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Tag That Song. SHAZAM!

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Ever hear a song and wonder what it is? If you don’t get text in the airwaves, then what? Shazam!

Shazam is a free iPhone app that records music, analyzes it, and tells you the name of the song in seconds. And it works! I don’t know how, but it does.

I tested Shazam at the Farm Fair at Bishop Museum over the weekend. Power 104.3’s KC and Taka were the emcees, and the radio station pumped out contemporary tunes. I held up my iPhone, started Shazam, and the app started recording. After about 20 seconds, Shazam correctly identified the song as Rihanna’s Umbrella.

Neato!

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Bobby Brown Sat at the Bar…

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R&B music legend Bobby Brown sat at the bar as I circled around unsure if that was really him. What was he doing at the poolside bar in the early afternoon?

Could it really be him? Don’t Be Cruel… My Prerogative… Roni… Every Little Step… Humpin’ Around… Rock Wit’cha… his cameo in Ghostbusters II along with On Our Own… She Ain’t Worth It with Glenn Medeiros.

Was he still with Whitney? His younger days with New Edition, teaming with Johnny Gill, Ralph Tresvant, Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins, and Ronnie DeVoe. Can You Stand the Rain?… Cool It Now… If It Isn’t Love… Candy Girl…

Was this THE Bobby Brown sitting there, chilling, watching ESPN highlights? Do I approach him and ask for a picture? Do I take a paparazzi shot? Too many thoughts, didn’t act, Bobby got up and left, leaving the chair where Bobby Brown sat.

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Tracking Starbucks Pick of the Week

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Just keeping track of the Starbucks musical Pick of the Week that I come across:

  1. Orchestra Baobab – Pape Ndiaye (song)
  2. Johnny Flynn – The Box (song)
  3. Jessie Baylin – Was I On Your Mind (song)
  4. Ersi Arvisu – El Arbol (song)
  5. Ledisi – Alright (song)
  6. My Morning Jacket – I’m Amazed (song)
  7. Sonya Kitchell – Here to There (song)
  8. Willie Nelson & Wynton Marsalis – Rainy Day Blues (song)
  9. Tristan Prettyman – Madly (song)
  10. James Hunter – Jacqueline (song)
  11. Pacifika – me Cai (song)
  12. Sergio Mendes – Funky Bahia (song)
  13. Priscilla Ahn – Dream (song)
  14. Duffy – Mercy (music video)
  15. Sia – Day Too Soon (music video)
  16. Jakob Dylan – Something Good This Way Comes (song)
  17. Adele – Chasing Pavements (song)
  18. Carly Simon – So Many People to Love (song)
  19. Hilary McRae – Every Day (music video)
  20. Counting Crows – Washington Square (song)

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Starbucks Music Has Fallen Apart

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News around the Net is saying that Starbucks is getting out of the music sales business. Instead of selling a variety of CDs in stores, Starbucks will focus on a very few titles showcased right by the cash registers.

Yesterday I complained about Starbucks’ faltering partnership with iTunes. That relationship will continue however with Starbucks offering iTunes promotions. And hopefully by cutting back on CD sales, Starbucks can apply more resources to its lagging Pick of the Week program.

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Starbucks Musical Pick of the Week is Falling Apart

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While I love the fact that Starbucks continued their partnership with iTunes and morphed their previous Hand Picked Song of the Day promo into a more manageable Pick of the Week, it might very well be time for Starbucks to call it quits. For whatever reasons, the coffee giant cannot sustain the Pick of the Week throughout its stores and even its own web site.

While the Pick of the Week is supposed to be the same for each and every Starbucks retail store, that’s far from the truth. Some stores are more diligent than others and tend to keep up. Some seem not to care at all as in the case with my local neighborhood Starbucks. I go there once in a while for coffee but no longer expect to find an up-to-date Pick of the Week. The Starbucks near work is much better, but even they suffer with incorrect musical freebies. Just how many weeks is Priscilla Ahn’s Dream the Pick of the Week? It’s a great song, but going on three weeks is too much.

So what is the current Pick of the Week? You can’t even tell. The Starbucks Hearmusic web site used to show the current free single, but now that too is unkept. Right now, the site is showing Sia’s Day Too Soon music video available from June 3-10. Uh, we’re going to June 25.

So all in all, while the free music is great, this promotion is too inconsistent to keep up with and perhaps Starbucks will do better letting this one go.

Text in the Radio Airwaves

Not sure when this started, but I just noticed that our car radio is now showing text information about the song playing and the music station. I usually listen to my iPod or CDs during drives so I was surprised to see text other than the station’s frequency displayed on the radio display.

This is kind of useful if I want to know the name of the song so I can buy it via iTunes, but the scrolling of the text is kinda slow which is a small danger when driving and taking your eyes off the road.

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No Traffic Drive to Work

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Had a clear, traffic-empty drive to work this morning. Forgot it was a state holiday. Made for an enjoyable ride while listening to Alanis Morissette’s latest Flavors of Entanglement. Great stuff! 16 tracks of vintage angry Alanis and some new twists to keep things fresh.

Whenever I listen to the dark Tapes, I keep rewinding the song to hear it again. Classic Alanis. Giggling Again for No Reason shows a newer side to Alanis, featuring electronic dance, pop beats. This one is addicting to hear why Alanis is giggling again for no reason. Contrast this to the expletive-filled Straitjacket – “this $h!t is making me crazy!” Bonus track On the Tequila sounds like a shout out to the hip hop crowd expecting a cameo by Akon or T-Pain.

I wasn’t sure what to expect with Flavors of Entanglement, but it’s definitely a buy!

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Alanis Morissette Can’t Be Happy

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flavors-of-entanglementAlanis Morissette released a new album this week after years of silence. Flavors of Entanglement is getting good reviews on iTunes (4.5 stars out of 5, 90+ reviews), and it comes after her breakup with boyfriend Ryan Reynolds. While in a happy relationship, no music. After a breakup, tons of good tracks come flowing out.

For the sakes of music listeners, Alanis Morissette can’t be happy!

Buy Flavors of Entanglement on iTunes and listen to classic Alanis and some of her new electronic styled tracks.

Julianne Hough Sings the Blues

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You know that old saying about actors wanting to be singers, singers wanting to be sports stars, and athletes wanting to be actors? Dancing with the Stars alum and two-time champion, Julianne Hough, is attempting the crossover again with her latest self titled country album, Julianne Hough.

Capitalizing on this dancing pro’s current fame, the iTunes Store is featuring Julianne’s My Hallelujah Song as its free Single of the Week.

Get Julianne Hough’s Julianne Hough and see if she should stick to dancing.

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Testing Amazon’s MP3 Widget

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Amazon is pushing their digital music sales using their new MP3 Clips widget. Here’s a sample.


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