Tag Archives: John Mayer

Possibly the coolest thing Ive found in a long, long time.

Possibly the coolest thing I've found in a long, long time.

Since I last posted something…

  • I finished up my fall semester
  • I enjoyed Christmas break
  • I made a killing working at a snack bar over break
  • Started spring semester
  • And, last but not least, Kevin Durant turned into one of the baddest scoring machines I’ve seen in a long, long time.

But this post is about Last.fm. I listen to all sorts of different types of music. If you check out my library you’ll find Dave Matthews Band, John Mayer, Jay-Z, Kanye, Nas, Mozart, Morissey, Mae, Depeche Mode, Jack Johnson, Black Eyed Peas, The Roots, Korn, A Perfect Circle and plenty of other random things.

I’ve always wondered what kind of music listener I am besides a binge listener. What I mean is that I’ll listen to an artist or style until exhaustion then move on to another. I recently completed a John Mayer binge. Before that was Kanye. Before that was Dave Matthews Band. Right now, I’ve really been enjoying some classical music and some of the more modern arrangements that have been put out.

The beauty of Last.fm is that it tabulates all of the songs I listen to from any number of sources (Pandora, Winamp, it’s own player, etc.) to assemble it into data of what I truly like. Then it makes recommendations based off of that.

But it gets better.

There is a free player application that runs on virtually zero system resources that acts as a free internet radio app. Personally, I think it’s better than Pandora. You also have the option to play through things they would recommend based on your library.

The idea behind Last.fm is to take music listening in the virtual social direction in much the same way Facebook did it for personal interaction. Regardless of whether you involve yourself in the sizable sommunity there, the application is still extremely useful.

Since I’ve posted last…

  • The United States has clearly asserted itself in basketball.
  • The Olympics have created lots of opinions.
  • John Mayer has released a sweet live album.
  • I have prepared to move back into a dorm.

Tomorrow I move back into Virginia Tech and I’m excited to say the least. It’s always fun to start a new year but at the same time I’m excited to see everyone again.

As I take time to reflect on the summer, I realize that I already had in mind what I wanted to accomplish and how I wanted to grow. It’s funny how often times God has a different idea. He led me and (maybe more than anything) has shown me I need to relinquish control and allow Him to lead. He challenged me in my thoughts on ministry, where I place my priorities, and what I think of people in general. These weren’t things I had thought I needed to work on.

But true to form, He proved to have a great sense of humor. By starting to let Him lead, I have learned things strait from Him–and they have in turn lead me to conclusions about the stuff I had decided on at the beginning of the summer! God had such a better plan for me that I could have ever imagined and it was humbling to realize I needed to just say, “Ok God, YOUR will be done. I know for a fact I’ll be happiest that way.”

Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”
James 4:13-15

Or, as Mark Driscoll put it: “Jesus is better to me than I am.”