Monthly Archives: October 2010

Have Atomic Tom Come Up With The Best iPhone Band Performance So Far?

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Atomic Tom Have Put Together What Must Rank As The Best iPhone Band Performances So Far.

Atomic Tom Have Delivered What Must Rank As The Best iPhone Band Performance So Far.

The story goes that the members of Atomic Tom got their instruments stolen, but that couldn’t keep them from making music.

So, when they were on the NYC subway they got out their iPhones and began playing “Take Me Out” (the first single from “The Moment”) with them,while someone conveniently shot the entire performance. Oh, and what’s even more convenient is that within minutes it was uploaded to Atomic Tom’s official YouTube account.

But who cares about that? What matters is the band performance they managed to pull off. I frankly think it is the best iPhone band performance we have seen so far. Way better than the Stanford iPhone orchestra for sure.

You can judge it for yourself by watching the full video (embedded below).

“The Moment” is Atomic Tom’s debut album. You can learn more about the band here.

Who Was The “Layla” Eric Clapton Named His Defining Album After?

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“Layla” Was An Alias For Pattie Boyd. She Was The Wife Of George Harrison, One Of Clapton’s Best Friends.

“Layla” Was An Alias For Pattie Boyd. She Was The Wife Of George Harrison, One Of Clapton’s Best Friends.

“Layla” was an alias for Pattie Boyd, the (then) wife of George Harrison. She was a British model of singular looks who had also captivated John Lennon and Mick Jagger. Clapton would eventually succeed in stealing her from Harrison. And it is very interesting to note that the friendship between the two men ran so deep that when Clapton and Boyd married in 1979, Harrison was among the attendees…

The whole “Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs” was actually built upon a distortion of reality. Clapton created a fantasy in which he was “Derek” and his backing band became “The Dominos”. Besides, Blind Faith had left a sour taste in his mouth and he wanted to keep a lower profile for a while.

Combat Rock (The Clash) – Album Review

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Not Counting “Cut The Crap” (1985), “Combat Rock” Was The Final Album By The Clash. It Was Produced By Glyn Johns, And It Saw Release In 1982.

Not Counting “Cut The Crap” (1985), “Combat Rock” Was The Final Album By The Clash. It Was Produced By Glyn Johns, And It Saw Release In 1982.

This was The Clash’s final album. And no, I haven’t forgotten that thing released by Strummer and Simonon backed by a bunch of scabs in 1985 named “Cut The Crap”. “We Are The Clash”, my ass. That was a tremendous blunder, and the band knew as much – no tracks from it were included on the otherwise career-spanning “The Clash On Broadway” (1991).

“Combat Rock” was conceived as the direct sequel to the ambitious “Sandinista!”, an album that many felt had been weighed down by Strummer’s own aspirations. He clearly wanted to move the band into other styles (with black music topping the list), and Mick Jones wanted to stick to rock & roll. Those differences could not be reconciled, and Jones was to leave the band after touring “Combat Rock” – an experience that included opening for The Who during their whole farewell tour, and playing to highly disinterested audiences at that.

Originally, “Combat Rock” was to be a double album named “Rat Patrol From Fort Bragg”. However, when experienced producer Glyn Johns was called in to oversee the recording he convinced the band to release a single disc.

Everybody hated “Combat Rock” at the time. Shareef didn’t like it, and neither did the punks and the press. The charge was that the band had “sold out”. That only made sense if you looked at the singles that were issued: “Know Your Rights”, “Should I Stay Or Should I Go” and “Rock The Casbah”. The first two were simple songs in the worst sense of the word, and the other was a funky number that became their biggest seller in the US. It was a more respectable song than the other two, but the finger-popping melody made for instant criticism by people who wanted the band to stick to their rebellious selves. They once had fought the (unsanctioned) release of the poppy “Complete Control”. Now, they were willingly releasing a radio-made song themselves.

In actuality, “Rock The Casbah” was largely the work of drummer Topper Headon. He played the drums, bass and keyboards on that song. According to the rest of the band, The “Casbah” riff was one he had been toying with for ages. When recording Combat Rock, he went into the studio one morning and put all those instruments down. Strummer came up with the lyrics after reading how people would be lashed on Iran for owning rock records. Much later down the line, he reportedly cried when he learned that American pilots used the expression “rock the casbah” as a euphemism for their bombing missions in Iraq.

The argument that the band was selling out made just no sense when one played the full album. To begin with, there was precious little radio-friendly music there. In fact, there was virtually no rock & roll to be found anywhere.

