My Hottest 100 of all time

This will be a work in progress. It is my list for the JJJ Hottest 100 of All Time. Changed, refined and added to over time until I get it right. So here we go, mind the step:

1. The Cure - A Forest
I particularly like the Tree remix from Mixed Up. A hands-down winner.

2. Massive Attack - Teardrop
A close second and on some days it is a nose in front for sheer beauty and wonder.

3. ColdPlay - Fix You
Loved the video clip and that amazing light ball that Chris Martin spins around on stage. Makes me emotional (not just because I want to look like Chris!).

4. Filter - Take a Picture
Brilliant rock. Amazing composition. Fantastic CD album cover too.

5. Aimee Mann - Deathly
The song that inspired one of the best movies of all time: Magnolia. She is a brilliant song-writer and has a seductive voice and an uncanny ability to use guitar riffs.

6. The Beatles - Blackbird
Are you allowed to pick the whole White Album?

7. New Order - True Faith
I was living in England when this first came out and was mesmerized by the video clip. It is impossible to listen to and stay still.

8. The Brian Jonestown Massacre - She's Gone
With songs like this you don't need shopping.

9. MGMT - Kids
Not sure it will stand the test of time, but I LOVE it now. Reminds me of another age.

10. Other contenders:
Neil Young - Four Strong Winds (he has to be represented)
Van Morrison - Wonderful Remark (one of the greatest entertainers)
Yes - I've Seen All Good People (I think even Mozart would approve of this)
The Verve - Bitter Sweet Symphony (a true classic)
Utah Saints - Something Good (this may not make it, but it is so much fun)
Badly Drawn Boy - The Shining (truly beautiful)
Falling Joys - Lock It (another that may not make the final 10, but it is a contender)
Snow Patrol - Run (the best that they've done)
Sting - Ghost Story (at his best)
Goldfrapp - Train (maybe, maybe not?)
Joni Mitchell - Coyote (she has to be mentioned)
Ella Fitzgerald - Mack the Knife (live version)
Jeff Buckley - Grace (because he has to fit in somewhere!) and
Peter Broderick - Below It (very new, but instantly recognizable as stunning).

They are probably all of the real contenders. It would be nice to fit in some Moody Blues, Simon & Garfunkle and even some Nina Simone, but I'm already having to prune out heaps. More thinking and then some pruning back to maybe a 120% list tomorrow. (Last updated 9.50 pm on 1 June 2009.)

Using iPods in the Museum

I heard an interview (online) today with Chris Alexander from the San Jose Museum of Art. They are doing some very cool stuff with iPod Touch devices and a wifi network in their museum. The interview is podcast on the here.
If you don't have the time to listen, these are the main points that I picked up:

• they are mainly using it for a current exhibition and also to feature the work of some of the artists in their collection who have been filmed at work in their own studios;
• they have a multi-use approach with delivery of the same material via many platforms using their YouTube channel, RSS, iPods that visitors can check out, a wifi network in the museum and as audio files on their website;
• they were originally using video iPods in "notes-only" mode, so they were locked down for use specifically in the museum;
• they are now using iPod Touch devices because they offer a better interface and more possibilities including the upload of user comments (not quite there yet);
• they deliver all content to visitors via a wifi network or website only available in the museum, so that saves synch-ing or updating 20-30 devices for new or changed content;
• if you don't have an iPod or iTouch you can check out one of 20 they have now and they will eventually have 30;
• other US museums experimenting in this space include MoMA (NYC), SFMoMA, Denver, but Chris says a lot of museums are looking at using the same technology;
• he said the URL for their online iPod content was sjma.mobi but on a computer terminal it comes up as http://www.sjmusart.org/m/#_home;
• Chris said they go into the artist's studio and film them working, but only one in 30 has declined their suggestion to do this and some of the artists have embedded their YouTube vids on their own sites too; and
• again he mentioned their intention to use the devices to allow users to upload their own comments about their experience.
  

I reckon this is a great model for us and many other museums. I'm not sure whether their wifi content will only work on Apple's devices and I think that might be a bit limiting in an Australian setting.
SJMA's home page is here: http://www.sjmusart.org/