We were just learning (and getting excited) about Spotify in the Fall of 2011. The promise of another similar service gave me hope that competitive pressure between these two would lead to continuously improving service = a better product for us to use in class.
I have to admit that until I received an alert about this, I had forgotten all about Google music. Spotify, now that the playlist timer is back, has been working very well for me.
So today there are a bunch of articles excitedly talking about the new Google Music All Access iPhone App. So right after my FTP class this morning, I downloaded the new App to my iPhone. Because I have a Google ID, my phone recognized me right away and…
then the confusion began 🙁
The App didn't work. It would show songs, but trying to play them, I kept getting an error message; unable to stream.
I must need to log in to the actual All Access service or something, I thought. Searching through every button or link I could find on the App relieved nothing. So I did a search on my computer (using Google) for Google Music All Access, which brought me to this page for Google Play Music. This is a big deal, so I figured they would have a large banner saying “Click Here to make your new App work”, but they didn't. You need to scroll way down the page to find anything – I had actually scrolled past it at first, left the page, then came back and then found the mauve banner that finally linked to where I could subscribe.
Why isn't there a way to subscribe right on your phone? Or at least a “this won't work without an All Access subscription, silly” notification. It would have prevented me wasting 20 minutes of my life.
Thankfully it's free for the first 30 days – then $9.95 a month. All Access offers a way to download a playlist for off-line use, which is good, but that's it for the functionality important to us. There's no option to change the order of songs on your iPhone – only on the desktop. There's no crossfade, or gapless playback options.
It may be that Google Music All Access was designed specifically to go against iTunes Radio. Unfortunately it has a long way to go before it will be of any value to me.
NOTE: If you found this looking for help with Spotify, we have lots of tutorials and informational articles here.
Today, we have a fun flat road from a band that pioneered the London acid jazz scene in the late 80's. Later they developed a sophisticated classic soul sound that's funky and motivating for our classes. Clocking in at 4:46 and rpm's of 97, I've been using this song as the last song in a 20 minute cadence build to threshold. Starting at 80 rpm's and building to 97 rpm's, this song perfectly finishes the build to anaerobic threshold. I use this cadence build smack in the middle of a 60 minute class.
I also love, love, love when I find a free download from SoundCloud that's every bit as fabulous as the original :).
John's been talking a lot about harmonic blending lately and it reminded me of my favorite mash up DJ. IMHO, nobody blends better than this guy! Originally from Israel, he now reigns from New York City and has a blast digitally deconstructing and reconstructing music (he's been doing it since 2006).
I hadn't been to his website for quite awhile and felt like a kid in a candy shop with all the new tracks available since my last visit.
Choosing a brand new mash up of Rihanna, Carly Rae Jepsen and Michael Jackson (appropriately titled ‘We Found A Good Beat'), I was anxious to use it in my class. They loved it! Coming in at 4:06 and 71 bpm, it makes a great out of the saddle climb. My class really enjoyed the surprise of the next song to be mashed into the background of Michael Jackson's ‘Thriller'.
It would be easy to do an entire class of all DJ Lobsterdust mash ups. Here is his website, so you can check everything out for yourself. Let me know if you end up doing an entire Lobsterdust profile! 🙂
And here's your free download for the ‘We Found A Good Beat' track:
Stripes & Plaid, Pink & Yellow and Brussels sprouts with anything, some things just don't pair well with others.
My short education on Harmonic Mixing has me learning that there are excellent music tracks, that by themselves are awesome. But just like you can look fabulous in pink OR yellow, mixing two tracks (with clashing keys) together may not have the effect you were hoping for.
Some of us hear instinctively when two music tracks clash. Unfortunately some of us are (or were) completely clueless that music even came in “Keys”.
Figuring I can't offer much help any of you in the “hear” group, I started this post with this idea of giving the “clueless” group a few sample playlists of songs in the same key. But I started thinking the “hears” group might not hear as well as they think, so why not make a game out if it – with a prize for the winner?
