Archive for May, 2012

Never Mind The Jubilee, Here’s The Sex Pistols

God Save The Queen

Is this perfect timing, or perhaps a contradictory attempt to cash in on the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee? Or is it a genuine second stab at the monarchy, a reminder from 1977?

35th Anniversary

The 35^th anniversary of the controversial, anti-establishment punk album, “Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols” is going to be re-released to coincide with the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

However, Sex Pistols singer John Lydon, AKA Jonny Rotten, wants no part in the campaign to make their punk version of ‘God Save The Queen’ Number 1 on the Official Singles Chart.

“ I would very much like to distance myself” says Lydon

“ I am very proud of what the Sex Pistols achieved and always will be but this campaign totally undermines what the Sex Pistols stood for”

Anarchy In The UK

Along with ‘Anarchy In The UK’, ‘God Save The Queen’ was an attack on Britons’ social conformity and deference to the Crown. Take a snippet from the song, ‘God Save The Queen’ for instance: “God save the queen. She ain’t no human being. And there’s no future. In England’s dreaming”– there couldn’t be a more offensive song directly aimed at the Monarchy.

In 1977, The Sex Pistols held a press ceremony outside of Buckingham Palace when they signed to A&M Records. The late Sid Vicious smashed a toilet bowl, cutting his foot. As Vicious trailed blood around the offices, frontman, Johnny Rotten verbally assaulted the staff. The icing on the cake was when one of Rotten’s pals threatened the life of a friend of A&M’s director – the 25,000 singles due to be released were subsequently destroyed. If that isn’t true passion in what you believe in, then I don’t know what is.

Jubilee Tie-In

There is a tie-in with all this Jubilee business, however, as the original single was eventually released under Virgin records to coincide with the Queen’s Silver Jubilee. Needless to say, it was an enormous success during the punk era, as over half the singles sold by the Jubilee weekend.

35 years on and The Pistols have signed a deal with Universal Music Catalogue UK, who plans to put out an expanded and repackaged anniversary version of their classic album that changed the punk and rock genres forever. Johnny Rotten commented on their website: “Music can be great, when done by the great. The Sex Pistols are the greatest. Universal now has a trophy room. Music is the imitation of nature. The Sex Pistols are nature, so please give generously. Thank You”.

Apparently there will be events taking place, too, although they’ve been kept under wraps. Whatever they’ll be, The Sex Pistols ain’t The Pistols without Sid Vicious, and Johnny Rotten has surely softened in his old age – he’s starred in a TV ad for Country Life Butter, dressed as a country bumpkin, everything he detested. A sell out? Or a clever mockery? Whatever it was, he managed to increase County Life’s sales by 85%.

I love The Sex Pistols, and have merchandise such as a rocking sex pistols iphone case from FANPAC and a large musci collection so I’ll be blasting out in anarchy over the Jubilee weekend, but however you take this news, The Pistols will surely cash in as the nation munches on salmon and cucumber sandwiches.

10 Amazing Apps for AXE Wielders

To go with some fantastic rock iPhone covers we present to you with some stunning apps to help propel you into the world of Rock Stardom. These are some truly impressive Apps that cover you from Rock FAN apps to apps with over 40’000 Tabs.
So pick up that AXE turn the Dial to 11 and play.

Guitarist: The Guitarist Magazine

SLASH & GUITARIST MAGAZINE !!!

This app, like the magazine, offers reviews on all guitars and equipment, plus guitar technique and lessons with TAB. The other great feature is the selection of famous songs and their translation into music and tab, with the guitarist/songwriter giving tips on how to nail it down.

This app is free, but you will need a magazine subscription – 3 months (£8.99), 6 months (£15.49) or 1 year (£27.99).

A fantastic app for when you’re on the move and you feel that sudden desperate itching in your fingertips.

Ultimate Guitar Apps

THE ULTIMATE GUITAR APP !! - ROCK POWER

This is a brilliant app for both the budding or serious guitarist. How many times has a song popped into your head and you think, ‘Yeah, I’d like the play that’? Well, with this app, simply enter the band or song title in the search box, and it’ll find a selection of over 40,000 TABs for you. We can see why this simple yet brilliant app is one of the top 10 ten apps featured in the music category. Bass players and drummers also benefit, as the app also lists the bass and drum TABs. You can email your TABs to band members if you have a cover song coming up and there’s also an Advanced Search feature that lets you specify the TAB type, part of a song, its difficulty level, tuning and rating. And all this incredible data for a mere $2.99!

