November 16th, 2012
Soundslice lets you sync tabs with video so you can see (and hear!) them in real time. Gone are the days of ASCII art approximations.
I don’t play guitar but I know something awesome when I see it.
/via Jason Fried on Twitter.
November 16th, 2012
Soundslice lets you sync tabs with video so you can see (and hear!) them in real time. Gone are the days of ASCII art approximations.
I don’t play guitar but I know something awesome when I see it.
/via Jason Fried on Twitter.
October 31st, 2012
WordPress.com recently published a new page dedicated to showcasing how bands and musicians can use the service to its full potential.
I’ve always been surprised that WordPress.com didn’t aggressively go after more targeted verticals (besides VIP publishers) like music, movies, and so on. MySpace, Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter all make boatloads of cash off of these verticals and WordPress.com should be too. In fact, they should be winning in that space.
October 2nd, 2012
It is a bit of a moving target at the moment (presumably it is being removed as quickly as possible) but a preview of Adele’s theme song for the upcoming James Bond film Skyfall can be found right here.
Update: Within seconds of me posting this link it has vanished yet again. Doing a search on Soundcloud for Adele and Skyfall is your best bet at hearing it at this point.
September 25th, 2012
People make budgets for everything. Vacations, new cars, gas, a new home, gym memberships, etc. Some even budget in a morning coffee from their favorite barista everyday before work. Why is it, then, that some still have an issue with paying for an album on iTunes?
Most applications on the App Store are only a few dollars. The most expensive application I’ve ever purchased for the iPad or iPhone was somewhere around $10. There are more expensive apps, sure, but the median cost of an application is even lower than $10. So why is it that some would rather put up with free applications that don’t work well (or not having any applications at all) rather then to pay for a good one?
Going to the movies with your loved one today costs anywhere from $16 – $30 (depending on where you live in the US). And that is just the ticket price. And you don’t own anything when you leave. The big screen experience is certainly worth it for some movies but, if you’re like me, you probably have a decently-sized high-definition television hanging on the wall in your living room. Imagine taking that money, spending it on a movie in iTunes, through Amazon, or on Netflix or YouTube, and having a few friends over.
Again, I ask, why is it so hard for people to part with a few dollars for these things? I think, among other factors, it is because of how easy it is to pay for them. People are afraid to tap a button and spend $2.99 no matter how good the app is. Or $10 no matter the Rotten Tomatoes rating of the movie they haven’t seen. They’re afraid of losing track of how much money they’ve spent on applications, games, movies, and music only to turn around and realize they’ve spent their lunch money.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. Just make a budget. Like you do for other things. Set aside a few dollars per month – I’d recommend $10 – and use that to buy the apps, games, movie rentals, and music you want. Well-made apps are worth their sticker price. Watching movies at home (without worrying about getting letters in the mail from the MPAA) is a fantastic experience. Buying music is quick, easy, and supports the artists. These innovations (and the hard work of the people behind them) help make your life more productive, easier, and even more fun.
Stop being so afraid of spending a few dollars. You’ll be happier.
June 13th, 2012
More “Music Room” stuff, Jimmy. Instant classic.
May 22nd, 2012
Speaking of Kickstarter (I’ve mentioned it many times). gTar, a guitar-playing learning tool that uses an iPhone to teach you how to play, is a new project on Kickstarter that seems to be a smash-hit right out of the gate. It has surpassed its stated goal of raising $100,000 in less than 24 hours. Who knows where this project will end up in 34 days.
April 17th, 2012
There have been some pretty interesting milestones in the history of Viddler for the last 5+ years I’ve been on the team. This is one of them. We’re working with Foreigner of Waiting for a Girl Like You fame to help them bring a video contest online in a way that no other company could have.
I just unbuttoned the top two buttons on my shirt.
April 10th, 2012
One of my favorite customer spotlight videos from Viddler; Under the Belfry.
“With Viddler within three days we were able to roll advertising. That’s ridiculous.”
February 10th, 2012
My favorite composer of movie soundtracks John Williams turned 80 the other day. I hope he continues to live and work another 100 years.
January 3rd, 2012
Jeremiah Warren recreates level 1-1 of Super Mario Bros. using paper and stop motion animation. It is remarkably well done.
August 24th, 2011

Dotan Negrin is traveling across the United States playing an upright piano he drags along with him in his truck. He’s living off donations given to him while he plays in some really cool locations. I’ve been enamored with his posts for months and I’m finally getting around to sharing it.
I hope that when he’s done with the US he jumps the ocean and keeps going west.
August 10th, 2011
Speaking of Alfred, Jeff Johns (fellow Viddler team member) has released an Alfred Extension to control Spotify.
November 12th, 2010
With Conan back on the air and Jimmy Fallon approaching his prime late night television is at its finest in years. Here, please, enjoy Jeff Goldblum and Biz Markie singing Just a Friend.
November 9th, 2010
Last night was Conan O’Brien‘s first episode of his new show Conan on TBS. Jack White was the music guest. Perfect. Here is the video.
June 22nd, 2010

An instant classic in NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert series is with Weird Al Yankovic. He covers three songs. I recommend the entire series of Tiny Desk Concerts.
NPR music is pretty much the best place on the Web right now.
May 14th, 2010
So: Dude sings a song at a talent show-thingy, puts it up on his YouTube channel (there are a lot of fakes), everyone says he’ll be the next Bieber, Ellen sees it, has him on her show. Stardom awaits.
But wait, did you catch the brilliant move that Ellen is now doing? She puts her chair directly behind the person performing. If the video goes viral (even if it is ripped from her custom branded video player) her attachment to the performance stays in tact. This is pretty genius. Maybe she’s taking tips from Mr. Cowell.
May 5th, 2010
Project Song is a neat thing put together by All Things Considered host Bob Boilen wherein artists have two days to put together an entire song. The process is quite fascinating.
“Gone to Sleep” is a product of this process with Moby and Kelli Scarr and the 16-minute featurette is nothing short of awesome. Moby and Kelli managed to finish their song in under 8 hours so they spent the entire second-day doing a few other versions of the song as well as a Tiny Desk Concert (another series at NPR) for the NPR staff.
Here is Moby’s opinion of the song and process from his journal:
“i’m really proud of it, to be honest. Â writing and recording and mixing a song in a day is a daunting process, and i’m really happy with how it turned out. Â and i think that kelli’s vocals sound beautiful.”
You can watch the video, download the entire song in all of its versions, and watch the concert for free.
I love NPR.
April 5th, 2010
Special guest Nick Ogozaly and I ponder whether or not people should expand their horizons by learning to play an instrument in this episode of Random 60.
What do you think? Sound off in the comments.
Originally recorded in December 2009. First-frame photo credit: Eliza Devroe.
November 16th, 2009
Or, as I like to call this particular video – YouTube video of the week.
Again /via Jason Kottke.