Tony Zeoli is Founder and CEO of Netmix.com and Radio Station by netmix.® Originally launched in 1995, Netmix was was considered by Billboard Magazine to be the "innovation and advancement of dance music on the Internet." Tony had launched the world's first Internet mix show website featuring the most influential DJs from around the globe. After two-and-a-half decades, Netmix has since evolved into an online station directory and powerful WordPress plugin, Radio Station, for broadcasters and webcasters to manage their statioon's show schedule in WordPress. Tony has been an innovator at the intersection of music and the Internet for the past thirty years in project management, product development, and digital strategy,. He is also the founder and CEO of Digital Strategy Works, a WordPress web design and digital marketing agency. And, Executive Producer of the Asheville House Music Society, an online House Music mix show. Tony is located in Asheville, NC where he loves to mountain bike, hike, and play golf with his son.
A beautiful, emotive and organic track, Flight Facilities works out a gorgeous deep house number with “Two Bodies feat. Emma Louise.” Unique, interesting keys interspersed throughout over what stops a bit short of a conga drum pattern and a rolling, smooth bassline. This song may not pack many dancefloors, but you’ll certainly hear it coming to a hotel lounge near you.
If you know me and either are a friend on Facebook or follow me on the social network, then you’ll know I absolutely love the music of Kendra Morris. I first heard Kendra on NPR while driving home from work one night. Since that time, we’ve become distant buds and I’m following her from afar. Kendra just posted a new music video that was already on YouTube, but Vevo premiered it here. We’ve got the YouTube though (because we hate those nasty Vevo iframes!). Here it is “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles), directed by Rudolf Bekker and featuring Godforbid of That Handsome Devil.
If you’re in NYC this weekend, you can catch Kendra with That Handsome Devil performing at Rough Trade in Williamsburg on September 27th at 8 pm. Tickets are $15 and she goes on at 8 pm. Don’t miss it!
Are there worse things in the world than getting a free album from one of the world’s greatest rock bands to ever walk the face of the planet? Yes.
There are plenty of things worse than iTunes pushing a free album download to your purchased music bin. You can get hit by a bus tomorrow. Someone can mug you. You can lose your job. You can get a divorce. Your 12-year old can storm out of the room screaming, “I HATE YOU!” You can get kidnapped by terrorists and killed for the whole world to see, in the middle of a desert, which is then broadcast on YouTube. No, I’m not making light of that last one. I’m saying that is one of the worst things that can befall anyone. It’s horrific. But while we’re all texting and driving and complaining about Apple pushing a free download to your iPhone and computer, horrible things are going on around the world that are far more important.
Okay, so it was an inconvenience for you. Sure, it sucked up some bandwidth on your mobile device. Sure, it wasn’t easily removed. You needed a tool that Apple quickly provided after the backlash to remove it from your library. Yes, it’s taking up some room you thought you had and now you don’t, which prevents you from downloading some other crap that you think you really wanted, but you actually didn’t and you’ll rarely ever play whatever that was anyway. It’s really not you that I’m targeting with this post. It’s the media who are drumming up drama to simply direct attention to them and not the fact that Apple spent $100M to give away millions of downloads of a fairly good album to its customers as a thank you.
Let’s just take a chill pill and relax. No one died. Bono was close to Steve Jobs. Remember, Bono convinced Jobs to make a red iPod for his global AIDS project. Getting a free U2 album should be no f**** surprise then. Let’s all take a deep breath now. Inhale. Exhale. Good.
Okay, so you don’t like Bono or U2. You love the throat singers from Tuvalu. You cringe when you hear a U2 song. Well, you’re in the minority. If U2 is offensive, President Obama is Chinese. Right. U2 is not offensive and President Obama is not Chinese. Well, he’s a terrorist according to some Republicans you talk to, but that’s a story for another day.
Maybe Steve Jobs wouldn’t have pushed the album. He probably would have made it optional or done something else. Tim Cook is no Steve Jobs, but he’s no slouch either.
Can we just get over this U2 stuff today? Take a listen to the album. You might even like what you hear.
The world’s largest pure electronic dance music retailer, Beatport, today announced http://pro.beatport.com. The new website is mobile responsive. Yes, that’s optimized for mobile devices. Beatport says the color scheme is better for Pro DJs in low light environments for those jocks in the booth purchasing tracks on the fly.
The above view is a screenshot of the home page on a 13″ MacBook Pro. I noticed right away the switch to the audio player at the bottom of the screen, which begets the question – where is your playlist?
Well, Beatport took some liberty here with the “hamburger” menu icon at the bottom right, which usually signifies access to a setting area for account management, user profile management and that sort of thing. Then again, dance music never really stuck with convention, did it? It will probably annoy a bunch of information architects, but as long as you figure out what it it’s for, you’ll be alright. Just click on what UI developers call the “hamburger” icon at the bottom left and you’ll get your tracks listed as shown here.
Beatport also reveals a completely new logo.
