.Evolving Music.

“Movies without music are just snapshots”
~ Stephen Whitty

With the Academy Awards just a few days away, the exciting is growing. The heavy red carpet gets rolled out, Hollywood celebrities grin (hard under the influence of botox!) and bear it during their grueling last minute nips and tucks, starstruck fans buzz with anticipation, and talented artists from all facets of the film-making world hope and dream that this might be their year…

Let’s – just for a moment – bypass all the rest of the ruckus, though, and focus on the music. Though not a central theme, music plays an undeniable role in the biggest night of the year for film. In fact, though it rarely gets the attention it should, the music often makes the movie.

Naturally, we’ve got the four award categories that are music-related, which is all about the behind-the-scenes artists. These are the guys and gals who slave away composing, editing, and mixing and hardly get any recognition for their hard work. Unless, of course, they win an Oscar. Here is a breakdown of those categories and their nominees.

- Music (Original Score): Avatar (James Harner), Fantastic Mr. Fox (Alexandre Desplat), The Hurt Locker (Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders), Sherlock Holmes (Hans Zimmer), Up (Michael Giacchino)

- Music (Original Song): The Princess and the Frog for “Almost There” and “Down in New Orleans” (Music and Lyrics by Randy Newman), Paris 36 for “Loin de Paname” (Music by Reinhardt Wagner and Lyrics by Frank Thomas), Nine for “Take it All” (Music and Lyrics by Maury Yeston), Crazy Heart for “The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)” (Music and Lyrics by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett)

- Sound Editing: Avatar (Christopher Boyes and Gwendolyn Yates Whittle), The Hurt Locker (Paul N.J. Ottosson), Inglorious Basterds (Wylie Stateman), Star Trek (Mark Stoeckinger and Alan Rankin), Up (Mark Stoeckinger and Alan Rankin)

- Sound Mixing: Avatar (Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson and Tony Johnson), The Hurt Locker (Paul N.J. Ottosson and Ray Beckett), Inglorious Basterds (Michael Minkler, Tony Lamberti and Mark Ulano), Star Trek (Anna Behlmer, Andy Nelson and Peter J. Devlin), Transformers (Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers and Geoffrey Patterson)

Beyond the music-related categories, there are the movies about music, like Crazy Heart. Apparently, public opinion has Jeff Bridges taking home the Oscar for Best Actor. It’s his fifth nomination and this time, say fans, it’s his time. Over here at Evolving Music, we say movies about music and the profound role it plays in people’s lives should win more often! Actually, there should be more movies about music (and musicians) period. Interestingly, this year it seems the music stars themselves did not come out on top. Idolator points out that Leona Lewis’ Avatar theme “I See You” didn’t even get nominated (although it did get nominated for a Golden Globe.)

Whatever your predictions and sentiments are for the event his year, don’t forget to take a moment to appreciate the music because, as the wise Stephen Whitty said, “Movies without music are just snapshots!” Speaking of shots, here are some drinking games for Oscar night in case you’re interested.

Heads up musicians, producers and fans! Dredg is inviting you to remix their song Gathering Pebbles and win some killer prizes! Here’s the invitation, straight from the horse’s mouth:

Hello all, thanks for taking the time to remix Gathering Pebbles. Feel free to do as you wish with the stems, and use only as many as you wish. We look forward to hearing some alternate versions of the song and we’ll be selecting our favorite in April. We will make the winning remix available for sale on iTunes and the winner will be granted a producer/remix royalty percentage!

Dredg (aka vocalist Gavin Hayes, guitarist Mark Engles, bassist Drew Roulette and drummer/keyboardist Dino Campanella) is a prolific indie band that has been building a worldwide following for over a decade. Through their truly captivating live performances, they have developed a devoted, cult like following (in a good way). While on stage, the band completely immerses its audience with their sound and strangely calming, yet intense, presence. For a great example of just how connected their fans are, check out this video that a dredg fan made for Gathering Pebbles:

Gathering Pebbles is a driving, psych-rock tune that has a lot of interesting layers to play with. The song is off of the band’s 2009 release The Pariah, the Parrot, the Delusion, their 4th studio album. Bassist Drew Roulette describes the album as “a rock and roll record, filled with experimental journeys and eccentric jousts,” and now it’s your turn to join the journey and take it wherever your creativity leads you.

The Gathering Pebbles remix contest, which is powered by MixMatchMusic, starts today (February 1, 2010) and runs until April 1, 2010 at 12pm PST.  All entries will be heard and winners will be carefully selected by dredg. The grand prize is big for any musician/producer looking to break out in the music industry, and the runner up prizes are pretty sweet as well:

• One grand-prize winner: The winning remix will be officially released by dredg. The remixer will get a royalty payment of 3% from the sale of the remixed version of Gathering Pebbles. The winner will also receive a bundle package that includes a signed The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion CD, a T-Shirt and a pair of tickets to a dredg show of choice.

