I'm always amazed at how technology first breaks new grounds, improves, and then becomes cheaper and affordable as competition intensifies. We see that in things such as Netbooks (though they started out cheap) and hard drives. In Social Informatics we have a name for this type of technological growth: disruptive technology.

This week I was looking at USB microphones and realized how far they've come along. At first a USB microphone was synonymous with 'horrible quality,' but now when you look at them you can no longer make that connection. You find that the same major brands that design studio…

Originally on Puddlegum:

Frank Schweikhardt is one of the many Bloomington artists I’m excited about. His debut full-length, Life But No More, is coming out on November 17th on Bloomington’s Crossroads of America Records, and it’s one of those albums that you feel intimately attached to after a few listens. Frank recorded the album with several seasoned Bloomington artists: Mike Adams (husband&wife), Tim Felton (husband&wife), and Zac Canale (Morrow). You’ll find him on sporadic tours when he isn’t driving the tour bus for other bands.

Starting out in the regional bands Away With Vega,…

There is a new Brooklyn band called Xylos who are giving their Bedrooms EP away as a free download. Eric Zeiler wrote and recorded most of the five tracks, with Ira Wolf Tuton and Anand Wilder of Yeasayer offering guest vocals. Xylos is now a five-piece band poised to grab attention in `09.

Bedrooms opens with In The Bedroom, a song about a girl whose life was “left in shambles,” after a stay with a guy she had met earlier that day. Eric Zeiler seems to pull from late `60s early `70s folk-rock (such as Crosy, Stills & Nash…

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Seabear founder, Sindri Mar Sigfusson, is back with a solo project called Sin Fang Bous. Sindri’s debut will be released in Iceland on December 5, and in the US on February 17 (2009). The digital version has already sprung among many online stores. 26 year old Sindri self-produced Clangour in his home studio while working on the next Seabear album (source).

The album is called Clangour and the twelve driving tracks emphasize layered electronic sounds than the folk-pop sound that defines Seabear. The acoustic aspects are still there none the less, making Sin Fang Bous’ Clangour quite a…

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Matt Pond PA is giving away a free nine song EP, titled The Freeep. All nine songs can be downloaded at mattpondpa.com. The Freeep comes with a new Matt Pond PA website and music video. The video is for People Have a Way from the band’s latest full-length, Last Light, and mixes clips of vintage video footage, albeit some of the clips are riskay.

Musically, The Freeep carries a smooth quality, heavy on harmonies and makes room for electric guitar leads. The band seems to have purposefully left Matt’s vocals uncompressed to add dynamics and emotion. Three tracks are…

Originally posted on Puddlegum

It's A Musical released a debut album on called The Music Makes Me Sick (released on 10.28.08 in the US). This Swedish duo will crawl into the hearts of fans of Mates of State or Stereolab. Robert Kretzchmar plays drums and backs up on vocals, and Ella Blixt plays keys and leads the duo on vocals. Abandoning guitars (besides bass), It's A Musical has a simplistic indie pop sound that mixes horns with organs, piano, and drums.

Ella and Robert met in Malmö, Sweden where the two were involved in their own projects. Ella Blixt…

Today marks the ninety year anniversary of the end of the First World War, celebrated in Europe as Armistice Day and as Veteran’s Day in the US. The war that would end all wars saw over twenty millions lives lost. Twenty-one million were wounded, and the psychological affects of trench warfare troubled millions of men for the remainder of their lives. Known at the time as The Great War, it is now often referred to as the forgotten war.

If you look at the popular songs of the First World War (in the United States and United Kingdom), you’ll find…

There are many great mashups that have been contrived for Last.fm recently. Tonight, I came across a mashup that you might find useful. It’s called The Last(.fm) Music Map, which mashes Last.fm events with Google Maps.

Instead of tossing thousands of markers on the global map, The Last(.fm) Music Map asks you to search for events by either location or artist. Querying “Chicago” resulted in 450 events, sorted out on 15 pages. Clicking on a marker reveals a bubble with information about the event; artist and venue names are linked to the corresponding Last.fm page, and a photo…

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Chasing Lions (formerly Puddlegum)- is a new blog label, combining aspects of both a music blog and record label. The blog label is proud to announce a new partnership with The Soft Drugs from Boston, MA. The band is led by former Pedro the Lion member T.W. Walsh and features percussionist Jason Cammarata, bass player Ken Maiuri, guitar player Mike Murray, and guitar/keyboard player John Beck, blending their American indie roots with traditional rock ‘n roll.

The Soft Drugs happily offer Side A of their new record Get Back as a FREE DOWNLOAD - due out…

Sixteen years ago I remember reading about a new band called Sixpence None The Richer. Leigh Bingham was only sixteen at the time, which grabbed my attention since I was also sixteen. I bought their debut, Fatherless and the Widow, and every album that followed. Matt Slocum wrote their songs, crafting them with beautiful instrumentation.

Before and after their Grammy nomination, Sixpence found themselves caught in contracts with labels that no longer existed. Prior to their self-titled album that brought them to the national spotlight, Sixpence fought for three years to be released from a contract to REX, though…