If you're reading on after that horrendous pun, I salute you. In short, (and you'll be able to see what kind of dweeb I am here), I gave up my Blackberry this year because I was being bullied into getting an iPhone by certain friends. All in all, it's great. For games. And stuff like that. Crap for sending emails or doing any work, but GREAT FOR FUN. Which is largely what we spend our time doing, so sod it.
So here are my top 5 (groan) music apps of 2010:
1) Katy Perry Revenge
Let's get this one out of the way first with a telling anecdote. Oh yes, a telling anecdote. One of those. I promise you three sacks of gold and jewels that if you put this app in front of a Katy Perry hater (and God knows there are a lot of them), that within 10 minutes they'll be humming those damn tunes FOR THE NEXT 5 DAYS.
The premise is simple, as it plays like Rock Band or any of those timing based music games, and with this version you use your fingers and the screen as buttons. So on the tube you can look really cool.
Standout songs are:
'Waking up in Vegas', the Perry, Desmond Child (The guy's a fucking genius - Steve Tyler) and Andreas Carlsson (I wrote a few amazing Britney songs) effort. I'm not going to lie, my high score will beat yours.
'Teenage Dream' - total dreamboat of a song. This is the game-changer for the non-Perry-initiated. Play this and be converted, such is the unrelenting power of the chorus / lyric combo.
A word of warning, when you unlock new levels, pictures of a scantily clad Mrs Brand save themselves on your phone pictures album - not a great look when your girlfriend is looking for photos of that nice weekend break...
Waking Up in Vegas by Katy Perry
Get it on iTunes
2) Tunein Radio
Tunein Radio is a badboy of an app - the kind that makes you think 'yeah, that's why I got rid of the Blackberry'. Or 'if this had been around in 1348 and I'd been flashing it around I'd have been burnt as a witch'.
It lets you tune into any radio station you can think of. You can browse local radio stations, or go a bit further afield by browsing location (Chile's El Conquistador FM anyone?) or by language (nothing wrong with a bit of Nepalese on Acorab Radio!).
Get it here
3) Cassius - I <3> U So
I've got a mouth. You've got a mouth. This app gives you four more mouths! Set to the single from the sublime Rawkers EP this one's a blinder.
I Love U So by Cassius
Get it here
4) Record Makers
2010 has been the 10th Anniversary year for the label that has brought you Sebastian Tellier, Kavinsky, Acid Washed, Turzi and much more. To celebrate they put together this awesome little app that plays a bit like that game you used to play as a kid where you draw a head, fold the paper, give it to your friend, they draw the body without seeing the head, you do the legs and so on: combining elements of illustration.
The idea is you find the secret combination, and this enters you into a competition to win a trip to Paris. Nice. A sweet touch is that any combination you make can be saved to your phone to use as a background or however you fancy.
With illustration by Mrzyck and Moriceau, music (more blips really) by Mr Oizo and a bit of Tellier thrown in as well, it all points to being a massive winner.
Kavinsky - Nightcall (Robotaki Remix) by Robotaki
Get it here
5) Spotify
This app has given rise to the biggest change in the way I consume music over the last couple of years. A seismic change really when you think Spotify itself was first launched in late 2008. One of the reasons I got involved in the iPhone was the Spotify app (still not available on BBerry despite Daniel Ek initimating as such ages ago) - I like to be able to have music on the move, be able to stream, save for offline, and have no ads. Spotify also kindly give you a heads up on new releases - a Tron: Legacy, Daft Punk scored sampler was bowled out to Premium subscribers a week or two before full release. Nice.
To temper the enthusiasm, I should point out it's a tenner a month - a lot. Also, remember this incredible 'Information is Beautiful' visual that points out how much revenue artists get from Spotify. Converse to the cost of the montly subscription, that's not a lot. Bear in mind that the majors are not likely to make Spotify happen in the States (no launch for the moment), and these are still uncertain times for the streaming model.
And this is where the crunch lies - we currently all consume music in different ways. Revenues are down for the industry as a whole but options and choice is up. What the majors and major indies need to be doing is pulling together and getting behind the streaming Spotify and We7 models. While currently loss-making, it's surely in the industry's interests to keep this legal model alive to avoid a return en masse to illegal downloading.
