Page 2971 – That Eric Alper

In Music, Uniformity Sells

Music

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Mar 9, 2015

Even unapologetic Top 40 hit-lovers would have a hard time denying the claim that popular music, on the whole, tends to sound pretty repetitive. This assertion feels so intuitive, that even detailed scientific studies backing it up tend to bemet with a shrug. While hardly indicative of Good Art, repetition and simplicity aren’t all bad. In fact, most listeners tend to seek a balance of familiar and new, two factors that “influence not only how we perceive popular music, but also how it is produced,” according to researchers behind a new PLOS One study that examines how a style’s musical complexity increases or decreases over time in relation to album sales.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Medical University of Vienna, Austria, scientists found that the more popular a musical style grew, the more generic it became—partly due to the glut of artists that flock to a burgeoning sound and the drop-off in innovation that tends to accompany demand.

The study looked at the “instrumentational complexity” of more than half-a-million albums from 1955 to 2011, across 15 genres and 374 styles as diverse as “hyphy,” “viking metal,” “acid jazz,” and “Korean court music.” Within those styles, researchers analyzed the use of nearly 500 instruments. Styles that used generic instruments found in many other styles had low complexity, while styles with a wider array of instruments that were used in fewer styles had high complexity.

Apple Watch Available in Nine Countries on April 24

Music

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Mar 9, 2015

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Apple Watch Available in Nine Countries on April 24

Apple today announced that Apple Watch, its most personal device yet and the newest innovative addition to Apple’s ecosystem, will be available on Friday, April 24 to customers in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, the UK and the US. Apple Watch is an incredibly accurate timepiece, an intimate and immediate communication device and a groundbreaking health and fitness companion. Highly customizable for personal expression, Apple Watch also brings an entirely new way to receive information at a glance and interact with the world through third-party app experiences designed specifically for the wrist.

“Apple Watch begins a new chapter in the way we relate to technology and we think our customers are going to love it,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We can’t wait for people to start wearing Apple Watch to easily access information that matters, to interact with the world, and to live a better day by being more aware of their daily activity than ever before.”

“Conceived, designed and developed as a singular product, Apple Watch merges hardware and software like never before,” said Jony Ive, Apple’s senior vice president of Design. “In Apple Watch, we’ve created three beautifully curated collections with a software architecture that together enable unparalleled personalization in a wearable device.”

Apple Watch introduces revolutionary technologies including the Digital Crown, an innovative way to scroll, zoom and navigate fluidly without obstructing the display. The Retina display with Force Touch on Apple Watch senses the difference between a tap and a press, providing a new way to quickly and easily access relevant controls. The all-new Taptic Engine discreetly delivers a gentle tap on your wrist whenever you receive a notification or message.

Incredibly Accurate & Customizable Timepiece
An extremely precise timepiece, Apple Watch keeps time to within 50 milliseconds of UTC, the universal time standard.* Apple Watch can be personalized with watch faces ranging from traditional analog such as the Chronograph face, to the information-rich Modular face, or beautifully animated butterflies and jellyfish on the Motion face. Apple Watch goes beyond telling time with specialized functions on the watch face—known in watchmaking as complications—such as the sunrise/sunset, upcoming calendar events or daily activity level. With multiple customizable watch faces and complications, Apple Watch enables millions of possible configurations. Swipe up from the watch face for Glances that quickly show you information you care about, such as the weather forecast, your current location on a map or the music you’re listening to.

Intimate & Immediate Communication Device
Apple Watch enables you to send messages, read email and answer calls to your iPhone right from your wrist. The Taptic Engine alerts you with a gentle tap so you won’t miss important notifications. With Digital Touch, Apple Watch allows you to communicate in all-new ways by sending a sketch, a tap or even the rhythm of your own heartbeat. Interact quickly and conveniently with the world around you with Apple Watch by paying for coffee using Apple Pay**, boarding a plane with a Passbook boarding pass, or raising your wrist to ask Siri for turn-by-turn directions in Maps.

