If you're trapped in the British Antarctic Survey's Rothera Research Station for a season, you could do a lot worse than to create intriguing music with random objects found around your base and a couple of string instruments, film the whole thing, and upload it to YouTube for an appreciative audience worldwide.

There's no sound for the first bit:

Note to new Vista users: If you're encounter trouble playing this and other Flash videos, it could be due to a faulty implementation of Flash in the standard Vista install.  In my case, Flash videos would only play for two seconds without sound, then they would stop.  This was remedied by uninstalling Flash, then reinstalling it the next time I tried to watch a video.

(via createdigitalmusic)

Since it launched in May of 2006, Apple and Nike haven't faced any competition for their Nike+iPod program, which goads joggers and other exercise addicts to higher levels of performance by using inspirational and functional music.  Samsung seems to have realized this, and has joined the race with an exercise-compatible musicphone, the miCoach.

Like Nike+iPod, Samsung's miCoach includes a sensor that attaches to running shoes.  Samsung partnered with Adidas, but joggers can also use other kinds of shoes, as opposed to Apple's system, which was only designed to work with certain Nikes.

The system allows users to chart their progress via the web, encourages joggers to speed up if they start flagging, and displays information about heart rate, time left in the run, and more.  Songs sync onto the phone's 1GB of memory via Windows Media Player.

Continue reading "Another Music Robot Wants You To Jog Faster" »

If you're in the mood for something good, head over to Poi Dog Pondering's site, where they're serving up free downloads of "Candy," their cheery new digital 45.

Yes, it's true that digital singles do not have RPMs, but such whimsy is typical of the band.  Here's how guitarist and vocalist Dag Juhlin encouraged friends and fans to download the single from their upcoming album, called 7:

Does your computer receive Internet?

Continue reading "MP3: Poi Dog Pondering - 'Candy'" »

Listening Post is liveblogging tonight's sold-out Plug Awards ceremony at Terminal 5 in New York, which will be hosted by funnyman Patton Oswalt (right).

You can tune in to the live video webcast in the Dell Lounge for free, starting Thursday night at 8PM EST.

Live updates:

- Patton's introductory routine was over by the time I got here and had everything set up... was he funny? 

- White Denim's short set of high-energy rock had people bopping around on stage behind the drum set.

- Oswalt says Radiohead couldn't be here to pick up their award, and neither could Andrew Bird.  Then Oswalt stole my line: "this really is the anti-Grammys!"

- St. Vincent accepted her award for Best Female Artist of the Year by saying "power to the people."

Continue reading "Live From New York, It's the Plug Independent Music Awards" »

Things will get very ugly over the next few months for the RIAA, if one disgruntled file sharing lawsuit victim gets her way.

Tanya Andersen, the single mother who filed a countersuit against the RIAA after the organization mistakenly sued her for sharing music online, attempted to hold it responsible for all sorts of heavy infractions ("RICO violations, fraud, invasion of privacy, abuse of process, electronic trespass, violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, negligent misrepresentation, the tort of 'outrage,' and deceptive business practices").

According to Mike Ratoza, a copyright lawyer with Bullivant, Houser and Bailey who teaches at the University of Oregon, Andersen is close to forcing the RIAA into the discovery phase of her countersuit, after having her original Complaint dismissed on February 19.  Andersen's Amended Complaint, due March 14, will not be a layup, and there are no guarantees in litigation.  But assuming her lawyer is able to craft the pleading to the judge's specifications, Andersen will have another chance to tilt at the RIAA windmill, with the case proceeding into the discovery phase.  If that happens, the RIAA could be forced to release potentially incriminating details about its techniques for investigating alleged file sharers.

This information would likely be held under a confidential seal, but if lawsuits over mold, tobacco, and asbestos are any indication, the RIAA's secrets will likely leak out into the legal community at large, potentially culminating in a class action suit.

Continue reading "Lawsuit Could Force RIAA to Reveal Secrets" »

OurStage, an online talent competition that claims (correctly, it would appear) that its system for letting users pick the best bands cannot be gamed, announced a strategic partnership with AOL Music.  As part of the deal, winning and recently-added OurStage artists will be featured on the main AOL Music page and on the artist browsing section.  Soon, an OurStage representative says, AOL will add OurStage to its genre pages and Spinner, Pop Eater, and Boombox blogs.

OurStage CEO Ben Campbell was upbeat about the news:  "AOL's position as the number one web destination for music fans with over 20 million people using the site offers OurStage artists unbelievably valuable exposure.  It also offers a much broader audience of fans the opportunity to discover and enjoy the very best music by emerging artists."

