Tag Archive for 'Rock Band'

Music Discovery in 2010

published
on January 18, 2010
by
Sandra
in fans, future of music, music, music business, social media, technology, and tools for musicians
. 3 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

A year and a half ago I wrote a post about the Top 5 Music Discovery Sites. A lot has happened since then: MySpace acquired iLike, MySpace acquired (and buried) iMeem (and then brought back their users’ playlists), Google Music Search was born, and the mobile music space exploded all over us thanks to the iPhone and the whole new world of opportunities now open to iPhone app developers… to name just a few things.

So, what are the best options available for music discovery right now? Here is my updated list:

Pandora
The customizable internet radio station that knows your musical taste so well it’s just plain creepy. Assuming you use Pandora somewhat actively, i.e. click the thumbs up/thumbs down buttons or suggest songs, the service is shockingly adept at playing music you will dig. Cool features like station gifting and the ability to share songs via email, Twitter, or Facebook give it a social slant. Links to iTunes and Amazon let you quickly purchase songs for your personal collection. And of course, if you’re striving for musical snobbery, Pandora not only tells you all sorts of fun facts about the artist, the album, or the song, but also explains (in terms probably only the serious musicologists among us would understand) exactly why it recommended a particular song. Oh, and Pandora is coming soon to a car near you.
Mobile Status: Android, Blackberry, iPhone, Palm, Windows and more.

thesixtyone
Our current favorite place to discover sick ass new music is thesixtyone, which purports to make music more democratic: “artists upload their work for review, but, rather than allow a stuffy suit in a boardroom to decide what’s good, thousands of listeners do.” The site also rewards listeners who are active participants by allowing them to “earn reputation, level up [their] influence, and collect badges,” making it almost like a Yelp culture for music fans. You can connect your account to Facebook, share what you’re listening to etc. If you’re an artist planning to put your music on t61, here’s what you should know.
Mobile Status: Nothing yet, but fans are chomping at the bit (check out the comments on their Facebook note.)

Midomi and Shazaam
I’m grouping these two together because they are different versions of the same thing. While Shazaam seems to have the most traction (likely due to its simplicity and clean look and feel), Midomi has more features. It can recognize not only that song playing on your car radio, but also singing, whistling, and humming. Although it’s very gratifying to instantly identify a song you hear, the real power in this technology lies in the actionable options presented along with the search result. Once you’ve identified the song, you can buy it, share it, watch the video etc.
Mobile Status (Midomi): Android, iPhone, Nokia, Windows.
Mobile Status (Shazaam): Android, Blackberry, iPhone, Nokia.

Grooveshark
First of all, let me just say that I am not a fan of the current design. Specifically, it’s the sidebar on the left that I find very aesthetically displeasing. Besides that, however, Grooveshark is a very cool service. You can upload your own music collection and stream it from wherever. Or search for music and stream it instantly. Of course it has all the social goodies as well, including embeddable widgets for your blog.
Mobile Status: Android, Blackberry.

Hype Machine
This clever little site is a music blog aggregator. As they say, “every day, thousands of people around the world write about music they love — and it all ends up here.” Go ahead. Nerd out. Worth mentioning, also, is RCRD LBL, which is a “network of ad supported online record labels and blogs offering completely free music and multimedia content from emerging and established artists.” Yes, free mp3s.
Mobile Status: iPhone app in the works?

Honorable Mentions:

Blip.fm
Blip.fm is essentially Twitter for music, allowing you to share tracks (along with brief comments and messages) with other users in a real-time stream. Naturally, it’s also integrated with Twitter and Facebook, so you can showcase your awesome musical taste by becoming the DJ and showing off your skillz. Or, you can use the service as a music discovery tool by listening to other DJs.
Mobile Status: iPhone (“Boombox Pro”)

Amazon Music
Amazon created a lot of buzz early on with their recommendation engine for books and things. Why shouldn’t it work just as well for music? Turns out it does… In fact, it’s a pretty solid option. You can listen to samples, plus do all the usual nifty Amazon-y things.
Mobile Status: iPhone

JamLegend
While JamLegend (the computer nerd’s answer to Guitar Hero & Rock Band) is first and foremost a game, it’s also a totally viable place for music discovery. As you sort through featured or new artists and songs, you might just stumble upon some great new stuff… You might also get sucked in and spend 12 hours pressing the 1, 2, and 3 keys on your keyboard. Consider yourself warned.
Mobile Status: JamLegend hasn’t gone mobile, but RockBand has an iPhone app, and of course there is Tap Tap Revenge (the Guitar Hero-style game).

How will YOU discover new music in 2010?


Wii Music!

published
on October 27, 2008
by
ACtual
in collaboration, culture, DIY, future of music, genres, interview, music, music business, remixing, and technology
. 4 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

It’s no secret that we over here at Evolving Music, and our backers at MixMatchMusic are all about the creation of new music and ideas. From artists collaborating to new musicians picking up their first instrument, any musical creation is generally regarded as good musical creation (and no, I’m obviously not talking about Soulja Boy…). With that in mind, the newest form of video game music has come out, and as is typical of Nintendo, the platform is more than just the idea of playing along to songs someone else has already wrote.

