Radiohead Is Releasing The First Newspaper Album In History

Posted on February 16, 2011 by Emilio Pérez Miguel

Radiohead's Next Release Is Advertised As The First Newspaper Album Ever

Radiohead has been known to up the ante ever since they released “In Rainbows” in 2007, letting people choose how much the wanted to pay for the record through their website. (They ended up netting an impressive average of $ 8 per album downloaded.)

The band’s newest incursion finds them releasing what has been touted as the world’s first newspaper album. Named “The King Of Limbs”, the package is going to include:

* Two 10″ vinyl records in a purpose-built record sleeve.
* A CD.
* Several large sheets of newspaper artwork, 625 tiny pieces of artwork and a full-color piece of oxo-degradable plastic used to keep it all together.
* A digital download.

Physical copies of the album will begin shipping on the 9th of May. Yet, its digital version will become available for download next Saturday (19th of February).

Pricing will be as follows:

Digital download (MP3) $ 9.00
Digital download (WAV) $ 14.00
Newspaper Album + MP3 $ 48.00
Newspaper Album + WAV $ 53.00

Myna Music – Discover Music Through Music

Posted on February 15, 2011 by Emilio Pérez Miguel

Name: Myna Music
URL: http://www.mynamusic.com

The music recommendation services that we have today invariably revolve around one thing: metadata keywords. And one has to wonder, is it really so difficult to come up with something that little more intelligent? Something that doesn’t necessitate us type word after word describing what we are looking for, or individualizing several different songs for an automated system to produce results that might be completely off the target.

That is what this new service aims to revolutionize. It is named Myna, and it basically lets you discover new music to listen to by having songs that you like played and analyzed using a proprietary system.

In their own words:

“Myna listens to and comprehends music directly, making it possible to search based on mood, sound, or texture or autonomously generate highly-personalized music playlists — all without metatags.” Continue reading →

YouTube Signs A Deal With RightsFlow For The Licensing Of Music

Posted on February 14, 2011 by Emilio Pérez Miguel

music license

After listening to The Blues To The Bush‘s version of “After The Fire” earlier this evening I felt a tremendous urge to listen to the original recording (found on Roger Daltrey’s “Under A Raging Moon” album – the best he ever recorded). I was sitting in front of the computer, and I thought it would be faster to look the song up on YouTube and play it there than to go fishing for the CD. I remembered I once had watched it there, not that long ago.

Well, I managed to find it pretty quickly again. The video was still there.

But owing to a claim by the original record company, the audio had been taken away. Only the images remained, and the uploader thought it would be preferable to have some music playing along to the clip than leaving it mute. So, he used a song by Creed instead.

Leaving aside all the obvious (and delectably malicious) jokes that spring to mind, this just makes it clear that the way in which the rights of performers are being looked after isn’t really self-assuring.

A few might say that such a thing can’t be helped when we are talking about something as huge as YouTube – a portal with one of the largest databases of user-generated content ever. But that doesn’t alleviate the fears of performers one whit.

So, a deal like the one YouTube has just announced will be greeted more than enthusiastically. YouTube has just signed up with RightsFlow, a licensing and royalty service provider for artists, record labels, distributors and online music companies. Continue reading →

The Bends (Radiohead) – Album Review

Posted on February 12, 2011 by Emilio Pérez Miguel

The Cover Of “The Bends” (1995) Shows A Medical Dummy Morphed With Thom Yorke’s Face

Released in 1995, “The Bends” was to become Radiohead’s most anthologized album ever, with seven of its twelve tracks included on Parlohone’s 2008 career retrospective. And while it is evident that the album which succeeded it (“OK Computer”, 1997) was even better, fans and critics alike hold “The Bends” in true esteem for a simple reason.

“The Bends” was the moment the band started redefining, reinventing and reconstituting. With this album, Radiohead showed that it could lead the way forwards without missing a single step. And many would begin following, even without realizing they were doing it.

On this album, the band captained by Thom Yorke was to update the concept of anthemic rock for a whole new generation of listeners. The spirit that had marked the best moments of “Pablo Honey” remained. But the uncontrolled aggressiveness was gone. Rather, it had become something else. Disaffection that was grounded on the truest, largest realities.

The world tours in support of “Pablo Honey” had worn everybody out. But they had seen the world. They had seen how the industry operated. Thom had gained a wildly new insight, a perspective from which to write that could but be more productive for his listeners and for the band he commanded on the whole.

And he put it to splendid use on the title track, in which he looked on the effects of success that spirals so vertiginously that it doesn’t even let you enjoy the trappings you always thought would come with it. The song’s melodic mannerisms made it an obvious single release at a time in which the Britpop movement was the dominant force. And songs like “Just” and “My Iron Lung” coupled Thom’s newly-found vision with the loudest moments of the band’s debut, like a marriage made in the heavenliest hell that ever existed.

And there aren’t words unused-enough to describe the harrowing beauty and vulnerability of “Street Spirit” and “High And Dry”. The former gave the band its very first top 5 hit in the UK. Continue reading →

RIP Guitar Hero

Posted on February 10, 2011 by Emilio Pérez Miguel

So Long, Guitar Hero. It Was Good While It Lasted...

Guitar Hero, the most revered game franchise of the 21st Century has run its course. Activision has decided to disband the Guitar Hero gaming unit, claiming that players have lost interest in the title.

That will come to a stunner to many an onlooker, until he sits down and thinks how Activision saturated the market with sequel after sequel of the by now legendary game.