Don’t spin “Combat Rock” looking for variations of “Should I Stay Or Should I Go” because you are not getting that. You are getting reggae on “Car Jammin’”, the world beats of “Sean Flynn”, the pop of “Inoculated City”, the funk of “Overpowered By Funk” (complete with an impersonation of Tarzan!) and even a collaboration with poet Allen Ginsberg. Continue reading →

The Birth Of Tweetagrams

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Orange Tweetagram

Few marketing campaigns have been as successful as the one run this summer featuring good Old Spice. Both punters and critics loved the antics of the muscle-bound chap who went as far as proposing to a woman for someone who didn’t have the courage to do it personally. It was only a matter of time before other marketers would try and up the ante.

Tweetagrams could be deemed as a direct evolution of the Old Spice concept. It was presented by UK-based company Orange, and it let people send tweets to be set to music and recorded by retro grip group The Rockabellas

Those tweets had the hashtag #singingtweetagrams, and they were reviewed by Orange’s marketing department. That is, not every tweet had the honor of being recorded. There was a pre-selection process.

The ones who got selected became downloadable from Orange’s website, and people were able to do whatever they wanted with them. This included setting them as their ringtones, and sending them out to friends. Continue reading →

Joy Tunes – Let Your Kids Learn Music By Playing Games

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JoyTunes

Name: Joy Tunes
URL: http://www.joytunes.com

All the musicians I’m acquainted with tell me the same story: the more their parents sent them to teachers to learn how to write, read and play music when they were kids, the closer they were to disdaining it forever. They also tell me that the moment they became independent and could say “no” to mum and dad was the moment they discovered the deep love they could feel for music.

That only makes too much sense. No matter how wonderful something is, if it is imposed it becomes a source of frustration and it is resisted to the bitter end.

Yet, what can parents who want their children to learn music do? Is there a way to have their little ones learn how to play an instrument without boring them to death? Continue reading →

Rob McCullough (Clean Tab) – Interview (Part 2)

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This is the final part of the interview I conducted with Rob McCullough from Clean Tab. You can read the first part right here.

PART II

MUSIC & YOU

When did you become interested in music? What was the first album or single you ever purchased?

I have always loved, and felt a special conncetion to music. I started playing guitar seriously when I was about 14. My first album was Alive by Pearl Jam.

Are you in a band yourself, or have you been in a band in the past? Is there a clip on YouTube or elsewhere we could watch?

I have never played in a full band. I have played various coffee house style shows with friends. Unfortunately, I don’t have any live videos on youtube. But, I do have a SoundCloud account for anyone interested in my personal music. http://soundcloud.com/mybbor

Musical likes and dislikes? Favorite artists?

If you can name a genre, I can probably name a relevant song that I enjoy. I like to mix up my styles depending on my mood. When I am coding. I absolutely love listening to electronic music. Boards of Canada was the soundtrack to my time working on CleanTab. Continue reading →

Rob McCullough (Clean Tab) – Interview (Part 1)

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Rob McCullough (the founder and developer of Clean Tab, a cool repository of tabs just reviewed on MusicKO) was kind enough to answer all my questions regarding both his startup and his musical background.

Without further ado, this is the first part of the interview. And the second (“Music And You”) can be accessed here.

Clean Tab

Full Name: Rob McCullough
Age: 25
Startup: Clean Tab
Position: Founder/developer

PART I

THE STARTUP

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

CleanTab is an automated guitar & bass tablature search engine. We fetch tabs from all over the internet, clean them up, and display them with our customized font. CleanTabs have videos, and they are just as gorgeous printed on paper as they are in the browser.

What was the original launch date?

June 28th, 2010

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

The response has been great! There is only a small amount of resources available to me for for advertising. So, I am working really hard to grow organically and through word of mouth. We are most popular in the United States. But, Australia is not far behind.

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

I just implemented some new tweaks to the printable version of our tabs. Also, within the next few weeks we will begin updating our tab archive with new material daily! Finally, there is a lot of behind the scenes work going on to make sure all our our data is correct. We are removing duplicate tabs, and trying to fix up song titles that were skewed by their orginal creators.

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?

In my opinion, the internet itself, and the rapid speed at which we can access information, is an unquestionably positive thing! Human progress relies on our ability to learn from, and then adapt to, the findings of those that came before us. The internet has given more people access to more information at instant speeds than ever before in history. Any monetary loss to those who were unable, or unwilling, to adapt to the changing world is a miniscual set back.

What advice could you give to anybody who is launching a music-related startup in the future? What are the obvious mistakes that should be avoided?

A few things. First, time management is crucial. Strictly for music related start ups, be aware of copyright laws and how they will affect your business. Avoid doing sloppy work with the intention of fixing it later.

Continue to Part 2: “Music & You”.

Lady Gaga & Justin Bieber Are Both Close To Having 1 Billion YouTube Views

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Lady Gaga Alejandro

VS

justin bieber u smile

As I am sure you remember, just a couple of months ago Lady Gaga became the first online artist to have 1 billion views across all online video platforms.

