Archives for the year of: 2008
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Last.fm in beta

July 16, 08 //
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One of my favorite sites, Last.fm is getting ready to roll out a new redesigned website. The new beta version of the site is looking very fresh. Imagine if Facebook and Last.fm got married and had kids, that is what the new site looks like. There is more emphasis in the music player and sharing of music with friends. All the information is more neatly organized and easier to find. The shoutbox has also been made bigger and placed at the bottom of all your charts, very similar to Facebook. And how can I forget the news feed ala Facebook style too.

Last.fm’s blog stated:

“Three main concepts driving the UI and feature development for this next-generation Last.fm are: play music, share music, and add music. We’ve focused on making these three things easier for everyone to enjoy, even your mum. You’ve probably noticed the robust new player at the top of every page—hopefully no more digging around for play buttons and radio stations, and music pages are re-positioned for sharing that music with a friend, or saving it to your library.”

The new design is looking very promising. It is still on its early stages and will go through many changes before it is released. Last.fm is also looking for user’s input to make it better, so make sure to check out the beta version once you log in to your account.

Here are a few screens for your delight:

Last.fm Beta 1

Last.fm Beta 2

Last.fm Beta 3

Radiohead’s New Video Uses No Cameras! Huh?!

July 14, 08 //
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You’ve heard right. Music pioneers, Radiohead are at it again. This time they’re not giving away free albums but making music videos without the use of video cameras. Their newest video for “House of Card’s” from the album “In Rainbows” was captured utilizing new multimedia technologies, Geometric Informatics and Velodyne Lidar. Geowhat?! That’s what I was asking myself. Apparently:

The Geometric Informatics scanning system employs structured light to capture detailed 3D images at close proximity, and was used to render the performances of Radiohead’s Thom Yorke, the female lead, and several partygoers. The Velodyne Lidar system uses multiple lasers to capture large environments in 3D, in this case 64 lasers rotating and shooting in a 360 degree radius 900 times per minute, capturing all of the exterior scenes and wide party shots.

Please pick up your jaw at this moment and proceed to scratch head. Yeah, pretty geeky if you ask me but extremely awesome. What does this translate to? A very atmospheric, trippy and dream like animation. Check out the video here:

Radiohead – House of Cards

Click here to watch behind the scenes on how the video was made.

via Pitchfork.

What Twitter would look like when Zombies attack

July 13, 08 //
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Here’s a funny image as to what would happen on Twitter during a zombie outbrake.

The Problem With Mainstream Media

July 6, 08 //
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And this is why I hate mainstream media…

Voicemail is Dead. Please Tell Everyone to stop Using it

July 6, 08 //
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Voicemail is dead. Please tell everyone so they
’ll stop using it. When I first started out in the real world in the mid-nineties voicemail was an important productivity tool. But now an increasing number of people are just plain avoiding voicemail. It takes much longer to listen to a message than read it.

read more | digg story

Patient Dies Unattended in Emergency Room

July 2, 08 //
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This shocking video shows the negligence at a Brooklyn’s hospital as doctors, nurses and guards walk by a dying woman and do nothing to help her.

According to the Daily News:

Green, 49, taken to the unit for “agitation,” keels over out of her chair at 5:32a.m., according to the time stamp on the video. She had been sitting about 3feet from an observation window. Two other patients were in the room.

Green is lying facedown on the floor, her legs splayed, when a security guard strolls by at 5:53 a.m., looks at her for about 20 seconds and then walks away.

She is writhing on the floor, thrashing her legs, about 6 a.m., when her medical chart contends she was “awake, up and about, went to the bathroom.”

Green rolls on her back at 6:04a.m. She stops moving at 6:08 a.m., but two minutes later a security guard pushed his chair into camera view.

He never gets out of the chair, but looks at Green and scoots away. A female patient who was in and out of the room finally brings a clinic staffer to check the woman and a crash cart is summoned.

How can we be world’s super power and yet have the worst health system. Anyone seen Sicko recently?

via Gothamist.

Blizzard Unveils Diablo III

June 29, 08 //
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The much anticipated sequel has finally arrived. Diablo III was unveiled this weekend at the Porte de Versailles Exposition Center in Paris. An estimated 11,000 people were the first to get a glance of the game and many of its new features. This game consumed a whole summer of my life, and I don’t regret it one bit. Here is the open cinematic teaser and character classes:

Live Mannequins

June 29, 08 //
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Live Mannequins in Toronto
Looks like Toronto is stepping up its marketing schemes. They are now hiring real people to display clothes infront of stores. Standing for hours at a time without moving. I wonder if they get bathroom breaks?

Via Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wvs/2619716473/

Underwater Ashtonishments

June 28, 08 //
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It’s incredible how much of our underwater world we have yet to explore. Thousands of species unclassified or yet to be discovered, it’s like another planet. Watch David Gallo as he narrates this nice clip about incredible underwater creatures.