Just doing a quick recap:

Guitar Hero: November 2005

Guitar Hero II: November 2006

Guitar Hero Encore Rock The 80s: July 2007

Guitar Hero III Legends of Rock: October 2007

Guitar Hero Aerosmith: June 2008

Guitar Hero World Tour: October 2008

Guitar Hero Metallica: March 2009

Guitar Hero Smash Hits: June 2009

Guitar Hero 5: September 2009

Band Hero: November 2009

Guitar Hero Van Halen: December 2009

Guitar Hero Warriors of Rock: September 2010

That is, six main games were released. And counting all spin-offs, 12 separate titles were issued. Talk about not giving people enough room to breathe…

Plus, the Rock Band games were impossible to beat for Activision – later installments of Rock Band always ranked better than the Guitar Hero contingent.

But all these facts matter little now. One of the most distinctive games in modern history is no more. Air guitar nuts like me will never forget it. Because (I have to admit it) my chances of ever learning to play “Won’t Get Fooled Again” for real are absolutely non-existent.

Josh Roberts (Bandhack) – Interview (Part 2)

Posted on February 9, 2011 by Emilio Pérez Miguel

This is the “Music & You” part of the interview conducted with Josh Roberts from Bandhack.

If you haven’t read it yet, the first part of the interview is here.

PART II

MUSIC & YOU

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

I started really getting interested in music around 6th grade which is probably a little later than most. My first album was Schubert Dip by EMF and single was Slam by Onyx… don’t judge me!

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 am not in a band currently. I was in a pop/punk band in high school called Scastic9, but was forcibly removed due to lack of talent. Luckily, there are no videos; however, I did recently run across a picture of us playing a show at a coffeehouse. We weren’t wearing pants for some reason.

http://images.artistdirect.com/Images/Sources/UBLPORTRAITS/440561.jpg
I am the classy guy playing bass in the middle with my pants at my ankles.

Musical likes and dislikes? Favorite artists?

I’m all over the map with my taste in music.

I’m a big punk rock fan… one of my favorites is The Reaganomics, a Chicago punk band with Red Scare Industries. I’m also currently listening to Cobra Skulls, and just about everything else that Red Scare puts out… also Groovie Ghoulies and Koffin Kats.

On the other end of the spectrum, I have an incredible soft spot for innovative acoustic guitarists… Michael Hedges, Adrian Legg, and Leo Kotke. I’m also a huge Keller Williams fan. Continue reading →

Josh Roberts (Bandhack) – Interview (Part 1)

Posted on February 8, 2011 by Emilio Pérez Miguel

Quite a juicy interview, this is the conversation I had with Josh Roberts from Bandhack (the directory for local bands & musicians recently reviewed on MusicKO). He makes a far share a valid points, especially as regards the future of Facebook and the role the Internet plays (and has played) in the distribution of music.

And don’t forget to read part 2 of this interview (“Music & You”).

Full Name: Josh Roberts
Age: 27
Startup: Bandhack.com
Position: Editor & CEO (Chief Ear-Candy Officer)

PART I

THE STARTUP

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

Bandhack.com is a website intended to serve as a directory for local band/musician Facebook pages. Local artists connect their Facebook page to our site and we stream a consolidated view of band info, shows, photos, and videos.

The site was conceived by my partner in both business and crime, Clayton Pyrant, as well as my wife, Holly. The idea actually came from a few too many rum-and-cokes as well as the frustration of trying to find local band pages.

If you want to fully understand the concept behind our site… go to Facebook and try to find a list of local shows or local bands in your area. As soon you see that Facebook doesn’t offer a meaningful platform for doing such a thing, you’ll understand the gravity of what we’re trying to do.

The most distinctive feature is the connectivity. There have been many other local band directories before us. Most die off quickly, though, because their model requires bands to manually update info, shows, and other content. Since Bandhack.com pulls its content directly from Facebook pages, all of our content will always be pertinent and up-to-date.

What was the original launch date?

The first band connected to our directory on December 28th, 2010.

What has been the response so far? What features have people requested?

The response has been great! We’ve had a number of bands connect to our directory in the short amount of time we’ve had the site up. We’ve also gotten some great feedback on our local artist reviews!

There are some really great local bands out there that no one’s ever heard of yet. So we’re thrilled to be able to put them out there a little bit… and they seem to really appreciate it too.

We haven’t had too many requests for additional features; however, we have a pretty long list of things we’d like to do ourselves. We just completed a major site redesign and are now working on developing in-house band profile pages and syndicating our calendar of local shows to other sites. We’re also bringing on a really great amateur music writer to write news and reviews. Continue reading →

The 4 Chords Song By The Axis Of Awesome (Video)

Posted on February 5, 2011 by Emilio Pérez Miguel

The Axis Of Awesome Are An Australian Comedy Group That Became An Online Sensation On The Strength Of The 4 Chords Song

The Axis Of Awesome Is An Australian Comedy Group That Became An Online Sensation On The Strength Of The 4 Chords Song

This is a video of comedy group The Axis Of Awesome performing the 4 Chord song on the 2009 Melbourne Comedy Festival.

In case you have never listened to the song before, it is a medley in which the trio has some fun with tunes that have an identical chord progression

This song is all the more hysterical because every time they play it the guys throw some different tunes into the mixture! This time around you can listen to Journey, Elton John, James Blunt, U2, The Beatles, The Calling, Bob Marley, A-ha, Aqua and Lady Gaga!

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Monthly Archives: February 2011