Groundbreaking Health & Fitness Companion
Apple Watch encourages you to sit less, move more and get some exercise every day. The Activity app provides a simple visual snapshot of your daily activity with three rings that measure active calories burned, brisk activity and how often you’ve stood up to take a break from sitting during the day. Apple Watch provides the detailed metrics you need during dedicated workout sessions for the most popular activities, such as walking, running and cycling through the Workout app. With an accelerometer, a built-in heart rate sensor, GPS and Wi-Fi from your iPhone, Apple Watch smartly uses the best sensors for different types of motion and provides a comprehensive picture of your all-day activity and workouts. The Activity app on iPhone collects your activity and workout data from Apple Watch so you can see your history in greater detail. Apple Watch uses this history to suggest personalized activity goals, reward fitness milestones and keep you motivated.

Apple Watch is available in two different sizes, 38 mm and 42 mm, and in three distinct collections—Apple Watch Sport, Apple Watch and Apple Watch Edition. Apple Watch Sport features a lightweight anodized aluminum case in silver and space grey with a Retina display protected by strengthened Ion-X glass and matching high-performance fluoroelastomer Sport Band in five colours. The Apple Watch collection features highly polished stainless steel and space black stainless steel cases with a Retina display protected by sapphire crystal. The Apple Watch collection comes with a choice of three different leather straps, a stainless steel link bracelet and Milanese loop, and a black or white Sport Band. Apple Watch Edition features cases specially crafted from custom rose or yellow 18-karat gold alloys developed to be twice as hard as standard gold, a Retina display protected by polished sapphire crystal and a choice of uniquely designed straps and bands with 18-karat gold clasps, buckles or pins.

The world’s most vibrant and innovative developer community has been creating all-new experiences specifically designed for Apple Watch. From requesting an Uber, checking in to your American Airlines flight, booking a bike for your Equinox class to remotely controlling your Honeywell Lyric thermostat while away, the possibilities for Apple Watch apps are endless. These experiences extend the functionality of your favourite iPhone apps, while delivering an innovative way to interact—right from your wrist. Popular apps such as Instagram, MLB.com At Bat, Nike+ Running, OpenTable, Shazam, Twitter, WeChat and more will also be available on Apple Watch. The new Apple Watch app that comes with iOS 8.2 on iPhone lets you browse, buy and download apps from the Apple Watch App Store.

Designed to be worn throughout your day, Apple Watch delivers up to 18-hour all-day battery life*** and comes with a unique charging solution that combines Apple’s MagSafe technology with inductive charging for a quick connection that simply snaps into place.

By design, the shopping experience for Apple Watch will be the most personalized Apple has ever offered. When Apple Watch becomes available for pre-order from the Apple Online Store (www.apple.ca) on Friday, April 10, Apple retail stores and department store shop-in-shops will begin offering customers the chance to preview their choice of Apple Watch and try it on in-store.

Pricing & Availability
Beginning April 10 in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, the UK and the US, Apple Watch will be available for preview, try-on by appointment at Apple’s retail stores, and available for pre-order through the Apple Online Store (www.apple.ca). On April 24, Apple Watch will be available online or by reservation in Apple’s retail stores and select Apple Authorized Resellers in China and Japan. Customers who purchase online or in-store from Apple will be offered Personal Setup to customize and pair Apple Watch with their iPhone.

Apple Watch is available in three collections, Apple Watch Sport, priced at $449 (CAD) and $519 (CAD); Apple Watch, available from $699 (CAD) to $1,459 (CAD); and Apple Watch Edition, crafted from custom rose or yellow 18-karat gold alloys, with prices starting at $13,000 (CAD).

Apple Watch will also be available to preview or try on at Galeries Lafayette in Paris, Isetan in Tokyo and Selfridges in London on April 10. Apple Watch will be for sale on April 24 at these select department store shop-in-shops, and at boutiques in major cities across the world including colette in Paris, Dover Street Market in London and Tokyo, Maxfield in Los Angeles and The Corner in Berlin.

Starting today customers can explore and choose their favorite Apple Watch in the Apple Online Store (www.apple.ca) or through the Apple Store app for iPhone and iPad.

Apple Watch requires iPhone 5, iPhone 5c, iPhone 5s, iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus running iOS 8.2. or later. iOS 8.2 will be available for download today.

HBO NOW Premiering in April

Music

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Mar 9, 2015

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Apple and HBO today announced HBO NOW is premiering next month, making an HBO subscription available directly to Apple customers for the first time ever. iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Apple TV users can purchase HBO NOW directly in-app as a standalone service to watch every episode of every season of the best of HBO’s original programming, as well as the biggest and latest Hollywood hit movies, groundbreaking documentaries, sports and exclusive comedy specials—for just $14.99 a month.