This is a MUST for any guitarist with an iPhone.

Guitarist

Guitarist App - Best Ever - ROCK N ROLL

The simple title says it all; this app reached 14 in the top 100 apps list – no mean feat with the trillions of apps available. It was even used by Apple in their Guided Video Tour for the 3GS.

This app is a guitar simulator used when you find yourself with out your axe and inspiration strikes. You can record your song and play it back. The fretboard is scrollable right up to the 21^st fret. You can even record a rhythm track and lead, each with their own effects, into one track. Pitch bends are achieved by dragging on the strings, and a really cool feature is tipping your phone to deploy the WhaWha and Whammy effects. Another technique are the use of ‘hammer-ons’, the app removing the concept of string plucking to allow you to concentrate on fretting the notes – simply tap the string to play the note, and either tap a higher note or ‘pull off’ to a lower note to gain speed in solos. The Tab Guitar takes the opposite path from the ‘hammer-on’ in removing the ability to fret the notes, this time allowing you to concentrate on plucking tor strumming (chords) the notes.

So for $3.99, practise your scales, fine-tune your techniques, record your inspirations, and rock out without your axe.

Guitar Tuner by PFG Software

Nice - Tune Your Guitar From Your Iphone

There are many tuner apps available, but this one tops them all, not only because it’s free, but because it’s extremely user friendly. Press the chord on your guitar that requires tuning, and your phone will repeat a studio-quality recording of the desired chord.

Multiple tunings are also available, along with the ability to change the delay in which the notes are sounded.

It’s as simple as that. A great pocket tuner!

Guitar Lab

Guitar Lab - A Rockers DREAM !

TrueFire.com have created a superb guitar lesson lab for FREE!

This is intended as a practice tool for TrueFire students on-the-go, but everyone is welcome to hang out, just make sure you have a 3G or WiFi connection to work along with the high-quality video stream lessons. Guitar Lab covers most music genres such as Rock, Blues, Acoustic, Jazz and Country with video lessons with TAB and text guides on your iPhone.

Guitar Lab has grown from a secret resource for pro players to over 400 top guitarists now instructing with thousands of video lessons, helping fellow guitarists stay hot on the fretboard.

iShred

ISHRED IT UP With This METAL APP

I had to include this app purely because of its name, and what rock guitarist doesn’t respect and admire a bit of shredding?

This app will set you back $4.99, but rest assure it’ll be the most exciting 5 bucks you ever parted with. iShred begins with a series of high-fidelity guitar samples, and then feeds them through 8 exciting effects pedals and an overdrive amp simulator. Either jam with a trebly sound, a rock lead sound, or the best (subjective, of course), the all-out metal assault.

The effects pedals include: Hot Fuzz, Wahsabi (Wah pedal), Sybil (duel chorus), HK-2000 Delay, Kompressor (best with power chords), Adrenaline (Treble boost), Q-36 Space Modulator (Multi-pattern modulation) and the Trembler (Tremolo).

There are over 2000 built in chords, scales and fret positions, which you can by assign to the rows of buttons at the top of the screen. These buttons give you access to all the chords and scales you need to create a song, and lets you switch between strumming chords and playing melodies.

Oh, and if you’re a lefty, this app is supported for you.

Now go and annoy the person sitting next to you on the train and SHRED!

Rock Prodigy: Guitar

GREAT App for the Budding ROCK STAR !

Rock Prodigy is perfect for a beginner wanting to learn how to play, or maybe any guitarist wanting to jam along to rock songs.

Use your iPhone and rock out to Metallica, strum along with Bob Dylan, or maybe you like your stuff heavier? How about Avenged Sevenfold? This app is almost formatted as a game, scoring and listening to you hit each note, but at the same time teaches you as you proceed. This is like Guitar Hero but with real guitars and lessons.

You will need an iPhone 3GS or later, and any real guitar, acoustic or electric.

So buy this app for $1.99 and learn or improve you jamming skills.

Dave Mustaine: Guitar Prodigy

Dave Mustang - Rock GOD ..Now With an APP

I’ll start this with a quote from the master of metal himself, Dave Mustaine: “Better than a private lesson, and more fun than any guitar game, my app actually teaches you how to play guitar, and with the leader boards you shred while you kick your friends asses.”

Joel McIver in the “100 Greatest Metal Guitarists Of All Time” ranked Megadeth’s front man at number 1, so you can’t go wrong learning a lick or two from this guy.

