Mark Williamson (Flashbck) – Interview

http://flashbck.com

I bet you remember Flashbck, the service for piecing together all the clips and photos taken by you and your friends at any gig that you have attended. It was reviewed last Sunday on MusicKO, and now I am pleased to introduce you to its co-founder, Mark Williamson. Read on to learn how he describes the service, the impact it has had so far and what the future holds in store.

Mark Williamson

Mark Williamson

Full Name: Mark Williamson
Age: 27
Startup: Flashbck
Position: Co-Founder

PART I

THE STARTUP

Tell us a little about your startup. How was it conceived? What are its most distinctive features in your opinion?

Flashbck is a new site designed to help you re-live, share & explore live music experiences. Basically, you go to a gig take some photos/videos & then upload them to flashbck which is specifically designed for live music photo/video sharing –  so it does some cool stuff like pulls in the bands that were at a festival, the people you went with & where the gig was.

I had flashbck in my mind for a while, I just didn’t know exactly what it was. I go to a lot of gigs & festivals & wanted a way to keep track of them online. When I was a teenager I had a pin-board where I stuck up all of my ticket stubs/setlists and so on. Flashbck is the modern version of that.

The most distinctive feature is that we’re music focused. From our really cool slideshow to the Memory Bank – which is like a pin-board. It looks cool and it’s a great way to track your gig-history!

What was the original launch date?

Sometime in August! It’s a bit of a blur.

What has been the response so far? In which countries has it been more successful?

We’re currently testing the site in a soft launch – anyone can check it out – but we’re planning wider promotional activity later in the year. As we’re in London the focus has mainly been here so far. Spreading the word is key for us, so anyone who feels like shouting about us, great! (you can find us @flashbcktweets & on facebook).

What features can we expect to see implemented in future revisions?

We’re adding a lot of new stuff on a regular basis. We wanted to get flashbck out into the wild so our users could help us to understand whether we were heading in the right direction.

On the horizon? Video, integration with other sites & some unique features.

There is a certain tendency to demonize the Internet in the music industry. I think it is all a matter of perspective – it all depends on the uses it is put to. What is your opinion? In which areas has the Internet left an unquestionably positive mark?

My music taste. The web and especially legal apps like Spotify are essentials for me now. I may not be buying albums, I never did spend a lot on CDs, but I’m spending a small fortune on going to see the bands I find on Spotify & on blogs.   Continue reading

Ping Vs. MySpace – Who Is Going To Win?

Steve Jobs Ping

Apple unveiled Ping almost two weeks ago. Punters and experts alike were calling it a MySpace killer on the weeks prior to its release. More than a handful of people thought it would take the crown of the social network for music hands down.

Well, it turns out MySpace was much tougher than it seemed. Its huge userbase is not jumping ship that easily. And the over-commercialism of Ping dented its own credibility.

Tech blog Mashable recently polled its readers. They had to choose whether they preferred Ping or MySpace. The results?

42.3% (785 votes) MySpace
27.4% (509 votes) Ping Continue reading

Therion Is Coming To Uruguay

Therion Is Coming To Uruguay For The Very First Time This Year

Therion Is Coming To Uruguay For The Very First Time This Year

2010 will most likely go down as one of the most remarkable years ever for Uruguayan metalheads. International acts like Epica and Dark Tranquility visited the country and gave us everything they had. And now, another first-class artist is coming to town: Therion.

The Swedish band founded in 1987 by Christofer Johnsson is making their Uruguayan debut on the first week of October. Everybody is expectant to see them deploy their late-day operatic metal offerings along with songs representing their earliest phases.

Just to whet your appetite, these are two of their most popular songs.

Flashbck – Reliving Gigs & Festivals

FlashbckName: Flashbck
URL: http://www.flashbck.com

Flashbck is a new service that lets people relive all the gigs and festivals they have attended. On the site, people can upload all their videos and pictures in order to let others see the shows that they have been to right through their eyes

Images are used to create something comparable to a slideshow that can be shared with all your friends. If they wanted to attend the gig and they couldn’t make it, they will be getting the story straight from you. And if they did manage to attend it, then they will be able to add their own insights and images to what you have uploaded. And being able to tag friends just adds to the sheer fun of it all.

Plus, the ability to start following both your favorite bands and venues will give you the chance to learn about upcoming shows the minute they are announced. Continue reading

Blue (Joni Mitchell) – Album Review

The Album That Spearheaded The Whole Singer-Songwriter Craze Of The ‘70s, “Blue” Remains Joni Mitchell’s Most Popular Record To This Very Day.

"Blue" (1971) Remains Joni Mitchell’s Most Popular Record To This Very Day. The Album Brought A Whole New Degree Of Openness Into The Making Of Music.

The album which started Joni Mitchell’s commercially-successful days, “Blue” was also the one album heralding a whole new kind of sensibility. Starting with “Blue”, artists were no longer afraid to expose their failings and vulnerabilities. Music took on a completely confessional nature, and an openness that could be potentially healing but also imminently dangerous for its participants was established.

This could hardly be termed coincidental, of course. The idealism of the late ’60s had not just been challenged – it had been turned on its head. Everything was to become starker as the decade advanced. And musicians began expressing both their inner turmoil and the state the whole industry was in through their art. The results would rank from the too-close-for-comfort “The Who By Numbers” to albums like Dylan’s “Blood On The Tracks”, true artifacts of despondency that would have been out of place in the previous decade – a decade in which it was assumed that music would do nothing but change the world.

