Google Play gift cards show up for real, come in $10 and $25 flavors

Google Play gift cards show up for real, come in $10 and $25 flavors

Remember that Google Play gift card support we told you about just this morning? Well now things got real. Literally. The pic above shows one of the shrink-wrapped critters in a $25 denomination. Android Central claims they were sent a few different pictures, showing $10 varieties also — and as we can see from the box — they’re good for music, movies, books, apps and (mysteriously) “more.” So if you’re after that hot new game, now’s about the time to start dropping hints to your nearest and dearest.

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Google Play gift cards show up for real, come in $10 and $25 flavors originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Aug 2012 11:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Science of Music Shows Why It’s a Drug That Feels So Good [Video]

AsapScience took a look at how music effects humans and it’s not unlike a drug: your pupils dilate, your blood pressure rises, your brain gets into a tizzy and that all important dopamine (the thing that makes you feel good) gets released into your body. Listening to music chemically alters our body. Listening to music is a drug. More »

These Android Music Apps Could Keep You From Getting Run Over by a Car [Android Apps]

Last week, we took a look at iOS apps that keep you aware of your surroundings as you listen to music through headphones, and found a fairly healthy selection to choose from on Apple’s mobile platform. These apps either allow you to hear surrounding noises while listening to music through your phone’s or headphone’s microphone, or paused the music when a sudden noise was detected. More »

Denon Globe Cruiser Bluetooth Headphones: Cruise the World without Wires

Wireless headphones are getting more popular, but I’ve always believed that corded ones have better sound. These premium headphones from Denon are part of their high-end wireless headset collection, and look like they are an option if you want over-ear headphones that are wireless.

denon globe cruiser headphones bluetooth

The Globe Cruiser Bluetooth 3.0 Headphones feature active noise cancellation, pentagonally-shaped memory foam ear pads, and 40mm drivers. There’s an included smartphone app allowing you to customize some settings, along with an interface to play your music. The headphones hold a charge of up to 10 hours, and can be plugged in for continuous usage. They have dual microphones and a wheel situated on the outside of an ear pad to select your tunes remotely. Frequency response is rated from 5 to 37,000 Hz.

denon globe cruiser headphones bluetooth side

The headphones pack flat, which is always good when you travel. While they look great, and the features sound impressive, they’re not exactly cheap. The Denon Globe Cruiser headphones will set you back $499.99 (USD) for a pair. They’re available for pre-order over on Amazon.

denon globe cruiser headphones bluetooth front

denon globe cruiser headphones bluetooth fold flat

[via designboom]


Teenagers Listen to More Music on YouTube Than Anywhere Else [Factoid]

A new report from Nielsen on music consumption habits is packed with loads of surprises about the young consumers of the world. In the last year, only 50-percent of teenagers actually bothered to buy a CD. Who knew? But the more significant news is that 64-percent of teens listen to music on YouTube. More »

Do You Use Your Phone As Your MP3 Player? [Chatroom]

I had a dumbphone for a long time, so when I finally got a smartphone, one of the big things I was excited about was using it as an mp3 player. “One less thing to cram in my pockets!” thought I, and I just assumed everyone else felt the same way. Any trimming I had to do to get my collection from one device or another was a joyful chore. More »

Spotify Radio gets thumbs up, thumbs down on desktop

Spotify Radio gets thumbs up, thumbs down on desktop

Pretty much from day one, the mobile Spotify Radio feature outclassed its desktop counterpart, thanks to the presence of one feature — thumbs up and thumbs down buttons. The ability to more finely tailor the music selection to your tastes is a pretty essential feature for any automatically generated playlist. Finally, Spotify is bringing the buttons to the Mac and Windows clients in an update rolling out today. Your likes and dislikes are synced across platforms and, best of all, the update finally lets you view radio stations you’ve created through the mobile app on your desktop.

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Spotify Radio gets thumbs up, thumbs down on desktop originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 11 Aug 2012 09:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Stop-motion music video relies on OpenOffice and Excel, finds formula for success (video)

Mystery Guitar Man makes stopmotion music video in OpenOffice, finds a real formula for success video

It’s already considered a grind to produce stop-motion video — imagine creating a clip using the spreadsheet app that many dread seeing at work every morning. Joe Penna, better known to the internet as Mystery Guitar Man, isn’t afraid. He and his team recorded a performance against a greenscreen, gave the video a mosaic look in After Effects and proceeded to recreate 730 of the frames in OpenOffice (and occasionally Excel)… by hand. We don’t want to know how long it took Penna and crew to wrap up their work, but the result is probably the liveliest you’ll ever get out of an app meant for invoices and corporate expenses. The fully produced video is above; click past the story break if you want to smash illusions and see how the pixelated rumba came to be.

Continue reading Stop-motion music video relies on OpenOffice and Excel, finds formula for success (video)

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Stop-motion music video relies on OpenOffice and Excel, finds formula for success (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 11 Aug 2012 04:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Beck “Song Reader” album cuts out the music

This week it’s been announced that the musical artist known as Beck will be releasing an album comprised of 20 pieces of sheet music called “Beck Hansen’s Song Reader”. This is 20 pieces of music that are not recorded by the artist, instead intended by the artist to be played and recorded by whoever so wishes to do so. Licensing issues and future recordings by associated artists aside, we applaud Beck’s ability to have so much cash on hand that he experiments with each new release.

Beck previously released an album by the name of “The Information” which was also accompanied by a strange method of release. The Information was released, in some cases, with a DVD which included a music video for every single track on the album. The album was also released with a blank sleeve and booklet with one of four different sets of sticks so that no two album covers were the same: “The artwork is going to be customizable. The idea is to provide something that calls for interactivity.”

That quote comes from a Wired Magazine interview in which Beck also notes:

“Artists can and should approach making an album as an opportunity to do a series of releases – one that’s visual, one that has alternate versions, and one that’s something the listener can participate in or arrange and change. It’s time for the album to embrace the technology.” – Beck

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dowesheet
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Now that Beck has embraced the technology, it appears that his newest release is taking a whole new direction. Just paper in a “lavishly produced hardcover carrying case” with “full-color, heyday-of-home-play-inspired art” created for each track by several artists. What it actually is though, if we might be so bold, is an opportunity to expand in ways a recorded album can’t. If there’s no original, noone can say, “the original was better.”

Will have to wait and see what the Beck lovers of the world do with the treasure trove they’ve just been given – see it soon in stores, of course! December 2012, that is.

[via Beck]


Beck “Song Reader” album cuts out the music is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.


Warner Music Group says streaming services now account for 25 percent of digital revenue

We’ve been seeing plenty of evidence that streaming music services like Spotify, Pandora and Rdio are pulling in more folks than ever, and we now also have a good idea of how that growth is affecting the bottom lines of music labels. In its third quarter earnings report, Warner Music Group revealed that streaming services now account for a full 25 percent of the digital revenue for its recorded music group. As AllThingsD reports, that translates to 8 percent of Warner Music’s total revenue for the quarter, or about $54 million in all. What’s more, that growth in streaming appears to be a net plus for the company all around, as it’s apparently not cutting into traditional sales of digital music (at least, not yet), and is also bigger than the decrease in sales of physical media.

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Warner Music Group says streaming services now account for 25 percent of digital revenue originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Aug 2012 15:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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