Dave Mustaine teamed up with the makers of the previous app creator, Rock Prodigy to bring a touch of metal and speed to the iPhone. Learn and play Megadeth classics such as “Holy Wars”, “Tornado” and “Public Enemy No.1”.

Mustaine also offers mini lessons on techniques, rhythm and theory. Plus you can slow parts down to make sure they are perfect.

This app features multiple skill levels from beginner to advanced, and even has a leader board to show top scores. At a mere $9.99 this is a must for Megadeth fans; never before has there been a way for a fan to get a one-on-one connection with the artist, to experience the music – by playing HIS music.

Guitar Studio

Everything You Need To Learn The Guitar

With Guitar Studio you can make music quickly and very easily. Learn and nail down your favourite tunes on this app that is way more than just a virtual fretboard. Choose from 6 acoustic sounds, including steel and 12 string. Enhance your sound with reverb to simulate a room’s ambience.

There are 21 scales to warm up and practice, and once warmed up, you can practice the advanced moves such as hammer-ons, pull-offs, and slides.

Recording songs is easy with Guitar Studio, and you also have a metronome option to help keep time. You can also play along with your finished recordings.

It also features a built in music player so you can jam over the top of your favorite tracks. iPod library and imported tracks are also supported.

Not a bad little package for £2.99.

Go on, go make music.

10.

7 Chords

Gibson.com recommended 7 Chords as one of the “five most essential iPhone applications for musicians” and we can see why.

It’s easy to use, straight forward and builds on improving your knowledge of chords and music theory – all for only $1.99!

Suited mostly for beginners and intermediates, the app works with the user searching for a single chord on the left then matching that to the exact chord on the right. The illustrations show you fret numbers, notes and how to position your fingers. Then tap or double tap the screen to hear the chord played aloud. With over 1500 of the most used guitar chords we’re sure you’ll be rockin’ in no time.

10 Apps Lennon Would Be Proud Of

Hippie Trip

Slip into some tie-dyed rags, man, and give the peace sign as you go back in time to the groovy 70s. This is a fast-paced game based upon the old-skool favourite, Lemmings. As your Hippie camper vans are drawn to the sea, you have to evade dune buggies or you’ll end up in the drink. How many Hippies can you save?

This game’s graphics are bright and attractive, and upbeat surfer music accompanies you as you spread the peace and save Hippies.

And this app is like, free man…

iHippie

This free app allows you to mediate, to relax, and let your mind float away on a sea of colour to a land of tranquillity. You can slow the colours down or speed them up, depending on your mood. Ultimately, let this app turn your iPhone into the ultimate meditation tool!

The Way Of The Hindu

John Lennon was an inspirational speaker, a modern day philosopher, and this is one app he would’ve had stored on his iPhone.

Open the app and you’re opening a collection of inspirational and motivational quotes. Open your mind, too, and indulge, learn, think – a free way to change your perspective of the world!

Inner Peace & Calm

Glenn Harrold is the UK’s best-selling self-help author, and his app will help you overcome everyday ailments such as stress, anxiety, and will help you sleep well and feel more relaxed.

This app contains free and premium content, although to access the premium you must subscribe, which is around £5 per month. But this version gives you exclusive tracks: Relax and Sleep Well Daytime, and also Nightime versions, Sports Performance, Financial Abundance and Public Speaking. You can also find e-books and bonus tracks with regular updates.

Buddha Box

This app costs £1.99, but you get a lot for your money with this box crammed full of Zen. Buddha boxes are portable sound machines used to meditate to Buddhist chants used in temples all around the world. If you can’t get to a temple or want to meditate on holiday, this app is a must.

Open the app and you can choose from 9 boxes in an array of colours. 17 “Zen” images are available, including images of Buddha, Himalayan mountains, Tibetan temples and Zen gardens.

9 soothing “Amituofu” chants accompanied by meditative music are also at a touch of the screen, helping your to mind wander.

There are also Buddha quotes on Health, Mind and Love.

For a small price, this app is well worth the love.

iBlueSky

iBlueSky costs £4.99 and is designed for creative productivity and intuitive workflow. Use this app and keep note of your thoughts and then read them later to understand your psyche and improve yourself.

If inspiration hits – which is usually does at the most inconvenient of times – this beautifully presented app is perfect to get anything down clearly. iBlueSky nearly takes up the entire iPhone’s screen and actually looks like a built in feature from Apple. It features the double-tap zoom in and out, and the finger scroll down, also the keyboard is big and clear and the screen can be tilted as if you were sending a text.