If there is one thing the post-Napster years have proven it's that if we leave the majors to develop a sustainable legal platform themselves that the public gets behind, we'll be waiting a long time...
Derezzed by Daft Punk
Get it here
So here are my top 5 (groan) music apps of 2010:
1) Katy Perry Revenge
Let's get this one out of the way first with a telling anecdote. Oh yes, a telling anecdote. One of those. I promise you three sacks of gold and jewels that if you put this app in front of a Katy Perry hater (and God knows there are a lot of them), that within 10 minutes they'll be humming those damn tunes FOR THE NEXT 5 DAYS.
The premise is simple, as it plays like Rock Band or any of those timing based music games, and with this version you use your fingers and the screen as buttons. So on the tube you can look really cool.
Standout songs are:
'Waking up in Vegas', the Perry, Desmond Child (The guy's a fucking genius - Steve Tyler) and Andreas Carlsson (I wrote a few amazing Britney songs) effort. I'm not going to lie, my high score will beat yours.
'Teenage Dream' - total dreamboat of a song. This is the game-changer for the non-Perry-initiated. Play this and be converted, such is the unrelenting power of the chorus / lyric combo.
A word of warning, when you unlock new levels, pictures of a scantily clad Mrs Brand save themselves on your phone pictures album - not a great look when your girlfriend is looking for photos of that nice weekend break...
Waking Up in Vegas by Katy Perry
Get it on iTunes
2) Tunein Radio
Tunein Radio is a badboy of an app - the kind that makes you think 'yeah, that's why I got rid of the Blackberry'. Or 'if this had been around in 1348 and I'd been flashing it around I'd have been burnt as a witch'.
It lets you tune into any radio station you can think of. You can browse local radio stations, or go a bit further afield by browsing location (Chile's El Conquistador FM anyone?) or by language (nothing wrong with a bit of Nepalese on Acorab Radio!).
Get it here
3) Cassius - I <3> U So
I've got a mouth. You've got a mouth. This app gives you four more mouths! Set to the single from the sublime Rawkers EP this one's a blinder.
I Love U So by Cassius
Get it here
4) Record Makers
2010 has been the 10th Anniversary year for the label that has brought you Sebastian Tellier, Kavinsky, Acid Washed, Turzi and much more. To celebrate they put together this awesome little app that plays a bit like that game you used to play as a kid where you draw a head, fold the paper, give it to your friend, they draw the body without seeing the head, you do the legs and so on: combining elements of illustration.
The idea is you find the secret combination, and this enters you into a competition to win a trip to Paris. Nice. A sweet touch is that any combination you make can be saved to your phone to use as a background or however you fancy.
With illustration by Mrzyck and Moriceau, music (more blips really) by Mr Oizo and a bit of Tellier thrown in as well, it all points to being a massive winner.
Kavinsky - Nightcall (Robotaki Remix) by Robotaki
Get it here
5) Spotify
This app has given rise to the biggest change in the way I consume music over the last couple of years. A seismic change really when you think Spotify itself was first launched in late 2008. One of the reasons I got involved in the iPhone was the Spotify app (still not available on BBerry despite Daniel Ek initimating as such ages ago) - I like to be able to have music on the move, be able to stream, save for offline, and have no ads. Spotify also kindly give you a heads up on new releases - a Tron: Legacy, Daft Punk scored sampler was bowled out to Premium subscribers a week or two before full release. Nice.
To temper the enthusiasm, I should point out it's a tenner a month - a lot. Also, remember this incredible 'Information is Beautiful' visual that points out how much revenue artists get from Spotify. Converse to the cost of the montly subscription, that's not a lot. Bear in mind that the majors are not likely to make Spotify happen in the States (no launch for the moment), and these are still uncertain times for the streaming model.
And this is where the crunch lies - we currently all consume music in different ways. Revenues are down for the industry as a whole but options and choice is up. What the majors and major indies need to be doing is pulling together and getting behind the streaming Spotify and We7 models. While currently loss-making, it's surely in the industry's interests to keep this legal model alive to avoid a return en masse to illegal downloading.
If there is one thing the post-Napster years have proven it's that if we leave the majors to develop a sustainable legal platform themselves that the public gets behind, we'll be waiting a long time...
Derezzed by Daft Punk
Get it here
