Auditorium

Auditorium is a unique Flash based game that is both visually and aurally stimulating.  The purpose of Auditorium is to guide the flow of colored audio particles  into the appropriate audio containers that are sporadically placed in a vast, empty environment.  Upon filling these containers, the colored audio particles transform into sound.  Each container corresponds with a different instrument, and with enough light, the containers will play in a symphony.  Through the use of directional arrows, attracts, repels, deflects, and rabbits, the audio particles can be routed around or through obstacles that include color spheres, divides, portals, and black holes.

Confused?  The game is surprisingly easy to learn.

Officially in full release, Auditorium is available for $10.99.  For this, one will receive 70 levels that are spread across 15 different acts.  However, the trial version available on the website was quite extensive while the game was still in beta.

If you find yourself needing help to complete a certain level, youTube has an extensive collection of videos to help you here.  And if you do not have the appropriate version of Flash, the latest is available here.

A. Greeman

Review: Soundcloud

As an aspiring producer, one is always looking for an effective medium to market their music.  It is imperative that one’s music ends up in the right persons hands.  CDs are obsolete.  Yes, there is MySpace, but does one really want to subject potential label representatives to our seizure inducing profile and questionable friends?

Enter Soundcloud.

Soundcloud is what Facebook is to Myspace.  With a refreshingly  clean aesthetic, SoundCloud  provides users a the ability to upload and disperse their music, quickly and easily.  There are currently two types of accounts: producers and labels, which both include a free basic account and several Pro accounts that range from $126 to $767.  Of course with a Pro account one is provided with additional uploads, support, and in the Pro Standard and Pro Max accounts; branded drop-boxes.  This makes sense for labels, as prospective producers can simply drag and drop completed tracks into a desired label’s drop-box.

With a free account:

• You can send up to 5 tracks per month. Deleting tracks after you uploaded them will not affect this limit.
• Only the 10 latest uploaded tracks are shown. Older tracks are saved, but hidden as long as you don’t upgrade to a PRO account.
• You can create 3 sets. If you downgrade from a PRO account, older sets will be saved but hidden.
• Your contact lists can contain max 20 users in total. You can still have an unlimited amount of followers, and you can follow up to 2000 people (this limit also exists for PRO accounts).
• Your DropBox only shows the latest 5 tracks. Older tracks are saved but hidden as long as you don’t upgrade to a PRO account.
• Basic stats works just like in the PRO Light account.

I have been using SoundCloud for about a month now, and have enjoyed many innovative functions.  The embeddable audio widget is both customizable to suit the color scheme of the site hosting, and supports embedding in email, Myspace, Facebook, Twitter, Digg, Twitter, Delicious, and StumbleUpon.  But perhaps the greatest feature that SoundCloud introduces is a time coded comment system.  To further explain, while listening to a track, one is able to leave a comment at a specific point during the song.  Sadly, comments can only be made by users.  One is also able to track the progress of both labels and artists that they like, introducing a social networking feel.  A user is also provided with schematics of total listens and comment amounts over time.

Like most start ups, bugs do exist.  The site, and at times the upload widget, are cumbersome at times.  There have been several instances where the site has been down for maintenance.  Furthermore, SoundCloud is somewhat obtuse in the explanation of what constitutes an upload.  Is it the act of placing a song into a drop-box, or is it simply uploading a personal track to your profile?

Ultimately, if you are a producer, SoundCloud is a fantastic medium for sharing your work.  The paradigm shift away from CDs has already begun, it is now just a question of where the pendulum will end up.  SoundCloud will only become more relevant with time.

Check out my SoundCloud profile here.

-A. Greeman

Last.fm – Internet Radio and Music Community – Review by DPollitt

So I’ve been giving Last.fm a shot for the past week or so.  It’s kind of like a Pandora meets Facebook with Netflix like recommendations built in.  It’s a good suppliment to your new music hunger, and I have sucessfully found some good new stuff on it already.  The system allows you to sync up your iPod, iTunes, or even Songbird(Open source iTunes replacement) to share your listening habits.

The biggest gain I can see with this platform, is the recommendation engine.  Last.fm will scan your library, and recommend similar artists or songs.  You can also listen to radio stations built entirely off of recommendations.  They have desktop clients that allow you to play the radio stations natively, or you can just use embeded flash players on the site.  Recently they also came out with an iPhone and iTouch application that let you do the same.

After I found a few friends that were also using the site, I was able to listen to radio stations that were built off of their favorites, and incorporate or add those songs to my library as I deemed fit.  I know what you are thinking, another social-networking site that no one wants.  But really, I found this to be a more targeted network.  Rather then sharing photos of my weekend, or my work experience, I just shared what songs I’ve been listening to and are currently listening to.  It’s pretty handy once you get it down.

So, I’d recommend Last.fm.  Even if you only try it out for a few days, it’s a great way to find new music and artists.

-DPollitt

Speechwriters LLC

Here’s an entire concert posted on YouTube by the group Speechwriters LLC. If you haven’t heard of them, they are an Acoustic/Folk/Jam Band from Southern California. This clip is a single song from the entire concert posting below.

[Entire Concert]
Thanks for the heads up brother-

-DPollitt