“HBO NOW is the next phase of innovation at HBO,” said Richard Plepler, Chairman and CEO, HBO. “With this new partnership, a natural evolution for the network, we have access to millions of Apple customers who are used to getting their favorite apps immediately. Now, they can do the same with an HBO subscription.”

“HBO NOW offers a new generation of HBO fans many of the best TV programs in the world without a cable or satellite subscription,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. “Now, with the same simplicity as buying an app, customers can subscribe to HBO NOW and instantly start viewing their favorite HBO programs as they air—this is huge.”

More hours of HBO video are streamed to Apple devices than all others combined and now customers can subscribe using the HBO NOW app on their iPhone, iPad, iPod touch or directly on Apple TV for instant access to all the programming they want. For just $14.99 a month HBO fans can enjoy hit series ranging from Game of Thrones, Silicon Valley and VEEP to Last Week Tonight with John Oliver and VICE. At launch HBO will offer a 30-day introductory free trial period to new HBO NOW customers who sign up through Apple.

John Cleese On Stupidity

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Mar 9, 2015

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John Cleese explains why extremely stupid people do not have the capability to realize how stupid they are.

Apple Unveils All-New MacBook

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Mar 9, 2015

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Apple today unveiled the all-new MacBook, a new line of notebooks reinvented in every way to deliver the thinnest and lightest Macs ever. Every component of the new MacBook has been meticulously redesigned to create a Mac that weighs just two pounds and is 13.1 mm thin. The new MacBook features a stunning 12-inch Retina display that is the thinnest ever on a Mac, an Apple-designed full-size keyboard which is dramatically thinner and highly responsive, the all-new Force Touch trackpad that brings a new dimension of interactivity to the Mac, an incredibly compact USB-C port for data transfer, video out and charging in a single connector, and a new battery design that maximizes every millimeter of space to deliver all-day battery life. And, for the first time, MacBook is available in three gorgeous aluminium finishes—gold, silver and space grey.

“Apple has reinvented the notebook with the new MacBook, and at just two pounds and 13.1 mm, it’s the thinnest and lightest Mac ever,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “Every component of the MacBook reveals a new innovation. From its fanless design, ultra-thin Retina display and full-size keyboard that’s 34 percent thinner, to its all-new Force Touch trackpad, versatile USB-C port and breakthrough terraced battery design, the new MacBook is the future of the notebook.”

Measuring just 13.1 mm at its thickest point, the new MacBook design is an amazing 24 percent thinner than the 11-inch MacBook Air. With a new precision-milled unibody enclosure featuring integrated Wi-Fi antennas and a top case with polished stainless steel Apple logo, MacBook is available in three elegant finishes—gold, silver and space grey—and is the first MacBook with an all-metal enclosure.

A comfortable keyboard is essential to the Mac experience and the new MacBook is designed around an all-new full-size keyboard. To fit the full-size keyboard into the amazingly thin MacBook meant completely re-engineering how a notebook keyboard works. The new keyboard is 34 percent thinner and uses an Apple-designed butterfly mechanism that is an amazing 40 percent thinner than a traditional keyboard scissor mechanism yet four times more stable, providing greater precision no matter where your finger strikes the key. New stainless steel dome switches located beneath each key deliver a crisp and responsive feel when typing, and every key on the new keyboard is individually backlit with its own single LED to deliver precisely calibrated, uniform brightness behind each keycap.

The perfect match to a full-size keyboard is a 12-inch display, and the new MacBook features a stunning 12-inch Retina display with a 16:10 aspect ratio. Measuring just 0.88 mm thin, the Retina display on the new MacBook is the thinnest display ever on a Mac. With a larger aperture for each pixel, the new Retina display is also extremely efficient and uses 30 percent less energy than existing Mac notebook Retina displays, while delivering the same level of brightness. And with a resolution of 2304 x 1440, text, photos and movies come to life with astounding clarity.

MacBook also features the all-new Force Touch trackpad that brings a new dimension of interactivity to the Mac. The new trackpad features built-in force sensors that allow you to click anywhere and haptic feedback that provides a responsive and uniform feel. You can even customize the feel of the trackpad by changing the amount of pressure needed to register each click. The Force Touch trackpad also enables a new gesture called Force Click, a click followed by a deeper press, for tasks like pulling up the definition of a word, quickly seeing a map or glancing at a preview of a file.

