Archive for the ‘music’ Category

Phantom 105.2 on the iPhone?

Thursday, April 24th, 2008

Not yet. There’s an app for the iPhone called iRadio and it lists Phantom amongst a few 1000 other stations in its directory but when you try and play Phantom it just doesn’t work. There’s been a good few complaints about iRadio’s directory and the fact some stations are barely audible when they play if at all.

New iPhone hand model
Photo owned by mbrubeck (cc)

So does anyone want to build an app for the iPhone to do what iRadio does but in a workable way? I’ll pay something but not something that will cost more than the phone! Phantom’s streams are here. I have a feeling that iRadio might be looking in the wrong location for the mp3 stream but you can’t manually input any stations into this app and I’ve not found any others out there.

Someone did come up with some clever php hackery that told Safari that an mp3 stream was in fact an mp3 but that means you need to have access to a server and redirect the stream.

Then there’s the option of running a webserver on the iPhone that does this. Looks fun for people that play with code on iPhones. (That would not be me) Wrap it into an app though and I’d be happy to use it. Of course there’s more than Phantom out there (don’t tell them I said that), it would be nice to have an app that could choose other Irish radio stations too. Those that stream mp3s and not bloody realplayer media formats.

So IMRO is the piper every Irish website has to pay?

Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008

It seems DownloadMusic.ie will get sued into non-existence if they don’t pay IMRO a license fee for people to be able to download music from their site. No matter if they are already dealing direct with the artist or not. It seems once you are in IMRO you automatically give them the right to be your money collector.

Pied Piper artist
Photo owned by Sridhar J (cc)

This means that you cannot allow websites such as MySpace, Bebo, Facebook, and downloadmusic.ie to use your music, unless you obtain permission from IMRO or unless IMRO collect royalties from these sites.

Therefore, to allow downloadmusic.ie to continue to promote your music, IMRO must be paid a license fee, because they have exclusive control of the right to make your music available on the Internet.

This means that we have to deduct 8% from every sale you make on downloadmusic.ie, plus 0.0032c for every stream of your music. This money will be paid to IMRO, which they will pay to you, if you meet their criteria for payment.

There appears to be an opt out you can sign that will leave the likes of DownloadMusic.ie contract directly with the artist but I understand from Johnny from DM that it’s not retroactive so IMRO still want their fistful of dollars.

Have they being going after Bebo, mySpace and others or only businesses operating out of Ireland?

No, as in Queer and Alternative

Thursday, March 27th, 2008

A friend of mine who I won’t mention in case I KATHY FOLEY embarrass her saw my recent Facebook yes that Kathy Foley and was of the Sunday Times, yes and was wondering what I was heading to no she really likes Twenty the RTE show for.

not disco
Photo owned by jared (cc)

So yeah, there’s Q&A as in Questions and Answers and there’s Queer and Alternative the best music event around if you like indy music. But Kathy would hardly be expected to know that. I’ll be clearer on FB in future. It’s on Friday, April 4, 2008 at 10:30pm in the Button Factory/Temple Bar Muso Centre. The only equivalent we have in Cork is Freakscene and while good, is no longer great and is on a worknight too. Well done to Vince for always putting on a well organised show. Back in the little more plush Temple Bar Music Centre too. Facebook event for it.

bored.by.the.disco
Photo owned by a town called malice (cc)

Casiotone for the Painfully Alone

Sunday, March 9th, 2008

He’s on tonight in Whelan’s. I have a spare ticket if you want it. Txt or email me.

Sigur Ros Mulley birthday celebrations

Thursday, March 6th, 2008

To celebrate my birthday on March 7th, Sigur Ros in association with YouTube (you may have heard of them) will devote the front page of the YouTube to my favourite band and to make it better they’ll be streaming Sigur Ros’ DVD Heima for everyone to see.

Sigur Ros celebrate with Mulley

Lads, seriously, am honoured.

Dead Prez makes me hate the white man

Thursday, March 6th, 2008

Been a fan for years but played their debut album again. The first track is a spoken word piece/sample called Wolves, spoken by a dude called Chairman Omali from INPDUM (International Peoples Democratic Uhuru Movement). These are the lyrics:

I’m not a hunter but i am told,
that, uh, in places like in the arctic,
where indiginous people sometimes might, might, hunt a wolf,
they’ll take a double edged blade,
and they’ll put blood on the blade,
and they’ll melt the ice and stick the handle in the ice,
so that only the blade is protruding,
and that a wolf will smell the blood and wants to eat,
and it will come and lick the blade trying to eat,
and what happens is when the wolf licks the blade,
of course, he cuts his tongue, and he bleeds,
and he thinks he’s really having a good thing,
and he drinks and he licks and he licks,
and of course he is drinking his own blood and he kills himself,

thats what the Imperialists did with us with crack cocaine,
you have these young brothers out there who think they are getting something
they gonna make a living with,
they is getting something they can buy a car,
like the white people have cars, why can’t i have a car?
they getting something they can get a piece of gold,
white people have gold, why can’t i have gold?
they getting something to get a house,
white people have a house, why can’t i have a house?

and they actually think that theres something thats bringing resources to them,
but they’re killing themsleves just like the wolf was licking the blade,
and they’re slowly dying without knowing it.
thats whats happening to the community, you with me on that?
thats exactly, precisely what happens to the community,
and instead of blaming the hunter who put the damn handle and blade in the ice
for the wolf,

that what happens is the wolf gets the blame, gets the blame for trying to live,
thats what happens in our community,
you don’t blame the person, the victim,
you blame the oppressor, Imperialism, white power is the enemy,
was the enemy when it first came to Africa,
and snatched up the first African brothers here against our will,
isss the enemy today,
and thats the thing that we have to understand.

Prince tears it up – While my Guitar Gently Weeps

Friday, February 22nd, 2008

At the end of 2004 Rock`n`Roll Hall Of Fame Show this version of While My Guitar Gently Weeps was shown. Tom Petty, Jeff Lynn, Prince and more.

Simian Mobile Disco – Hustler

Sunday, February 17th, 2008

Got their album recently and really impressed with it.

Meanwhile Justice V Simian – We are your friends:

The Ting Tings – Great DJ

Saturday, February 9th, 2008

Pure pop.

Michael Lynn Tapes: Newstalk fails to give attribution to bloggers

Wednesday, January 23rd, 2008

But is happy to let John Waters rant about bloggers and their lack of fact-checking. So Suzy, being the single source for the Michael Lynn Tapes has a right to be miffed. As I understand it, Newstalk were given access to the tapes but were afraid to use em but now that Rick O’Shea has used them (and gave attribution!) and papers have referenced them (without attribution) Newstalk too are playing them. I do wonder though who’ll get the royalties for these songs? The banks? A bank account in Brazil? Newstalk should thank Suzy in the morning and spell out her website address.

Edit: Clarified the point that Rick did the decent thing, as he always does!