Kings of Leon drummer Nathan Followill tied the knot with “Firesight” singer Jessie Baylin over the weekend.
Nathan’s bandmates — brothers Caleb and Jared Followill and cousin Matthew Followill — attended the wedding in Tennessee on Saturday. As did actress Scarlett Johansson, a high school friend of the bride, 25.
Jessie hit Twitter immediately following the weekend [...]
aNobii.com is a cataloging and social networking website for booklovers. On aNobii you can catalog your book collection on a beautiful wooden shelf and meet people with similar reading tastes. aNobii has an international following with information on over 10 million books, including 200,000 book reviews spanning 15 languages.
aNobii has just released an iphone app, and we’ve had a chance to try it out. The bottom line: this is the best iPhone app for booklovers we’ve seen so far.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the features that set aNobii apart:
The barcode scanning feature is a major selling point. Rather than starting from scratch with their own system, aNobii has partnered with Barcode Monster, a startup that focuses on software that enables ordinary webcams to scan barcodes.
The interface is intuitive. Click on the “Scan” button and you’ll go into camera mode, with a semi-transparent hint that helps you fit the barcode into the right spot. You don’t have to press any button; the app starts scanning automatically when your hand is steady (using iPhone’s accelerometer to detect movements), and stops when it recognizes a barcode. On our first try it took about 5 seconds. We quickly got the hang of it, though, and soon were averaging scans in about a second.
Another caveat is that barcode scanning is only available to 3Gs users, probably because earlier models lack auto-focus. For those with a 3G or 2G phone, there’s a lite version that has the same features except barcode scanning.
After a barcode is recognized, the cover and the title appears. Click on the cover to see the details of the book.
You can search for a book by entering the title, the ISBN, or by scanning its barcode. We’ve tried a dozen English titles from our office and aNobii has information for all of them.
For each book, you can see reviews, basic details, and which online bookstores are selling it. Not every book we’ve tried had as many reviews as we would like, though. It would be more convenient if there are links to reviews from other websites as well.
You can make a wish-list of books you want to read. This is a helpful reminder next time you visit a bookstore. This feature is simple and gets the job done.
Using your iPhone as a barcode scanner, you can build your collection quite quickly. While the wooden shelf looks very nice, there seems to be little need to have your collection in your pocket. On the other hand, your mobile shelf will sync with your shelf on the aNobii website, which is more useful as you can share your collection with friends and fellow booklovers.
aNobii is $1.99 in the iTunes App Store.
Pros
Cons
Leon Ho has a decade of experience in technology and the Internet. He was a manager of Software Engineering at Red Hat, Inc. and led an international team of software engineers. In 2007, Leon left Red Hat to launch Stepcase as an umbrella for both Stepcase Lifehack and Stepcase Apps. Recently, he won the #4 spot in BusinessWeek’s Top 24 Young Asian Entrepreneurs.
Words by: Wesley Hodges | Images from: arcticmonkeys.com
Arctic Monkeys :: 10.02.09 :: House of Blues :: New Orleans, LA
 Arctic Monkeys |
The mini-ACL happening in NOLA continued Friday night (after catching the unreal Phoenix show at Tipitina’s on Thursday and Dr. Dog on Wednesday) as modern day rock & roll success story Arctic Monkeys rolled through the Big Easy for a sold out show at the House of Blues. The Monkeys shocked the system, delivering an aggressive set leaving little on the table as they coursed through new Humbug tunes and staples from their earlier work (see JamBase’s review of the new album here).
