The Hoopla about Hoopla (Free Old Movies, TV Shows, and Music)

The Toronto Public Library announced on Monday that they have now joined Hoopla.  So, last night I signed up and it was easy and took about 5 minutes.  What you need is a current Toronto Public Library card, which are free and you are paying for library anyway via your property taxes. You can see a youtube video on what the service is here.  If you don't live in Toronto than you still might have access via your regional library, at quick glance I was able to learn that Hamilton, Kitchener, Vaughan, Guelph, Aurora also offer this service.

Hoopla Title Screen

My Review:

Hoopla a is free and you have to access to Movies, Music, and TV Shows.   Overall, my opinion is the service is just okay, and it could be a lot better with more content.  It is easy to use and it is hard to argue with free. If this service cost $10 a month than I would be truly disappointed.  For further detail I examined each category of content and give my opinion.  Taste is subjective and you may find gold where I find meh.

Movies are Meh.

Well the first thing I did was to scan through the movies and I was not that impressed. This service does not replace Netflix, but if you want to see some classic movies such as Metropolis, The African Queen, Spartacus, Double Indemnity, Serpico, Harvey, All Quiet on the Western Front, etc.  

Hoopla Movie Starting Page

You could also find some great more 90's movies such as Man on the Moon, The Big Lebowski, Big Night, Mallrats, 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels', and Out of Sight.  There is an easy search function and it is disappointing that most searches turned up nothing.  For example searching some of my favorite actors turned up little to nothing (ie Kevin Spacey, Samuel L. Jackson, Harrison Ford, and Robert De Niro.)  Same thing for directors Christopher Nolan, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, Clint Eastwood, and John McTiernan.

What I did find funny is the number of just plain funny, but stupid moves you can watch such as Half Baked, Stop or My Mom Will Shoot, Ali G - In Da House, Necessary Roughness, Howard the Duck, CB4, Johnny English, McHale's Navy, etc.  If you want to have a dumb laugh it is certainly possible.

An Impressive Music Selection:

The music selection is impressive and I was to able to find the discography's of the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Coldplay, Nirvana, Madonna, Ramones, Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails, etc.  They also have new albums such as Arcarde Fire - Reflektor, Nothing was the Same - Drake, Beck - Morning Phase, Lorde - Pure Heroin, Childish Gambino - Because the Internet, Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP2, Lady Gaga - Art Pop, etc.  They may not have a large selection of movies, but it appears they have a lot of movie soundtracks and Broadway musicals.  If you had an urge to listen to an album or just wanted to listen to something before you buy it; you can borrow an album for 7 days.

Hoopla Music Starting Page

The highlight for me is the Comedy albums, things you likely listen to just once and maybe again after countless years.  They have albums from Louis C.K., Jim Gaffigan, Joe Rogan, Danny Glover, Amy Schumer, Steve Martin, David Cross, Bill Hicks, etc.  There is easy 200+ albums and these could make a road trip a lot more enjoyable.  I plan to see if I can use Bluetooth to broadcast the audio next time in my car.


 

Television Full of Meh.

Again I was disappointed that you can't find TV series like you can on Netflix. For example you can't go back and watch old episodes of South Park, The Simpsons, Mad Men, Cosmos (the original one with Carl Sagan), Law & Order, etc.  What you do get is a lot of National Geographic Shows, Ken Burns Documentaries, 80's Cartoons for the kids, PBS Masterpiece Theatre shows and travel shows.  Depending what you want to watch you probably have more luck watching on demand shows from the various TV networks. If you are looking for educational/infortainment videos, PBS has its Nova TV show on demand fore free at its website or David Suzuki's Nature of Things on CBC.  

Hoopla Television Starting Page

What you get:

• The ability to borrow on-line up to 5 items per calender month.
• You can borrow television and movies for 3 days, music for 7 days.
• No worries about late fees or returns, as they are automatic.
• The ability to access what you borrowed from both smartphone, tablet, laptop and computer.  You just need to have an Internet connection (with sufficient speed for video).  You can download the 'Hoopla' app for free from Google Store or Itunes store.
• If you are using it from Chrome/Firefox you will need to install free the Widevine Videoplayer App and if you use Safari it should just work.
• An easy way to sort what 'Most Popular' or 'New' to see what other people are watching and the latest additions.

