the original artists in alphabetical order by song title on Friday, then played them in reverse order on Saturday.
We'll definitely do this again.
Christmas music is heading your way after Thanksgiving. We'll play all holiday music the week before Christmas.
In addition to lots of party tracks leading into New Year's Eve, a nice original music special/contest is coming in February that you won't want to miss.
11) Who is Bama?
Every Thanksgiving, we play a shortened version of "Thanksgiving" by Bama, The Village Poet (born George McCord), from his 1974 album "Ghettos of the Mind."
Spoken word recordings like Bama's, and similar creations from The Last Poets, Nikki Giovanni, and others were all the rage during the 70's.
Hip hop entrepreneur Russell Simmons is giving this genre a modern day spin with his "Def Poetry Jam" concerts featuring artists like Alicia Keys.
12) Your Feedback via email to King at Powerhouse Radio
Phil in the UK writes:
"I'm kind of gobsmacked that a parody title of mine gets used in a "5 Ray Charles facts for You" section in your newsletter. So I just thought I'd say "Hi."
King replies:
Gobsmacked? Hope that's the British way of saying "shocked."
----------
Tina writes:
"Your station is the Bomb!!!. I'm ole school and I love this station."
----------
Jorge has this feedback:
"Great web page! I am from Argentine, I am 25. Can I get a fre*e souvenir? Thank you for your wonderful entertainment! :)"
King replies:
We created the Powerhouse Radio Cube Posters just for you Jorge, (and for your fellow listener buddies all over the USA and the world)!
2021 Update: Cube Posters sunset.
----------
Mark passes this along:
"E-Mailing ya from Canada Quebec Great Job you do! Thanks!"
----------
Becky, from the 49th state, has this shout out:
"You are a breath of fresh air. It's so good to get good R&B here in Juneau, Alaska."
----------
Cookee checks in:
"I love the music you play. It takes me back to wonderful times in my life. Keep playing beautiful music."
----------
Vaneese has the final word:
"I love your stations. Can you tell me how to load the Xmas playlist? I want to forward this to ALL my friends! Thanks!"
King replies:
We'll start playing Christmas songs after Thanksgiving Vaneese.
To see last years' Christmas playlist:
https://powerhouseradio.com/xmasplaylist.html
For Philadelphia PA "Phanatics"...two area FM radio stations started playing all Christmas music, all the time, two full weeks before Thanksgiving. Hmmmmm.
----------
Don't be left out, because we're listening. Leave your comments, feedback, or music requests here:
http://www.powerhouseradio.com/contact.html
----------
Well over 1,000 people have downloaded the Powerhouse Radio toolbar, now supporting Google's Gmail...
2021 Update: Powerhouse Radio toolbar sunset
Thank you!
P.S.
What's up with R. Kelly, and Jay Z, and Kelly's $75 million dollar lawsuit (after being dumped from the Jay Z tour). Can't we all just get along?
How embarrassing was the "bum rush" thug attack on Dr. Dre as he sat in the audience before accepting his "Legend Award" during the Vibe Awards ceremony (while Snoop Dogg and Quincy Jones, the presenters, looked on helplessly)?
Let's get our act together!
Happy Thanksgiving
Copyright 2004 by Powerhouse Radio
All rights reserved
Powerhouse Radio
https://powerhouseradio.com
Legendary R&B stars and their friends
More music on your computer from 5 decades
No Commercials, No audio ads, and...
No login required when you click the listen links from:
https://powerhouseradio.com
More 2004 Powerhouse Radio Newsletters:
| December - | Holiday Gift Suggestions for the Old School Fan |
| June - | Ray Charles on the Radio |
| May - | Marvin Gaye Remembered |
| March - | Chaka Khan's Triumph |
Return to the list of newsletters