generates musical accompaniment to match a singer’s voice. Just choose a musical style, sing into your PC’s microphone, and Songsmith will create backing music for you. Then share your songs with your friends and family, post your songs online, or create your own music videos.

This software is clearly targeted to amateurs and wannabes, and from all accounts it works pretty much as you expect, giving pedestrian, generally uninteresting accompaniment to one’s creations. Their commercial is an absolute hoot, and clearly demonstrates the “range” of the product.

But it turns out that serious musicians could use this software to to provide alternative arrangements to their classics. Well, not actually. But the geniuses on YouTube have taken the audio tracks from an impressive array of the artists and have seen what Songsmith can to them.

First up, Roxanne, by The Police.

Next we have We Will Rock You, by Queen.

And finally, a political/cultural statement.

One of the really nice things about these seats is that they came with passes to the Legends club, which is basically a restaurant and bar located in the Garden. It’s somewhat civilized to sit down to a meal before the game, and then place a desert order before leaving, which will be waiting for you at your table when you come back at halftime (see the last picture).

So why am I bothering to tell you this? It really isn’t all that interesting in and if itself, and quite frankly the game was a bit of a snoozer. The short story is that you can’t take a backpack into the Garden. That meant that I had to leave all my reading materials at home. That meant that I needed something to do on the long T ride home. That meant I could use the iPhone WordPress app to blog. That means that you get to see and read about my marvelous evening, while I increase my touch screen typing expertise.

You’re welcome.

I thought that this was pretty clever, especially when considered in light of the fact that it was apparently put together in 24 hours. I had a suspicion that it wasn’t original, but I couldn’t recall if/when I had seen something similar.

When I sent this out, I got back a link to the following video put together by Chabad House of Bel Air (thanks Jeff):

Hmmmmm. There are certainly a number of similarities between the “Curb Your Enthusiasm” show and this movie. I’m not saying that the “Karma” video stole the whole script–in many ways the Karma movie is actually funnier than the original episode from “Curb”—but the key idea that drives the plot is identical. Still, the Karma movie is a little tarnished in my mind.

On the positive side, I got another link (thanks Ralph) for yet another similarly themed movie.

The second reason for loving TiVo is the ability zap uninteresting content, whether it is commercials or a really boring story arc. I have developed a twitch in my right thumb that operates whenever I am confronted by less than interesting content. No matter where I am, I reflexively start hitting the 30-second skip button. This has proved embarassing when I find myself at someone else’s TiVo-free household and am forced to watch regular TV. It gets downright pathological as the thumb starts spasming when I’m in boring conversations at cocktail parties. But that’s another story.

This weekend I was faced with a sporting dilemma. I was playing golf late in the day on Sunday, and was therefore going to miss the final round of the US Open. So I set up the TiVo to record the final round, which was scheduled to end at 9PM eastern time. As it turns out, that was precisely the starting time of game 5 of the NBA finals (Celtics vs. Lakers), so I set that game up to TiVo.

My goal was to maintain a news blackout until I could watch the Open on the TiVo, which is no mean feat given that I was on a golf course. Fortunately, I arrived home ignorant as to the outcome, and proceeded to watch 5 hours of golf coverage in a little over an hour. The end result was a dramatic finish as Tiger sunk a birdie on the final hole to get himself and his recovering left knee into the a playoff scheduled for Monday (more on that in a bit). By that time, we were well into the Celtics game, so I fired up the TiVo and watched that game in its entirety, catching up to the live broadcast by 11 PM or so. While the result wasn’t what I wished for, it was a perfect example of why TiVo rocks.

Now that I was on a roll, I set up the TiVo to record the 18-hole US Open playoff on Monday, which was taking place on ESPN from 12-5:30. As with the day before, I came home having shielded myself from all news about the match, so I was in my naturally ignorant state when I started watching. I got through the first 8 holes or so, and then realized that the good-for-nothing bozos at ESPN switched their coverage to another one of their channels (I assume ESPN2). Switching in midstream is one thing that TiVo just can’t do. So I had to find out who won the Open the way other working stiffs had to find out–by watching selected news highlights.

It was a sad day to be sure, but don’t cry for me Argentina. The British Open is coming up next month, and I’m sure I’ll be in love with my TiVo again.

It is a combined effort of the This American Life and NPR news teams, and is definitely work the download. Only you have to act quickly, as this week’s podcast is removed by Saturday. If you don’t get it in time, let me know and I’ll send you a copy (but don’t tell anyone). What is remarkable, is that you will find yourself asking the following question at least 5 times during the story “Why didn’t someone just say no?”

