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Filed under: Multimedia, Odds and ends, iPhone

The 88 song recorded on iPhone and released in iTunes Store

by Casey Johnston on Jul 2nd 2009 at 12:30PM

Remember that time you were on tour with The B-52's and had a great idea for a song, but there was no recording equipment to be found? Oh wait, that was The 88. Well anyway, The 88 recently recorded their latest single with nothing but an iPhone and the Sonoma Wire Works Four Track application, according to The Loop.

The 88 recorded the song, Love is the Thing, with a few tricks: to make sure the drums didn't overpower the iPhone speaker, they covered the drums with a sheet and uses brushes instead of drumsticks to deaden the sound. Four Track records at 16 bits and 44.1 kHz and can make unlimited-length tracks. The band recorded 14 separate tracks, including various guitars, vocals, and effects, and combined them on a Mac for the final mix.

The band documented the process in more detail on their website. The song sounds great quality-wise and is now available in the iTunes Store for $0.99, and Four Track is in the App Store for $9.99.

Tags: app store, appstore, audio, band, iphone, itunes store, ItunesStore, music, record, recording, the 88, The88

Filed under: iPhone, App Store, iPod touch, App Review

WWDC Demo: Parranda for iPhone and iPod touch

by Victor Agreda, Jr. on Jun 26th 2009 at 5:00PM


The enthusiastic developers of Parranda were at WWDC to show off their app, a simple one-man-band party in your hand. Parranda (iTunes link) has a lot of polish, too, with instruments that aren't just one big button, like some "soundboard" music apps. The cowbell, for example, allows you to tap on different parts of the instrument, which any decent cowbell player will tell you, creates very different sounds. Mostly. You can zoom in or out on the instruments, something you will have to see in the video, but it is a nice effect and adds to the experience.

Parranda has pre-set rhythms to choose from, plus vocalizations to add a little spice to the performance. Already a hit in Puerto Rico, I think Parranda has a good shot everywhere, as it's a fun little app. Perhaps a bit more than you're used to paying at $2.99, but I think it's a fair price for the quality of the app.

Tags: entertainment, iphone, music, parranda, puerto rico, PuertoRico, sound, video, wwdc, wwdc09

Filed under: Multimedia, Software, Freeware, iPhone, App Store

Shazam updated to 1.7, adds location awareness

by Mike Schramm on Jun 19th 2009 at 10:00AM

Shazam is an app that's been on my iPhone since the beginning, and in fact, everyone should have it. Besides the fact that it's free, it's useful in a very innovative way: if you hear a song anywhere that you don't know the artist or name of, just pull up the app to hear it, and it'll tell you what you're listening to. I still use it occasionally to find new music that I hear and like out in the world, but I never really paid attention to updates -- they usually just got included in my monthly or so "download all updates" click. Apparently Shazam's been updating something fierce, however, and the newest version has all kinds of functionality that you might not expect.

At some point, they added in Twitter integration, so if there's a tune you want to share that way, you can do so. There's always been a way to share them via email, too, and they've spruced that up a bit by calling it a "postcard" (conveniently also giving your friends a chance to buy the music you hear, and probably put some change in Shazam Entertainment Ltd.'s pocket -- it is a free app, after all). But the most interesting new feature is that Shazam now tracks your location when you "tag" a tune, so that eventually, you'll be able to look at a map of where you found all this new music you like.

Sure, it wasn't exactly a pressing feature, but it is cool to see your "musical journey," and have that information about not only what you tagged but where you tagged it. Shazam is an app that's probably on your iPhone already, but it's worth another look.

