This was fun to play with.
Music
The Beatles officially start streaming, starting just after midnight tonight
Happy Crimble, everyone. Enjoy your Beatles’ stream on Apple Music.
Google’s musical puzzle celebrates Beethoven’s 245th year
The puzzle is a fun little distraction and worth a few minutes of your time. You’ll step through a few of Beethoven’s more well known compositions, putting them in the right order so they sound right musically.
Ed Sheeran, playing in a peep show cellar, for $2 a peek [VIDEO]
This is a truly bizarre experiment, but worth watching through to the end. Yes, it really is Ed Sheeran.
Google makes big move on Apple Music
Google has now matched Apple’s family pricing for Apple Music. This is a big step.
A music video created on the iPad Pro
Watch the video (embedded in the main post), and read the blog post. I love this.
Incredible working Fender Strat made out of cardboard
Amazing craftsmanship. I so want one of these.
Apple quietly increases iTunes Match and iCloud Music Library limits above 25,000 Tracks
Kirk McElhearn, writing for Kirkville, reports that users are passing the old 25,000 track limit. Eddie Cue verifies this to MacRumors.
Scott Weiland, former Stone Temple Pilots singer, dead at 48
Sad end to a long, troubled story.
The Beatles: A 5 minute drum chronology
This is phenomenal. Note that this was filmed in 4K, so ratchet the video settings up if you have gear that will support it.
Michael Jackson’s Smooth Criminal, on traditional Japanese instruments
Terrific performance of Michael Jackson’t Smooth Criminal, on bamboo flute and paired kotos. Hear a familiar bass line about 2:45 into the piece?
How a drummer lost his arm, got a robotic prosthetic, learned to drum again
[VIDEO] This is incredible. There’s the core of the story, a drummer recovering his ability to drum again after losing his arm. But this goes deeper, into the world of robotics and the very essence of music. Is Jason’s newfound musical ability robotic in nature? I found the whole thing fascinating.
Find alternate versions of songs on the iTunes Store
Have a song you love and want to find other version of it? Kirk McElhearn walks you through the process. Solid tip.
Frank Zappa’s widow Gail Zappa dead at 70
Gail kept Frank’s flame alive. Sad, sad news.
YouTube using ad-free video viewing to sell its music service
YouTube is going to offer a $10 per month service that bundles music and ad-free YouTube viewing.
SoundShare: The missing piece of Apple Music
Kirk McElhearn, writing for Macworld:
A friend recently showed me an iOS app called SoundShare. This free app lets you play music and, if you want, share it with your friends. You can follow people, as you would on Facebook or Twitter, and see what they’ve listened to, while sharing what you’ve heard.
I’ve been beta testing SoundShare for a while now and, I have to say, it is a brilliant complement to Apple Music and my go-to app for new music discovery.
Give it a try. It’s free and, in my opinion, well worth your time.
Amazing a capella Hotel California
This is really good. If nothing else, jump to about 4:15 and catch the guitar work by the guy with the red bandana. Sunglasses!
How much is music really worth?
This is a truly epic post from Pitchfork. It digs into the history of music valuations and explores the conflicts that emerge when trying to pin a value on something created as art. A fantastic read.
Rolling Stone: The 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time
It’s a list, so there will be much arguing, teeth gnashing, and hand wringing.
But don’t get too wrapped up in all that. All the usual suspects are there. Who cares who’s on top?
It’s the bottom and middle of the list that I really found interesting.
The perfect gift for the musician in your life
This is a pretty original idea.
Dave Grohl invites crying fan onstage at Foo Fighters show
Dave Grohl loves his fans, really knows how to put on a show, even with a broken leg.
Free iOS metronome, really well executed, go get it
Taptronome is a beautifully executed metronome for iOS. And it’s free. What are you waiting for? Go get it!
Ringo!
This is the video they showed as an homage to Ringo Starr in his Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction. Just great.
1000 musicians play Learn to Fly to woo Foo Fighters to Italy
Imagine one thousand musicians all playing at the same time, all in sync, singing in perfect rhythm and harmony. The goal was to convince Foo Fighters to come to Cesena, Italy and play for them.
Who’s doing this to my internet?
Fantastic post by Vicki Boykis (“Born Jewish in Russia. Raised guilty in America.”) on the deterioration of the internet and the similar changes coming to SoundCloud. Great read.
Teen finds pics of very first Nirvana gig tucked inside one of her dad’s books
Incredible find.
How to share Apple Music songs, albums, and playlists
Kirk McElhearn takes you through the Apple Music sharing interface.
Apple Music review from 9to5mac
Chance Miller, writing for 9to5mac digs into Apple Music. Good review, from someone who obviously loves both Apple and music.
How to set a sleep timer for Beats 1 and Apple Music
Rene Ritchie, writing for iMore, tells you how to set a timer that turns off your music (whether it be a playlist or Beats 1) after a specific amount of time.
Apple Music, the App Store and human curation
Jean-Louis Gassée, writing for Monday Note, discusses the difference between algorithm and human curation and makes the point that Apple should use the Apple Music approach on the App Store.