Here’s the description from the website (where you can download it):

A special program about the housing crisis. We explain it all to you. What does the housing crisis have to do with the collapse of the investment bank Bear Stearns? Why did banks make half-million dollar loans to people without jobs or income? And why is everyone talking so much about the 1930s? It all comes back to the Giant Pool of Money.

Coming soon will be broadcasts of live baseball games, rock concerts, classic TV shows and an array of other offerings not associated with the silver screen.

Today, I read that “This American Life,”—one of my must listen-to podcasts—will be broadcasting a live show on May 1 of this year. I have only seen one episode of TAL’s Showtime television version of the show, and I was surprised at how interesting a show that is so quintessentially meant for radio could be. The good news is that the local theater “screening” the show is one that has stadium seating, and so it will be perhaps even better than seeing the show live, which we did years ago in the narrow and sightline-impaired Berklee Performance Center. Tickets go on sale April 4.

1. Paul McCartney has signed a deal to release the entire Beatles back catalog on iTunes.
2. The catalog includes the song “Revolution #9” from their 1968 self-titled album (The White Album).
3. Elliot Spitzer, the stick-in-the-mud governer of New York, was recently named as “Client #9″ in an FBI investigation into a DC-based prostitution ring.

Coincidence? You be the judge.

I’m exhilarated and depressed. The last episode of The Wire on HBO aired tonight. I was actually thinking of writing a live blog, but I’ve turned my wife on to the show and she is only up to Season 3 on DVD. As she is one of five people who actually reads this blog, spoilers are out of the question.

For those not in the know, The Wire has been, quite simply, the most consistently well-written and performed shows on TV. It is apparently quite difficult to maintain quality in an hour-long drama for five years. The Soprano’s, for example, had some spectacular years and some that were so-so. One of the smart things that the creators of The Wire did was to change things up each year. First year took place on the streets, the second year on the docks, the third year dealt with alternative methods for policing the drug war, the fourth year centered on a middle school, and this last year on a newspaper. Many of the same characters show up every year, of course, but new ones are introduced and the interactions are always changing and adapting. I hear tell that is why the series was not a ratings bonanza as it could be difficult to keep a sense of who’s who. And the Baltimore accents sometimes made you wish for subtitles.

Another great thing about the show was that there was rarely any tied-up-in-a-bow endings. Sometimes things work out well for a sympathetic character, and sometimes they don’t. Some years it looks like a character is going to be redeemed, and the next year they’re back in the hole. (Speaking of which, Way Down in the Hole is the great Tom Waits song that runs over the credits, and has been performed by various artists over the years).

So while it might be said that it is somewhat sad to wax elegiac about a TV show, the fact is that there is so little out there worth the time. The Wire was a compelling drama—with just the right amount of absurd humor—that unblinkingly tackled actual societal and personal issues in painfully realistic ways. In an earlier post, I had a list of entertainment that I would take along with me on a six month trip, and The Wire figured prominently. It is rare that I would re-watch a TV show, but as I sit with my wife viewing the occasional episode from the earlier seasons, I appreciate the show more and more. I can’t wait to see what David Simon has next up his sleeve.

Another cool video that is hyponotic and just a little sad.

So the tough part, of course, isn’t just figuring out what movies, music, or TV you like, but what would you be less likely to get sick of. So while I love “The Office,” I don’t know that I need to see the same shows over and over again. Luckily my friend doesn’t get a lot of time to watch TV or go to the movies, so these six months might give him time to pick on essentials that he might have missed.

So here’s the list of movies, in no particular order, that I came up with:

• The Godfather Parts 1 and 2
• Little Big Man
• Most anything by Pixar
• The Big Lebowski
• O Brother Where Art Thou
• The Lives of Others
• Amelie
• Black Book
• Defending your life
• Diner
• Fargo
• Groundhog Day
• Hudsucker Proxy
• Pulp Fiction
• Local Hero
• The Man who Would be King
• Notes on a Scandal
• The Princess Bride
• Raging Bull
• Shaun of the Dead

For TV shows, I was thinking that DVDs of some classic series would be great:

• The Sopranos
• Six Feet Under
• Curb Your Enthusiasm
• Extras (maybe)
• Band of Brothers
• The Wire (a must!)
• Rescue Me
• The Shield
• Damages
• Lost
• Heroes
• 24

Music is really personal and is very situational dependent, that said, I would be sad if my iPod was devoid of:

• Alison Krausse
• Beatles (duh)
• Bela Fleck
• Bob Marley
• Elvis Costello
• Eva Cassidy
• Hazmat Modine
• Joe Grushecky
• Joe Jackson
• John Hiatt
• Lucinda Williams
• Nickel Creek
• Teddy Thompson!!!
• The Who