Tags: app, app-store, artist-name, awareness, free, identify, information, iphone, location, music, musical-journey, shazam, song-name

Filed under: Software, iTunes, Mac 101

Mac 101: SizzlingKeys - control iTunes with keyboard shortcuts

by Jason Clarke on Jun 18th 2009 at 1:00PM

SizzlingKeysControlling your music while you're working (or playing) on your computer should be virtually seamless. While these days it's almost impossible to buy a keyboard without media keys built-in, there are many users that either don't have media controlling keys on their keyboards, or would simply prefer to keep their hands on the actual keys. While iTunes is not capable of assigning hotkeys on its own, there are a number of iTunes controller applications on the market that can add this functionality.

In my opinion SizzlingKeys deserves to be at the top of the list of iTunes controller apps for its simplicity, reliability, and extra features. SizzlingKeys installs as a preferences pane, and has a very intuitive interface that allows you to choose which functions to enable, and what the hotkeys should be for those functions.

The list of things you can control with hotkeys is fairly comprehensive:

  • Play / Pause
  • Previous / Next Track
  • Volume Down / Up
  • Mute / Almost Mute
  • Show / Hide iTunes, Playlists, Search
  • Set song rating
  • Show floater (song information)

In addition SizzlingKeys offers some non-iTunes "extras" that you can control:

  • Sleep computer
  • Lock computer
  • Activate screen saver

The standard version of SizzlingKeys is free, but there is also a Pro version for $5 that includes the ability to skip forwards and back by a customized interval, the ability to toggle shuffle and repeat modes, and the ability to control the system volume.

Tags: controller applications, controller-applications, ControllerApplications, hotkeys, itunes, keyboard, music, play pause, play-pause, PlayPause, screen saver, screen-saver, ScreenSaver, sleep

Filed under: Cult of Mac, Other Events, WWDC, Apple History

It's all about the music: tunes from Apple's keynote presentations

by Sang Tang on Jun 18th 2009 at 8:00AM

I hope this post gets filed in the "I knew I wasn't the only one!" mental filing cabinets of many. Because if it doesn't, then it makes me the only one who really looks forward to the music Apple uses in its keynotes. Whether it's a song that leads up to Steve Jobs' entrance on stage, or one used in software or hardware demos, there's no denying that music is very much a part of Apple's DNA. Heck, the company's namesake reflects Steve's love for the Beatles.

Apple occasionally invites some of music's biggest names to perform at its events because, as Steve says, "it's all about the music."

And this post is all about the music. It's all about the music that Apple has used in one way, shape, or form at its keynote events. Although by no means a definitive list, it's certainly a fair sample.

Continue reading “It's all about the music: tunes from Apple's keynote presentations”

Tags: event, events, feature, history, keynote, keynotes, music, singer, singing, song, songs, steve jobs, SteveJobs, wwdc

Filed under: Software, iTunes, Reviews

SweetFM brings tasty Last.fm integration to your Mac

by Christina Warren on Jun 16th 2009 at 8:00AM



I'm a big music fan, and I spend a good portion of my day listening to an iPod or iTunes because music helps me concentrate and stay motivated. I have a pretty extensive music collection, but I also enjoy streaming music services like Last.fm and Pandora to find new music, listen to a mix of related artists, or just play something random. My problem with streaming services is twofold: I don't like having to have a web browser open and I like to be able to easily switch songs, pause playback or even go back to iTunes. For Pandora, the excellent PandoraJam that Scott covered a few years ago is a great option, but until today, I hadn't had any luck finding a good Mac Last.fm client.

SweetFM is a new Last.fm client that offers up a seriously sexy way to listen to your favorite Last.fm stations on your Mac. Here are some highlights:
  • You can pause songs mid-stream and resume playback
  • Unlimited song skipping
  • Compatible with both the Apple Remote and the media keys on your Mac Keyboard. I love this because it makes it really easy for me to skip ahead, stop or pause without having to pull up the app window.
  • Album art support from both Last.fm and Amazon.com
  • Mark songs as loved, banned or add them to a playlist
  • If you subscribe to one of the Last.fm pay plans, you can play your loved tracks
  • Easy access to tagged stations, artist stations and your library
  • Direct access to buy songs
  • Export tracks to iTunes: you can do this with all tracks or just tracks you "love," and the MP3 file that is coming from the Last.fm server is automatically added to a specific iTunes playlist.
  • Acts as a regular iTunes controller when not streaming
I've been playing with the app on and off all day, and I'm really, really impressed. One of the things that annoys me about Pandora is that I can't see what songs are next in the queue. Sometimes you just want to skip ahead. With SweetFM, I can see up to 4 upcoming tracks from the menu bar. That's seriously nice.