Bonnaroo 2.0!

June 8, 08 //
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Another year, another Bonnaroo excursion. It seems like I’m much less physically prepared this time but definitely mentally there. It’s going to be a wet one this year with expected thunderstorms on all 4 days! I’m hoping to come back like this:

Has anyone noticed how the Bonnaroo line up has been shifting from hippie-esc acts to more indie bands, yet it remains a very eclectic line-up. How often do you get to see Metallica and Tiesto at the same concert?!
The concert is just 3 days from now, and I have not prepared a single thing. I am up to my neck with work and social events that require my attention, yet I retain my cool and just can’t wait to head to Tennessee. So without further ado here is my favorite acts this year (in no particular order):

  • Metallica
  • Jack Johnson
  • Chris Rock
  • The Raconteurs
  • Death Cab for Cutie
  • BB King
  • Les Claypool
  • M.I.A.
  • Iron and Wine
  • Sigur Ros
  • Gogol Bordello
  • Broken Social Scene
  • Ozomatli
  • !!!
  • Ladytron
  • Minus the Bear
  • Battles
  • Vampire Weekend
  • MGMT

I will be doing live updates through twitter, so make sure to add me to your list: www.twitter.com/headphonist

Inspiring the crowds

April 18, 08 //
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A few days ago I received a message on Flickr about one of my pictures. It was from an aspiring artist showing me some of his work inspired by one of my photographs. It’s great to see my work influencing other artists!

2 4 1 Thurz: Death From Above 1979 and M83

April 10, 08 //
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Every Thursday I will be post 2 videos of opposite genres. These are songs and artists I really enjoy and think everyone should be exposed. Peace.

The first one is by Death from Above 1979, the new defunct duo from Canada. Seriously these guys should have never broken up, after several EPs, LPs and one studio album these guys were destined for much more. They had an amazing sound, even though they only used bass and drums on most of their songs. Come back from the dead Death!

Death from Above 1979 – Romantic Rights

(Watch it in higher resolution at Pitchfork.tv)

The second one is by M83 the electronic/shoegaze band from France. This track is off their new album “Saturdays=Youth”. I’ve never heard of M83 until I came across this video on Pitchfork.tv a few days ago, since then I’ve been hooked like it was crack.

M83 – Graveyard Girl

(Watch it in higher resolution at Pitchfork.tv)

The dawn of Music 2.0 and collapse of music labels?

April 5, 08 //
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We are truly living in an exciting period. We are about to experience a major transition that will shake the very foundation of all music labels, music consumers and sharers around the globe. I am talking about the dawn of Music 2.0 as coined by Forrester Research analyst James McQuivey. Music 2.0 refers to the transition from conventional business models to new not yet proven models based revolving around the internet and most importantly file sharing. Only until now have music executives started to realize that file sharing is actually beneficial to the industry. They have yet to implement a working model where sharing of files is possible while still making a revenue.

That is exactly where Sony BMG, Warner Music and Universal have stepped in to make it possible. They have partnered with MySpace to create the MySpace Music service, yet another iTunes killer. It will offer DRM-free downloads, paid for videos, free music streaming and a host of music-related activities like tickets sales and music merchandise. Shaaaweet!

The internet is where the future lies for the music industry. Guess who the biggest dealer of music in the nation is? It’s not Tower Records or Sam Goody (both defunct). It’s not Target, Amazon, or Wal-Mart. Not anymore. The number one is Apple’s own online store, iTunes.

EMI, one of the top music labels took a bold step on Thursday and hired Douglas Merrill, Google’s former Chief of Information, to run the label’s digital unit. Mr. Merrill has no prior experience with the music industry but he understands the internet and the role it will play in the upcoming years.

According to CNet “record companies are going to have to morph into smaller entities that represent fewer acts and then oversee their total output: music, video, concerts, and merchandise.”

Record companies will still play a big role in the game but only if they play their cards right. We have seen several artists breaking away from their labels and embrace the power of the internet to distribute their music.

In the words of Greg Sandoval from CNet: Long live Music 2.0!

Angels and Kings, Revival and Beauty Bar

April 4, 08 //
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Thursdays are the new fridays did you know?! Geez where have you been? living under a rock?! Well here are some pictures from last night’s excursion.

Revival April 3, 2008

A Tribute to Björk’s Post: Enjoyed

April 2, 08 //
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Stereogum has put together an amazing compilation in tribute to Björk’s album Post. They have asked the bands Liars, Dirty Projectors, No Age, High Places, Atlas Sound, El Guincho, Final Fantasy & Ed Droste, Evangelicals, Xiu Xiu, Pattern Is Movement, Bell, White Hinterland to create their own renditions of Björk’s tracks. These are all original covers by the bands which have taken time off their tours and personal schedules to participate in the project. The album is available for free download at Stereogum’s Björk page, make sure to check out the track notes and interview with Björk!

Bjork Enjoyed

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