Bobby McFerrin demonstrates the power of the pentatonic scale, using audience participation, from the June 12, 2009 World Science Festival event “Notes & Neurons: In Search of the Common Chorus“. Also on stage are panelists Jamshed Bharucha, Provost and Senior Vice President of Tufts University; the James McGill Professor of Psychology and Neurosciences at McGill University, Daniel Levitin; Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Sheffield, Lawrence Parsons; and host of WNYC’s music/talk show Soundcheck, John Schaefer.

A viral video spreading across the social networks, Prop 8 – The Musical was created by award-winning composer Marc Shaiman (Hairspray) and stars Jack Black, John C. Reilly, and more. Shaiman’s video lampoons California’s controversial Proposition 8.

(Credit goes to Max Kiesler on Twitter for the initial discovery.)

Don your polyester pants and John Deere hat and saunter over to the Great American Music Hall this Sunday at 7:30 PM for a little Southern Culture on the Skids (“SCOTS”). For those “undst-familiar”, the SCOTS sound is best described as surf-a-billy, a mix of rock, surf guitar, and “y’all guessed it”…hillbilly. Always a zany lowbrow time, tickets are still available. $18 total — a true surfabilly bargain. View videos from recent concerts, the Conan O’Brien Show, or sample SCOTS music online (more on iTunes).

Interview on the “Express” show (ABC TV, Australia)…

Hope to see y’all Sunday.

[tags]scots,southern culture on the skids,gamh,san francisco,music,events,mcnitt[/tags]

B-b-b-brilliant.

Scott Beale posted this on Laughing Squid back in September and it’s been stuck in my head ever since — Devo covers “Satisfaction” by the Rolling Stones on Saturday Night Live (1978). Full credit to Scott for the find.

I finally checked out Amazon’s new MP3 music store today and have to say that I was pretty impressed. The main attraction of Amazon’s MP3 store is that all music, much like regular CDs, is DRM-free which means you can copy and share the music without technical restriction. (Of course, traditional music copyright and use laws still apply.) Another advantage is that most songs are $.89 per download, compared to the industry standard $.99, and most albums are $1-2 dollars cheaper as well.

Amazon’s audio interface has also improved. Gone are the old Windows Media Player and Real Audio “listen now” links replaced with Flash audio playback which improves performance on all browsers without the need for extra plugins.

The Amazon MP3 music selection is still small compared to iTunes due to the fact that the four largest record labels have yet to agree to release their catalogs without DRM but it’s a great start. And in fairness to iTunes, Apple has openly stated that they want to offer DRM-free music but it’s the major record labels that are blocking them from doing so.

I enjoy the convenience of iTunes but from now on when it comes to buying music my approach will be to check Amazon first, then only buy from iTunes if what I am looking for is not available in a cheaper, downloadable, DRM-free format.

PS – I’m still unable to buy “Crash” by Matt Willis from any legal source.

(Sorry for the blurry image. Seems my Cannon digital camera decided to go bad today.)

UPDATE: People with hacked iPhones beware. There is a lot of chatter about hacked iPhones bricking under the update. Steve Jobs promised to crack down on the hacks. As they say about messing with a bull…

[tags]apple,iphone,music,itunes,trendmedia,mcnitt[/tags]

Here’s evidence that music licensing laws are completely outdated. The movie Mr. Bean’s Holiday currently playing in theaters probably won’t win any Oscars but I believe that one of the title music tracks, “Crash” by Matt Willis is pretty good. I learned about it through a Mr. Bean video released on YouTube earlier this year and figured that I would purchase the song. Unfortunately, due to botched licensing agreements, there is no legal way to buy the song if you live in the United States. In the era of iPods, iPhones, and music enabled mobile devices, it’s absolutely absurd that these archaic geographic-based licensing agreements continue to exist.

Matt Willis on YouTube…

Apple has suggested to major record labels that similar restrictions and DRM be dropped from future offerings, and Amazon has decided to offer digital music downloads, but only from record companies who agree to offer DRM-free music. This week NBC announced that they are pulling television content from iTunes because Apple would not support raising the price of downloads from $1.99 to $4.99 per television episode. Clearly, the old media providers are failing to adapt to the times, are attempting to assert their force on technology companies like Apple, and the consumers and artists are losing.

Today, I tried to purchase “Crash” from iTunes, Amazon, Wippit, and Mercury Records (Matt Willis’ own record label!), and none would sell it to me. (And you wonder why illegal file sharing has a bright future?) The following are screenshots from my stymied shopping experience.

Can’t buy from Amazon…

Can’t buy from iTunes…

Can’t buy from Matt Willis’ own record label, Mercury Records!

Sorry, Matt Willis — I tried to buy your music but no one representing your interests would sell it to me. Bummer.

[tags]mr. bean,matt willis,crash,apple,itunes,mercury records,mcnitt[/tags]

Original Black Eyed Peas, “My Humps”.

Right. OK then.

[tags]alanis morissette,energy927,music,mcnitt[/tags]