Apple and EMI are releasing a limited edition Apple shaped 16GB USB device that contains all 14 Beatles albums!  The albums are all digitally remastered in stereo and are DRM free (Note for Mom and Dad: DRM free means that you can share the music with anyone without getting put in jail).  The albums also come in two formats – 320 Kbps MP3 and lossless FLAC 24-bit (Note for Mom and Dad: I know you guys know what an MP3 is but FLAC format is a higher quality version of an MP3 and actually sound cleaner than a CD would… neat huh!?)

As if getting the whole Beatles collection in two different file formats wasn’t enough The Beatles Apple USB also comes with rare photographs, replicated album art, enhanced liner notes, and 13 mini-documentary films.

There will only be 30,000 of these released (at $263CAD) so you may want to get your pre-order on now at The Beatles Store.  Canadians, it looks like we will have to order from Amazon.ca as the Beatles website does not ship to us in the Great White North.  Release date is December 8th.

Cheers!

jordenf

I have good news my loyal readers… I have found that party saver.  The Electronic Rock Guitar Shirt!

Not only does this shirt look awesome but it actually plays like a proper guitar as it includes all the major chords (which are pre-recorded by a real electric guitar).   It also comes with a mini-amplifier that turns up to 11 so you can bust out a proper jam session like the nerds in the video below:

How could these guys NOT be fighting off chicks left right and centre with those chops!  Also did you notice the gentleman rocking out on his Drum Kit Shirt in the background?  Oh yes, the folks over at ThinkGeek decided that an Electronic Rock Guitar Shirt wasn’t enough and wanted to create The White Stripes of t-shirt bands so the also created the Electronic Drum Kit Shirt, which plays 7 different drum sounds!  So now you can play The Hardest Button to Button on the back of the bus and make all sorts of new fans and groupies.

Now the real kicker here is that these shirts are only $30US!  Beats paying $176 for a shirt from Christian Audigier that makes you look like a douche and does nothing but rests on your shoulders and covers your chest and stomach with an ugly-ass skull that says Heart Breaker underneath it.

So now you really only need an electric bass guitar shirt (those bassists always get left out) and maybe throw in a playable piano tie as well and you could be picking up tonnes of babes on the beach or underneath a tree or wherever super sensitive musicians and poets hang out.

Rock On!

jordenf

Find more pictures of these two shirts on my Flickr Feed or if you would like to read a related post you can always check out mine on The Art of the Air Instrument!

Tim "Glen Airy Glen Rocks" Evans - Canadian Air Guitar Champion

So I was driving home from work listening to some muzak (as the kid’s like to call it) and rockin’ out with my bad self.  I was parked at a stop light and I busted out a mad air guitar solo… after the solo was over I went back into the chorus and I was halfway through a G Chord when I realized I must look like a total knob to anyone around.  I looked to my left… whew, no one there…. then to my right… crap, there was a car right beside me!  But as I looked through my window sheepishly I noticed that the middle-aged gentleman in the Honda CRV beside me was beating his steering wheel with some make-believe drum sticks.  Wow, all we needed was someone to pull up on the left playing the Air Bass and we’ve got a band!

Air Guitar or Air Instrumentation is a part of most people’s lives.  Everyone at one point in time has belted out the lyrics to a song and strummed away on thin air.  It makes you feel like a rock-star even though you look like a tool.  For people who are not musically talented it is a way to participate in the enjoyment of a song while not hurting the ears of the people around them.  Now for those of you who don’t know what Air Guitar is, please click the little X icon at the top right hand of your screen… I’m kidding, I’m kidding, seriously don’t… my blog needs you.  But as per the Air Guitar Canada website… yep there is a website, air guitar is defined as the following:

air guitar / ɛər gɪˈtɑr / n. the act of pretending to play guitar, consisting of an exaggerated strumming motion and often coupled with loud singing or lip-syncing.

Air guitars are familiar in shape to normal guitars, with the exception that they are made exclusively out of air. Generally most Air guitars have 6 strings but the occasional 12 string axe has been spotted. By and large, electric Air Guitars are most popular but there has been a recent resurgence of the acoustic variety.

