Anger? Meh...

Over this past month I've discovered a problem I seemingly have with anger. These days I'm struggling to get angry about things.

Seemingly a good problem? Not to the people who pushed Rage Against the Machine to the top of the Christmas charts. Personally I didn't like the Joe McElderry/X-Factor Christmas single, but not enough to go out and buy anything else (as other people willingly admitted to).

In what I think was 1993 I remember being very amused by the thought of Mr Blobby being Christmas number one instead of Take That, now the thought of doing something to spite someone just doesn't appeal to me. On Facebook I likened it to Charlton Athletic's all-consumming bitterness towards Crystal Palace. When bitterness starts to define you in such a way that it is greater than your love/liking for something else I think that's pretty sad.

On top of that there is the matter of priorities. Do know the kind of thing that does make me angry? A few years ago a friend of mine told me about how his Mum was diagnosed with cancer, but only after visiting a hospital for the third time and insisting that she was examined as she was sure there was something wrong with her. A wife, a mother, who thankfully recovered in no part due to two doctors who had told her she had nothing to worry about.

Life and death. Personal health. Families and their homes. Those are the kinds of things which stir my feelings, not Simon Cowell's bank balance and/or ego. There are simply bigger things to worry about.

MP3s Come to Amazon.co.uk

Remember a while ago when I sang the praises of Play.com's download service? Well Amazon have joined the party in the UK and have dropped pricing and increased range even further. Prices for single tracks start at 59p and while the selection isn't that extensive at the moment I would imagine that will be changing. All tracks are DRM free.

Your move, iTunes.

Amazon launches music downloads [BBC News]

Play.com enters the download market

And I'm a fan. Consider some of the differences with iTunes:

Price: iTunes, 79p per track. Play.com, prices start from 65p. Most tracks seem to be 70p.

Quality: iTunes, 192Kbps standard. Play.com, 320Kbps standard.

Format: iTunes, own m4p format, nightmare in terms of compatibility. Play.com, .mp3, works with just about everything (including my CD/mp3 player in the car).

DRM: iTunes, tracks are DRM protected. Play.com, no DRM protection.

I think it will be interesting to see how Apple responds to this.

What's on my mp3 player

For no reason at all...

(Please note that for some reason I've felt the need to cheer myself up, thus the mixture of naff/amusing/uplifting music. Feel free to have a go at me with a comment, I almost certainly deserve it.)

Billy Joel - "River of Dreams"
Bubba Sparxx - "Back in the Mud"
Carter USM - "Rubbish"
Cher with Beavis & Butthead - "I've Got You Babe"
Daniel Powter - "Bad Day" (never listen to this in the morning, it's like tempting fate)
David Gray - "Hospital Food"
Delta Goodrem - "Lost Without You"
Dido - "White Flag"
Eagles - "The Heart of the Matter"
Eagles - "Wasted Time" (both from the "Hell Freezes Over" dvd)
Gwen Stefani - "Cool"
Hoobastank - "The Reason"
Hootie & The Blowfish - "Hannah Jane"
Hootie & The Blowfish - "Only Wanna Be With You"
Human League - "Together In Electric Dreams" (wasn't that just Phil Oakey and Giorgio Moroder? My track listing lies!)
Jimmy Nail - "Ain't No Doubt" ("She's lying!")
John Waite - "Deal For Life"
Lightning Seeds - "Life of Riley"
London Boys - "Requiem (Hamburg Edit)"
Mental As Anything - "Live It Up"
Mr T - "Treat Your Mother Right"
Oasis - "Cigarettes and Alcohol" ("Welcome outside to the sun-shiiiine!")
Paul Young - "Everything Must Change"
Richard Marx - "Now and Forever"
Rolling Stones - "Paint It Black"
Shakira - "Hips Don't Lie"
Usher - "Caught Up"
Usher - "Yeah"