Applying miniaturization techniques used in iPhone and iPad, MacBook features the most compact logic board ever in a Mac, measuring an amazing 67 percent smaller than the logic board of the 11-inch MacBook Air. With no moving parts or vents, the new MacBook was designed from the ground up to be the first fanless Mac notebook for silent, efficient performance. MacBook features the new fifth-generation Intel Core M processor that runs at just 5 watts and Intel HD Graphics 5300. The highly efficient processors work in conjunction with optimizations throughout OS X to make the new MacBook the world’s most energy efficient notebook.*

The new MacBook features a breakthrough terraced battery design that is layered in individual sheets that are precisely contoured to fit the MacBook’s sleek, curved enclosure. As a result, the new MacBook has 35 percent more battery capacity than would be possible with traditional battery cells and delivers all-day battery life with up to 9 hours of wireless web browsing and up to 10 hours of iTunes movie playback.**

Designed for the wireless world, MacBook is perfect for tasks like streaming content from your MacBook to your HDTV using AirPlay, exchanging files quickly using AirDrop, or using wireless headphones. MacBook is equipped with the latest wireless technologies, including built-in 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 for fast wireless connectivity.

The new MacBook also features a next-generation USB-C port that is incredibly small, yet extremely versatile and even more user friendly. A new industry standard, USB-C supports higher wattage charging, USB 3.1 Gen 1 (5Gbps) data transfer and DisplayPort 1.2 all in a single connector that’s one-third the size of a traditional USB port.

Every new Mac comes with OS X Yosemite, a powerful new version of OS X, redesigned and refined with a fresh, modern look, powerful new apps and amazing Continuity features that make working across your Mac and iOS devices more fluid than ever.

iMovie, GarageBand, iPhoto, and Pages, Numbers and Keynote come free with every new Mac. iMovie lets you easily create beautiful movies, you can use GarageBand to make new music or learn to play piano or guitar and you can edit and share your best shots with iPhoto. Pages, Numbers and Keynote, make it easy to create, edit and share stunning documents, spreadsheets and presentations. Pages, Numbers and Keynote for iCloud let you create a document on iPhone or iPad, edit it on your Mac and collaborate with friends, even if they are on a PC. The new Photos for OS X app keeps your growing photo and video collection automatically organized and easy to navigate and will be included in an OS X Yosemite update this spring.

The all-new MacBook will begin shipping Friday, April 10 through the Apple Online Store (www.apple.ca), Apple’s retail stores and select Apple Authorized Resellers. MacBook comes with a 1.1 GHz dual-core Intel Core M processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 2.4 GHz, 8GB of memory, 256GB of flash storage and Intel HD Graphics 5300 starting at $1,549 (CAD); and with a 1.2 GHz dual-core Intel Core M processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 2.6GHz, 8GB of memory, 512GB of flash storage and Intel HD Graphics 5300 starting at $1,899 (CAD). Additional technical specifications, configure-to-order options and accessories are available online at www.apple.ca/macbook.

JUNO Gala Dinner and Awards to Stream Live on March 14

Music

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Mar 9, 2015

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JUNO Gala Dinner and Awards to Stream Live on March 14

Canadians won’t have to miss a beat of the 2015 JUNO Gala Dinner & Awards Presented by SiriusXM Canada as CARAS will live stream the star-studded event and the presentation of 35 JUNO Awards, on Saturday, March 14. For the second year in a row, music fans across the country will be able to tune-in to the exclusive Gala live stream at 6pm ET on www.junoawards.ca, in partnership Entertainment One (eOne), North America’s leading independent music label and distributor.

A sought-after industry celebration featuring the biggest names in Canadian music, this year’s Gala, hosted by Jessi Cruickshank, will be held at the Hamilton Convention Centre by Carmen’s the night before The 2015 JUNO Awards Broadcast. The evening will feature performances by 2015 JUNO Award nominees Alvvays, Dallas Smith, Daniel Lanois, Matt Andersen and a special Blues Jam featuring Crystal Shawanda, JW-Jones, Steve Hill, Steve Strongman, and The Harpoonist & the Axe Murderer. This year’s special award recipients include Rush, who will receive the Allan Waters Humanitarian Award sponsored by Bell Media, and music executive Ray Danniels, recipient of the Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award.

