SpotiNotes

Spotify: The Next Generation

txubaka — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 11:52:00 +0000

Huge announcement today as Spotify unveils their so-called ‘ Next Generation’. It’s all about social interaction. We may share our songs with friends and our facebook pages without exiting the program. The number of news features is huge . Here is a brief list of the most important ones.

Social:

It’s all about your friends and yourself. You can like or share a tracklist, a song, an album… You can also send those to friends as there is an inbox for that. Beware that all your playlists and favourite songs will be shared on your Facebook wall so you should check what you want to appear public or not.

Library:

From now on, Spotify will check local files and add them to your stream, comparing those to their own database so you can access the artist info online. Spotify wants to become your only source of music from now, it seems. The one feature I probably love is ‘Gracenote’ wich lets you modify your own music metadata comparing it with Spotify’s info. Also, for Premium users, their own music can be transfered directly to their mobile Spotify applicacation, wich is a huge bonus (no more cables!)

Check this video for a quick look at the newest features:

Spotify – the next generation

I believe this is going to be a key moment in the success of Spotify and his bussiness model. They are going social all the way, wich will let them advertise their platform with minimal costs. If they succeed and also the get to pull their american adventure (when it comes), this may change the music industry once and for all.

Spotify’s new update will come automatically to users in the next days, but you can download it now yourself here.

(source: The Spotify Blog)

(UPDATE) Related links:

- Major update from Spotify introduces new social features (TechCrunch)
- Spotify TNG (The Pansentient League)
- 11 things to know about the next-gen Spotify (techradar.com)
- Spotify goes all socual media with spanky relaunch (Fast Company)
- Shiny Review: the new Spotify features – do we like them? (Shiny Shiny)

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Here come The Spotties! The first Spotify Community Site Awards

txubaka — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 11:56:21 +0000

Afront from The Pansentient League is hosting the Spotties, a series of awards to the best Spotify related sites and apps. Yours truly is there!! (who would have thought) Anyway, you can go and vote to any of your favourite sites there. Spotinotes is featured in the Best News/Music Finder list if anyone is considering a vote, remember that just for voting you can win a 3 month Spotify Premium subscription.

These are the seven categories:

Best Playlist Sharing Site
Best News or Music Finder Site
Best Playlist Generator or Converter
Best Remote Control App
Best Spotify URL Tool
Best Other Site or App
Best Overall Site or App

Go vote for your favourite site now!!

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All around the world with Spotify

txubaka — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 12:26:00 +0000

London – CitySpeaker Audio Guide (Spotify Link)

We can enjoy some of the CitySpeaker city audio guide collections on Spotify. These include Paris, Rome, New York , London and many others. There are French and English versions of the main cities, although right now it seems like there are more french than english guides (the company is French, after all). Theses guides are another reason to go premium so you can enjoy this city guides on the proper place (via your Iphone, Android or Symbian phone while on the actual city if possible)

Rome – CitySpeaker Audio guide (Spotify Link)

The quality of this guides is superb, they’re are recorded in a jovial and entertaining way. Of course, you may want to buy the original guides as they include maps and booklets wich may be of interest. In case you’re just trying to revive that last summer’s trip Spotify may be just enough.

Paris – CitySpeaker Audio Guide (Spotify Link)

Charles Mingus Interviewed

txubaka — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 18:42:00 +0000

Charle Mingus Interviewed By Nesuhi Ertegun – CD Bonus Track – Spotify Link

Irascible, demanding, bullying, and probably a genius, Charles Mingus cut himself a uniquely iconoclastic path through jazz in the middle of the 20th century, creating a legacy that became universally lauded only after he was no longer around to bug people. As a bassist, he knew few peers, blessed with a powerful tone and pulsating sense of rhythm, capable of elevating the instrument into the front line of a band. But had he been just a string player, few would know his name today. Rather, he was the greatest bass-playing leader/composer jazz has ever known, one who always kept his ears and fingers on the pulse, spirit, spontaneity, and ferocious expressive power of jazz.

- From the Spotify Bio

This bonus track appears in the album:
Charles Mingus / Charle Mingus Interviewed By Nesuhi Ertegun – CD Bonus Track

Related links:
- Charles Mingus bio (Wikipedia.com)
- Charles Mingus official site
- Epitah, Charles Mingus’ Magnus Opus in concert (NPR.com)

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Spotify goes The Bible

txubaka — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:54:00 +0000

The Bible in Living Sound – Baby Moses – Spotify Link

It’s funny that when you think you know all the possible genres and themes that can appear in Spotify, you get surprised, again.

This time it’s about religion, Christian religion, that is. Not one but several ways to approach the theme of the bible, each one of them with its own style. On one side we have the tell-a-tale version, with ‘Re-enacted bible stories‘ (spotify link), it’s a huge collection of passages from the Holy Book. The style is intended to be amusing and probably directed to children. The production quality is remarcable, adding musical arrangements and an assortment of voice actors. It isn’t a bad idea at all, if you want your children to study the subject without much complaint.

The Old Testament is read in a more serious manner in ‘Readings from the Bible – Old Testament‘ (spotify link) compiled by Sholem Asch and read by Harry Fleetwood (this is another record that belongs to the great Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution).