Continue reading “SweetFM brings tasty Last.fm integration to your Mac”

Tags: itunes, last.fm, music, pandora, streaming music, StreamingMusic

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Gaming, Software, Freeware, Developer, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

Kaloki Adventure and Peggle on sale, plus free music

by Mike Schramm on Jun 12th 2009 at 4:00PM

If you didn't jump to pick up Kaloki Adventure [App Store link] after our first look last week, now's your chance: the game is on sale today (not tomorrow, apparently -- you've got under 24 hours) for just $1.99, a buck cheaper than the usual $2.99 price. The game offers some fun but casual real-time strategy business simulation, so if your dream has ever been to own a burgeoning spaceport, they don't come cheaper than that.

And as an added bonus, NinjaBee is also offering a catchy tune from the game's soundtrack on their website for the low, low price of completely free. It's the jumpy, swingin' background music to the main gameplay, composed by Eric Nunamaker, who's apparently been working on video game music for quite a while.

Oh, and finally, while we're talking about awesome iPhone games on sale, Peggle is only a buck. 'Nuff said.

Tags: app-store, cheap, download, eric-nunamaker, free, games, iphone, ipod-touch, kaloki-adventure, music, ninjabee, peggle, sale, soundtrack, tunes

Filed under: Multimedia, WWDC, iPhone

WWDC Live: bChamp at the iPhone Intelligence Party

by Brett Terpstra on Jun 12th 2009 at 3:00PM

At the iPhone intelligence party, it was hard not to notice the guy walking around with the practice amp making 808 sounds. After picking up his audio in all of my other videos, I tracked down monodomo and the bChamp application. Take a look at the video in the second half of the post, you'll quickly get the simple concept behind this beatboxing application. It's currently 99 cents in the App Store [iTunes link].

Continue reading “WWDC Live: bChamp at the iPhone Intelligence Party”

Tags: beatboxing, iphone, music

Filed under: Audio, Airport, Ask TUAW, MacBook, Snow Leopard

Ask TUAW: Recording audio, troubleshooting wireless issues, website hosting and more

by Chris Ullrich on May 20th 2009 at 10:30AM

We're back with another edition of Ask TUAW! This time around we've got questions about recording audio, troubleshooting wireless issues, the best place to go for web hosting and more.

As always, your questions and suggestions are welcome. Questions for next week should be left in the comments. When asking a question please include which machine you're running and which version of Mac OS X (we'll assume you're running Leopard on an Intel Mac if you don't specify). And now, on to the questions!

Petre asks:

I just bought a new guitar and I'm thinking about using it to record some of my songs with my new iMac. Any recommendations for a good method of connecting a guitar so I can record?

Fortunately, you're in luck, in that the Mac is made for people trying to do just what you want to do. There are several options to accomplish this and it really just depends on how good you want the audio to sound and what your budget is. To get the best possible quality, you're going to need a few items.

First, you're going to need some recording software. Fortunately, that's already on your iMac as you can use Apple's GarageBand for all your entry-level recording needs. Second, you'll need some sort of digital audio interface that connects your guitar's output to a USB or Firewire interface on your iMac. Some good ones to take a look at include the M-Audio MobilePre, the M-Audio Firewire Solo or the Line 6 Tone Port series. Then, all you need to do is plug your guitar into the converter and the converter into your Mac and you're good to go. Of course, you'll want to be sure and update the driver to the latest version and read the manual to get the most out of your converter.

