Guitar Hero IV drum kit gets pictured, “cymbals” and all

Engadget:

“Game Informer is at it once more: after securing the first snapshots
of Rock Band’s prototype drum set and microphone last summer, the
gaming mag has now produced the first image of Guitar Hero IV’s kit.
Apparently designers wanted this one to resemble an actual electric kit
a bit more than the one bundled with RB, most evidenced by the pair of
“cymbals” perched atop the trio of circular pads. Upon banging on a
“first-run prototype” in the Neversoft offices, Game Informer
was fairly impressed with the layout, but we’re still left to wonder if
these will be compatible with Rock Band (or vice-versa). Another faux
drum kit in the den and we’ll be struggling to maintain sanity (and a
functional relationship).”

[Via Joystiq]

Again and Again: The OS X desktop as music video

Boing Boing: “Digital filmmaker Dennis Liu has produced a video for the The Bird and the Bee’s
lovely single “Again and Again,” in which the lyrics, melody and vocals
unspool in surprising ways across his Mac’s desktop in a beautiful
visual harmony… ending in an artfully delightful pimping of the band
in question that makes buying the track on iTunes almost hypnotically
compulsory.

This is the sort of video that would drive you mad if you had to
experience it endlessly looped on the big screen of your local Apple
store, yet Liu’s film is far, far more brilliant and joyful and
effective than any ad campaign Apple’s ever done… a wonderful zen
fusion between one filmmaker’s uncynical enthusiasm for his platform of
choice and an adorable little pop song.”

Jero, the First Black Enka Singer in Japan

Neatorama: “Twenty six year old Jero looks like he’s trying to break into the
music industry. With his decidedly urban, hip-hop look, you’d be
forgiven if you think that he’s a wannabe rapper… That is, until he
starts singing!

Jero, as you’ll see in the clip below, is going to be the first professional black enka [wiki] singer in Japan.”

PandoraBoy Brings Streaming Radio to Your Desktop

Lifehacker:

“Mac OS X only: Free, open source application PandoraBoy pulls the
popular streaming internet radio site Pandora out of your browser and
integrates it with your Mac desktop. With features like global hotkeys,
support for your Apple Remote, and even integration with Growl,
PandoraBoy looks to be the ultimate Pandora companion for OS X.
PandoraBoy is free, Mac OS X only. Windows users looking for a similar
solution, check out PandoraBrowse or our bevy of other ways to get more from Pandora.

PandoraBoy [Google Code via TidBITS]“

Guitar Hero Air Guitar Rocker now available for $30

Engadget:

“Brace yourself — the moment you’ve been waiting all year for has
finally arrived. Yes, rock star wannabes, the Guitar Hero Air Guitar
Rocker is finally in major retailers. The Jada Toys’ device, which was showcased at CES,
consists of a miniature guitar amplifier, a sensor-laden belt buckle,
an assortment of pics and an Air Cartridge, which packs “ten signature
guitar riffs” ranging in skill from one to five. Once you rock the wind
out of the $29.99 base unit, you can look forward to “encore packs” –
which will include themed belt buckles and new Air Cartridges –
arriving later this summer for $14.99 each. Oddly enough, we think a
“gnarly” is order here.”

NIN Gives Away New Full Length Album - the slip

Digg: “…as a thank you to our fans for your continued support, we are giving
away the new nine inch nails album one hundred percent free,
exclusively via nin.com.the music is available in a variety of formats
including high-quality MP3, FLAC or M4A lossless at CD quality and even
higher-than-CD quality 24/96 WAVE.”

Coldplay’s New Single Free to Download Tomorrow!

Download the free new single, Violet Hill, from Coldplay’s upcoming album tomorrow from the official site!

Coldplay.com

U2 Scrap Work And Start Again

Ugh, there goes a 2008 release…

U2 Station: “Rockers U2 are scrapping all the tracks they have written for their
next album to start all over again - ditching a year’s worth of work.

The band has been working on the follow up to 2004 LP How To
Dismantle An Atomic Bomb for the past 12 months, but they’re far from
happy with the results.

Guitarist The Edge reveals bandmembers have mostly messed around in
the studio - and they have now decided to get stuck in and finish the
record.

He tells CMUMusic.com, “We went into this project allowing ourselves
the indulgence of making music without thinking about where it was
going to end up. We’re starting to get serious now”.

Rock Band kick pedal modded for double bass action

Engadget:

“It’s one thing to use a real live stompbox to activate Overdrive; it’s another to hack up your Rock Band
kick pedal to enable that sweet, sweet double bass action that Lars
Ulrich, Joey Jordison and the rest of the crew (read: you) just have to
have. As you’d expect, there’s a bit more to it than just adding in a
splitter, but if you’re not frightened by circuitry diagrams and having
to ask the hobby store guy for a 5-volt power supply, you’ll be more
than fine. Check out the video demonstration after the jump, and tap
the read link for the full list of instructions.”

[Via MAKE]

Xbox 360 wireless Rock Band guitar starting to show up in stores

Engadget:

“We’ve been waiting for Harmonix to deliver the promised
Xbox 360 wireless Rock Band guitar controller for a while now, and it
looks the company is stealthily getting them out there. Pre-orders have
been trickling out for about a week, and alert reader Greg just sent us
these shots of the controller in the wild at his local Best Buy. Oddly,
he says the in-store price is $79.99 while the BestBuy.com price is
$59.99, so if you’re looking to cut the cord, you might want to save
some cash and order online. Oh, and remember — this bad boy doesn’t
work with Guitar Hero, so don’t say we didn’t warn you. One more shot
after the break.”

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