Attach notes to branches (imported or exported in most formats), and then edit each branch with a colour picker option. The different colours can then be selected for sub-branches of information, keeping things in order.

So if you’re a creative soul and that light bulb appears above your head when you’re out, download this app and keep your ideas in check. This app should pay for itself if enough of your ingenuous ideas come to fruition.

I think this my favourite app as I’m a writer and ideas do spring up at the most annoying times.

Gratitude Stream

Ever feel so happy and fulfilled with life you want to express gratitude to the whole world?

Keeping track of your emotions is the first step in gaining a sustainable happiness. In fact, it is scientifically proven method of increasing your long-term happiness. So try and stay happy and keep a gratitude journal.

Within this app is a questionnaire to measure your happiness and a text box to fill in to record the good things that have happened throughout your day.

You can let others know what you are grateful for by using the ‘stream’, a twitter-like function that let’s you spread your love.

I Just Made Love

Make love not war, right? Well with this iPhone app you can log and tell the world via GPS-tag where and when you made love. Should you want to, you can also check where others have made love. I thought this was a bit of a hit or miss and wondered whether I should include it, but Lennon was a fan of LOVE, and it seems this is catching on as it has already been downloaded more than 10, 000 times!

Inner Peace Cards

Finding inner peace is the most powerful element of discovering pure happiness. Dr. Wayne W. Dyer is a renowned author and orator in the field of self-development. He has 30 books under his belt and created audio and video programs.

Download this app for a mere $3.99 and find your inner peace with 50 Affirmation cards designed to guide you in your search for the ultimate health and happiness. You can shuffle the deck and pick a card – it could be an inspirational message or an encouragement into sending our love and harmony, appreciation in who you are.

There’s an email option to send out messages to friends too. You can even save cards to your iPhone’s photo library and use as your wallpaper.

10.

John Lennon App

I left the best for last. This is a ridiculously simple and elegantly designed app, one worth every single 99 of the cents it costs. Not a great deal to say as the app speaks for itself – a tap of the screen offers up some of Lennon’s most inspirational and intellectual thoughts and quotes.

10 Eco iPhone Apps for UK & International – Keep it Green!

These days you can keep green with your smart phone from iphone cases to user apps. Here are some fantastic Apps that are geared for the UK or International market.

1. GreenMeter

This smart app computes your vehicle’s power and fuel usage, and allows you to increase efficiency and reduce your fuel consumption – a must with the ever-increasing prices at the petrol station. greenMeter will also help you lower the impact of your carbon footprint on the environment.

Like a lot of apps that rely on GPS, greenMeter uses a novel algorithm that computes parameters over the entire speed range, which means it can be used on all generations of iPhone and iPod Touch. So if you’re into Eco-driving, want to make your transportation more efficient, or maintaining a green lifestyle, give this app a go – and at £3.99, it’ll pay for its self within a few trips to the petrol station.

2. The Green Brief

The Green Brief is an app that focuses on key environmental areas. The initial part of this app delivers tips and advice for reducing the negative impact you are making on the environment. These helpful tips can help reduce the cost of electricity and motoring bills. Assisting and educating on making a business going green is also covered.

Within the app there is an embedded RSS feed that delivers an assortment of the latest news concerning everything green. The first screen on The Green Brief shows 4 headings: Business, Home, Travel, and a section for adding your own tips. On entering each section, you will see that these can be broken down into more sections: Home – Bathroom, Kitchen, Loft, Lounge, Study/Home office, and finally Whole Home. Each tip has a score from 1 – 5 on savings and cost you make, and also tells you where you can find more information on the net.

And at £1.79, this app will pay for itself many times with the potential savings made using The Green Brief.

3. Meter Read

This free app is a must if you don’t want estimated billing. Meter Read allows you to easily view your account details so you can submit your electricity or gas readings, giving British Gas exact readings.

It also features a way in which you can keep track of your energy usage and how much you’re in control of it. You can also compare costs with customers in your local area.

Any problems and you can simply contact the customer services team via email, or find any emergency contact information.

Other features include a handy torch to view your meter in dark places. You can even book an engineer to deal with any faults, and also track his/her appointment status. 24 hour emergency numbers are also listed along with customer service information, and a top FAQs with illustrated help.

4. iRecycle

If you recycle, this app provides a staggering 1,000,000+ ways to recycle 300 materials. It also updates with the latest in green news (published daily) to match your lifestyle by Earth911.com – you can also have an Earth911.com user profile to access insider scoops and weekly blasts.