It’s easy to forget that these guys are still relatively new to the game looking so at home playing to a slam-packed house. For a British band, there is a definite surf rock spin on much of the material, with lustrous and LOUD Hawaiian guitar riffage beaming throughout. Songs like “I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor” bleed power and are almost too fast. The heavy Clash influence exhibits itself on the boisterous “Dancing Shoes” as frontman Alex Turner sings:
The lights are flashing
Down in here tonight
And some might exchange a glance
But keep pretending to dance
 Arctic Monkeys |
A staple cover in their live set these days, Nick Cave’s “Red Right Hand” was the highlight of the short set as the Monkeys put their stamp on a familiar tune. The cover was downright evil, with a sinister outro that could easily double as a horror movie score. A blinding strobe visual aesthetic scorched retinas and coupled well with the constant power emanating from Matt Helders‘ drum kit. American mainstream rock bands along the same lines of Kings of Leon could learn a lot from these guys, who give fans something fresh and put their best foot forward each time out. I wouldn’t describe their music as particularly ambitious or exploratory – these guys stuck to their script of delivering tightly framed, freewheeling viscera throughout the set – but it’s a beautiful thing and the bouncy crowd in the pit surely agreed. They exuded raw energy, seemed to enjoy themselves in the process, and made an outward effort to engage the generation-spanning crowd at HoB.
The encore left fans wanting more and although frustrating, it’s always cool to see a band that knows when to hit the road and leave on a high note, with the Monkeys concluding with an epic blast through “505,” the closing track from the band’s second album, Favourite Worst Nightmare. The Monkeys departed the stage one-by-one with guitarist Jamie Cook closing it down in brilliant fashion.
If you need a shot in the arm or just want further proof that ballsy rock & roll is still alive and well, then go check out Arctic Monkeys. The glorified rock dream isn’t dead, and the young British rockers are climbing towards that pantheon of superstardom here in the States that they have enjoyed in Europe since the release of their instant classic and record breaking debut, Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not (JamBase review), which outsold Oasis’ Definitely Maybe as the fastest-selling debut in British history, a mere three years ago.
10.02.09 :: House of Blues :: New Orleans, LA
Dance Little Liar, Brainstorm, Crying Lightening, Still Take You Home, Secret Door View From the Afternoon, Dangerous Animals, Potion Approaching, I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor, Sketchead Red Right Hand (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds cover), My Propeller, Cornerstone, Do Me a Favour, This House is a Circus, If You Were There, Beware
E: Fluorescent Adolescent, 505
“Red Right Hand” Nick Cave cover:
“505″:
Arctic Monkeys tour dates available here.
JamBase | New Orleans
Go See Live Music!
Words by: Paul Felt | Images by: Joe Ryan
Kings of Leon :: 09.12.09 :: IZOD Center :: East Rutherford, NJ
 Kings of Leon :: 09.12 :: New Jersey |
Years from now when people ask me what great American rock music sounded like in the 2000s, I will probably play them some Kings of Leon.
The band’s music is refreshingly uncomplicated and lacking in pretense. They make straight-ahead rock music that’s not beholden to the limitations or whims of any particular scene, trend, emotion, plight, or technology. Somehow, it seems revolutionary to hear modern rock music be so real, tuneful and intelligent, yet hard driving and raw. And seeing it performed by a group of young men who aren’t rock star caricatures baring their chests, piercings and tattoos, or harboring Behind the Music style drama and angst, is a more than welcome bonus.
On a critical note, KOL never gave the crowd much in way of stage theatrics, and it did take them a few songs to hit their stride. “Molly’s Chambers,” an early hit, arrived early in their set and lacked the intensity it has on record. It seemed to swing more than drive things forward. But, once they loosened up by about four or five songs in, they did their material justice. While I would have rather seen them in a small, sweaty club – and sensed that they would rather be performing in a smaller venue – they showed that they have a right to the throne. This is one of the great American rock bands of our day, replete with a manly-man lead vocalist (Caleb Followill) and an impeccable rhythm section. With his rowdy, sexy lyrics, baritone full of attitude and beard, Caleb is reminiscent of Jim Morrison and Chris Cornell.
 Kings of Leon :: 09.12 :: New Jersey |
While KOL didn’t do much onstage “show” wise, an incredible over-the-top light rig mixed with live videography and film footage enabled the band to fill out the venue with their music and presence.
At several points in the set, Caleb commented that they felt honored to be performing in the arena most closely associated with the pride of the Garden State, Bruce Springsteen. “He was 56 when he last played here. I’m 27,” the singer said. He seemed awe-struck, but he and his bandmates, two brothers on bass and drums and a cousin playing lead guitar, have rightfully earned their success and large following. Great showmen these Followills of Tennessee are not, but world-class rockers, musicians, and songwriters they most certainly are.
