How’d you like to have your own 5’5” robot to make your coffee, vacuum and put away the groceries? Meet NEO Gamma. No price yet. Imagine if the music was scary and not happy.
3 free AI music tools
Want to create a hit song? I’ve got a couple of AI tools that can make music in seconds — plus, I’ll share a track I made myself! You won’t want to miss this.
🎶 DJ King Charles III: Yes, you read that right. Chucky’s hosting a show from Buckingham Palace called The King’s Music Room on Apple Music. It’s all about the tunes and artists he loves. In the premiere dropping Monday, he’ll call out Bob Marley, Kylie Minogue and Davido. You can bet there’s no royalty-free music on his playlist. (I groaned when I wrote that!)
5,000 year old
Mummies smell woody, spicy and sweet. That’s what a team of human sniffers (yes, it’s a real job) say. Ancient Egyptians used special waxes and balms to keep their pharaohs and nobles smelling nice. BO in the afterlife was a sign of corruption. I heard they also liked wrap music.
🎵 Royalty-free music: If you’re a content creator, you don’t want your background music to get flagged. Check out Uppbeat for royalty-free tracks and sound effects. Oh, and remember to follow their licensing terms.
64 iPhones, one music video
OK Go’s new music video for “A Stone Only Rolls Downhill” was filmed on 64 iPhones. arranged them into a mosaic of split screens and edited it all into a single take. It took their 31-person team of 31 over 1,000 takes and more than 577 hours of prep to nail the 4-minute video. Even Tim Cook was impressed.
Hate YouTube ads? There’s a cheaper fix. YouTube is rolling out Premium Lite for $7.99/month, cutting down on “most” ads. News, fashion and gaming videos will be ad-free, but if you want music without ads, you’ll still need the $13.99/month standard Premium plan. That one also includes offline downloads.
On an iPhone: Open Control Center, then tap the Add Controls (+) button > Recognize Music. Next time you want to know what a song is, swipe down from the top of your screen and hit Recognize Music.
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iPhones filmed OK Go’s new music video. The indie rock band arranged them into a mosaic of split screens for their track “A Stone Only Rolls Downhill” and edited them into a single take. It took their 31-person team over 1,000 takes and 577 hours of prep to nail the four-minute video. Even Tim Cook was impressed. You’ve gotta see it for yourself.
⭐ Gold star: You take a picture, thinking, “Wow, this is a winner,” and you never see it again. In your photo app, look for the heart or star icon. This adds an image to your favorites. It works with your music apps, too.
🎵 Work hack? Studies show surgeons work faster and more accurately when listening to classical music. For those of us not in the operating room, the best tunes are any that put you in a better mood. The most popular songs on work-related Spotify lists are Train’s “Drops of Jupiter,” “Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac and “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey. I hear you humming!
Cue the “Jeopardy!” music: This company added a 27-inch LCD screen to its new microwave to bombard you with ads. The answer: Who is LG? Nothing’s sacred. They’re following Samsung’s lead by putting screens on everything as a way to make extra cash. I’ll keep my “dumb” microwave.
🪵 No fireplace? No problem: Put this crackling Yule log video on the TV so everyone focuses on quality time together. There’s no music, so you can pick your favorite!
🤹♀️ Free audio editing software: Get the one we use at the ol’ Komando Radio Ranch right here. It works great if you’re digitizing music on cassettes and LPs, podcasting or just editing audio for whatever reason.
Audio AI Fugatto generates sound from text
🔊 Swiss Army knife for sound: That’s what Nvidia is calling Fugatto, its new AI audio generator. People are, of course, creating bizarre sounds from text prompts, like turning the sound of a train into a string orchestra. Its creators think it could spark new music genres like the electric guitar did. What do you think?
Mark Zuckerberg x T-Pain – 'Get Low' (Z-Pain)
I hope you’re ready for Zuck’s “Get Low” cover. Heads-up: The lyrics are pretty explicit. In case you love it, they also dropped it on Spotify under the artist name “Z-Pain.” Does anyone have a Tylenol? I need a Z-Painkiller after listening to that.
Robot plays cello with Malmö Symphony Orchestra at concert
Introducing 'Dookie Demastered'
Green Day is going all out: To celebrate their “Dookie” album’s 30th anniversary, the California punk rock band has released “demastered” versions of their songs played on some hilariously inconvenient formats, including “Pulling Teeth” on a toothbrush, “Chump” on a Teddy Ruxpin and “Welcome to Paradise” on a Game Boy cartridge.
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Apple's AirPod game changer
Apple’s new AirPods Pro 2 just got FDA approval to double as hearing aids. But can they really pull it off? Find out what makes these earbuds more than just a great way to listen to music.