Recycling locations are covered with this app using current location, address, city, to find nearest recycling centre, and to find out vital details such as phone number, website, hours of operation etc…

iRecycle also connects with Facebook and Twitter, so social interaction and article searches are available.

Dirty Dozen

Do you really know what you’re consuming when you eat your ‘healthy’ fruit and veg?

This app will help you determine the best buys, avoiding pesticides used to enhance goods. Of course, the health benefits from eating fruit and vegetables out-weighs the exposure to pesticides, but Dirty Dozen’s The Shopper’s Guide will help you reduce this by finding organic alternatives – a far healthier way of eating and living. This app claims that avoiding the 12 most contaminated fruits and vegetables will have a substantial affect in lowering your pesticide intake.

After all, you are what you eat, right?

6. i-Own

You might want to take a minute and think of all the unwanted or unused items knocking around in your loft and garage. Near impossible to tote everything up, i-Own is the perfect app to take control and shift a few items.

i-Own is a personal inventory management system for individual and small businesses around the globe. i-Own is a great way of enabling you to take control of your assets. If you’re not home (inventory location), you can still transact on your asset item, on the move, wherever you are, providing you have a data or WiFi connection.

eGarage is a part of i-Own that enables you to post items for sale in your local area, or across international lines (legal substances only at your own discretion). Gone are the days of waiting for spring or summer to sell off your valuables from the back of your car or garage.

Quickly post items and decide on where you want them listed by postcode or city etc… You will receive alerts if prospective buyers respond to your post, and you can accept or reject it from the convenience of your iPhone.

You can upload pictures and details about your item with ease, and track all of the items you own and cherish. i-Own also allows you to track items that depreciate over time, and in the process help you during your income tax return filing.

i-Own can remind you of expiring warranties on your items, alert you when a recall for your item is announced, and in future will help you with quick register with the manufacturer directly from the app.

7. Carbon Track

Every aspect of your business activities has a monetary and environmental cost.

Carbon Track has been designed to give you an estimate of the CO2 emissions caused by your key daily business activities – travel, electricity usage and waste – and their associated environmental impact.

Carbon Track enables you to measure the environmental effects of a typical business journey, and compare it to different modes of transportation. You can calculate the potential electricity savings by using different office equipment.

This handy app will give you an insight of how easy it is to measure and monetise greenhouse emissions and other impacts you may have on the environment going about your daily routine.

Thinking of the environment and saving money not only makes good business sense, but it also makes financial sense.

8. Green Genie

I like this little app as it’s only 0.69p and has a neat little interaction gimmick. It also pays for itself many times over if you adhere to the tips and advice Green Genie provides. Just rub the lamp (the neat gimmick – I’m easily pleased), and the Genie will take you to the best green websites on the net.

There isn’t anything the little guy doesn’t know about living green. You can even suggest ideas and projects to him. Anything you don’t know, just rub the Green Genie and he will take you to the answer. In fact, he’s so great he’ll sort projects for you, specifically suited to your lifestyle.

Green Genie’s Heist Device allows you to contribute your ideas to the world, that will in turn be uploaded the app’s database.

Just rub away and go green.

9. Gorgeously Green Survival Guide

For all you women ‘on the go’, this app is the quick reference guide to the eco world.

Best selling author, Sophie Uliano, developed this app to teach women how to update their beauty regime, create an eco-friendly home, and help adopt a healthier diet and fitness routine, and even indulge in guilt-free shopping.

From environmental tips to the most important organic produce, from chemicals to avoid in makeup to earth-friendly lists, everything is covered in the GGSG.

Take her shopping and she’ll advise you on eco-friendly choices and give you helpful lists for ‘on the go’ shoppers.

From eye shadow to electrical items, the GGSG will support you.

10. GoodGuide

The GoodGuide is free and instantly reveals whether products are safe, healthy, green and socially responsible while you shop. A barcode-scanning feature enables you to simply scan the item’s barcode, and the app will use its GoodGuide science-based, environmental and social ratings for over 120,000 products.

GoodGuide’s personalisation feature allows you to choose the issues you care about the most – nutritional value, safe and healthy ingredients, animal welfare, human rights, climate change, energy efficiency, and more. Once the item has been scanned and the app has processed the data, it will tell you if it has passed or failed on your key criteria.

If you come across some good or particularly bad finds, you can share via the Twitter and Facebook networks.

Not only an iPhone app, this can be used on the iPod Touch.