What you don't get:

• The ability to download and borrow an item.  You can't for example borrow a movie and then watch it on a plane or subway, you have to have a working Internet connection.
• Audiobooks - The Toronto Public Library is not signed up for Hoopla's audiobooks, but you can get borrow audiobooks from them via their Overdrive service.  
• It appears this service does not support Blackberry or Windows based phones or tables.  

What I don't know:

• If you have an Internet connection, can you enjoy content from outside of the country?

Comments? Thoughts? or Suggestions?  Did you find something that is must see on Hoopla?

My 5 Favourite Halloween Songs and a little Halloween Origins Fun Facts

I'm not one for horror or the macabre, but I do try to get in the spirit of Halloween. Yesterday, I went through my musical collection and picked out my favorite songs for Halloween. While listening I looked up some fun facts regarding the origins of Halloween.

My top 5 Favorite Halloween Songs:

1) Joy Division - Dead Souls

Ian Curtis haunting voice and dark lyrics make this my favorite song to listen at Halloween. Probably because I remember fondly seeing The Crow in my early teenage years and the great cover of this song by Nine Inch Nails.

2) Bauhaus - Bela Legosi's Dead 

Peter Murphy also with deep and tortured voice sings a song again with dark lyrics. This is a long song with a slow base line and some truly spooky guitar effects. Music historians consider this song the first gothic rock song (released August 1979) and it is about actor Bela Legosi, who played the first Hollywood Dracula in 1931.

3) Queens of the Stone Age - Burn the Witch

Again some great dark lyrics appropriate for Halloween. This song comes complete with a music video inspired by the Salem Witch Trials.

4) Michael Jackson - Thriller

It is hard not to love this song or the music video directed by John Landis. It has a 152 million views on You Tube and counting.  Watch all 14 minutes of its glory.

  

5) Pink Floyd - Syncopated Pandemonium

This is piece from a larger song called Saucerful of Secrets off of 1970's Atom Heart Mother. With its driving beat, banging piano, guitar effects and staccato notes. This song shows the evolution of the 'organized' cacophony of notes and wall of sounds that Igor Stravinsky revolutionized the world in the early 1900's.   This clip is from their Live at Pompeii art rock concert film which I recommend.  

Some Honorable Mentions:

• Talking Heads - Psycho Killer
• Ramones - Pet Semetary
• Pink Floyd - Careful with that axe Eugene
• Rockwell - Somebody's Watching Me

Lastly it is hard not to love Jason Segal and the song he wrote for Forgetting Sarah Marshall.  Here he is performing Dracula's Lament.

Origins of Halloween Facts:

• “Halloween” is short for “Hallows’ Eve” or “Hallows’ Evening,” which was the evening before All Hallows’ (sanctified or holy) Day or Hallowmas on November 1. In an effort to convert pagans, the Christian church decided that Hallowmas or All Saints’ Day (November 1) and All Souls’ Day (November 2) should assimilate sacred pagan holidays that fell on or around October 31.

• Jack o'lanterns were originally carved out of turnips by the Celts to keep away spirits on the Samhain holiday. According to Irish legend, Jack O’Lanterns are named after a stingy man named Jack who, because he tricked the devil several times, was forbidden entrance into both heaven and hell. He was condemned to wander the Earth, waving his lantern to lead people away from their paths.

Turnip Head - Jack O'Lantern

• Samhain was the Gaelic festival that celebrated the end of the harvest and the beginning of Winter.  It occurrs on October 31st, the midpoint between the Autumnal Equinox and the Winter Solstice. Mumming and guising are part of this festival, and involved people going door-to-door in costume (or disguise), often reciting verses in exchange for food.

• During the pre-Halloween celebration of Samhain, bonfires were lit to ensure the sun would return after the long, hard winter. Often Druid priests would throw the bones of cattle into the flames and, hence, “bone fire” became “bonfire.”
• If you truly don't like Halloween to the point of being fearful about it, than that is called 'samhainophobia.' 

In closing, I leave you with this quote:

"Always go to other people's funerals, otherwise they won't go to yours." - Yogi Berra

Do you have a favorite Halloween Song?  Tell me? I'm always open to listening to new things?