As I said when reviewing the “Hits” package, the sparser the instrumentation then the more effective the songs on “Blue” are. “River”, “Little Green”, “This Flight Tonight”… these songs wouldn’t have worked like they did otherwise. The directness of the sound simply highlights the true profundity of the message – the desire to break from the desolation of the whole music business expressed in “River”, the remorse of having given up a daughter for adoption and never hearing from her again as Joni did when she was young conveyed in “Little Green”, the self-flaying doubts upon leaving a loved one behind (as in “This Flight Tonight”)… Joni also looks resentfully on her marriage on the song “The Last Time I Saw Richard”, whereas “California” echoes the unsettling feeling of being in the wrong place at the wrong time expressed by “River”.

And even the songs which could be deemed as upbeat are weighed down by a sensation that brings to mind the old saying, “Happiness is nothing but sadness wearing a mask”. “A Case Of You” is dog-eared by destitution, the lyrics describing a love that is too strong and over-arching for its own good. And “All I Want” is a forceful reminder of how proximate loving is to hatred. In both cases, it seems as if the singer were the kind of person who gives just too much away. People like that always assume that his/her significant other will do the same. And when that doesn’t happen (because it just doesn’t happen – taking emotions for granted is as devastating as it is commonplace), a true circle of recriminations and self-loathing is patterned. Continue reading

Who Was The First American Artist To Have A Posthumous Number One Single?

Issued As A Single In 1968, The Song “(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay” by Otis Redding (1941 - 1967) Was The First Posthumous Release By An American Artist To Ever Top The US Charts.

Issued As A Single In 1968, The Song “(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay” by Otis Redding (1941 - 1967) Was The First Posthumous Release By An American Artist To Ever Top The US Charts.

Otis Redding (1941 – 1967) was the first American artist to have a posthumous number one single. The song “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay” (released one month after the plane crash that ended his life) achieved that distinction.

Janis Joplin (1943 – 1970) and Jim Croce (1943 – 1973) would then become the second and the third artist respectively to hit the top of the American charts posthumously. Janis did it with Kris Kristofferson-penned “Me and Bobby McGee” (from the successful “Pearl”, issued in 1971), and Jim with a song he had written about his yet-to-be-born son, “Time In A Bottle”.

Justin Bieber Is The Most Listed Twitter User

Justin Bieber Might Not Be The Most Followed Twitter User, But He Is The Most Listed One

Justin Bieber Might Not Be The Most Followed Twitter User, But He Is The Most Listed One

Another sign that the world is ending soon. While Lady Gaga recently conquered the position as the most followed Twitter user, Canadian sensation Justin Bieber has a record of his own: he is the most listed Twitterer.

Yes, that’s right. Bieber beat not only Lady Gaga but also Britney Spears and Ashton “The King Of Twitter” Kutcher.

Looks like the Mayans got it definitely right. 2012 is going to be the year to wave our last goodbyes.

Below you have a video of Justin doing his thang.

The Biggest Candidate For The Turkish Rickroll Ever Is Here: “Cilgin” By Ismail YK

Ismail YK

Ismail YK

Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to the video that has been the talk of the Internet for the last couple of days notwithstanding the fact that it is in Turkish, and the only words that those among us who don’t speak the language will get are “Facebook” and “Internet” . Well, that is more than we could understand from “Hibi no Neiro”, and we all loved it regardless of that.

This particular clip is named “Cilgin” (“Crazy”), and it is performed by Ismail YK. And if it doesn’t become the Turkish Rick Roll, then I am afraid nothing will.

Enjoy!

UPDATE:

This is an English translation of the lyrics to the song.

I went to internet cafe
Logged in to my Facebook page
I called my self “Crazy” (Cilgin)
I’m a member as of now
I met with a sweetheart
We’ve been writing each other everyday
It’s like a medicine to my heart
I become a loving person

She deserves to be be loved
And has beautiful eyes
It’s hard to find someone like her
Everyone is asking how I found

Facebook Facebook I’ve been seeking everyday
Facebook Facebook where I found her
Facebook Facebook It’s a love at first sight
Facebook Facebook I think I’m falling for her

MusicLink.fm – Stream Full Albums For Free & Learn How Good They Really Are

MusicLink
Name: MusicLink
URL: http://www.musiclink.fm

MusicLink is a free service for the streaming of full albums. Love the “California Gurls” single by Katy Perry, but wonder if “Teenage Dream” is any good? Can’t get enough of “Only by The Night” by Kings Of Leon and want to know if “Come Around Sundown” lives up to its predecessor? Well, MusicLink makes that easy. You just search for the concerned album, and once you have found it you can proceed to give it a good listen online. You won’t have to download anything. And you won’t have to sign up either.

Just in case you are wondering, MusicLink is as legal as a service of this nature can be because it is powered by Grooveshark. As you know, Grooveshark is a streaming service that was founded in 2006, and which caused the same controversy that sites like YouTube caused when they began gaining preeminence. Yet, Grooveshark has slowly been scoring licensing deals with many major labels such as EMI. Continue reading