Clark Warner, BEATPORT’s Executive Creative Director says this about the new look:
“The new Beatport logo is all about connections: the universal connection with music; the sacred connection between DJs and fans; and our shared connection with one another as members of this vibrant community and culture. Headphones represent the beginning of these connections, not the end. They’re the point where the DJ first interacts with the music, and with that spark, sets the soundtrack to our musical experience.”
We took some screenshots from the iPhone to show you what the mobile responsive view looks like (as if you haven’t seen it already). But before you get started below, one thing we are curious about is this Beatport Pro direction. Is that for DJs who want to buy music or does that include fans to? According to the press release we got tonight about the beta launch of Beatport Pro, Lloyd Starr, President of Beatport Pro and COO of BEATPORT was quoted as saying:
“Beatport has grown into the leading destination for fans of electronic music culture of all stripes over the last 10 years, and Beatport Pro represents our commitment to the DJs that are the lifeblood of this community. It’s a commitment that Beatport was founded on, and one that remains a decade later. I would like to personally invite anyone with constructive feedback, suggestions, and ideas to share them so we can continue to make Beatport Pro the best DJ resource available.”
Hmmm…does that mean that pro.beatport.com will be for DJs and Beatport will then enter the consumer market with a subscription service for rabid Avicii and casual Kaskade fans alike? Inquiring minds think we know.
While you’re thinking about that, have some fun with the screenshots below. Don’t forget, in the new mobile responsive, you have to use the “hamburger” icon menu to flip to the wav to skip through a track. An extra click. Not sure if that was necessary, but maybe it will improve over time. It’s hard to get these web based experiences to react like an experience in a mobile app. Too bad they couldn’t replicate what SoundCloud has done with their wav form scroll in their new mobile app experience.
One gaping hole we almost missed, but then did notice, is the checkout process. It still runs through Beatport.com. I almost missed it, because I wasn’t going to purchase a download just to write this post. But, I said, eh…what the heck. I might as well try it.
I learned you can’t purchase directly through Beatport Pro and that is problematic, because it doesn’t keep with the user workflow they intended with the complete redesign. I wanted to see how the iPhone would handle a download – can you store a download to your phone or do you have to download it at Beatport and then transfer it in via iTunes? It doesn’t look like it’s an end-to-end seamless experience, because on the iPhone, the payment screen is not responsive. Browse through the screens below for a look or try it on your phone yourself.
I’ve been a fan of EDM producer, Calvin Harris, for a while now. I’ve spun his songs out in my DJ sets and usually look forward to receiving something new by this talented British producer, who is now one of the world’s highest-paid DJs. While his new single, “Blame,” featuring the vocalist, John Newman, has hit #1 in the U.K. and ties Michael Jackson for the honor, I’m not so sure this is a number one record.
First, it’s not horrible. It has all the usual elements: sounds anthemic, big room progressions, deep house sounds mixed with syrupy pop. And, John Newman’s raw and sometimes raspy vocals that create the emotional pop sound that has certainly caught on in the dance music world. For some reason, I just feel it’s a little too formulaic. While it’s a verified hit now across the pond, will that record translate here in the U.S. on pop radio? I hope not, because I really don’t want to hear a guy whining every hour (as U.S. radio tends to play hit records each hour to shove it down your throat) about how he cheated on someone and now wants to “blame it on the night.”
One thing is for sure, the music video for the single had a lot of money thrown behind this effort. It’s a slickly produced, highly stylized video, which will sell a lot of black lingerie and stockings. I’ve seen a ton of electronic dance music videos over the years and many surely don’t have the budget to achieve this level of production. Harris and the label that backs him can pour money into these songs and get results like #1 chart-topping singles with a formula that they’ve been able to milk now for a few years, but they have to be careful they stay on their game and don’t mail it in like they seem to have done on this song.
Okay, so let’s be honest. Yes, I like looking at women in lingerie just as much as the next guy. But maybe that’s getting tired. The woman in black lingerie passed out on the bed is very cliché. Anyone can put a beautiful woman in lingerie in a music video. We’ve been doing it year after year after year. But, what does that tell our young women? That they should walk around in lingerie while men stay fully dressed because it’s more appealing to watch a half-naked woman in a music video who is the only one to blame for a poor decision?
Is that what we’re saying to our daughters? Your role in life is to use your body in sexy lingerie to do what, exactly? Yes, I know it’s a music video and this is the norm. But, come on. Really? More of the same? It’s just…well, boring is what it is. There’s no creativity behind all the money that went into this music video.
Help me understand the metaphor of the women diving into different bodies of water. One woman dives into a sink in a bathroom. Another into a champagne bucket at the club. Yet another into a rain puddle. And lastly, another disappears in a bathtub. All neat tricks, for sure. Each woman ends up being underwater, then their heads pop up at once above the water at the same time. Is this supposed to mean they were slipping into semi-consciousness on some sort of drug as the lyrics, “Blame it on the night” and “Don’t blame it on me,” are crooned by Mr. Newman? I’m not really sure.