• Two runner up winners: Each winner will receive a bundle package, that includes a signed The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion CD, a T-Shirt and a pair of tickets to a dredg show of choice.

To enter the contest, visit dredg’s website, or scroll down to the widget below. You can download the stems for free and make your remix using the software of your choice. Or, if you want to keep things even simpler, click on the MixMaker button and make your mix online. If you’ve never made a remix before and want to get a behind-the-scenes look at how dredg made the song, be sure to check out the MixMaker. Most importantly, upload your remix to dredg’s widget so that you can get credit for your masterpiece! Other people can listen to it, vote on it and share it. You can read the official contest rules here.

Get off the boat, take your d*ck out of the box, and cast your vote for the funniest music video of 2009. Why? To put its creator in the music video for the Weezer song, “Raditude. ” That’s why.

This contest is brought to you by music parody show, “The Key of Awesome” on Next New Networks. Click here, and enter the youtube link of your submission near the bottom of the page. Deadline is midnight ET, January 27th 2010.

Rivers Cuomo, the lead dude from Weezer, and the show host talk more about the contest here:

A year and a half ago I wrote a post about the Top 5 Music Discovery Sites. A lot has happened since then: MySpace acquired iLike, MySpace acquired (and buried) iMeem (and then brought back their users’ playlists), Google Music Search was born, and the mobile music space exploded all over us thanks to the iPhone and the whole new world of opportunities now open to iPhone app developers… to name just a few things.

So, what are the best options available for music discovery right now? Here is my updated list:

Pandora
The customizable internet radio station that knows your musical taste so well it’s just plain creepy. Assuming you use Pandora somewhat actively, i.e. click the thumbs up/thumbs down buttons or suggest songs, the service is shockingly adept at playing music you will dig. Cool features like station gifting and the ability to share songs via email, Twitter, or Facebook give it a social slant. Links to iTunes and Amazon let you quickly purchase songs for your personal collection. And of course, if you’re striving for musical snobbery, Pandora not only tells you all sorts of fun facts about the artist, the album, or the song, but also explains (in terms probably only the serious musicologists among us would understand) exactly why it recommended a particular song. Oh, and Pandora is coming soon to a car near you.
Mobile Status: Android, Blackberry, iPhone, Palm, Windows and more.

thesixtyone
Our current favorite place to discover sick ass new music is thesixtyone, which purports to make music more democratic: “artists upload their work for review, but, rather than allow a stuffy suit in a boardroom to decide what’s good, thousands of listeners do.” The site also rewards listeners who are active participants by allowing them to “earn reputation, level up [their] influence, and collect badges,” making it almost like a Yelp culture for music fans. You can connect your account to Facebook, share what you’re listening to etc. If you’re an artist planning to put your music on t61, here’s what you should know.
Mobile Status: Nothing yet, but fans are chomping at the bit (check out the comments on their Facebook note.)

Midomi and Shazaam
I’m grouping these two together because they are different versions of the same thing. While Shazaam seems to have the most traction (likely due to its simplicity and clean look and feel), Midomi has more features. It can recognize not only that song playing on your car radio, but also singing, whistling, and humming. Although it’s very gratifying to instantly identify a song you hear, the real power in this technology lies in the actionable options presented along with the search result. Once you’ve identified the song, you can buy it, share it, watch the video etc.
Mobile Status (Midomi): Android, iPhone, Nokia, Windows.
Mobile Status (Shazaam): Android, Blackberry, iPhone, Nokia.

Grooveshark
First of all, let me just say that I am not a fan of the current design. Specifically, it’s the sidebar on the left that I find very aesthetically displeasing. Besides that, however, Grooveshark is a very cool service. You can upload your own music collection and stream it from wherever. Or search for music and stream it instantly. Of course it has all the social goodies as well, including embeddable widgets for your blog.
Mobile Status: Android, Blackberry.

Hype Machine
This clever little site is a music blog aggregator. As they say, “every day, thousands of people around the world write about music they love — and it all ends up here.” Go ahead. Nerd out. Worth mentioning, also, is RCRD LBL, which is a “network of ad supported online record labels and blogs offering completely free music and multimedia content from emerging and established artists.” Yes, free mp3s.
Mobile Status: iPhone app in the works?

