music

OK, so maybe I shouldn't readily admit how lazy I am when it comes to foraging for new music. I listen to a lot of online streams (Last.fm, Pandora, and CNET Download.com Music) and whatnot, but then forget to write down the songs I like. And who has time to comb through online music sites or dig through the bins at the local record store (do people still do that?). For precisely this reason, I--the non-iPod user--turn to helpful extras such as Rhapsody Channels and MTV Urge's Auto-Mix feature for my on-the-go music needs. But … Read more

MyStrands provides event goers with an easy way to interact with their surroundings using their mobile phones. The derivative of PartyStrands got a substantial update this week. The service (which we covered in November) has rolled out a few new tools for users to host similar features in their own homes.

MyStrands now lets you pull from Napster's music library to host music for parties. Users can browse through Napster tracks using the MyStrands app and play any full song for free up to three times, without actually having to use Napster. There's also an indie-artist radio player, … Read more

You've read our discovery of the car guitar, but what about a guitar made from car material?

Blackbird Guitars' Rider is a hollow-neck, small acoustic guitar made of carbon fiber--the same material used for high-end cars and motorcycles.

The guitar debuted last week at the 2007 NAMM show, a musical instrument trade show, in Anaheim, Calif.

While not entirely handmade (the guitar was designed and partly manufactured using a CAD program), Blackbird's site says each guitar is "artisan made."

Pricing starts at $1,500, according to Gizmodo UK.

The team behind the popular browser extension FoxyTunes is hard at work on a new mashup site that integrates the music controls of FoxyTunes with an aggregation tool to give you more information and media about your favorite musical artists and new discoveries.

Each FoxyTunes Planet artist page has several customizable widgets. There are Flickr photos, YouTube videos, albums for sale from Amazon, and even various Internet radio stations such as HypeMachine and Last.fm where you can listen to the band's other songs. If you're like me, you might be listening to a Shoutcast feed on iTunes … Read more

So much for playing Mozart to your unborn child. Instead, some companies are trying to introduce babies to music with MP3 players designed for the crib. The trend has resulted in partnerships such as one between Creative Technology, maker of the "Zen," and Playskool, maker of "Mr. Potato Head" (and countless other toys). TG Daily says the two companies have joined forces to market such products as the "Made for Me" line of MP3 players, which come preloaded with songs for babies that can be replaced as they get older. We, however, will draw … Read more

Every once in a while, you come across a company that's just really cool. Online CD trading outfit LaLa.com is one such company. Not only does LaLa pay registered artists a percentage of the income generated from CD trades on the site (despite the fact that this is not legally required) and donate unregistered artists' shares to a fund that helps pay for independent musicians' medical insurance, it also revived online radio pioneer WOXY.com and allows users to create and stream massive online playlists--for free. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy when a company that'… Read more

There are tons of retro-designed music players on the market, but they've almost become parodies of themselves with the same old jukebox and '20s-style radio cases. So we're thankful that Pure Digital has decided to break out of the box, figuratively and literally. It's created a digital radio that looks like a Marshall amp--including, as Crave UK points out, a volume knob that goes to 11 a la This Is Spinal Tap. Brilliant.

A lot of companies want to sew their technology into the fabric of luggage or clothing, trying to make it as unobstrusive as possible. Not Lifepod. Its "Beat Generation" line of bags, backpacks and cases does just the opposite, as you can see Tech Digest and its Web site: Lifepod's line trumpets--blasts, actually--its technology in the form of its sound system, both visually and aurally, with big speakers and other equipment mounted unapologetically on the sides of retro-style products done in psychedelic, disco and bowling themes (our personal favorite). If they can figure out how to play … Read more

The sharp guys at Phone Scoop have confirmed what we predicted at CES: Sprint will be the first U.S. carrier to land the new Samsung Ultra Music. Phone Scoop found the FCC approval forms, which indicate that the Ultra Music's model number will be the SPH-M620. This will be the first CDMA version of the phone since a GSM model made its first debut last month in Hong Kong. We hear Sprint will have it for sale by March.

You'll remember that the Ultra Music is the phone with two personalities that Samsung unveiled last week in … Read more