Quandary. To post a cool article and some great news items, or leave the Hill Birthday stuff up for a bit longer? Well, until we figure out a way to keep something like the Great MUG on top of the blog, I guess I will post some news items.
StacieDee brought this story to my attention, from UNCUT, introducing The Filter for IPOD users to be able to populate their IPODs with music they will like.
PETER GABRIEL LAUNCHES INNOVATIVE IPOD SOFTWARE
Peter Gabriel is ushering in the second wave of the digital revolution by backing a new piece of software that the creators claim will change the way we listen to archived music.
“The Filter” is a free piece of downloadable software, which say the makers, will organize your ipod record collection into intuitive playlists at the click of a mouse.
The programme scans your iTunes library using Artificial Intelligence – as it gets better at judging your tastes, it is said it will even playlist according to your mood.
On the new generation of AI software, Peter Gabriel, says, "The first wave of the digital revolution was about the freedom of choice, trying to make everything accessible to anyone, anyplace, anytime. I think the second wave will be about freedom from choice. It will be able to filter and focus so that you get more of what you want.”
“The Filter” is available for Win XP and iTunes at www.thefilter.com. The Mac OS X, WinAMP and WMP versions are to follow soon.
This article is in Business Week, and discusses the recent RealWorldRemixed contest and some winners thereof. Thanks to luapb2003 for the heads up on this one (I didn’t get my email from Google news on this until after I got it from luapb2003 – hmmm!)! Here is an excerpt:
As the Shock the Monkey remixes came in, users could rate their favorites. There were well over 700 entries, testament to the proliferation of music-processing software and home recording equipment. Gabriel then picked winners from the top dozen chosen by listeners. "I was amazed at the number and quality of remixes," Gabriel says in an e-mail. One remixer managed to credibly combine Gabriel’s vocals with music from the opera Carmen. Another dispensed with the vocals altogether and reengineered the tight, high-energy original into New Age mood music. Gabriel, who says he got tired of listening to his own voice while judging contest entries, gave it an honorable mention.
COMMUNITY SNAPSHOT. The effect on site traffic was impressive. In the first two weeks of October alone, the contest generated 33,000 unique users, respectable for a standalone Web site. Some 13,600 people have listened to the winning remix by Multiman, who, according to his MySpace page, is a New York City-area producer (and who won a high-end sound processing console from Real World). Initial indications are that the contest indeed is helping sales of Real World artists, Real World’s Tillyer says.
The contest also achieved something else widely sought after in the media/entertainment world these days: It created a "community," generating a lively conversation among remixers and listeners as they debated the technical and musical merits of the top entries. "Wasn’t this in the wedding scene of The Godfather?" quipped one commentator, referring to the contribution by an Italian calling himself Filippo Villa. His Spaghetti monkey featuring a jaunty piano backup with accordion highlights, was among the runners-up.
Most of the contest winners did not seem to be the proverbial teenagers tinkering with Apple (AAPL) GarageBand software in their bedrooms, though. Winner Multiman has worked with the Backstreet Boys, according to his Web page. Sound Chateau, named runner-up for a synthesizer-heavy remix that appears to have been recorded aboard the Starship Enterprise, is a Berlin-based production house specializing in music for commercials and TV.
Speaking of
RealWorldRemixed, their news page was updated with new features for that site.
We’ve added a couple of new things to the site..
One is the Private Message function. You have to opt in to recieve messages, there’s a tick box on your Edit Login Details page.
You can add people (who have opted in) to your personal buddy list by clicking the link on their Remixer Page. You can also add people to your own personal block list by clicking the link that appears when you read a message.
We have changed the favourites list to act like the Monkey charts used to (we have also removed those charts) and migrated your old lists across. If you wish to add in your old Monkey Chart there is a link to do so.
This should mean the favourites lists should be easier to manage, and involve a lot less scrolling!
Peter’s news page has an item about the new calendar available just in time for holiday shopping! Each month has a different PG album cover, and you can read about that and other news, including Full Moon Updates here.
Plus, keep in mind that Eastwood is working on a 2007 calendar of Eastoons – so…..get that part time job rolling! ha!
Until next time – as we keep waiting for I/O……. hang in there!