“The JUNO Gala Dinner & Awards unites and celebrates the best of the best in Canadian music for one special evening,” said Allan Reid, President & CEO, CARAS/The JUNO Awards. “We are excited that we are able to once again pull back the curtain so all Canadians can tune-in and enjoy what is otherwise an exclusive night for the industry.”

“SiriusXM’s involvement in the Gala is fitting as we celebrate our 10^th year in Canada providing subscribers and artists alike a platform to reach new music and new audiences,” said Mark Redmond, President and CEO, SiriusXM Canada. “We are very excited to join CARAS and our colleagues at the 2015 JUNO Gala and Awards and we’re looking forward to a night of amazing performances from our friends and award nominees.”

As part of JUNO Award week programming on SiriusXM, JUNO Radio will feature interviews and moments from the JUNO Gala Dinner & Awards along with performances from current and past JUNO nominees and award winners. JUNO Radio will be broadcast on SiriusXM’s The Verge (channel 173) and Iceberg (channel 161) starting March 13^th through March 15^th.

“Entertainment One is excited to join in the festivities honouring the past year’s best Canadian music and to celebrate our great partnership with the JUNO Awards,” said Greg Pappas, Vice President & General Manager, Entertainment One Music Canada. “We are committed to bringing all music fans together through live streaming and happy to share in the experience of the event.”

During the Gala, JUNO TV will be live streaming their interviews backstage JUNO TV’s hosts Lauren Toyota and Indie 88’s Carlin Burton will talk to winners that night and viewers will be able to interact through the live stream and ask questions by going to www.junotv.ca at 6pm ET. For more details check out our All The JUNO Awards You Don’t See On TV! Live! teaser video below.

http://youtu.be/U16Ty9jquiU

Jimmy Page on How He Created “Stairway To Heaven”

Music

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Mar 8, 2015

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Stairway to Heaven was one of the biggest rock songs of the 1970s – loved, imitated and sometimes parodied. Now Led Zeppelin’s classic track is back on the turntable, on a re-mastered version of the band’s fourth album. 43 years after its release, the song continues to hold a place in many music fans’ hearts.

Guitarist Jimmy Page gives a personal account of how a rock anthem came together.

That Time Jefferson Airplane’s Grace Slick Taught You The Numbers On “Sesame Street”

Music

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Mar 8, 2015

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That Time Jefferson Airplane’s Grace Slick Taught You The Numbers On “Sesame Street”

That’s the voice of Grace Slick, of Jefferson Airplane in the video below. She was featured in nearly every episode of Sesame Street‘s debut season in 1969, singing counting songs over psychedelic free jazz and groovy animation. The Jazz Number segments, featuring race cars and spies, debuted in the first test pilot, and was first broadcast in the first episode of the series. Jazz #3 appeared in the second test show.

Composer Denny Zeitlin remembers:

“John Magnuson of Imagination, Inc. hired me to compose and perform that soundtrack, which is called “1 to 10”. I’m playing piano and clavinet on it, with Bobby Natanson on drums, and Mel Graves, bass. Some time after we recorded it, Grace Slick over-dubbed her parts.”

Jazz #8 was often followed by an Ernie and Bert sketch, which begins with Ernie watching (and singing along to) the end of the segment on his TV.

The film for #2 was included on Old School: Volume 1, as part of episodes 1 and 536, and in Old School: Volume 2, as part of the test pilot. The film for #10 was included in the Sesame Street Unpaved special.

The Nick Cave Skateboard You Want Right Now

Music

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Mar 8, 2015

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True legend of Australian music, Fast Times apparel’s good friend and Customer Nick Cave has teamed up with them to produce an exciting and rad collection. After discussing lyrics and a theme, it was agreed Nature Boy best suited the Melbourne Skate Scene and vibe of Fast Times. The lyrics are taken from Nature Boy, a track from’s Nick’s Abattoir Blues album which also features on the accompanying Fast Times Skate clip. Once the mood was set Artist Chuck Sperry hailing from San Francisco worked with them to come up with a design, one of Chuck’s women is seen tangled in her long golden locks wrapped in a psychedelic bed of flowers.