Editorial
Editorial Features
Die Antwoord Ups The Music Game To The Ninja Level
These people are awesome: South African rap-ravers Die Antwoord (translation: The Answer) have dazzled the interwebs in a matter of weeks with their latest music video Enter The Ninja. A literal butterfly effect is happening here—Die Antwoord is rippling the music world with Zef flow.
Music Data Confessions of a Tagaholic
Bandcamp added artist/song tagging to its slew of features yesterday, and hopes are high that more social music features are in store. As a self-professed tag-a-holic I’m pretty stoked about the news, and especially so because I had emailed them suggesting a tagging feature. Bandcamp artists can now list themselves in up to five genres, they can add their location, and they can add specific traits to individual tracks in the form of tags.
Music Blogging Throwdown—Evading DMCA Takedowns
Dubbed musicblogocide2k10 Google deleted at least six known music blogs from its Blogger platform. Google posted an official response highlighting their current procedures for handling DMCA complaints that were last updated last summer—Google implies that they warn offending bloggers but cite difficulty contacting offenders in the past. They also include the link for filing a DMCA counter claim.
New Paramore Hulu Channel Reaches Brand New Eyes
Paramore + Hulu = Awesomeness. A hi-fi artist channel that rocks. Paramore outperforms both on and off the stage. Why do I like Paramore? They are kick-ass live performers. But I’ve never seen them in person. Hulu delivered them to me last year and now again with the brand new Paramore channel at hulu.com/paramore
Multitouch—The Human GUI?
Multitouch may be next GUI—is there a doubt? For decades we’ve used the mouse, but as GUI technology improves we’ll find more limitations in a mouse-based system. Clayton Miller’s 2009 project called 10/GUI demonstrates the potential of multitouch. According to Miller, “the industry is now at a crossroads.”
Fans Take The Power Back—RATM’s Facebook-Induced No. 1
Bill Burton: “Sometimes we limit ourselves by what we believe we can do. We don’t even start. We don’t even try.” Burton delivered this powerful point in his TEDx talk last week, called How To Have A Christmas Number One Single, where, citing RATM’s rise to UK Xmas no. 1, he exemplified the boundless force of social media, and, through a storytelling memorization activity, he demonstrated the limitless—but often unrealized—potential of the human mind.
Censorship and Media In An Expanding Internet Population—Do You Feel Censored On The ‘Net?
Blocking sites = blocking progress. I’m American. It’s hard to imagine über-restricted Internet surfing. In the U.S. internet censorship does exist in workplaces, libraries, and schools but U.S. censorship is minimal compared to Chinese censorship. Censored sites in China include wikipedia.org, amnesty.org, nasa.gov, digg.com, bbc.co.uk, cnn.com, guardian.co.uk, facebook.com, flickr.com, tumblr.com, wordpress.com, youtube.com, and—WTF—even disney.com is censored.
Social Rocks. Mobility Rolls. Music Trends 2009–2010.
Pandora is blowing music consumption off the grid. Myriad digital choices are sending audio junkies into sensory overload—music wants to be everywhere. The stage is lit—music has always been social, and the web continues to make it even more so. Communication is on the rise.