To paraphrase a line from Frank Zappa, “Rock music’s not dead. It just smells funny.” If you’re inclined to agree, then perhaps Kings of Leon are the band to change your mind. It smells good these days. It’s about fuckin’ time.
Kings of Leon are on tour now; dates available here.
JamBase | Jersey
Go See Live Music!
Pop sensation Lady Gaga’s hit track Poker Face has become the most downloaded song in the five-year history of the Official UK Downloads Chart.
The singer’s another hit ‘Just Dance’ is also said to be at No3 in the list.
“I am honoured to be the songwriter and performer behind the No1 and No3 songs,” the Sun [...]
The Kings of Leon are taking over the rock scene, and they have alot of Hollywood stars in their army!
The band from Nashville Tennessee have been performing around the US, and their Saturday night concert in LA at The Forum had numerous celebrities there. The band, best known for there song “Sex on Fire”, were [...]
Two men have died in a huge forest fire which officials suspect was started deliberately in central Spain’s Castilla y Leon region.
One of the victims, a bulldozer driver sent to put out the fire, was killed when he lost control of his machine.
A 63-year-old retired teacher, Javier Heras, also died when he became trapped in his home by flames.
It is estimated forest fires across Spain have claimed at least eight lives this summer, amid soaring temperatures.
The blaze in a mountainous region near the town of Avila devoured over 300 hectares (740 acres) of woodland in just five hours.
It broke out at around 1100 GMT on Tuesday, spreading to some 150 km (90 miles) west of Madrid, and was still out of control on Wednesday.
A woman feared earlier to have perished in the fire has been found.
Towns and a monastery in the area have been evacuated and residents moved to local schools and sports centres.
The smoke was reported to be visible as far away as parts of Madrid.</p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Late Night Music Lineups
Can’t make it to any shows this week? Check out live music on the tube…
Late Show with David Letterman
 |
Mon, July 27 – Dave Matthews Band
Tue, July 28 – Silversun Pickups
Wed, July 29 – Elbow
Thu, July 30 – Cage the Elephant
Fri, July 31 – Dave Matthews Band
The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien
Mon, July 27 – The Fray
Thu, July 30 – Regina Spektor
Fri, July 31 – Ben Harper and Relentless7
Wed, July 29 – The Sounds
Thu, July 30 – Jack’s Mannequin
Fri, July 31 – Diane Birch
Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
Mon, July 27 – Gavin DeGraw
Wed, July 29 – Rodney Carrington
Mon, July 27 – Spinal Tap
Wed, July 29 – Passion Pit
Thu, July 30 – Jarvis Cocker
Fri, July 31 – Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band
Other Performances of Interest
Tue, July 28 – Stevie Wonder on The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Wed, July 29 – Kanye West Live From the Chicago Theatre on Fuse.tv
Fri, July 31 – Kings of Leon on The Today Show
Lourdes Ciccone Leon, the 12-year-old daughter of pop queen Madonna, has been ordered to wear a back brace to help correct a spinal problem.
Lourdes was photographed earlier this month wearing SpineCor body brace around her waist.
Spinal expert Dr. Ron Marinaro, of The Scoliosis Center of Los Angeles, explains that the discreet device is designed [...]
Rock band Kings Of Leon has apologised to their Spanish fans for not being able to perform at Benicassim Festival due to heavy thunderstorms.
The group was supposed to play in an outdoor concert on July 17, until the last minute when the sets got scrapped as the town was hit by a storm, the Daily [...]
• Teenagers switching to streaming sites – survey
• Spotify and YouTube lead the way as habits change
They are the record companies’ bogeyman: the 15-year-old in their bedroom ripping off a star’s latest album and sharing it with their friends has been blamed for bringing an industry to its knees.
But new research shows that the number of teenagers illegally sharing music has fallen dramatically in the past year.
The survey of 1,000 fans also shows that many14 to 18 year olds are now streaming music regularly online using services such as YouTube and Spotify.