Honorable Mentions:

Blip.fm
Blip.fm is essentially Twitter for music, allowing you to share tracks (along with brief comments and messages) with other users in a real-time stream. Naturally, it’s also integrated with Twitter and Facebook, so you can showcase your awesome musical taste by becoming the DJ and showing off your skillz. Or, you can use the service as a music discovery tool by listening to other DJs.
Mobile Status: iPhone (“Boombox Pro”)

Amazon Music
Amazon created a lot of buzz early on with their recommendation engine for books and things. Why shouldn’t it work just as well for music? Turns out it does… In fact, it’s a pretty solid option. You can listen to samples, plus do all the usual nifty Amazon-y things.
Mobile Status: iPhone

JamLegend
While JamLegend (the computer nerd’s answer to Guitar Hero & Rock Band) is first and foremost a game, it’s also a totally viable place for music discovery. As you sort through featured or new artists and songs, you might just stumble upon some great new stuff… You might also get sucked in and spend 12 hours pressing the 1, 2, and 3 keys on your keyboard. Consider yourself warned.
Mobile Status: JamLegend hasn’t gone mobile, but RockBand has an iPhone app, and of course there is Tap Tap Revenge (the Guitar Hero-style game).

How will YOU discover new music in 2010?

Slightly Stoopid is giving away 7 of their classic joints this holidaze season. Included is the Stoned Saga, a four-track journey from The Longest Barrel Ride released as a one-track epic. Get involved and don’t forget to pass this joint along!!

FYI… this FREE download for the holidaze is only available till 11:59pm on Christmas Eve (PST) so get to downloading.

On a personal note, I just downloaded and am already on joint #5. It’s melting my brain, in a good way.

DOWNLOAD JOINTS & PASS TO FRIENDS HERE: http://tra.kz/joints

Slightly Stoopid:
slightlystoopid.com
facebook.com/slightlystoopid/
twitter.com/slightlystoopid/
youtube.com/slightlystoopidtv/
flickr.com/photos/slightlystoopid/
myspace.com/stoopid/

Have you heard of the Crunchies? As stated on the website, they “are to technology what the Oscars are to Hollywood.” This event is co-sponsored by GigaOm, VentureBeat and TechCrunch and for all of us start-ups, being considered for an award gives us some nice exposure. And the chance to win!

This is where we need your help. It literally only takes a few seconds, and you can vote everyday. You have until Friday, December 4th, but instead of putting another item on your to do list, why not just nominate us right now?!

If you want to be even more awesome and help us get the word out – or if you are a social media geek and can’t help but document your every move – you can easily broadcast your nomination on Twitter and Facebook or embed a voting badge on your blog (like we did below). Thanks!

MobBase is up for Best Mobile App:
And MixMatchMusic is up for Best Boot-Strapped Startup:

Most musicians have started to realize the importance of social media. And by social media I mean more than just having a MySpace page for your band. While not all of them are on twitter like they should be, many have at least figured out where their target listener demographic hangs out. One band that is clearly ahead of the curve is British synthpop trio, Filthy Dukes. The first thing you notice on their website is the social media links to Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, YouTube, Flickr, Last.fm, Wikipedia, and Twitter.

In addition to being thoroughly dialed in to the social media world, Filthy Dukes also understand the importance of artist-fan interaction. Not only are they  letting fans into their world, they’re letting fans become part of the creative process. For example, on their site they had this announcement: “Come have a go at the Tupac Robot Club Rock rap and appear in a Filthy Dukes video!”

Get in on the action yourself and have a go at remixing their song, TupacRobotClubRock, using MixMatchMusic’s Remix Wizard. The song is an electro-rock banger, complete with dirty synths, driving beats and several different vocal tracks for you to play with. The winner will win a day with the Filthy Dukes in their very own studio! Not only will you get the chance to see the band at work, you’ll get to perfect your own remix on the mixing desk of Conny Plank, Kraftwerk’s legendary producer. This is the very mixing desk, built to Plank’s own specifications, that was used on everything from Autobahn to the Eurythmics’ debut and Ultravox’s Vienna. This piece of musical heritage is now pride of place in the Filthy Dukes’ studio.

Get remixing for your chance to bag this amazing unique opportunity! Depending on your audio editing expertise (or lack thereof) you have two options available to you. You can either download the stems for free and use any software you want (go nuts!), or just click on the MixMaker button on the widget to make a remix in MixMatchMusic’s simple online music editor, which is fairly intuitive and easy-to-use for the layman, yet still full of cool features. This is also a great way to just see how the song was made. Once you’ve completed your remix, don’t forget to upload it so that others can listen to, vote on and share it.

Filthy Dukes will select the winning remix, taking into account the votes and rating each remix receives on the Remix Wizard widget. The deadline for entry is 1/11/10. Date in the studio TBA on consultation of band and winner. No purchase necessary. No transport or accommodation included. No prize alternatives offered.

Our friends over at RemixComps.com, who we raved about earlier this year, have passed along a great resource. For anyone who is in any way involved in or interested in remixing, this is a must have! Edward Cufaude has written a 20-page ebook entitled The RemixComps.com Guide to Remix Contests and Remixing, which is chock full of tips and info about virtually every aspect of remixing. MixMatchMusic’s increasingly popular Remix Wizard gets a few mentions too!