I've devised a little contest to challenge your ability to hear and identify tracks that can be Harmonically Mixed… and those that shouldn't.
There are six, two song Spotify playlists below. four are mixed in key and 2 are in clashing keys. Click play on each playlist and then use the >>> button to switch between tracks. The prize is shown below.
Good luck 🙂
#1 – Both are in the key of C major
#2 American Band is in the key of C major / Born to run is in E major
#3 Lightning Strike is in F major – Shut your eyes is B flat minor
#4 Both are in the key of D major
#5 Although both of these are flat, they are in D flat major and G flat minor
#6 These are both in F Minor at the end of each track, (where I was checking) but Latch appears to change key a few times through the song 🙁
UPDATE: This contest didn't turn out like I had hoped = it was “dumb” as my kids would say. That said, Instructor Julia A Grady correctly picked two (of what turned out to be three) clashing tracks and will receive the DVD's from Epic Planet!
Can you pick out the 2 playlists with clashing tracks? Leave your guess below and we'll draw from the correct entries to receive the EPIC Planet DVD bundle.
DVDs or Downloads, this epic bundle combines two of our favorite releases, Epic San Diego – Great Western Loop and Epic California – Mt. Baldy.
Value up to $49.95!
Epic San Diego – Great Western Loop is an extremely popular training ride for many hard core and competitive cyclists in this Southern California cycling mecca.
Epic California – Mt. Baldy takes you on a virtual training ride on an extremely challenging and beautiful route out of the Los Angles County city of Glendora. The route for this ride matches the grueling last half of this year’s Stage 7 of the Amgen Tour of California. This route will also be featured by Rapha sportswear as part of their noted Continental Tour.
Click Image to learn more about training for ICI/PRO Members.
We're planning our second live Spotify training for this Sunday 11/3 @ 5:00 central time.
The training will be conducted over Skype.
My preference is to keep the group small so we have time to answer everyone's questions = this is open to the first 8 Instructors who've emailed me a conformation – or you can leave a comment below.
We are planning to repeat these on multiple Sundays this Fall, as long as we have interest, so if you miss this week we'll get to you soon – use this link to join the notification list.
Some homework for you 🙂
Create a free Skype account if you don't already have one.
Sign up for the free trial of Spotify premium – I strongly suggest using FaceBook when you sign up. There is an option to register using just an email, but you'll be missing out on the ability to share music between friends and your class participants.
Spend some time playing with Spotify so we can answer your specific questions during the training.
NOTE: you'll need the latest version of Skype (learned this last week) to see my screen and video. Existing Skype users check by going to: Help > Check for Updates
Happy November! Today's Free Music Friday started out in the normal fashion:
-Hear a tune I like
-Find it in Spotify
-Use it in a class profile; if it works well, check SoundCloud to see if there is a decent free download for you to use in your class. If there is, then the tune goes forward to you all in its original and free re-mixed versions.
Today is different!
The SoundCloud remix mash-up is so darn good, I'm just passing it along straight away.
‘Take Your Mama', originally by Scissor Sisters (4:32 and 78 rpm's) is re-mixed with The Cure by Copy Correct. This remix mash-up is 4:02 – 90 rpm's and is in the key of D minor for those of you experimenting with Harmonic Mixing.
It's just a great funky tune that I've been using to take my class toward T2. It has the two elements I look for: recognition and a driving beat.
Here it is. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have (remember to download asap, as the authors often limit downloads and we never know when the limit is reached):
Here's the Spotify link for the original by Scissor Sisters:
Today, we have a fun flat road from a band that pioneered the London acid jazz scene in the late 80's. Later they developed a sophisticated classic soul sound that's funky and motivating for our classes. Clocking in at 4:46 and rpm's of 97, I've been using this song as the last song in a 20 minute cadence build to threshold. Starting at 80 rpm's and building to 97 rpm's, this song perfectly finishes the build to anaerobic threshold. I use this cadence build smack in the middle of a 60 minute class.