If you're not as concerned about audio quality, you can also use a converter cable, such as the Monster iStudio Link, to connect your guitar directly to the mic input on your iMac. That will allow you to record directly into your Mac but won't give you the best possible audio quality or level of customization you could get from a digital converter.

Continue reading “Ask TUAW: Recording audio, troubleshooting wireless issues, website hosting and more”

Tags: airport, audio, garageband, music, web hosting, WebHosting, wireless

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Multimedia, Odds and ends, Developer

The Bacterial Orchestra uses the iPhone to create "viral music"

by Mike Schramm on May 19th 2009 at 1:00AM

This is really wild: what you see above is an example of "viral music" -- it's part of an upcoming music festival that's taking place in Sweden, and it features a circle of iPhones that are both listening to and playing a very abstract kind of "music." Each one is picking up audio from its environment, then running it through a series of software filters to make it sound more musical, and finally playing it back in a rhythm. As each iPhone is picking up the tune from the other iPhones it's playing it back through the same filters, and so on and so forth. All while the software is "judging" each "cell" of sound, to see if it's interesting or loud enough or so forth, and cells will live or die based on that criteria -- in essence, a musical organism.

Like I said, wild. That program is called the "Bacterial Orchestra -- Public Epidemic No. 1," and it sounds like the app will be available on the iPhone soon as well. Of course, you'll have to have a bunch of iPhones with the app in one place for it to work the way it's designed, but at least there's good video of it.

Continue reading “The Bacterial Orchestra uses the iPhone to create "viral music"”

Tags: bacterial-orchestra, designers, innovation, instrument, iphone, multitouch, music, playback, tunes, viral-music

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Audio, Software, Developer, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

Bebot turns your iPhone into the cutest instrument ever

by Mike Schramm on May 15th 2009 at 11:45AM

I don't think I've ever fallen in love with an app as quickly as Bebot. Not only is it a pretty darn powerful synthesizer with an interesting touchscreen interface, but that robot. That robot! He makes you want to play something, anything, with those cute little closed robot eyes and that dashing tux and that knowing smile. If you just want to make funny robot noises, that's easy enough, but for the musically inclined, there's a really surprising amount of features under the hood, including analog filters, a delay/looping effect, chorus and overdrive effects, and even an autotune system. Oh, and because of the multitouch screen, you can play up to four waveforms at a time. In the hands of someone who knows what they're doing, this thing can be really impressive.

It's available from a company called Normalware (any app with that robot in it has basically sold me from now on -- there's even a t-shirt of the guy) on the App Store right now for $1.99.

Tags: audio, autotune, bebot, cute, impressive, instrument, iphone, music, musicians, normalware, robot-noises, scales, sound, synthesizer, tshirt

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Gaming, Software, Odds and ends, Developer, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

Eliss releases version 1.1

by Mike Schramm on May 7th 2009 at 10:00AM

Unfortunately, I missed Eliss the first time around, but I won't make the same mistake this time. It's a game designed by a French and Portugese graphic designer named Steph Thirion, and it's sort of an abstract multitouch puzzler -- you can pull and push together differently colored planets all floating around in a sort of space-like environment, with some groovy synth sound effects and music cuts to back up the gameplay. The game got nominated for an IGF award, and for anyone interested in fun puzzlers (not to mention the possibilities of multitouch in gaming), it's a must-see.

I say "the first time around," because it's been on the App Store for a while now, but the game just got updated to version 1.1, and the main tweak is in the difficulty -- there are now 25 levels instead of 20, and the curve has been adjusted to make moving through the stages a little smoother. And the game got a price drop, too -- you can pick it up for a mere $3.00. As I said, definitely worth it to get a little multitouch practice in for what might be the future of gaming.