This ebook is FREE to all you readers of Evolving Music. You can download it here. Happy reading!

If you can’t get enough of this stuff and need more remix contests to throw yourself into, you should subscribe to the Remix Comps newsletter, which will arrive in your inbox on days when new contests are added to the site. Another great resource is Rhythm Creation, also by Edward Cufaude. You can also subscribe to the Remix Wizard new promotions feed.

Here, he’ll teach you things like: How to Get Fatter, Heavier, Different Drum Sounds by Layering Your Samples, How a Remix Competition Can Help Music Promotion, and How to Remove Clicks from the Beginning and End of Samples.

For a while now, there have been websites out there that help you find live shows, such as GigLocator. Naturally, given the rampant growth in the mobile application space, there are iPhone apps popping up that do the same. Let’s have a look.

There is JamBase, one of the leading sources of live music and concert information. They’ve been around since 1998 and were quick to jump on the iPhone opportunity. Currently they are on V2 of their app. With their app you can find live shows in your area (with the built in GPS, of course), obsess over your favorite musicians on their artist pages, and get totally dialed in by checking out the event pages that are equipped with maps, ticket info, and lineups.

GigMap, a free service that helps both musicians and music venues communicate their upcoming gigs, is actually a “mashup of Google Maps, Twitter and music community Tribe of Noise, which they launched together with Layar. Read more here. Though not the sleekest looking website in the world, the features are pretty sweet. Their mobile app is both iPhone and Android compatible.

And then there’s Beck’s (yes, the beer) GigFinder. Similar to the above example (why reinvent the wheel when you can just make a mashup using existing applications or services…) GigFinder uses Last.fm’s database along with Google Maps. Watch the video below for more info:

iLike has entered the race with their aptly named Local Concerts app. One advantage here, for current iLike members, is that you can browse local concerts personalized to your music library. You can also buy tickets directly in the app or get directions to the show.

Lastly, we have onseeker music, with a lot of the same features as the apps listed above including GPS-based search, directions, etc. You can give feedback to the artists and venues, which is cool. For the anti-iPhone crowd, they’ve got versions coming for Android, WebOS, Blackberry, and more.

So, there you have it. Pick an app that works for you, fire up your GPS and never again wander the streets wondering where to find live music.

This 4 member DJ crew from Tel Aviv brings us traditional Jewish melodies on top of American hip-hop tracks, reggae, and funk. Meet Soulico.

Their new album, Exotic on the Speaker, is the “result of years of creative collaborations and finesse – culminating in 13 club ready tracks featuring the likes of Ghostface, Del the Funky Homosapien, M.I.A. understudy Rye Rye, Pigeon John, Lyrics Born, and more,” says The Daily Rind.

In anticipation of the new album, the boys released a free promo mixtape, Exotic on the Mixtape, including the song “Put em up”, which Pitchfork calls “an exuberant synthesis of traditional Israeli folk melodies and familiar hip-hop sensibilities.” You can download it all here.

Once you’ve download the mixtape, read Soulico’s answers to The Music Slut’s 8 Questions, including how playing to an Israeli audience differs from an American one, and check out Sabbo’s blog, Noiz in Zion, if you like remixes (and free downloads). Of course they are on MySpace and Facebook too.

JDub Records, which is a “not-for-profit dedicated to innovative Jewish music, community, and cross cultural dialogue,” was lucky enough to sign Soulico before anyone else found them. CEO Aaron Bisman happened upon their first mixtape while he was rummaging through the bins at Tel Aviv’s Hatav Hashmini record store. Apparently they were hard to track down, but he jumped on their MySpace the day it went up and claimed them.

Thanks to our friends over at JDub Records for hooking us up with these guys. As part of the release of their new album, Soulico wants you to remix the title track, “Exotic on the Speaker,” and is giving you access to the stems of the song via the MixMatchMusic Remix Wizard. You can either download the stems (for free) and use the audio editing software of your choice OR simply click on the MixMaker button on the widget to make a remix in MixMatchMusic’s simple online music editor. If you’ve never experienced remixing before, or just want to see how the song was made, check out the MixMaker. Once you’ve completed your remix, upload it so that others can listen to, vote on and share it.

Soulico will be choosing one grand prize winner plus three runner-ups. Here’s what you can win:

Grand Prize:
- Soulico – Exotic on the Speaker CD + LP
- Stanton YakPak DJ bag filled with JDub Vinyl
- Your choice of Prime Loops Software
- Pair of Radius Ear buds
- Remix featured on jdubrecords.org & Soulico myspace

3 Runner-Ups:
- Stanton YakPak DJ bag filled with JDub Vinyl
- Copy of Soulico – Exotic on the Speaker CD
- Remix featured on jdubrecords.org & Soulico myspace

Deadlines: Contest starts Monday, October 5th and ends Monday November 23rd. Check out the official rules here.

Get on it!