Now that Apple has the App Store for the iPhone, I find myself spending more time on iTunes. I’m spending more time browsing music there and actually buying quite a bit more than in the past. I wonder how widespread this might be?

As a record and CD collector, I was always into amassing atoms and unsure about buying bytes, especially given the number of hard drive failures I’ve experienced both personally and professionally. Well, I keep my iTunes library on RAID now, hoping that will do the trick.

One album I bought last night, something I found by accident, “Nudge It Up a Notch” by Steve Cropper and Felix Cavaliere. Yes, that’s right. Steve Cropper, legendary guitarist from every Stax/Volt session, Booker T & the MGs and even the Blues Brothers. Felix Cavaliere, that amazing voice from the Rascals. They did an album together, just out last month. I couldn’t resist. (The fact that one of the reviews on iTunes was written by Al Kooper didn’t hurt.) I won’t say that it’s an amazing, 5 star bit of work. But it’s at least 3-1/2 star – Cavaliere’s voice has stood up well and Cropper is still a six string master. Yes, I’m bummed that this was only available at 128 kbps, but at least it came with a PDF of the entire bookle.

Another album bought last night, Dr. John’s The City That Care Forgot, his ode to post-Katrina New Orleans, with guests Terence Blanchard, Eric Clapton, Willie Nelson and Ani DiFranco. Available as an “iTunes plus” download at 256, no booklet, one bonus track not available at the Amazon MP3 store. Nice stuff.

Today, aside from listening to my engine knocking and pinging (sigh), I was also listening to Harps and Angels, Randy Newman’s first album of new songs in 9 years. Splendid. Everything you expect from Mr. Newman and more. Gotta share these lyrics with you, from a song titled, “A Few Words in Defense of Our Country.”

I’d like to say a few words
In defense of our country
Whose people aren’t bad
Nor are they mean
Now the leaders we have
While they’re the worst that we’ve had
Are hardly the worst
This poor world has seen

Take the Caesars for example
Within the first few of them
They were sleeping with their sister
Stashing little boys in swimming pools
And burning down the city
And one of ‘em, one of ‘em
Appointed his own horse to be Consul of the Empire
That’s like vice president or something
Wait a minute, that’s not a very good example is it?
But wait, here’s one
The Spanish Inquisition
It put people in a terrible position
I don’t even like to think about it
Well sometimes I like to think about it

Just a few words in defense of our country
Whose time at the top
Could be coming to an end
We don’t want your love
And respect at this point is pretty much out of the question
But times like these
We sure could use a friend

Hitler
Stalin
Men who need no introduction
King Leopold of Belgium, that’s right
Everyone thinks he’s so great
Well he owned The Congo and he tore it up too
He took the diamonds
He took the silver
He took the gold
You know what he left them with?
Malaria

A President once said,
“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself”
Now, we’re supposed to be afraid
It’s patriotic in fact and color-coded
And what are we supposed to be afraid of?
Why of being afraid
That’s what terror means, doesn’t it?
That’s what it used to mean

You know it kind of pisses me off
That this Supreme Court is going to outlive me
A couple of young Italian fellas and a brother on the Court now too
But I defy you, anywhere in the world,
To find me two Italians as tight-assed as the two Italians we got
And as for the brother, well
Pluto’s not a planet anymore either

The end of an Empire is messy at best
And this Empire is ending
Like all the rest
Like the Spanish Armada adrift on the sea
We’re adrift in the land of the brave and the home of the free

Goodbye
Goodbye
Goodbye

Yes, Randy Newman is angry. Here’s an excerpt from “A Piece of the Pie”

Jesus Christ it stinks here high and low
The rich are getting richer
I should know
While we’re going up
You’re going down
And no one gives a shit but Jackson Browne

Maybe tomorrow I’ll share the lyrics for “Korean Parents.”

(Notable DVD releases in the US, as listed on Amazon.)

Not the most exciting of weeks but that means I save some money ….

Get Smart Season 1 – The recent movie version did well, now watch the original Mel Brooks version.

The Counterfeiters – won the Oscar for best foreign language film, ain’t seen it

Wild China – sadly not a look into hostess bars in Shanghai, this is a very nice BBC natural history series, available standard def and Blu Ray

Pete Seeger: The Power of Song – documentary on a seminal figure in American folk music history

Anthony Bourdain No Reservations Collection 3 – WTF is up with these “collections?” Instead of releasing season by season, they’re putting out these collections of random episodes. And then you know they’ll just turn around in another year and release complete season editions with new bonus features. So I’ll wait.

Masters of Science Fiction The Complete Series – Only four episodes aired, this box contains those plus two that never made it. Based on the one episode I watched almost all the way through, I’m surprised they were able to get 4 on the air.

WWE Summerslam – The Complete Anthology – 20 discs of phony wrestling sure to please the 5 year old in all of us.

The Heavy Metal Movie – Not sure why this is being reissued again but if you never saw it, now’s as good a time as any to catch up with this uneven but occasional splendid animated anthology.

Love Story – Not the Ryan O’Neal/Al Gore movie but a documentary on Los Angeles psychedelic band Love. Only 50 minutes but said to contain some worthwhile clips.

Better Off Dead – 2 disc edition of the 80s John Cusack high school comedy that was a bit better than the rest but nowhere near as good as Risky Business or Ferris Bueller.

and let’s not forget

Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers 20th Anniversary Widescreen Edition – I’m getting one for my mom.

New on Blu-Ray – Starship Troopers, Lonesome Dove