Hasta La Gadget!

The movie version of the science fiction classic Ender’s Game has been revealed this week as coming from none other than James Horner, known most recently for his work on the James Cameron film Avatar. This choice will have Horner joining titans such as Harrison Ford and Ben Kingsley on the cast and crew while the film gets another dash of top-tier assurance from the film gods. Horner is also known for his soundtrack work on Aliens, Braveheart, and Field of Dreams, just to name a few.

This movie will follow the plot of the original Ender’s Game full novel in a loose sort of way, with those familiar with the project letting it be known that “none” of the scenes will be exactly spot-on with their original source material. It’s more of a Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy sort of situation, it would seem, with each different iteration of the Ender’s Game universe being its own unique vision.

The news about James Horner comes from the publication Film Music Reporter where they’ve also made clear that Horner has completed work (very recently) on his score for the upcoming Romeo & Juliet film by Carlo Carlei. Ender’s Game is set to be an entirely different beast with young children going to take part in war games that will ultimately decide the fate of the human race. Romeo & Juliet is a bit more romantic than all of that.

Horner will likely push the film to a place somewhere in-between Avatar and Aliens with a dash of humanity as this tale makes the case for a genius boy (Ender, played here by Asa Butterfield), being molded into a beast of a wartime leader. The music will more than likely be wholly instrumental as this movie takes place both in space and in the future, mainly inside a training facility where pop music dare not tread.

Stay tuned to SlashGear’s Entertainment tag portal for more information on Ender’s Game as it becomes available through the next few months – we’re looking at a November 1st 2013 release date and the timing seems to be holding fast!

Ender’s Game score set for Avatar greatness is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

There are many products which have been sold as a “party in a box,” but I’ve never heard the term applied to a music player. This audio player is named thusly because it’s completely self-contained, and aims to be the life of your next party – hopefully waking up your neighbors very late at night.

The Soul Party In A Box P910 is a room-rattling portable speaker system. It has a dock for your iOS device, Bluetooth with AptX support, a USB port, and an auxiliary audio port. It has a total of 8 speakers, including dual 6.5-inch subwoofers, 3-inch midrange drivers, front firing 1.5-inch midranges and 1-inch tweeters.

It’s also got an HDMI output, a karaoke mode with microphone input, and a remote control. It’s also got an FM radio with RDS track and artist display. There’s also a built-in handle, and a universal world power supply so that you can take the party anywhere. While functions are managed using a modern LCD screen, the old-school analog VU meters are also a nice touch.

So how much will all this party rockin’ set you back? Priced at $999.99(USD), the Party in a Box is definitely no cheap boombox. Let’s hope its sound lives up to its price tag. At least Soul softens the blow a little bit by throwing in a pair of their high-end SL300 headphones ($249 value) with your purchase for now.

[via Uncrate]

There’s a movie out there right this minute by the name of Sound City, a documentary about the recording studio by the same name, and the creators and collaborators of this movie are set to play a single show in New York City this month to celebrate its release. Sound City closed as a commercial recording studio in May of 2011, this prompting the head of the project, music legend Dave Grohl, to create the film and the media that now surrounds it. The band that will play a single show in NYC this month is what’s known as a “Super Group”, consisting of some of the most well-known musicians of the past several decades.

This morphing band has played one other show and there’s apparently no plan for it to ever play together again in the future – but you never know. The first show was played at Sundance with a performance that lasted three hours and included a lineup that could only be beaten by the one that’ll be working on the 13th. The original lineup included Grohl, Steve Nicks, Rick SpringField, John Fogerty, Alain Johannes, Taylor Hawkins, and more.

The lineup for February 13th, 2013 includes Rick Nielsen from Cheap Trick, Brad Wilk of Rage Against the Machine, Krist Novoselic, and Fogerty, Springfield, and Nicks as well! Foo Fighters members Taylor Hawkins, Nate Mendel and Pat Smear will be rocking and rolling with the crew as well. This concert will have ticket sales starting on February 5th at 4PM EST from everyone’s favorite CAPTCHA dropping ticket source: Ticketmaster.

Each of the members of the Sound City Players are included in the group due to their involvement in heating up the Sound City recording studio over the past 40 years. The studio was originally incorporated in 1969 and played host to such epic albums as “After the Gold Rush” by Neil Young, Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumors”, Dio’s “Holy Diver”, and Nirvana’s “Nevermind.” The documentary film “Sound City” is available for purchase in digital format now and the soundtrack for the album “Sound City – Real to Reel” will be available on March 12th.

The track “Cut Me Some Slack” from the album as recorded by Paul McCartney and the three living members of Nirvana (Grohl, Novoselic, and Smear) is up for sale right this minute – the rest comes later! The documentary itself is up on iTunes for both rental and purchase – whatever strikes your fancy!

[via Rolling Stone]

Sound City Players set single NYC show for film celebration is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Android users running a relatively recent version of the mobile OS will recognize the gold headphones immediately – it’s Android’s music app that comes pre-installed on mobile devices. An update for the app has just been rolled out, taking it to version 4.5.9 and adding a handful of new features, among them being new default album art and a bug fix for the freezing issue experienced by Galaxy S III owners.

First up is the bug fix, which corrects an issue experienced by far too many Samsung Galaxy S III owners. When used, the Music app would cause the handset to freeze, something that should stop happening once the update is installed. That’s the only bug fix that has been rolled out with this update, with the rest of the changes centering around new features and improvements on existing elements.

Instant mixes that contain more than 25 songs can now be set to continuous play all the songs, something previously unavailable. A “previous” button has been added to the widget, while album and playlist pages both now show pinning progress. Music can now be shuffled by album, artist, or playlist, and the default artwork has been updated with some new stuff.

If you have your mobile set to automatically install updates, you might have the new version already. If you don’t, you can manually grab the update at Google Play. The app is 5.3MB in size and runs on Android 2.2 and higher. The Music app works along with Google Play to automatically sync music purchases with the handset, and can be used in conjunction with a personal library of songs.

[via Phone Arena]

Google updates Play Music app for Android, adds new art and more is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Higher quality audio is a staple of the experience for a growing number of streaming music services, most notably Spotify. Sony won’t let itself become the exception to the rule: Music Unlimited now has an option for a much more detailed 320Kbps bitrate. The quality upgrade is staggered and is initially active on Android devices, the PlayStation 3 and the web player, while desktops, iOS, the PlayStation Vita and home theater gear will get improved tunes later on in the year. Music Unlimited won’t appease those who want a consistent experience in the near term, then — still, it might be enough for listeners whose Xperia serves as a primary jukebox.

Filed under: Cellphones, Home Entertainment, Portable Audio/Video, Tablets, HD, Mobile, Sony

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Source: Sony Music Unlimited