At the same time less than a third of teenagers are now illegally downloading music, the survey suggests. In January this year 26% of 14 to 18 year olds admitted filesharing at least once a month compared with 42% in December 2007.
The research revealed that many teenagers (65%) are streaming music regularly, with more 14 to 18 year olds (31%) listening to streamed music on their computer every day compared with music fans overall (18%).
The picture may be more complex than a simple shift from filesharing to streaming, with people sharing music in new ways such as via bluetooth technology, on blogs, and through copying, also known as ripping content from friends’ MP3 devices.
Even though users of streaming services are not necessarily buying more music, the industry benefits by learning more about fans’ tastes. Steve Purdham, CEO and founder of We7, a music streaming service and download store, said: “They may not buy an album, though they have that opportunity, but you can sell them tour tickets and a T-shirt of their favourite band.”
We7 has 2 million users a month and works with artists including Florence and the Machine and Jarvis Cocker to stream new albums before they are available to buy.
Paul Brindley, CEO of Music Ally, which carried out the survey with media and technology research company, The Leading Question, said: “These figures challenge the idea that filesharing will just continue to grow. While we don’t think for a second that it shows the war against piracy is won, it does at least suggest that there is encouraging news for the music industry.”
The government has pledged tougher measures to crack down on illegal filesharing, including sending warning letters to people making illegal downloads of music and films. Repeat offenders could also have their internet connections slowed down.
Music fan Dominique Wakefield, 24, said she had stopped downloading music because of concern that it would infect her computer. “I didn’t even realise it was illegal for a long time, until I heard that the government were trying to stop it. That did put me off, but one of the big reasons I stopped doing it was because I would get viruses, more pop ups on my computer. While I was at uni I started listening to streamed music using MySpace. Bands would be friends with other bands and it was a great way of discovering new music. I don’t really feel the need to own all that music, I know it’s always there.
“I still buy the occasional CD, and sometimes use iTunes. If I find myself loving a whole album and listening to it again and again, then I will buy it. But it has to be quite special.”
The rise of streaming sites is far from assured. Daniel Ek, the founder of Spotify – an ad-funded streaming site which also offers a premium subscription model – recently admitted that the service, which launched in October 2008 and now has 2 million registered users, was not on target to make its revenue forecasts.
We7, which launched six months ago and relies on selling adverts of between three to seven seconds before each song, is yet to break even. But Jim Butcher, a spokesman for Spotify, said the company was confident that the quality of the product would win over users, premium subscribers and advertisers. “One of the fundamental aims of Spotify was to develop a service that was better than piracy,” he said. “We’ve always maintained that music fans don’t want to fileshare illegally but they do want to have everything at their fingertips instantly.”
Legal digital sales are also seeing an unprecedented boom, although sales are far from making up from the shortfall created by the collapse of the physical market. Digital singles were up 41.5% in 2008, while physical singles sales plunged 43.5%, according to the BPI. Last year three albums – Coldplay’s Viva La Vida, Kings of Leon’s Only By Night and Duffy’s Rockferry – sold more than 100,000 digital copies, and the impact of digital is nowhere more apparent than in the UK singles top 40, where Michael Jackson has 12 posthumous entries in the current chart.
The new research – which involved 1,000 face-to-face interviews and a series of focus groups – also revealed that a fraction more music fans are regularly buying single track downloads (19%) than filesharing single tracks (17%).
Geoff Taylor, CEO of the BPI called the figures “absolutely encouraging”. He said: “The industry has worked hard to licence new services, they are great music discovery tools and a new way for artists to get paid and drive new sales.”
Francis Keeling, vice president of digital at Universal, welcomed the news but said streaming had to be combined with new services, such as the company’s new deal with Virgin Media which will offer broadband users unlimited downloads for a monthly fee. “We are confident that the numerous legal alternatives to filesharing will result in a long term reduction in piracy,” he said.
• Teenagers switching to streaming sites – survey
• Spotify and YouTube lead the way as habits change
They are the record companies’ bogeyman: the 15-year-old in their bedroom ripping off a star’s latest album and sharing it with their friends has been blamed for bringing an industry to its knees.
