Looking to the future and 2010, I have decided to change some of my direction with music. I usually stayed with hardcore/screamo scene because new orleans has some great venues for that genre. But since I have been in Dallas I have discovered that I am into more indie rock and have decided to delve deeply into this genre. I have to say that it has been a pleasurable shift and I have some great new bands to listen to. Here are a few that you should look into and tell me what you think.

1) The Thermals

The Thermals have a great feel to their music. The band goes between happy melodies and songs, to more political and controversial songs. The main reason I like them is that they can switch between the two and keep the listener interested.

2) Band of Horses

Their song "The Funeral" was featured in the "Inspired bicycles" viral ad that reached the top 10 of techcrunch. This band just has a steady record and does not try to go too experimental, but stick and nail the foundations of their genre.

3) Animal Collective

Animal Collective is seen as the gem of Pitchfork Media. They have glowing reviews that brought Merriweather Post Pavilion into the mainstream. This band is very experimental and could turn a lot of people off, but the people who stay love it. I would recommend giving the CD a chance, listen to the entire thing  before you decide how you feel about it.

4) The Shins

The Shins have easily taken control of my music listening. Their CD "Chutes Too Narrow" is constantly running in my head because this band has really perfected how to make each song individual. Their song "new slang" was played in 2005 indie hit film Garden State.

5) Vampire Weekend

This band has a feel that is like no other to me. They have a folky feel to the lyrics and guitar, but can also feel very ska. Each song on their self titled first album has a different feel and keeps you re-listening. They are releasing a new album, and the single "Cousins" shows great promise for the future of the band.

So here are a few of the bands I have been listening too, and I will continue for in depth music posts as I get more comfortable writing about it. I have usually written tech articles so this will take some adjustment.

So I am having a tough time picking what phone I want as christmas is coming up. I currently own a iPhone 3gs 32gig but am getting envious of the Droid. I feel like a power user and hacker like me would get more out of an android based system and the physical keyboard and better screen would be great improvements.

Possible regrets switching

1) Lack of Apps

Android market is said to have around ten thousand apps and while that sounds like a lot, it is dwarfed by iPhone's ninety three thousand apps. Now I know that most apps on iPhone are either gimmicky or just plain terrible, I feel like I might miss some big ones leaving the platform. I need some reassurance that I wont be left stranded on Android's Market.

2) Syncing

I have heard that android is a drag and drop system, and that just sounds clunky compared to iPhones use of iTunes. Is there any application that would be a desktop replacement or equivalent to iTunes for android phones?

3) Multitouch

I think I need some extensive testing with the Droid to find this out, but I'm afraid the screen won't be as responsive as the iPhones. Apple did an amazing job with gestures and navigation and I would hate to go back to the days of my winmo phone and stylus. So if anyone has some comments on Droids screen I would love to hear it. I know you cannot judge a system by playing with it for two minutes at a kiosk so I would love some feedback from day to day users.

After an awesome weekend at Startup Dallas I have began work with a great team on a new application called MeetUpSports. This application will help people with finding new sports partners in new environments. We feel that with our app people will make more friends by meeting people with similar interest in sports and activities. If you are interested then please check out meetupsports.com for all the information and tech demo on the dev diary. I will be working on the project as the Social Media expert so please contact me if you want to know more or have any comments.