Well, now she is nearing 1 billion views on YouTube alone. That’s an amazing feat, and a good reminder why she is called “The Internet Artist”.

However, she is not alone.

Justin Bieber is hot on her heels. And although experts are sure that Gaga will get to the milestone first (it is said she will reach that milestone on October 20), Bieber might have the last laugh. He averages 3.98 million views daily, and Gaga is pulling off just 2.04 million. If that pattern is unbroken, Bieber will eventually overtake her.

Just for the record, Michael Jackson is the third artist with more YouTube video views. But he is no threat to Gaga or Bieber at this point. As of this date, he has about 600 million video views.

The Kids Are Alright (The Who) – Original Soundtrack Album

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A Double Album, "The Kids Are Alright" Collected The Best Music On One Of The Rock & Roll Movies Ever

A Double Album, "The Kids Are Alright" Was The Companion Piece To One Of The Most Memorable Rock & Roll Biopics Ever

The soundtrack to Jeff Stein’s highly-adored biopic is a double album made up of live highlights. Of course, the terms “live” and “highlight” are the bywords when we are talking about The Who with Keith Moon sitting behind the kit.

The version of “A Quick One” at the Rolling Stones’ Rock & Roll Circus leads the charge. The Who stole the show that day, to the point that the Stones (aware that they had been outplayed) later tried to sell the movie to The Who so that they could release it as their Rock & Roll Circus. Personally, I like the version which is included on the “Live At Leeds” album even better. But in any case, both cuts showcase what a demolishing live band The Who was during the “Tommy” period.

That is also underlined by the three songs from Woodstock which are included – all three are “Tommy” numbers (“Pinball Wizard”, “Sparks” and “See Me, Feel Me”) and they are all terrific. They can also be found on the original “Woodstock” soundtrack. The version of “Sparks”, incidentally, is also featured on “Almost Famous” – it is the song that makes the main character realize his destiny of becoming a music journalist.

Likewise, the album includes the cataclysmic performance from “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour” that earned Moon the moniker of “British Patent Exploding Number”. It is not really a “live” number (they are playing over a track which was prerecorded), but it has the full dialogue introduction in which the guys drive Tommy Smothers crazy.

And three songs are featured from two concerts which were specifically scheduled for the film. The first took place at Kilburn and it was a major disaster. The one track from that concert which found its way here proves it, as the band struggles through “My Wife”, arguably John Entwistle’s best stage number alongside “Heaven & Hell” and one that they seldom got wrong. For years, fans have joked that the live version of “My Wife” recorded at that gig was only included on “The Kids Are Alright” as a way to show that the band could have days off, just like everybody else. Continue reading →

The Social Network Gets Its First Video Parody By Jay Kila the Viral Rapper

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“The Social Network” Opened To Glowing Reviews Despite Being Labeled By Those In The Know As Inaccurate

“The Social Network” Opened To Glowing Reviews Despite Being Labeled By Those In The Know As Inaccurate

What do you get when a movie that was as hyped as “The Social Network” finally launches? You get lots of coverage on tech blogs, you get reviews by critics, you get user reviews on sites like Rotten Tomatoes… but most of all, you get music parodies.

This rap by Jay Kila the Viral Rapper is one of these. The song is named “CEO (The Social Network Rap)”, and the lyrics are so funny that I have embedded them below along with the actual clip.

Enjoy!

CEO (The Social Network Rap)

They call me Young Zuck just a punk
Tryna be in finals clubs no girls showin’ me love
But I don’t give a fuck
I was made to be great facemashin’ all my dates
As I crash the network — college aged Bill Gates
Not really a creep — okay, maybe social geek
You can check out my blog I’m telling it when I speak
Programmin up in my sleep I don’t got many peeps
For friends — Eduardo he was one of them
I guess — yes, well lemme get this off my chest
I believe I’m the best when it comes to CS
Facebook — yo, that was my idea
Don’t let them Winklevosses tell you that I steal
For real. I got the Napster as my bro
And he knows that this thing is about to blow
So I’ma hop on a plane to Palo Alto
Call up Peter Thief and well…you know

Chorus:
I’ll be C.E.O (yo!) x 2

Couple years go by I’m worth a couple of bill
And all these haters want a piece they jus need to chill
I look back on the site I was about to build
And never thought or dreamed that it could be this ill
I still got Asian groupies giving me brain
But now the phoenix is the name of my private plane
I abstain from doin’ drugs cuz I know cocaine
Can really cause some peeps to go kind of insane
But it’s kind of okay yea I’ve made mistakes
500 million friends ain’t that easy to make
I went from wiring in to be in Wired magazine
And there’s no AEPI when I fly Caribbean
Facebook — yo, it was meant to be
A social network expert or my destiny
jus a hacker turned legit a slacker and misfit
But my business cards say I’m C.E.O bitch