Last week, Nintendo launched their newest interactive game, Wii Music. While the heavy hitters of the video game music genre, like Rock Band and Guitar Hero are focused on letting you copy what someone else has already done to see if you can do it with accuracy and flair, Wii Music is innovative in that it focuses on allowing players to create music and explore various means of musical genesis. More importantly to MixMatchers everywhere is that the game allows you to collaborate with friends, compare songs and bring them together. One of the things I have found most detrimental about games like Rock Band is that even though they are entertaining and educational, they stop striving when it comes to user interaction and creativity. With the ability to try new instruments and learn how to put together different musical instruments and parts into a coherent whole, Wii Music could very well be the basic learning tool for an entirely new generation of musicians.

While I could go into more detail here, I have no problem letting the creator of most high profile Nintendo games and Wii Music, Shigeru Miyamoto, speak about it in his own words in this CNET interview.

Billy Idol @ The Fillmore 6/26/08

published
on June 28, 2008
by
Sandra
in concert reviews, music, and video
. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , , , , , .

Turns out I like love Billy Idol. Not that I ever disliked him, but I never really made it past recognizing his songs on the radio.

That all changed on Thursday.

Since I have a policy of pretty much never turning down free stuff, I jumped at the opportunity to check out Idol’s show at The Fillmore when someone offered me two free tickets, despite already having plans for the evening.

After hitting up the SF Mag Best of the Bay party at the Concourse for a bit (where there was everything from free samples from awesome restaurants, silent auctions, and a Rock Band corner to dancing, free drinks and goody bags…fun times), we cruised over to Fillmore and caught maybe the last hour of the show.

Billy Idol @ The Fillmore
(crappy iPhone photo)

I’ve only been to The Fillmore a handful of times – if I remember correctly, I’ve seen Hieroglyphics, Medeski Martin & Wood, and Reel Big Fish there – but it’s probably one of my favorite concert venues, with its unique atmosphere, chandeliers etc. The audience on Thursday seemed to be made up of primarily hardcore fans who were fist-pumping and singing along to all the songs. I actually knew most of them, so he must have been singing hit after hit.

I couldn’t help but marvel at how good he looks. Still superbly fit and incredibly energetic, Idol struck me as the ultimate performer. Whether he is truly as passionate about live shows as he was early in his career, or he is just doing his job and doing it well, the man knows how to put on a show. Steve Stevens, with his retardedly good guitar playing and silly antics was impressive as well.

Check out the review by hardrockchick for more. Great venue, great vibe, great show. Billy Idol, you can officially count me among the ranks of your fans now. Hot in the City is right!

Classic 80’s Idol video below:

5 Gift Ideas for Music and Tech Lovers

published
on December 12, 2007
by
Sandra
in music and technology
. Closed Tags: , , , , , , , , , .

Having officially commenced my holiday gift shopping today (including one of the below recommendations), I began to wonder if our shopping habits might reveal interesting (or disturbing?) facts about our true selves. Here is my breakdown of shopper types. Which one are you?

Types of shoppers:

– Those who spend 6 months brainstorming, obsessively searching for the perfect thing…not to mention the time and money spent wrapping gifts with meticulous care, despite the wrapping’s imminent fate of being torn apart and discarded.

– Those who nonchalantly wait till 8pm on December 24th, then panic and do all their shopping in two hours at Walmart.

– The home-made gift givers who slave away knitting scarves, framing photos, making mixed CDs, editing video …

– And of course the eh-I’ll-just-buy-em-a-gift-certificate types.

Whatever their shopping style, most people have someone in their life who is an aficionado of music or technology. Or both. Here are some gift ideas for that person:

1. The Gamerator – Arcade game/Beer tap. “Not only does this supreme frat-gadget give home to a flatscreen monitor, full MAME game system, and vintage arcade controls, it also hosts a kegerator that situates its tap right beneath the joystick ledge, allowing mid-game refills without any pause in competitive action.” So, when you get sick of playing Beirut you can move on to this more high-tech drinking game set-up.

2. Guitar Hero and/or Rock Band – Someone I know recently got a visit from the cops at home because he and his friends were playing Rock Band too loudly…Whether your giftee is a musician, a gamer, both, or neither, these games are a good bet. Be forewarned, however, that both can be highly addictive (or so I hear).

3. Pro Tools – One of the best DAWs available for recording musicians (professional or not-so-professional). There are a plethora of other software alternatives including Logic Pro, Cubase, Digital Performer, Sonar and Garage Band. Some of these software programs practically require a degree in nuclear physics to master, others could be learned while simultaneously watching the Simpsons, eating a taco, and updating your Facebook profile, so it’s advisable to ascertain the recipient’s level of musical ability and familiarity with software before making your purchase.

4. Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain – bestselling book by author/neurologist Oliver Sacks, in which he examines the power of music on the human brain and recounts stories ranging from “people with ‘amusia,’ to whom a symphony sounds like the clattering of pots and pans, to a man whose memory spans only seven seconds–for everything but music.” I once read an article about a girl who has a terrible stutter, except for when she sings – wonder if he included her in the book…

5. Solar Messenger Bag – Charge your cell phone, ipod, camera, etc (can carry but not charge a laptop) as you bike to the office in your suit with your latte in one hand and your newspaper under your arm…Good for hippies, green-friendly business types, or anyone who habitually forgets to charge their devices at home.