From a quick read through the lyrics, it seems the guilt is heavy on the mind of the man in the video, who is now regretting fooling around with another woman who came over in black lingerie.
Can’t be sleeping
Keep on waking
Without the woman next to me
Guilt is burning
Inside I’m hurting
This aint a feeling I can keep
It seems as if the woman on the bed was a friend who just needed to talk, but it went a little too far.
I had to let her through the door
I had no choice in this
I was the friend she missed
She needed me to talk
Well, whose fault is it really? Not his, that’s for sure. It’s the fault of the night, not his inability to keep his hands to himself when a seductress makes an appearance in his apartment.
So blame it on the night
Don’t blame it on me
Don’t blame it on me
Now comes the remorse and asking for forgiveness (for what, being an idiot?).
Oh I’m so sorry, so sorry baby
(I’ll be better this time)
I will be better this time
I got to say
I’m so sorry
Oh I Promise
(I’ll be better this time)
Don’t blame it on me
Don’t blame it on me
The bottom line is, this is a video about a guy who cheats on someone with another woman, but wants to blame it on “the night” instead of his own stupidity. We’ve got a formulaic dance track with a formulaic video that has now gone #1, most likely not because it deserves to be #1, but because it’s got a lot of money behind it to push it to #1 – umm…in the U.K., that is. Hopefully, we over here across the pond don’t fall for this one, because I for sure don’t feel like hearing this one on the radio every hour. A guy whining about how bad he feels now that he’s slept with another woman who showed up at his door in black lingerie.
Don’t agree with me and love this song? While we wait for our iTunes affiliate program application to be approved, you can buy it on Amazon.com.
Let us know what you think of this video by commenting below. Or, take this poll!
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A few weeks ago, I gave Pioneer rekordbox® a spin during a few sets I did at The Nightbell in Asheville, where they’ve got a pair of Nexus 2000s in the booth. I found the software to be quite intuitive to use. Very fast analyzing hundreds of tracks and easy to build playlists. It also syncs with iTunes, but for some reason, I’m having a bit of a struggle since my iTunes folder is on an external thumb drive and not an internal folder on the laptop. I haven’t seemed to be able to get it to recognize updates to the iTunes file or playback tracks from the iTunes folder. I had to simply create genre-based playlists under the playlists tool and then analyze all tracks on the thumb drive again. Kind of off and hoping someone might be able to help.
On the reverse, the LAN connection with sync and the ability to drag and drop tracks to each deck is genius. We found it extremely useful, but there was this odd situation of jumping back to the last track played every time I dragged a new track in. I had to make sure that when I dragged the track to each deck, the track intended to be next stayed active by playing it for a few seconds and then pressing cue. I was told by a friend that works for Pioneer DJ about the Auto Cue feature, which alleviates this problem. I think it was already on Auto Cue, so I’m not sure I was doing it right. I have yet to fully investigate how to prevent re-loading of a prior track instead of loading the new track before I’ve pressed play.
Given that it’s free, it’s worth a shot to download it and see if it’s right for you. With this software, Pioneer is taking it to Serato and Traktor Pro, given that the software itself can be used for mixing with a controller. You will have to register a user account to operate it though. We think Pioneer wants to start tracking what music you’ve got in your library, so there are some new controls they are introducing to do that in this software.
The recent Logical Progression Sessions from London’s Fabric by none other than Goldie and uploaded to LTJ Bukem’s Mixcloud channel. Yes, we love drum n bass too! Check it out. We did and it’s definitely jumping.
We’re listening to this Rob Roar’s 3AM tech-house remix of Rockerfella feat. Stella Attar (Phonetic Recordings, Catalog #:PH73R). Not a huge track, but something cool to run in your DJ sets as you head into peak our or come out of an energetic set.
Get it here on Beatport: http://www.beatport.com/release/rockerfella-feat-stella-attar/1362395
Okay, so I never, ever play Tiesto records. Not because I don’t like Tiesto, but because I DJ on the Internet and I don’t play major festivals. Well, I don’t play major festivals yet. But, this remix was worth noting. I heard it in a mix that our dear friend, Stonebridge, put together here.
Basement Jaxx, “Never Say Never,” is definitely the record of the summer. Of course, they had to hit it with all kinds of remixes to spread the music far and wide. So, we’ll give this one props. It’s anthemic, big festival sounding, without being too cheesy. So, I give it a pass here on Netmix and we’ll bring it to you because it’s deserving of a listen.
I know…I’ve gone outside my deep house, tech house and straight-up house music leaning roots. What can I say? Sometimes you gotta spread it around, LOL.
Yes, I’m a sucker for alt/folk and emo type deep house remixes making the rounds these past few years since I first heard the Jaques Lu Cont, Thin White Duke Remix of The Killers “Mr. Brightside.” Here’s a bootleg reworking by Nico Pusch of Florence & The Machine “You Got The Love.”
