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Release Date: August 05, 2009
Genre: Games
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Release Date: September 29, 2009
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    • Prefuse 73
    • It's an album about a breakup, done with beats instead of mopey lyrics. But the beats are raw, and the emotions are there, even if there aren't many words on top of it. While possibly not Scott Herren
  • Plans

    • 8 out of 10
    • Death Cab for Cutie
    • With the introduction of Plans, Death Cab for Cutie became a new addition to many user's Artist list after the single "Soul Meets Body" became a hit on iTunes. Offering a fresh alternativ

  • Rift

    • 8 out of 10
    • Phish
    • This quasi-concept album (the only of its kind) from these Vermonters finally showcased their ability to convey a message with a studio album, whereas previously they only succeeded in doing so live.
  • Abnormal Anonymous

    • 8 out of 10
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    • Very few albums manage to capture snapshots of a quality of life in the manner that Congo Norvell's sophomore record, "Abnormals Anonymous," does.

      Comparisons to the Velvet Underground are

  • Wolfmother

    • 8 out of 10
    • Wolfmother
    • Black Sabbath, The White Stripes, The Stooges. There aren't many bands worth their salt that want to be compared to other bands, but when I listen to Wolfmother's self-titled American debut, I can

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News

iPhone Cum Ocarina Used for Stairway to Heaven Performance


Smule’s Ocarina
The folks at Smule have released an ingenious viral video of Ocarina (iTunes link), the company’s iPhone app that allows users to "play" their iPhones as if it were an Ocarina, being used in a performance of Led Zeppelin’s "Stairway to Heaven."

Ocarina converts your iPhone to an Ocarina -- the user must blow into the microphone, and an Ocarina-like note is played through your iPhone’s speaker. Four virtual buttons on the touchscreen allow the user to change that note just like an ocarina, and the software is even sensitive to different intensities of blowing.

Ocarina also has a global function that allows you to see where other Ocarina users are on the planet on a 3D globe, and to hear what they’re playing.

Smule emphasized that unlike other virtual instruments for the iPhone, Ocarina does not come with premade riffs or songs, allowing users to create music -- for good or for ill -- just like with a real ocarina.

Which brings us to the video (below): The company made a video of a group of people playing the intro to "Stairway to Heaven," with the flute parts at the beginning being played by a squad of iPhone-blowing Ocarina players.

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/kfrONZjakRY&hl=en&fs=1"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/kfrONZjakRY&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></p>

Ocarina is priced at US$.99 through the App Store.

Thanks to iPhone Alley’s Michael Johnston for Tweeting the video, thereby alerting us.

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