Old Testament – Compiled by Sholem Asch – Read by Harry Fleetwood – Spotify Link

The most serious approach is the ‘Inductive Bible Stud y‘ (spotify link), asking you to submerge in the bible and learn ‘How to study through the scriptures effectively’ (as advertised on the cover).

How to Study Through the Scriptures Effectively – Dan Finfrock – Spotify Link

This blog being devoted to the spoken word so I’ve just sampled what there is on the matter of the Bible on Spotify. Of course, there’s plenty of religion related music, starting for huge collections of Gospel or classical music. Just go search for any of those keywords (try baptist, gospel or mass, for example).

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Spotify first TV Commercial

txubaka — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:26:17 +0000

It has only been aired in Sweden (and that’s why you probably won’t understand a thing).

Fist Spotify TV ad

This is a quick and dirty translation I stole from the comments page by some mr.blixt (thanks!) at the Spotify blog:

Your favorite songs – and the favorites you didn’t know existed. They exist: in Spotify. And now our world of music has just become bigger. On your computer – and in your mobile phone. And with our new flying mode, you never have to stop listening. For only 99 kronor (SEK) per month, you get Spotify.

(via Twitter and The Spotify Blog)

Eddie Murphy in Spotify (great standup comedy)

txubaka — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 09:16:00 +0000

Eddie Murphy – Eddie Murphy – Spotify Link

Like Bill Cosby and Richard Pryor before him, Eddie Murphy was the preeminent African-American comic of his era; in fact, Murphy was arguably the preeminent comic of the 1980s, period — at his peak, no other performer, regardless of race, was a bigger star or a more audacious talent. Combining Pryor’s viciously acute observational gifts and love of obscenities with Cosby’s undeniable mainstream appeal, Murphy quickly leaped from clubs to television to film — even finding success as a serious pop singer — on the way to establishing himself as the most wildly popular comedian since the heyday of Steve Martin.

From the Spotify bio

Eddie Murphy – The first black president

The Picture of Dorian Gray performed by Hurd Hatfield

txubaka — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 20:23:15 +0000

The Picture of Dorian Gray – Oscar Wilde – Spotify Link

Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891) is one of his most important works, probably the most popular. Here it appears as an audiobook, narrated by Hurd Hatfield, an american actor who also appeared as the main character on the 1945 adaptation of the novel.

The Picture of Dorian Gray with Hatfield as Dorian Gray – 1945

Related links:
- The Picture of Dorian Gray at Google Books
- The Picture of Dorian Gray at Project Gutenberg
- Hurd Hatfield (IMDB)

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Alfred Hitchcock – The Master of Suspense

txubaka — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 14:06:00 +0000

Alfred Hitchcock – The Master of Suspense – Spotify Link

What a find! Eight radio adaptations of Alfred Hitchcock’s movies. It includes recordings for The Lodger, Suspicion, Foreign Correspondent, Shadow of a doubt, Notorious, The Thirty-Nine Steps, Mr. & Mrs. Smith and Information Please. They appear in various radio programs from CBS and NBC under the name of Screen Directors Playhouse Spellbound (also known as Screen Directors Guild Assignment or Screen Directors Assignment). This series had Hollywood actors performing adaptations of popular movies of the time that were broadcast between from 1939 until 1952.

We get to hear some of the original actors of the movies, like Ingrid Bergman, Joseph Cotten, Robert Montgomery or Glenn Ford. It’s also funny to hear to the sponsors commercials, it brings memories of ‘Radio Days‘ the 1987 film by Woody Allen.

You can listen to the Spotify selection clicking on the image or the links below, there’s also a huge collection of the Screen Guild Theater radio plays at Archive.org.

Artist Alfred Hitchcock

Album The Master Of Suspense

Year 2008

Alfred Hitchcock / The Lodger 30 minutes, 48 seconds
Alfred Hitchcock / Suspicion 24 minutes, 43 seconds
Alfred Hitchcock / Foreign Correspondent 29 minutes, 17 seconds
Alfred Hitchcock / Shadow Of A Doubt 28 minutes, 32 seconds
Alfred Hitchcock / Notorious 59 minutes, 6 seconds
Alfred Hitchcock / The Thirty-Nine Steps 1 hour, 3 minutes, 4 seconds
Alfred Hitchcock / Mr. & Mrs Smith 30 minutes
Alfred Hitchcock / Information Please 28 minutes, 14 seconds

(Tracks link to Spotify)

Related links:
- Alfred Hitchcock (IMDB.com)
- Alfred Hitchcock (Wikipedia)
- The Screen Guild Theater (Wikipedia)
- The Screen Guild Theater (recordings at Archive.org)

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UK Conservative Party to launch Spotify ad campaign

txubaka — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 12:23:00 +0000

First political campaign to appear on Spotify. Beginning next wednesday, a 40 second ad will appear on Spotify clients in England. Featuring the party’s chairman, Eric Pickels speaking about debt (I guess the countries debt, not his own). Rigt after the message users will be asked to vote Tory on next elections.

Apparently, it’s not legal to advertise on TV or radio outside the election period, so I guess this could have a relatively short life if someone decides to legislate against internet publicity outside the established period. I believe this it’s also done to draw some media attention in expense of Spotify’s credit.

Do you care if fed with political propaganda while listening to your favourite music? Maybe this is just the definitive reason to go premium

Related links:
- Tories to launch Spotify ad campaign (The Guardian)
- Advertis e in Spotify (Spotify.com)

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