Air Guitar is obviously a little more popular than you previously thought, and as if it is destiny or something, while I am writing this blog and doing some research I’ve found out that it is actually the 14th Annual World Air Guitar Championships on Friday August 21st 2009!  By visiting their website you can actually watch the finals today live via webcast.   How about that for timing!  Now Craig “Hot Lixx Hulahan” Billmeier is the reigning world champion but I’ve posted a clip of my favourite Air Guitarists who will be competing this year… C.Diddy.

Now awesome isn’t exactly how I would describe him but I’m sure he gets tonnes of chicks.

Although Air Guitar is definitely the most popular out of all the air instruments the Air Drum has been making a pretty big push in pop-culture these days.  There is a movie that came out a year ago called the Adventures of Power which isn’t just the best air instrument movie but could possibly be the best trailer of any movie I have ever seen.

Now if you don’t want to go out and form an Air Band after seeing that you aren’t human.  Now if you are interested in competing professionally on the Air Guitar circuit you can go to the Air Guitar Canada website and fill out and entry form.  If you are voted as the best you get to travel to Finland for next years World Air Guitar Championships.    You will have to read all the rules first before entering… just so you know what you are getting yourself into.  Some of my favourite rules from the AGC are:

1. The instrument of an Air Guitar player must be invisible, i.e. air.

2. An Air Guitarist may play an electric guitar or an acoustic one – or both.

3. Personal Air Roadies are allowed. Backing groups – real or Air Groups – are not allowed.

So what are you waiting for!  Sign up and let me know how it goes… and if you hit it big and need a band, I can play an awesome rendition of “More Than a Feeling” by Boston!

Now go and rock on with your Air Instrument, whatever it might be!  But just don’t play the air-trombone… try it in the mirror and you’ll see what I mean.

Cheers!

jordenf

This video has already hit over 12 million views and has also boosted the sales of Chris Brown’s song Forever (which is the track they cut a rug to).  After the wedding Jill and Kevin got booked with their friends to appear on the Today Show and re-create the event outside Rockefeller Center.

If the stuffiest most boring part of the wedding was like THAT can you imagine what that party would be like after everyone got some booze into their system!!??  Now that’s a wedding I want to be a part of!

Cheers!

jordenf

Mark this down in your calendar folks: Sunday, August 9th 2009.  It’s the 10th Annual Burnaby Blues & Roots Festival at Deer Lake Park.  Now as a 26 year old with an older soul when it comes to music I am really looking forward to this event… but even if you haven’t listened to much blues or roots music in the past I recommend you come to the festival anyways, you wont be disappointed.

I’m not one of those music know it all’s who tries to tell everyone who they should listen to and why.  I don’t pretend to know the origin of where most styles of music came from.  And I believe that no matter how crappy I think a group is (Pussycat Dolls) I have no right to tell you what you are allowed to enjoy.  However, in my opinion (and it’s only my opinion) I feel that blues and roots should at least be given some credit as the basis for a lot of the music that is popular today.  Take The White Stripes, The Black Keys, The Black Crowes, The Raconteurs… I guess any band with the word “The” in it, they all have a blues & roots feel to the music they create, and a lot of people who enjoy that music today don’t realize where it all came from.  So if you like any of those bands, are just a lover of live music, or want a bit of an education on where rock music originated from this should be a concert you will enjoy.

The festival is Sunday, although there will be artists preforming at different venues around  Burnaby on Friday and Saturday as it has been extended to a 3 day event of sorts.  The artists include Rich Hope, Keb Mo, JJ Grey and Mofro, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, and the headliner Smokey Robinson.  If you haven’t been to Deer Lake before it has a beautiful natural amphitheater with a lake nestled behind the stage.  The City of Burnaby and BC government have recently put a combined 1.7 million into making it a premier outdoor venue.

Tickets are only $45 for the day and this is the type of festival you can take your kids or parents to without worry of a “sketchy” crowd being around.  Hope to see you there!

Cheers!

jordenf

*UPDATE* – July 15,2009 – it looks like the Merritt Music Festival may be saved, but not in its current form and not without some red-tape.  See the article below from The Canadian Press:

The longtime operator of the Merritt Mountain Music Festival is mulling legal action over a proposal by the International Network of Independent Recording Artists to operate the event in 2010. International Network has announced plans to change the 17-year-old festival in Merritt, B.C., from a four-day country music event to a combined rock and country format focused on independent musicians. But Active Mountain Entertainment president Claude Lalievre is fuming about the speedy announcement, and the group’s suggestion that it will proceed with its own festival if a deal can’t be reached. Lalievre says he had planned preliminary discussions with International Network in Vancouver on Thursday, but those arrangements are off while he contacts his lawyer.