This deal makes sense, just like the deal Sellaband inked with Amazon (UK only for now).

AOL and Amazon need to find rising stars, and OurStage, Sellaband, and other crowd-sourced A&R sites need to promote their best artists in front of a wider audience.

See Also:

• Put Your Money Where Your Indie Rock Is
• OurStage: Pushing Bands Up the Long Tail
• OurStage Hires Music Veterans to Mentor Bands
• OurStage To Showcase Winning Bands at Five Summer Festivals
• Fight Slavery By Voting on Music
• How Will Recording Artists Be Discovered in the Digital Age?

The Notwist blew us away with their 2002 album Neon Golden, but fans have been waiting six years for the follow-up album, which the band revealed on Wednesday will be called The Devil, You + Me, and should be released in late May if everything goes according to plan.

The album will feature arrangements from the Andromeda Mega Express Orchestra, a Berlin-based chamber orchestra whose founding principle is "to let classical and jazz musicians work together in an inventive context outside of the common 'jazz meets classical' clichés."

Music reviewers trot out the My Bloody Valentine comparison so often that it has almost become meaningless, but it's apt for a few of the chord changes in this song, purely from a melodic standpoint.  That's only a small part of the equation -- there's a fair share of the band's own genius present here too.

The preview song from the album, "Good Lies," appears to be about the occasional necessity of self-delusion:

Choice lyric: "Let's just imitate the real until we find a better one."

You can watch a little video of the album being made on the official Notwist site.

See Also:

• Lucas Van Lenten Is a Slowpoke
• My Bloody Valentine's Manager: No Digital-Only Album Release
• Kevin Shields vs. 400 Guitarists: Which One Is Better?

(via pitchfork/imeem; image from theendsa)

The twelve-member, Staten Island-based Budos Band churns out soul music for Daptone Records using eleven instruments, chops worthy of James Brown's backing band, and lots of Staten Island soul.

Their second album, Budos Band II, an intensely listenable collection of tightly orchestrated songs in the "funk, afro-beat and soul music" traditions, warrants at least a listen.  If your ears are anything like mine, you'll soon find yourself playing the entire album on a regular basis.

Recorded live at  Daptone's House of Soul in Bushwick, Brooklyn, the album was apparently meant to encapsulate the spirit of a relentless and deadly desert insect:

"Like the deadly scorpion of the album's cover, The Budos Band's second release, The Budos Band II, creeps stealthily over the hot desert sand.  It is with unmistakable purpose that each beat of the music drives forth, one footstep of many to carry the Scorpion toward it's meaning.  With his tail arched high in readiness, he maneuvers patiently under the scorching desert sun, and chooses his prey.  He strikes without warning and without remorse. The venom of his sting, true to its reason; his victim, ever-intoxicated.

I don't have any other records like this one, but I love it.  If you slept on the Budos Band II when it came out last year, as I did, get thee to the Daptone Store (or at least MySpace).

Phil Kay of Working for a Nuclear Free City and I joined host Kevin Pereira of G4's "Attack of the Show" for a discussion of the recent Nine Inch Nails album release, artists considering suing labels for a chunk of the Napster lawsuit millions, and whether the digital age will be kind to musicians.  Please don't make fun of my winter beard.

Pitchfork Media, the music news and reviews site that occasionally delights in feting then trashing an artist before most music fans have even heard of them, plans to give music know-it-alls another way to see what their latest "favorite band of all time" is up to, with the April 7 launch of Pitchfork.tv, "the first-ever music video channel dedicated to documenting independent music as it happens."

Pitchfork's channel will dwarf Current TV's weekly half-hour indie music show; the press release (below) implies that this will be a 24-hour music channel, and claims it will have resolution high enough for full-screen viewing.

The content looks compelling too:

Continue reading "Pitchfork To Launch 24-Hour Video Channel" »

The best way to experience SXSW is with a platinum badge, as I discovered last year.  There's nothing more satisfying than strolling past an 800-person line, checking out the band for five minutes, deciding they suck, and moving on to the next venue.

For the billions of people on the planet who won't be filling Austinites' coffers by traveling there to see the bands in person this year, there are a number of ways to listen to the artists performing at the festival from the comfort of your own home.