Tags: abstract, app-store, arcade, difficulty, eliss, gaming, iphone, multitouch, music, puzzle, stages, steph--thirion, update, version-1.1

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Humor, iLife, Multimedia, Software, Odds and ends

Sting, Sarah McLachlan are hiding in your Garage(band)

by Mike Schramm on Apr 29th 2009 at 11:30AM

Apple has added new "Learn to Play" lessons to the latest version of GarageBand, including two lessons by Sting and the first one by Sarah McLachlan. Gordon Sumner (a.k.a. Sting, so named by his friends when he wore a shirt with black and yellow stripes) will teach you how to play "Message in a Bottle" and "Fragile" (in my humble opinion, one of the lesser-known but more amazing Sting songs), and Sarah McLachlan, who really likes ice cream, will teach you how to play her "Angel." I miss Sarah McLachlan -- it's hard to believe we had someone that was even more bland than Norah Jones.

But excuse my musical snobbery -- all three lessons are now available in the GarageBand Lesson Store for the low low price of $4.99. And lest you think I am anti-McLachlan in any way, think again: I too owned a copy of Surfacing. If you wanted to hang out with girls in my high school, you pretty much had to have a copy around at any given time. That, and Crash. Ah, how young we were.

Tags: fragile, garageband, guitar, ilife-09, learn-to-play, lessons, message-in-a-bottle, mike-goes-down-memory-lane, music, piano, sarah-mclachlan, sting

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Multimedia, Software, Developer

Capo gives you play-along tempo controls for $39

by Mike Schramm on Apr 21st 2009 at 11:30PM


Capo is a new app from the makers of TapeDeck, and it's the talk of the town amongst musicians -- it allows you to simply change the speed or pitch of any songs you happen to have laying around your computer, so that you can play or sing along with them at your own pace. We got a chance to try out the app just before release (though it's available for $39 right now), and while the UI is very impressive, the actual purpose of the app is too limited, in my opinion, to be worth it.

Not that it does anything badly -- the speed and pitch manipulation are very impressive. While there's a little bit of clipping and distortion at the absolute extremes, that's to be expected when you're changing these attributes on the fly, and when you're not at the extremes, things sound really great here. The app is extremely responsive to the controls as well, which are very intuitive and well designed -- you can choose to quickly select various tempos or pitches on a meter, or drag the slider in between those to find exactly the point you want. And no matter how fast you move the slider, the music responds instantly without any noise or slowdown. If you want to change a song's pitch or speed in order to try to play along with it or give it a closer listen, Capo will let you do exactly that, in style.

Continue reading “Capo gives you play-along tempo controls for $39”

Tags: capo, itunes, music, pitch, release, shift, shifter, software, sound, supermegaultragroovy, tempos, time

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Odds and ends, Developer, iPhone, App Store

Leaf Trombone out now in the App Store

by Mike Schramm on Apr 16th 2009 at 8:45AM


I've been down on the fine folks at Smule in the past -- I've said that their app Ocarina seems kind of silly (even if people have created some pretty awesome stuff with it and other less annoying music apps). And about the only thing they could have done to make it up to me was to develop some sort of super massively multiplayer music app, some app in which you could play a tune and have it sent all around the world. So I guess I have to call off my pretend grudge against them once and for all, because that's exactly what they did: Leaf Trombone: World Stage is in the App Store right now.

This is, of course, the app with the strange name that we saw at Apple's iPhone 3.0 demo. It features a Chinese leaf-type instrument that sounds, as you can hear above, like a trombone. But the World Stage part is the most interesting -- Smule has set up a way to share the songs you play in the app with people around the world, and the people who hear your work can send back short messages and emotes to say how they felt. It's an interesting idea -- kind of combines what they were trying to do with Zephyr into a more Ocarina-like app.

At just 99 cents, there will undoubtedly be lots of musicians out there picking it up. And while the video above is... cute... we're sure there'll be some even better stuff to listen to soon.

Tags: apple, emotes, iphone, judges, leaf-trombone, massively-multiplayer, music, sharing, smule, world-stage, worldwide

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