But new research shows that the number of teenagers illegally sharing music has fallen dramatically in the past year.
The survey of 1,000 fans also shows that many14 to 18 year olds are now streaming music regularly online using services such as YouTube and Spotify.
At the same time less than a third of teenagers are now illegally downloading music, the survey suggests. In January this year 26% of 14 to 18 year olds admitted filesharing at least once a month compared with 42% in December 2007.
The research revealed that many teenagers (65%) are streaming music regularly, with more 14 to 18 year olds (31%) listening to streamed music on their computer every day compared with music fans overall (18%).
The picture may be more complex than a simple shift from filesharing to streaming, with people sharing music in new ways such as via bluetooth technology, on blogs, and through copying, also known as ripping content from friends’ MP3 devices.
Even though users of streaming services are not necessarily buying more music, the industry benefits by learning more about fans’ tastes. Steve Purdham, CEO and founder of We7, a music streaming service and download store, said: “They may not buy an album, though they have that opportunity, but you can sell them tour tickets and a T-shirt of their favourite band.”
We7 has 2 million users a month and works with artists including Florence and the Machine and Jarvis Cocker to stream new albums before they are available to buy.
Paul Brindley, CEO of Music Ally, which carried out the survey with media and technology research company, The Leading Question, said: “These figures challenge the idea that filesharing will just continue to grow. While we don’t think for a second that it shows the war against piracy is won, it does at least suggest that there is encouraging news for the music industry.”
The government has pledged tougher measures to crack down on illegal filesharing, including sending warning letters to people making illegal downloads of music and films. Repeat offenders could also have their internet connections slowed down.
Music fan Dominique Wakefield, 24, said she had stopped downloading music because of concern that it would infect her computer. “I didn’t even realise it was illegal for a long time, until I heard that the government were trying to stop it. That did put me off, but one of the big reasons I stopped doing it was because I would get viruses, more pop ups on my computer. While I was at uni I started listening to streamed music using MySpace. Bands would be friends with other bands and it was a great way of discovering new music. I don’t really feel the need to own all that music, I know it’s always there.
“I still buy the occasional CD, and sometimes use iTunes. If I find myself loving a whole album and listening to it again and again, then I will buy it. But it has to be quite special.”
The rise of streaming sites is far from assured. Daniel Ek, the founder of Spotify – an ad-funded streaming site which also offers a premium subscription model – recently admitted that the service, which launched in October 2008 and now has 2 million registered users, was not on target to make its revenue forecasts.
We7, which launched six months ago and relies on selling adverts of between three to seven seconds before each song, is yet to break even. But Jim Butcher, a spokesman for Spotify, said the company was confident that the quality of the product would win over users, premium subscribers and advertisers. “One of the fundamental aims of Spotify was to develop a service that was better than piracy,” he said. “We’ve always maintained that music fans don’t want to fileshare illegally but they do want to have everything at their fingertips instantly.”
Legal digital sales are also seeing an unprecedented boom, although sales are far from making up from the shortfall created by the collapse of the physical market. Digital singles were up 41.5% in 2008, while physical singles sales plunged 43.5%, according to the BPI. Last year three albums – Coldplay’s Viva La Vida, Kings of Leon’s Only By Night and Duffy’s Rockferry – sold more than 100,000 digital copies, and the impact of digital is nowhere more apparent than in the UK singles top 40, where Michael Jackson has 12 posthumous entries in the current chart.
The new research – which involved 1,000 face-to-face interviews and a series of focus groups – also revealed that a fraction more music fans are regularly buying single track downloads (19%) than filesharing single tracks (17%).
Geoff Taylor, CEO of the BPI called the figures “absolutely encouraging”. He said: “The industry has worked hard to licence new services, they are great music discovery tools and a new way for artists to get paid and drive new sales.”
Francis Keeling, vice president of digital at Universal, welcomed the news but said streaming had to be combined with new services, such as the company’s new deal with Virgin Media which will offer broadband users unlimited downloads for a monthly fee. “We are confident that the numerous legal alternatives to filesharing will result in a long term reduction in piracy,” he said.