Slacker's Free SXSW Stream
You can hone this interactive SXSW-bands-only radio station featuring by clicking Heart or Ban as the songs play.

sxsw.imeem.com
Imeem leverages its ability to stream full-length songs for free by offering a massive amount of on-demand SXSW music sliced and diced by label, showcase, and date of performance, allowing it to double as a planning aide for those lucky enough to attend.  The site even has a special playlist dedicated to the "10 awesomest band names" scheduled to play this year (Ringo Deathstarr anyone?) and a time machine-like playlist of the best bands who "played" at SXSW in 2008.

SXSW's audio stream
Click the link for "SXSW Player" at the lower left of the above-linked page for SXSW's own searchable music stream.

Update: The Unofficial Torrent File
As commenters pointed out below, I should have included the torrent file containing music from 964 bands playing SXSW.

Any other suggestions?  What's the best way to experience SXSW from afar?

Dungeons and Dragons creator Gary Gygax passed away yesterday, but his memory lives on in the hearts of current and reformed D&D enthusiasts the world over.  Listening Post reader Marty, who is in a band called Uncle Monsterface, was planning to play his regularly-scheduled D&D game last night, but upon hearing the news, decided to record a tribute song in honor of Gygax instead.

The result is "Thank You, Gary Gygax" (MP3 or MySpace), an amusing little synth pop ditty with falsetto lyrics about the game uniting teenage geeks and improving the world in general.

Choice lyric:
"There's no graph paper map for where you've gone."

Uncle Monsterface wants fellow D&D fans to create videos to go along with the song, and upload them to YouTube.  If that's your thing, get to it.

The group previously recorded an ode to Steve Irwin, called "Crocodile Tears."

(image from dndworld.it)

Recording artist Jill Sobule needs $75K to record her album, but rather than taking an advance from a label, as she has in the past, she's going straight to her fans for financing.  So far, they have contributed $66,319 to her cause, so if the trend continues, she'll be headed into the studio soon.  Rather than using an intermediary that lets fans try to earn a financial return, Sobule is offering a variety of ways to participate, including the right to sing on the album, in a plan more reminiscent of CASH Music.

Here are the options:

• $10 - Unpolished Rock (but with potential) Level: A free digital download of the album, when it's released.
• $25 - Polished Rock Level: An advance copy of the CD. Weeks before the masses.
• $50 - Pewter Level: An advance copy and a "Thank You" on the CD.
• $100 - Copper Level: All the above, plus a T-shirt saying you're a junior executive producer on the album.
• $200 - Bronze Level: Free admission to my shows for 2008.
• $250 - Silver Level: All the above, plus a membership to the "Secret Society Producer's Club," which means you'll get a secret password to a website where I'll post some rough tracks, or... something worthwhile.
• $500 - Gold Level: This is where it gets good! At the end of my CD, I'll do a fun instrumental track where I'll mention your name and maybe rhyme with it. And if you don't want your name used, you can give me a loved one's instead. What a great gift!
• $750 - Gold Doubloons Level: Exactly like the gold level, but you give me more money.
• $1,000 - Platinum Level: How would you like to have a theme song written for you? I'll have a song you can put on your answering machine and show off. Again, this could be a gift.
• $2,500 - Emerald Level: Mentioned as an executive producer of the album -- whoop-di-doo!
• $5,000 — Diamond Level: I will come and do a house concert for you. Invite your friends, serve some drinks, bring me out and I sing. Actually, this level is a smart choice economically. I've played many house concerts where the host has charged his guests and made his money back. I'd go for this if I were you.
• $10,000 - Weapons-Grade Plutonium Level: You get to come and sing on my CD. Don't worry if you can't sing - we can fix that on our end. Also, you can always play the cowbell.

(When I think of cowbell, I think of Will Ferrell.  And when I think of Will Ferrell, I think about how much moviegoers would have to raise to stop him from making yet another retreaded seventies spoof. )

(ap; via buzzgrinder; image from onsight-media)

A user on the audioholics forums claims to have seen a group of audiophiles determine that they could not tell the difference between the sound of Monster Cable speaker wire and that of a simple household coat hanger.

Keeping us blind folded, my brother switched out the Belden wire (are you ready for this) with simple coat hanger wire! Unknown to me and our 12 audiophile buddies, prior to the ABX blind test, he took apart four coat hangers, reconnected them, and twisted them into a pair of speaker cables...

After 5 tests, none could determine which was the Monster 1000 cable or the coat hanger wire. Further, when music was played through the coat hanger wire, we were asked if what we heard sounded good to us. All agreed that what was heard sounded excellent, however, when A-B tests occurred, it was impossible to determine which sounded best the majority of the time and which wire was in use.

What do you think...

