If you haven't heard of The Wooden Birds, maybe you know Andrew Kenny from his other band The American Analog Set. Or perhaps Matt Pond from Matt Pond PA?
If you haven't heard of any of these guys, well, you have some catching up to do on your indie rock. The new quartet stopped by the CBS Interactive studios to share some thoughts and tunes from their new LP "Magnolia." The lineup features Andrew Kenny on lead vocals and guitar; Leslie Sisson on vocals; Sean Haskins on drums; and, unexpectedly, Matt Pond on guitar.
Check out the exclusive interview and performance, then visit the band's artist page on Last.fm if you'd like to hear more.
Yes, Last.fm--like CNET--is owned by CBS, but it's also pretty awesome.
In a world teeming with increasingly similar tech products, Apple is one company that seems to have no problem churning out standout products. This might be attributed to sleek designs, fun features, and friendly interfaces--or maybe you want to chalk it up to good ol' marketing tactics. However, in the case of the iPhone and the iPod Touch, there's one attribute that undeniably separates these devices from the masses: the ever-expanding cadre of third-party applications. You can find everything from cookbooks and weight-loss trackers to games and productivity tools, but the area in which the iPhone and iPod Touch really excel is music, and there are hundreds of applications to choose from in this category.
To help you sort through the mass of options, we rounded up five of our favorite iPhone music apps. To keep things simple, we limited our scope to free selections that have a heavy focus on full music playback. Not everything included here will be a perfect fit for every iPod user, but you're sure to find something that will float your boat.
Today's show covers Wilson's ever-growing locks of hair and Google ads catering to stupid people. We also take a look back at the original Sony Walkman and examine the best-selling video games of the '90s. Finally, stick around for our weekly Audio Draft Pick sponsored by Beck's Beer in conjunction with Last.fm!
The first segment of the show is dedicated to Wilson's beautiful head of hair. I think I met Wilson's hair long before I ever met the man, and while I've always loved its golden highlights and butter-soft touch, I can't help but think of the Herculean Kevin Sorbo every time I glance in its general direction. Maybe it should start introducing itself with us at the beginning of the show.
Lots of nostalgia on today's show! After a long examination of the way Google is marketing ads to stupid people, we run down the top 50 best-selling video games of the '90s. Most of the picks are no-brainers, but there are a few surprises in there, including Frogger for PS1 coming in at No. 46. Did people really pay money to buy FROGGER on a DISC?! Scary to think about now.
Next, we launch into a story about 13-year old Scott Campbell swapping his Apple iPod for the original Sony Walkman. Fresh on the heels of the gadget's 30-year anniversary, this leads us to reminisce about the influence of the Walkman on all subsequent mobile audio products. We all had them (at least those of us born prior to 1990) and absolutely loved making mixtapes and mixtape art for our friends and significant loved ones. Unfortunately, we get so nostalgic that both Jeff and I reveal humiliating stories that you won't want to miss.
Long live the Sony Walkman! You were there with us through good and bad times, my friend--we'll never forget you.
We're also very psyched today, not only because the date is 7/8/9, but also for the Weekly Audio Draft, brought to you by Beck's Beer and Last.fm! Also, big thanks to Dylan Swart for sending in a poster for the segment. It's my pleasure to introduce today's band, Matt Pond PA.
Like everyone, the transition from middle school to high school wasn't easy for me, but music like this, among others, helped me push through it and I'm proud of these guys for continuing to put out such heartfelt records after 12 years of lineup changes, relocation, and subtle changes to their sound.
The sample song on today's show is called Several Arrows Later from the album "Several Arrows Later." The music combines smooth, gentle vocals with beautiful instrumentation for a unique sound that refuses to be pigeonholed into today's genres. The word "emo," although thrown around a lot in describing Matt Pond PA, is a cringing understatement for this band. Granted, all of the band's music is emotional by nature, but what I like the best about Matt Pond PA is that each of its songs strikes a different chord--each one means something different to the listener. Check out Matt Pond PA and get hooked!
(Last.fm is a part of CBS Interactive, which also publishes CNET News and Reviews.)
EPISODE 377
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Hootie's gone country
(Credit: Peter Gavin - Last.fm)After trudging past endless rows of RVs, and waiting in a series of long lines, the Last.fm team got into the Stagecoach country festival relatively unscathed. And despite the 50,000 fans (most of whom claim beer as their drug of choice), it was a pretty respectable scene, actually. The highlights of yesterday where The Infamous Stringdusters, Reverend Horton Heat, Earl Scruggs and Darius Rucker.
You may know the latter for his work with (or as) Hootie and the Blowfish, however these days he's all about country music. He rocked the "Mane Stage" with festival-friendly songs off his new solo album "Learn to Live," as well as giving the crowd what they wanted: several Hootie favorites such as "Only Want To Be With You" country-ized for the Stagecoach scene. Stay tuned for today's coverage...I'm excited for Poco, Peter Rowan and Hot Club of Cowtown.