Read my original post below.

Well I always said I would go once but now I will never get a chance (I’m not heartbroken because to be honest I can’t stand country music).  The Merritt Mountain Festival is now over, for good.

After losing money for the last few years the owner of Active Mountain Entertainment Corp. Claude Lalievre who puts on the show every year is “tired of losing his retirement fund.”  After Merritt tried to market itself more towards families rather than drunk teens it started to lose numbers (didn’t they learn anything from that failed Las Vegas family campaign).  Attendance dropped by half from 2007 to 2008 and 2009 was not much better despite getting big names like Kenny Chesney and The Judds.  Merritt Mayor Susan Roline says that the town of Merritt will lose 3 million in direct spending from the festival being cancelled and Lalievre said the economic spin-off that will now be lost for local businesses and tourism is about $30 million.  Yikes!

Now the only thing I can see saving this is if a third party comes in and puts a whole bunch of money into Active Mountain Entertainment to put the festival on for 2010, but only time will tell I guess.

So sorry drunk underagers and guys who wear cowboy hats 3 days out of the year, you’ll have to make the trek now to Calgary for the Stampede and drink your Pilsner there.

Cheers!

jordenf

UPDATE – August 28, 2009 – So I’ve had the privilege of listening to the first disc of the new Black Crowes effort Before the Frost a few days before it’s release.  Let me tell you that this blows their last album Warpaint (which I did enjoy) out of the water.  The album starts of with some great ol’ timey piano and you’re thinking “okay, this is going to be different” but then it changes right into this nasty hard rock riff and after you’re done listening to the first cut Good Morning Captain you can already tell that this album is going to be phenomenal… and it is.  I won’t write a review on it because I think music is one of those things where everyone should form their own opinions and it doesn’t really matter what anyone else thinks, but after 4 listens through the disc it has already bumped it’s way up to my 3rd favourite out of the Crowes albums (only Southern Harmony and Amorica are ahead of it in my opinion).  I can’t wait for Until the Freeze to be released on Monday.  Do yourself a favour and go pick up Before the Frost… Until the Freeze on August 31st.

Read the original post below.

A quick update to my post about The Black Crowes double album Before the Frost… Until the Freeze.  The Crowes have released their first single today and it’s called I Ain’t Hiding.   I’ll let you be the judge for yourself on what you think but the ever evolving Black Crowes have gone out on a limb with this one…  It’s a disco tune.  And after listening to it about 10 times today I kind of dig it.  I also think it’s cool that they’ve let you download it for free just to tide you over until the album is released on September 1st, 2009, although I’d hurry because I’m sure they will take it down once the album comes out.

Now I know for a fact that the remaining 19 songs on the double album are nothing like this and that the first disc Before the Frost is straight up Black Crowes rock… with one disco song of course, and the second disc (which is actually a free 9 song download) Until the Freeze has a bit more of a country twang to it.  So if the I Ain’t Hiding single throws you off a bit… just have a little patience for the rest of the goods.

Cheers!

jordenf

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Read the original post below.

I’ve noticed that over the last few years my music tastes have changed. I guess it’s bound to happen when you move from your college years into married life and binge drinking while dancing to Tupac or Biggie until 4am turns into a steady career, watching Jon & Kate Plus 8, and being in bed by 10:30. I mean I still enjoy the artists of my youth and listen to them every once in a while, but for some reason I can only handle The Offspring once every 32 weeks or so. I guess it’s just that my taste in music is expanding and becoming broader… which I guess is never a bad thing. So with this every expanding thirst for new music I have been introduced by different people to many different genres and artists… and one of those artists is The Black Crowes.

You have probably heard of them because they have been around since the early 90′s with hits such as Jealous Again and Hard to Handle, and you may know about their lead singer Chris Robinson because he used to be married to Kate Hudson… but you may also have thought they broke up (which they actually did for a little while) or just dropped off the face of the earth because they haven’t come out with a mainstream single in almost a decade. Well they are still kicking around and I’m going to tell you why you should give them a shot as one of the bands that makes it on your 20GB iPod.