(audioholics; via consumerist; image from themagazine)

Trent Reznor found a great deal for distributing his comprehensive new Nine Inch Nails album to the Amazon MP3 store: going through TuneCore, while keeping ownership of the master recordings and 100 percent of royalties.  Now we can see why he was so eager to leave his record label.

Assuming TuneCore charged Reznor its standard for delivering a 36-song album on the Amazon MP3 store for the first year, here's how the math appears to work out:

$35.64 ($0.99 per track)

$0.99 to put one album in one online music store

$19.98 charge per album

------------------

$56.61: Total cost to distribute Ghosts I-IV to Amazon MP3

Update: TuneCore CEO Jeff Price told MPR's Future Tense that his company charged Reznor about $38 for distributing the 36-song album to the Amazon MP3 store.  (Bonus fact: Price used to run SpinArt Records, where he release The Pixies, Echo & The Bunnymen, Kaito, The Lilys, cub, and The Wedding Present.)  I've asked TuneCore to explain how the math works out.

This isn't the only efficient aspect of Reznor's plan.  He's using BitTorrent to distribute the first 8-song volume of the album to fans for free, and the innovative aspect of the release generated lots of (deserved) press attention.

As an aside, it's easy to forget that newsworthy albums like this have music on them.  I was too busy yesterday and never managed to download the torrent, which is downloading now.  If you've heard Ghosts I-IV, what did you think?

Current TV will broadcast a new show tonight that combines interviews, tour band footage, and music from new or otherwise exciting bands.  Think of it like an extended, 30-minute version of Current TV's Fix webcasts, or MTV if they focused on good music.

The first episode features a decent range of musical styles:

In the premiere episode, viewers will find themselves getting up-close-and-personal with Portland-based punk rock band The Thermals, watching UK electro-pop band Hot Chip discuss friends and fellow musicians, Gang Gang Dance.

The show will also feature short pieces from "electronica/punk/reggae-influenced singer and songwriter" Santogold and segments produced by "hip-hop, folk maestro" Tim Fite.

The series premieres tonight at 7pm PST /10pm EST (see the lower right area of Current TV's website for local channel information).

Here's the promo video for the first episode:

Continue reading "Current TV To Premiere 'The Fix Extended Play' (Like MTV but with Music)" »

Davey dons headphones and dances for your viewing pleasure in various locations around the world.  MC Hammer he's not, but Davey's enthusiasm is similarly infectious:

(thanks, irene)

Country singer Shelby Lynne writes that her guitar gathered dust when she tried to switch to digital recording, so that she insisted on 2-inch analog tape for her latest album, Just a Little Lovin'.

While Lynne appreciates the convenience of an iPod, when it comes to sharing music with friends in person, she claims nothing beats vinyl because it sounds better and its large, flat covers better facilitate the doobie assemblage process:

I don't call up my friends and say "Hey why don't y'all come over and bring your computers and let's have a party"? Hell no! I say bring pot, wine and vinyl. That's sexy. It's really a great excuse to get together and listen to music. Everybody takes a turn looking through the collection and it's interesting to see what each person plays. The vinyl way is just me. I think if if we all listen to more music together, it really doesn't matter how we do it. Music will save us all just like it always has. We feed our souls with it. Vinyl just creates a little more discussion for us. You get to look at the covers, the liner notes, sometimes the lyrics are included. Plus you can roll a doobie on it. That's hard on an iPod.

(huffingtonpost; thanks, michael)

The "world's first free, legal P2P service," Qtrax, has deals with EMI Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing and TVT Records, Listening Post has learned.

Qtrax raised quite the furor in January with its announcement of a free, legal, ad-supported P2P service, after reporters realized that the company didn't have active deals with enough labels and publishers to offer any songs. (We hear the Los Angeles Times had to stop its presses over the confusion.)

These new deals indicate Qtrax could eventually make good on its ambitious promise to offer all of the music available on P2P networks as free, legal downloads.

Continue reading "Exclusive: Qtrax P2P Music Service Announces Major Publishing Deals" »

DanceJam, the brainchild of MC Hammer and a venture capitalist partner, promises a new place for dancers and dance fans to upload footage of their best moves and learn new steps from experts including Hammer himself.

Hammer (the "MC" is optional now) impressed me with his explanation of how the site would work back in November.  People are already uploading videos, and several battles have broken out between dancers using the site vying to prove that their moves are superior to those of their opponent.

For more on DanceJam, check out our exclusive preview of the service (let it never be said that I have not chilled with MC Hammer).