DJ Chaos Playlist - May 11, 2007 - Dancing About Architecture
Posted on May 11, 2007
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The following list used MusicMesh starting with REM and psuedo-randomly exploring “related artists” suggestions. I created a playlist and built the “Dancing for Architecture” YouTube video SplashCast (at right, after starting the SplashCast player, see the channel guide).
- The Flaming Lips - It Overtakes Me
- My Morning Jacket - Worldless Chorus
- Neko Case - Margaret vs. Pauline
- Regina Spektor - Fidelity
- Devendra Banhart - A Sight to Behold
- Antony and the Johnsons - Hope There’s Someone
- Death Cab For Cutie - Soul Meets Body
- REM - Losing My Religion
- REM - Begin the Begin
- Nick Drake - Cello Song
- Architecture in Helsinki - Maybe You Can Owe Me
- Uncle Tupelo - Graveyard Shift
- Mekons - Where Were You
- Mekons - Memphis Egypt
- Mission of Burma - 1001 Pleasant Dreams
- Radiohead - Karma Police
- Snow Patrol - You’re All I Have
- Incubus - Love Hurts
- Red Hot Chili Peppers - Snow
- Modest Mouse - The World at Large
- David Bowie - The Man Who Sold the World
- Nirvana - The Man Who Sold the World
- Morphine - Cure For Pain
- The Breeders - Cannonball
- Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Phenomena
The general idea is to create a partly random list but with some cohesion of sound across the collection. This is what I used to do for a friend of mine who had two community radio shows back in the 1990s. I’d produce her and co-host, pulling out random CDs during station breaks. Now, it’s a lot easier to produce my “DJ Chaos” playlists online.
MusicMesh: Mondo Music Mashup Application
Posted on May 11, 2007
Filed Under video, music | 1 Comment
One look at MusicMesh and you’ll see how cool a web mashup application it is. Enter an artist’s name and click the search button, and it comes back with an interactive graph of CD covers for related artists (with the standard erroneous associations included). Click on one of the peripheral albums and a new graph pops up. On the right sidebar is a track listing for the current CD of focus. Click on a song, and if there’s a YouTube video for it, it appears at right and starts up.
There are also tabs for site reviews, Wikipedia entries, and relevant Amazon links. Very, very cool. Like Pandora for music videos, but a whole different interface, and added features.
Now if SplashCast Media’s SplashCast only supported Yahoo Pipes output feeds, I could write up some pretty cool YouTube music mashups as well. One can only hope.
If you prefer downloadable music recommendation applications, check out Goombah. It scans scans your iTunes library and makes recommendations. If you find something you like, you can one-click it and make a purchase from iTunes or Napster. There’s also a free music section and Free Music Fridays.
[additional sources: Lifehacker, DemoGirl]
Improve Your Online Reading
Posted on May 11, 2007
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LiveInk offers a downloadable application called ClipRead that analyzes a block of text and then presents a reformatted version that’s easier to read. Visit their demo page to see it in action. Venture Beat also provides their take on LiveInk, adding a brief history of written language. The software is US$89.95 for a one-year individual subscription, but there is a 30-day trial download as well.
I tried the demo and it does seem like the software would improve reading speed and comprehension. Note, though, that I did not use the trial version, only the online demo. I’ve tried numerous speedreading methods since the mid-1970s, and software generally has an advantage. If you don’t feel like paying, however, give Spreeder a try.
New Media Roundup - Fri May 11, 2007
Posted on May 11, 2007
Filed Under web TV, celebrity | Leave a Comment
Rock Me, Amidala
The lovely and talented Natalie Portman, who played Queen Amidala in Star Wars, is working on a new visual project: a reality show starring herself - aka a Natalie Lifecast. No, there’s no competition with herself or running around like a loon trying to beat some clock. That’ll be next season: Fear Factor: Natalie. But seriously, she’s going to essentially have a camera follow her around. Will this be less or more interesting than Tommy Lee Embarrasses Himself In College?
Starry, Starry Night: San Francisco
NewTeeVee, a sister site of GigaOm, will be doing a neat experiment this summer, on a pier in San Francisco Bay. They’re going to show videos outside. But not just any videos. Not only will they project them, they’ll be online videos that you, their readers, submit (also see their Screenings subsite). Very cool. Bring popcorn and noseplugs.
100 Channels of IPTV
Daily IPTV has a giant list of what they call 100 of the best Internet TV channels. [via Digital Alchemy]
We7: Ad-based Music Downloads Courtesy of Peter Gabriel
Posted on May 10, 2007
Filed Under music, file sharing | Leave a Comment
Want legal music downloads that also pay the artist? How can you beat that? Well, music industry veteran Peter Gabriel (Genesis co-founder) and partners are now offering We7 music download service. Music audio and video downloads are free, provided you listen to an advertisement.
The demographic is 14-65 and during signup, you specify whether you’re a downlaoder, artist/band or advertiser. Which is odd because it suggests you can’t be a downloader and artist. A community section will be available by summer, showcasing new music, allowing voting, and the ability to communicate with other fans.
A lot of the samples there are mostly of veteran artists, though there is a “new artists” section. Both are currently tiny, but the site propaganda does state that they’ll have more artists as the service gains momentum. And with the likes of Peter Gabriel behind it, that’s a strong likelihood.
There’s no way to audio-browse songs before you download them, so I’m hoping they add something like this. I’d dislike downloading a bunch of tracks, only to find that they’re not what I wanted. In fact, there’s no way to listen to them online at all. They could use a player on the site.
The tracks I downloaded had a brief audio ad at the very beginning. So you’d have to listen to them every time you play a song. Apparently the songs are DRM-free and the ads change upon sharing. I’m not sure how that happens. I don’t recall the MP3 format being able to do that. You cannot, however, get rid of the ad in an audio editor. (I tried in Sound Forge.) The site’s proganda says that the patent pending advertising technology “grafts” an ad onto a song or video for up to four weeks. After listening to the ad-present version for that duration, you can download an ad-free version. Ad revenue for each track is split 50-50 with the artist.
This is an interesting concept, and could take off, and with backers like Peter Gabriel, will get serious attention from the music labels.
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