First off they are actually musically talented (not 3 chord talented like some other bands), there are 6 of them in the band plus 2 backup singers which gives them a rich and full sound. They tour like mad which makes them very accessible for die-hard fans to catch as many shows as they want. And at those shows the play long sets with extended jam sessions and they never repeat the same set list, so you really feel like you get your moneys worth every time you go to a show. They play great covers at least once or twice a set and even the list of covers they preform is so extensive (and always changing) that you rarely get repeats of those either. The other cool thing that adds to their accessibility is that all of their live music is catalogued. You can go to liveblackcrowes.com and order any live show you want and it will be shipped to you, this is such a neat idea because what is a better souvenir from a show than the actual show itself… much better than a lame concert t-shirt (and one of The Crowes downfalls are their lame t-shirts).  All of their studio albums are very different from each other and all of them offer a different side of The Crowes and each of those sides might suite whatever mood you’re  in.  For instance if I’m on a road trip I’ll put in Warpaint or Shake Your Money Maker, if I’m at work I’ll throw on Amorica.

I’ll keep it short and sweet, I definitely recommend you check out The Black Crowes, they have a new double album coming out on September 1st called Before the Frost… Until the Freeze (pictured above). And of course in typical Black Crowes fashion they offer up something a little different to their fans (or Amoricans as they are called).  The first disc Before the Frost is the actual album you purchase and with that purchase you get Until the Freeze (which is a 9 track downloadable album) for free! Oh and did I mention that these albums were recorded in a studio session with about 200 fans watching, what other band have you heard of that invites fans to experience the recording process half a year before the album is even released!?

If you want to check out The Crowes before the September 1st release of Before the Frost… Until the Freeze download or buy The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion which in my opinion is their best release so far. If you start with that you will be hooked just as I was when someone bought it for me three years ago.

Cheers!

jordenf

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We got to the theatre 45 minutes early and it was already packed with men aged 35-45 who had escaped their parents basement for an evening of pop corn and maybe a little human contact.  I didn’t know what to expect (well not much to be honest), but the first 20 minutes was action packed and lots of stuff exploded which is always good.  It then it focused in on a young Luke Skywalker (wait that’s the wrong movie I think)… it focused in on a young William Shatner (actually I think that’s wrong too, well kind of)… it focused in on a young Captain Kirk racing through Iowa in his step-dads stolen car.  The song Sabotage by the Beastie Boys played through the background and I realized right away this isn’t your mom and dad’s old school nerdy sci-fi movie.

Now youtube or the folks from Star Trek wont allow me to embed a trailer for the movie in this post… but the folks at Harold and Kumar are a little more relaxed and to be honest it’s a funny trailer so I’ve included it instead below (however if you want to see the Star Trek trailer click the link and it will take you to the correct youtube page. Star Trek Trailer)

Star Trek was great in my opinion, I didn’t need to be a Trekky to know what was going on and it kept me entertained the whole night.  It had a good mix of action, story line and they didn’t make the characters too lame but at the same time they didn’t try to over do it with coolness… they were just rad enough I guess.

The one thing that I did find really hard to get used to was Harold from Harold and Kumar go to White Castle was Mr. Sulu, he’s the guy who drives the ship.  It’s really hard to look at that guy seriously when you know he just wants to smoke a bowl and take the Enterprise through the White Castle drive-thru for a burger and fries.  I kept waiting for Kumar to show up on the bridge… and even at one point I thought he was one of the extras in the background but sadly I was incorrect.

So in short. Star Trek was awesome… and going to the theatre was an experience on its own as there were a lot of different cats there; some who had never talked to a girl, some in leather trench coats, most socially awkward, and some who write blogs.

Live Long and go to White Castle,

jordenf

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Their newest album is called Mission Control and I really recommend you pick it up.  Its got a great southern rock feel to it.  A mix between The Black Keys and My Morning Jacket, two other bands that if you haven’t heard about you should check out as well.

So needless to say not only am I geeked to go see Kings of Leon but now I think I will make sure I get to GM Place early to see The Whigs as well.

And if you haven’t picked up any Kings of Leon yet, well then you are not listening to music properly, their album Because of the Times is an absolute must in your iTunes or CD library.

Cheers!

jordenf

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