The great thing about music services like Rhapsody is they make it easy for you to give new or undiscovered artists a real listen.

I probably wouldn’t notice Rachael Yamagata on any radio station playing her, nor would she be plastered across MSN Music or Launch for me to see.  Lord knows I look.  How else would I know Lindsay Lohan is a singer now?  iTunes and it’s 20-second samples wouldn’t have made me a fan.  Since Rhapsody sells access to listen to music rather than downloading it (though you can, for extra), it encourages people to explore and find new music (since it’s instantly accessible, at no cost).  For those not familiar with Rhapsody, I recommend doing their 7-day free trial.

Anyhow, check her out.  Her CD is incredible.  Her voice is between Norah Jones and Fiona Apple.  Kinda like Fiona Apple without the coke habit.  A new favorite.

Music Video - Rachael Yamagata - "Worn Me Down" (Real Player format)

I’ve finally set up my own blog.  After being seeing more and more folks journaling via Typepad, I’ve decided to join in.

I’ve been moblogging via Textamerica for over a year [ http://andrewsea.textamerica.com ].  Even though this new Typepad site allows you to build a moblog, I’ve found myself very satisfied with Textamerica as a moblog community, and am not quite ready to leave that.