As it turns out, I don't need to wait until October to rate these headphones. As a matter of fact, as of last month, I no longer have them!
What happened?
The cord itself began deteriorating. Shades of its deformation can be found here:
And that was after several hours a day of usage. Last month, the longer part of the cord which plugs to the iPod began deteriorating! I took it to Jonathan, and after a glance, his first words were: cable splicing.
So, I left it to the professional. Four days later, he tells me there's nothing he can do.
They're gone.
Such a shame. A decent pair of earphones. With such crappy cable quality. I'm looking at my DataVision receipt as I type; dated April 4th, 2005. It was July 17th when Jona & I tossed them out. Three months?! I plunk $50 for this gar-bage, and the damn thing lasts only three months!?!?
Lesson well learned: for longetivity, never buy from Sony again.
Pros: Good sound. Ear-clip design prevents distraction from cord. Did I forget to mention good sound?
Cons: Bad longetivity. Poor cord protection. Crappy case.
Rating: 5 out of 10.
While I'm using the Opus In-Ear headphones I've had for a while now, I'm seriously contemplating forking $100-$200 for a pair of Shure earphones. Seriously. To the point I just might do it.
Nope, it's been said. I'm gonna fork over $200 for a pair of Shure earphones.
Whoa.
Smirnoff Vodka and NYChill CD101.9 Smooth Jazz Cruise presents:
The Rippingtons
The pics from the trip can be found here. And as I'm sure you'll figure out when you see them, I was drinking, and had a blast. And what!!
I tell my new peeps to meet me around 8, while I'd be there at about 7:30. Turns out, we both landed at a quarter to. We had a nice time waiting an hour plus to get inside the boat. Unlike the Spyro Gyra cruise, we actually were able to get seats close to the performance. I wasted no time getting my drink on; Rennie and girlfriend Stephanie are seemingly enjoying themselves, running up to Russ Freeman before, and after the performance, as well as getting to know the rest of the band. Rennie's brother Darryl, and Darryl's girl (also named Stephanie) were not into it as much. In fact, both were seen on the upper and lower decks, sometimes by themselves, while the Ripps played.
As I did drink, I don't have a great play-by-play of what happened. But some highlights were:
-The Rippingtons were on point! They played mostly from their newest album (Wild Card, Rating 8.9 out of 10, more on that later) with a couple of their earlier releases as well.
-The Ripps were using a PowerBook! Apple was in the house, err, on da boat, for sure!
-Rennie, who brought an old picture of his last confrontation with the Ripps, got it signed by the main members! They took some pictures [none of which came out, BTW], shook some hands, and in the end, he found Russ to be a bit uptight.
-I was able to get some nice night shots! I should've posted them on Webshots, but since the .Mac homepage was available, I thought I take the opportunity. Go ahead, get a good look at a guy on sex on the beach taking pictures. Except for the band itself, I wasn't that bad...
-I paid $20 for an all-you-can-eat buffet, and all they did was put a wristband on me, and allowed me to take whatever I wanted from the dining area. Someone had the ingenius idea of using it on a different person. So, I carefully pryed the band off my wrist, and placed it on Rennie's. Next thing, he & Steph come down with a plate load of food for two! My good deed for the night, if not the whole day.
-After the concert, I finally got to meet the band. Truth be told, for a guy who's been a musician since I was born, Russ was pretty upbeat and pleasant to me. Of course, one must take into consideration that everyone on board was hounding him for autographs, pictures, and what not. But he seemed to be enthusiased by it all. That's cool. Kim Stone was cool too. The drummer, Dave something [**slipped my mind**], was tired. Very tired. I brightenend his ego by making it an honor for me if he'd sign my stuff. He was cool. I shook hands and took pics of everyone else, except the pianist, whose picture I think didn't want to be taken. He still shook my hand though.
-What stuff did these guys sign? Believe it or not, it was the first thing I could find as I rushed to work that Wednesday: Tourist In Paradise. The CD. Kim & Russ signed his picture, to which they replied "I must have been 14 when I took this shot!" The remaining band signed the CD itself, now resting in my Jazz collection. Good times, very good times.
-After all was said and done, and everyone left the boat, Rennie, Steph & I remained there as the production crew disassembled the music equipment. Rennie was very, VERY much into this process, as he remained attentive, asking questions whenever they didn't look agitated by his presence. From amplifiers to mics, from cords to guitars, you name it, he asked about it. And for what I got from their conversation, they were quite informative. Turning my attention elsewhere, I spot a white square like object on the floor. Thinking it was too good to be true, I advanced toward it like a main character advancing towards the wrong door in a horror movie. And there it was; unadulterated, lying on the floor, still in plastic shrink wrap, wreaking of Corona: Wild Card, by the Rippingtons. Their latest CD. I pick it up, and rinse it in the nearby restroom to rid the smell of Corona. I walk around with it some more, and either someone was gonna claim rights to that CD, or some drunk guys loss was this drunk kat's gain. Ten after midnight, a whole hour after the boat returns to dock, we leave the scene and head home. And despite the theif insinuations, I was one happy, drunk kat, with a CD I could start listening to and rate. My good deed, returned back to me.
-Wild Card - Very refreshing! This obviously is not the Rippingtons, a la Tourist in Paradise. This is a band with more latin based influenced and some nice grooves behind it! Chante Moore makes an appearance in Aretha Franklin's Till You Come Back To Me, which was pretty good. And from there, more latin based Jazz. El Vacilion remains my favorite, with Gypsy Eyes not too far behind. I especially like Gypsy Eyes because there's something Santana about that song, reminds me of El Farol, one of his underrated hits from the Supernatural album. Great stuff. Great stuff. Rating 8.9 out of 10
Overall Rating of Smooth Jazz Cruise The Rippingtons: 10 out of 10
And, zatzit for now!
What have I been up to otherwise? Still recouping from Tammy (yeah yeah, I know get over it already!) and warming my legs and ankles up for September. I'm gonna have a very interesting September for two reasons. First, I hope to leave North Fork by then. Second, Irie Jamboree: Sunday 9/4; Carnival on da Parkway: Monday 9/5. I'm gonna need all the rest I can find.
Later.