Songs Used in Our Videos

I've been receiving a lot of e-mails about the song used in the original "3D Edition" announcement video. Each time I put together a screencast or video, I usually spend a few hours scouring the net for a great song that captures the feeling of the video and is available with a podsafe or creative commons license. Sometimes it takes a bit of hunting, but there is some wonderful music out there.

Here are direct links to some of the music I have used recently. Enjoy the music and please support these artists who have allowed their music to be used for creative projects.

• Wake the Sun - by The Matches (used in current "3D Edition")
• ditto ditto - by ditto ditto (used in original "3D Edition")
• Turn Out The Light - by The New Amsterdams (used in "RSS importer and Chart Backgrounds")
• The Blue Roses - by Rookie of the Year (used in "NetNewsWire Importer")
• Its About Your Soul - Delphinium Blue (used in "Tick Marks")
• Stop - by the Plain White T's (used in "Recently Played Songs")
• Mystic Chants - by Anne Young (used in "Lord of the Rings Timeline")

Robert Glasper - Music Review

This week I treated myself to my first new music album in a while, Robert Glasper's In My Element. I first heard Robert Glasper on NPR a few days ago and it really caught my ear.

I've often been interested in combining jazz music with funk / hip-hop music but it is an elusive combo. Good jazz is often sophisticated and complex and good funk and hip-hop are often honest, raw, earthy, and physical. Unfortunately, many musicians combine them and loose the sophistication as well as the honesty and physicality. What they end up with something, well... smooth.

What struck me about Robert Glasper is that he seemed to be combining genres without loosing the good qualities in each. This album is definitely a jazz trio record, but it is fun to hear hip-hop and other styles mixing with the jazz. Unlike other artists, he isn't bringing in turntables and samplers, but rather tipping his hat to other genres using the jazz trio format.

In the NPR interview, Glasper said that he didn't want to talk about his influences, but rather wanted to have a "Glasper" style in the same way that there is a "Monk" style or "McCoy" style.

Of course, having Glasper fail to point out his influences makes me listen for them even more. I don't know about you, but when I listed to this record I hear a similarity to Gonzalo Rubalcaba, especially the way the trio interacts. There is definitely a Keith Jarrett influence on the piano playing. And, does anyone else hear a connection to Vince Guaraldi?

Anyway, check it out. I think a lot of different people will appreciate this album, regardless of what you normally listed to. I'd like to know what you think and what influences / connections you hear in the music.

Free Download on iTunes

Testing 1, 2, 3... Is this thing on? (sqqquueeeeel)

Oh, I guess so! OK, this post goes out to all my friends who read this blog.

iTunes has been putting some pretty great music on-line for free over the past couple months and I want to make sure that no friend of mine is missing out on free goodness.

You may say, "well I tried downloading the Single of the Week once, but it was a hip-hop track I didn't like." My tip to you is that the Single of the Week is only one third of the free music available each week, and often it isn't the best third.

Besides the Single of Week, iTunes also has a Discover Download track and iTunes Latino track for free each week. Both of these tracks are particularly good this week and a high percentage of them have been keepers recently. There have been classical, pop, singer-songwriter, dance songs... All kinds of great stuff.

The easy way to find all the free songs is to scroll near the bottom of the iTunes music store home page and find the "FREE ON iTunes" box. The free music tracks are usually the first 3 in the list, followed by some TV episodes and misc other stuff that I don't care about, but you might. The new free songs are posted every Tuesday, so put a reminder in your calendar to visit the iTunes store each week and grab the new songs, OK?

Seal's Blog - Previews of New Music

Some of you will know that Seal is among my favorite musicians. Back in the mid-90's I used to collect all the imports and singles that I could find (no fair that they are so easy to get on iTunes now). I also would contribute photos and tidbits to the Future Love Paradise fan site when I could. Seal was actually the first concert that I camped out for tickets for (back in '94)

Anyway, fast forward to 2007. Besides a baby and supermodel wife, Seal has a great blog which he has been using to answer fan questions, show of photos from his life, and even preview new songs that he is writing!

I believe the days of creating in a secret lab, whether it be art, software, music, or novels are coming to an end. The future is creating in the open, letting your audience participate in the process. Thanks Seal for leading the way for the music industry!

It makes you wonder about these tech companies that make you sign an NDA before even telling what their product is... There is a (probably remote) possibility that someone is going to rip off all your ideas and get to market before you, but perhaps it would help customers spot and avoid the rip-off if the creative process was more transparent in the first place.