The Hippodrome

Back in 2005, while in college, Anthony Volodkin created The Hype Machine. The biggest appeal for this website (even in its new version) is the fact that it is one of the largest mp3 blog aggregators on the web. An mp3 blog aggregator basically takes a large lists of blogs and scans them for mp3s, then compiles them on a page for users to see. The Hype Machine does an excellent job at scouring the blogosphere for music — all you have to do is visit the site. It’s a completely free service for users and its biggest draw is giving people a chance to quickly listen to music and find out if they like it our not.

Some people may argue that the experience of mp3s blogs are hindered because of The Hype Machine and others may argue that some blogs wouldn’t be popular without The Hype Machine. If you find a song you like from The Hype Machine you can stream it but you can’t download until you actually go to the blog that it was posted at. Of course some users may skip the editorial content, download the mp3 and exit the site, and believe me, I’m guilty of doing just that.

The really awesome feature of The Hype Machine is that you can sign up for a free account and favorite any songs, blogs, or other users you like by clicking on a heart. Of course the ability to favorite things isn’t that impressive but it gets really cool when you eventually see what The Hype Machine is using this favorites system for.

Essentially, the Hype Machine takes your favorites, uses that information and builds a customized RSS feed (a “Love Feed”) of your favorite tracks, blogs, artists, and users. It’s all extremely impressive. The Hype Machine can really be used to find your favorite new artist and is a wonderful place to visit and to click through when you feel that your music collection is running dry or you’ve played that Peter Bjorn and John track just a little too much.

In the end, The Hype Machine is the definitive mp3 blog aggregator for me. I really dislike using Elbo.ws and I think The Hype Machine is cleaner, easier to use and has less annoying ads. I really recommend The Hype Machine to anyone who really hasn’t gotten a chance to fall in love with an mp3 blog aggregator and if you’re looking for one to bookmark and visit often, The Hype Machine is definitely for you.

(This post was contributed by Kyle Wallace)

Which one of those is not a band? No, not a trick question, it’s been crazy on my end so I apologize for the lack of updates. But I did have the chance to see two new awesome bands this weekend, which you should more than check out.

Butter Days hail from Brown University, and with a whopping one song up on their MySpace, they leave me aching for more. Either way, check it out, and check their show schedule as well. The Shade is without a MySpace, but does have this mp3 available, courtesy of Aural Wes. I was impressed with their attitude, and sheer rockability.

Hope that holds you over until Friday. I love you, really.

All I See Download

When Emcee Ani Sanyal (a.k.a. A-Live) and Producer Max Schneider (a.k.a. Renaissance) first began working together, they were just two high school sophomores “holding basement freestyle sessions and skipping class to have ciphers in the hallways.” Now the two work under the name Green Street, diving into progressive, jazz influenced jams that don’t leave much to be desired.

Skipping class didn’t do much harm to these Bostonians. “We borrow a lot from literature, for example ‘The Catcher in the Rye,’ was instrumental for our progression, also philosophy from Friedrich Nietzsche and Plato are infused into our music,” Sanyal says.

Collaborating with guitarist Ken Ross and keyboardist Malcolm Campbell, Green Street performs everywhere and anywhere they can, and always with a twist. “Our shows usually feature live instrumentation and we like to reinvent our beats by having the musicians add their creative interpretation to our original compositions.” Green Street’s debut album “Livin’ on Green Street” was released in 2005 featuring artists RepLife, Buddah of 7th Syndicate, Phonte of Little Brother, and Oddisee from Halftooth.

What could be better than a signature Boston band playing their signature song on New Year’s Day? How about a signature Boston band playing their signature song on New Year’s Day at my favorite venue in the world, THE MIDDLE EAST. Honestly, even if you saw Harry and the Potters before they got big, B for Brontosaurus have more Boston pride in their tuning pegs than HP have in their broomsticks. Enjoy!

Perfect Timing This Morning Download
Gravel Download

You’ve probably heard the name Orba Squara by now, but if not, you’ve definitely heard “Perfect Timing This Morning” on that ubiquitous iPhone commercial. Davis has received more than a little attention – mentioned everywhere from NPR to Pitchfork, but when I found out how Davis did all this, I couldn’t pass up a chance to find out more. Davis’ licensing deal with Apple is nothing notable, but the fact that he made this meteoric rise to fame entirely without a record deal certainly is.

Even if Orba’s tunes aren’t completely your style, Davis’ mindset better be. I had the opportunity to ask Davis a few questions regarding his success via email. What I found was an inspiring testimony to making music for the enjoyment of it, and letting the commercial aspect fall into place afterward.

The Hippodrome: Can you give us a quick rundown of the progression from the recording process to the call from Apple regarding licensing?

Mitch Davis: It was really out of my hands after I recorded it. I let the music out into the world. I was fortunate enough to have it be noticed by people online who helped spread the music. I was fortunate enough to have a guy at Universal Music Publishing who liked it and saw potential in the music. Apple was looking for iPhone music at the
time, Universal thought my music would be a good fit and everything just came together.

The Hippodrome: You said “when I think about it, it does feel a little strange that all these people are now listening in on what was originally meant just for me.” Did you really have no intention of distributing your music commercially? Has this process changed your attitude at all regarding your music?

Davis: It is not that I never have any intention of distributing my music commercially in general… It is not “an attitude regarding my music”… but this particular album is very different stylistically from other music I had made in the past and was, at the time, very uncharacteristic for me. It was an album I really just made for myself because it was fun to make. I didn’t think about it too much beyond that. It is like if you were a “still life” painter and would just sit around during lunch doodling on napkins just because you enjoyed doodling on napkins… then when someone says “I really love that stuff you do on the napkins!” and you think to yourself “you mean my little coffee stained napkin doodles that I just do for fun?”

And while this album was so uncharacteristic of me when I wrote and recorded it, it has since become the music that I relate to the most and feel more personal towards than any other music I have made. I actually felt that way from the moment I made the record.

The Hippodrome: You are without a label, but clearly, enjoying commercial success and recognition. Do you have any advice for other artists who desire the same thing, or artists looking for financial support in general? Do you think your discovery by Apple was based on luck?

Davis: The only advice I can give is to do what you enjoy. You can’t really plan commercial success or recognition. If you make music in an attempt to follow a trend, you are already too late. If you make music you personally enjoy, you are already successful.

My “discovery” by Apple, just like everything else in music, all comes down to making the right music at the right time with the right person hearing it who happens to have a need for it at that exact moment. A moment earlier or later could completely change everything.