To get ready for the show, warm up to this year's top contenders in one free and continuous playlist featuring Coldplay, Katy Perry, Lil Wayne, The Jonas Brothers, Radiohead, Duffy, Brazilian Girls, and many more.
The 51st Annual Grammy Awards will air on Sunday February 8 at 8 p.m. on CBS. In the meantime, listen to this free playlist by clicking on the green button below, then visit Download Music to stream and download thousands more free songs.
When you hear about the music industry these days, there are often figures claiming that digital music downloads--led by new initiatives from the likes of Amazon, Nokia, MySpace, and, of course, Apple--are up year over year by more than 25 percent, and now account for about 20 percent of overall music sales. But let's get the numbers straight. Despite some bright spots, the vast majority of digital downloads are unauthorized and cost nothing.
In fact, a recent report by IFPI, a body that promotes and "safeguards" digital music, says that in 2008 a whopping 95 percent of all music downloads were illegal. Sure, IFPI has an interest in perhaps inflating that stat a bit, but judging from what I've seen out there, I'd say it's still a very high percentage.
No difference: U2's upcoming album No Line on the Horizon will likely cost the same as a CD or digital download--and that doesn't make sense.
(Credit: Wikipedia)You've probably heard about how the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)--and now IFPI--are strongly encouraging ISPs to police digital downloads and bring pirate networks to their knees. There's talk of throttling bandwidth and even more draconian measures, which a lot of consumers aren't too happy about, especially ones who don't like their ISPs to begin with.
All that said, let's pretend for a moment that in some highly improbable scenario, someone or something manages to get pirating totally under control and people are left having to pay for their music. Would sales suddenly take off? Would all be well again in the music industry?
Probably not. The problem is--and has always been ever since digital downloads emerged--that the digital stuff is way too expensive, and that's made a lot of folks feel the music industry is out to rip them off.
Stephen Colbert's new Christmas album is at the top of our list.
We have a diverse batch of goodies for you this year. New additions include a duet with Elvis Presley and Martina McBride; a New Kids on the Block reissue; Stephen Colbert's debut Christmas album; and a Hanukkah jam from Erran Baron Cohen. And the great thing about holiday tunes is that you can recycle them every year! So, get acquainted with the new stuff, and then dig into our archive to resurrect the classic favorites.
Bloc Party gets intimate with their new album, Intimacy.
Now that Daylight Savings Time has ended, it's that odd time of the year when it gets dark while we're still at work (at least for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere with day jobs). Sun worshippers may be bummed, but night owls should be psyched about the extra hours of darkness. Either way, it's a good time for everyone to get out and embrace the nightlife!
Listen to our free playlist "Night Moves" featuring Bloc Party, New Order, Black Sheep, Metallica, Kid Cudi, Juliana Hatfield and more. To launch, click the green button below, and then visit Download Music to stream and download thousands more free songs.
In a bid to help novice downloaders jump-start their digital-music collections, Universal Music Group is offering "curated" playlists to Dell PC buyers.
The Dell Inspiron now comes with music.
(Credit: CNET)Starting at $25, selected bundles 50 or 100 DRM-free songs can be added while building a custom PC on Dell's Web site. The songs will come preloaded on the computer, ready to play as soon as it's booted up.
The music option is available only on the Inspiron 1525, Studio 15, and XPS 1535 laptops and Inspiron 530, 530s, Studio Desktop, and XPS 420 desktops. The XPS One and Dell Mini 9 netbook are excluded from the offering.
The songs, all by Universal artists, are then playable on any device. You can see what bundles are available on Dell.com/musicandmovies. Track bundles include thematic playlists such as "Rock Titans," "The Classics," "Blues Masters," and so on. The lists will be "refreshed" on a regular basis in the future, and available for purchase on Dell's site.
Dell already does this with downloaded movies, but it's the first time a major label has struck a similar distribution deal with a PC company. Universal's tracks are already offered through a similar service on phones with Nokia and its Comes with Music program.
There may be a chill in the air, but summer's not over yet! Two big music festivals remain this year: San Francisco's Treasure Island Music Festival (this weekend) and Austin City Limits (next weekend). There's an overlap of indie rockers at both events, such as The Raconteurs, CSS, and Jenny Lewis. But with an extra day and more stages to work with, ACL offers a wider array of acts such as Foo Fighters, Beck, Iron and Wine, and Robert Plant and Alison Krauss.
If you can't make the shows--or just want to get pumped for them--cue up our free playlist by clicking on the "stream now" button. Then visit Download Music to stream and download thousands more free songs.
