records

Hurricane Irene might have wreaked havoc on the East Coast over the weekend, but it wasn't powerful enough to overcome Beyoncé's pregnancy announcement.

At its peak, Hurricane Irene found itself the topic of 3,000 tweets per second on Saturday. Pop diva Beyoncé Knowles' big news Sunday night at the MTV Video Music Awards, however, was included in a peak of 8,868 tweets per second, according to Twitter.

With that many tweets tallied per second, Beyoncé's pregnancy has become the biggest event on Twitter, beating out the former tweets-per-second leader, the Women's … Read more

Oh please, don't try to take Jim Donio down memory lane again.

During an interview with Donio, president of the National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM), I wanted to reminisce about buying the Clash's "London Calling" at the Tower Records store on Sunset Boulevard or discovering Caetano Veloso at the Virgin Megastore on San Francisco's Market Street. Donio smiled politely.

He well knows that in addition to owning property in some of America's most fashionable neighborhoods, traditional record stores once commanded prime real estate in the hearts of the country's most-devoted music fans. … Read more

As any record buyer knows, LP quality varies a lot. I'm not just referring to the dusty old records sold at yard sales; some new records have noisy grooves, clicks and pops, or they're not flat. Those imperfections are common vinyl woes; making consistently quiet records has never been easy. That's why I was thrilled to hear that Quality Record Pressings (QRP), in Salina, Kansas, employs the most advanced technology ever used to manufacture LPs. The proof is in the listening, and the sound is spectacular.

I spoke with QRP's Chad Kassem about the undertaking, which … Read more

I get a fair number of promo CDs in the mail, but don't be jealous, most of them are instantly forgettable or just awful, and only a few are worth a second listen. Greg Garing's self-titled CD was an immediate standout, and its rootsy, blues-infected grooves hit me hard. The music has a lot of soul, and sounds like it was made by a group of really talented players who were having a good time together. That happens so rarely nowadays I had to learn about how the record was created.

The Garing CD was produced by Lower East Side Records, … Read more

Skype has launched its own app store, offering third-party apps that can integrate with the company's online calling and messaging service.

Third-party apps have been available through Skype in the past, but its App Directory is the company's first effort to host a more official place where people can search for, browse, and download the software they want. The store officially opened Wednesday.

Skype users can browse a list of all apps; the store offers … Read more

The large record companies have filed an appeal in their long-running copyright case against Jammie Thomas-Rasset, a Minnesota woman who was found liable for illegal file sharing.

In court documents filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in St. Louis, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) says it is appealing several decisions made during the case, going back to 2008.

Last month, a federal court once again lowered the amount a jury ordered Thomas-Rasset to pay to compensate the RIAA for damages. Last year, Rasset was ordered to pay $62,500 for each of … Read more

Not every album is a song cycle or designed to be listened to as a complete work of art. But the songs were more or less recorded in the same time frame, and someone tried to create a musical flow, from one song to the next.

Some musicologists cite Frank Sinatra's 1958 album, "Only the Lonely," as the first "concept" album, for its sustained theme of late-night moods and melancholy. There were probably earlier pop song cycles, but it was definitely the Beatles' "Sgt Pepper" and the Who's "Tommy" that … Read more

With its 5-megapixel camera and 720p video recorder, the iPhone 4 can capture some pretty impressive-looking images--as long as you hold it perfectly still. Indeed, as any savvy photographer or videographer knows, if you want the best results, you need a tripod.

The Canopy Kapok is an iPhone 4 case with a built-in tripod mount. It also comes with a pair of shutter-control buttons and a stand. It's not a perfect product, and the impending release of iOS 5 (which will turn the iPhone's volume-down button into a shutter release) limits its overall value. But you may find it worthwhile, if only for mounting your iPhone on your favorite tripod.

The Kapok comes in a clear-plastic shell that's maddeningly difficult to open--until you realize that the thick black bottom of the shell is actually the included stand. Also, there's a finger-hole near the top where you can reach in to push the Kapok down and out.

The case is your typical matte-black two-piece, with about 5/8 of an inch extra at the bottom to accommodate the dock connector. Other than that, it's very slim and light--good all-around protection if you decide to leave your iPhone in it full time.… Read more

The major film studios have forced Zediva to shut its doors, but the case is far from closed.

A federal court yesterday officially issued a preliminary injunction against Zediva, a start-up video-rental service that made a name for itself last year by employing a legally iffy business model. Earlier this month, a U.S. District judge announced his intention to issue a preliminary injunction but waited for some legal housekeeping chores to be completed before making it official.

Last week, Zediva suspended operations, and now the case moves to the next and very important stage of determining whether the company … Read more