Posted Dec 26, 2009 at 12:27 pm CT by Todd Levy
With new music apps appearing in the App Store almost daily, 2009 was a great year to own an iPhone for music lovers and creators alike. And though none of this year's offerings is the ultimate celestial jukebox (we're waiting Spotify and MOG), there were still plenty of great iPhone music apps to get excited about.
With that, here's Jamtopia's list of the Best iPhone Music Apps of 2009 — including five great apps for listening to music on your iPhone and another five for creating your own.
Listen to Music: The Best iPhone Music Apps of 2009
According to eloquent yet outspoken music industry pundit Bob Lefsetz, “ownership is for pussies.”
No major argument here. That's why all but one of these great iPhone music apps are all about streaming from the cloud.
As long as you've got a network connection, you can have millions of tunes on demand, professional stations in every genre, and even the ability to customize your own station. All for free or close to it.
And if you don't see your favorite app for listening to music on the iPhone, please post a comment to sing its praises.
Unlimited free music with over 100 expert programmed radio stations or easily create your own custom stations.
[Free | iTunes | official site]
It's a Public Radio fan's dream come true. Hundreds of shows on demand including music of all kinds plus tons of news and talk.
[Free | iTunes | official site]
Access over 8 million songs plus dynamic radio stations and custom playlists. Requires $14.99 monthly membership to Rhapsody to Go.
[Free | iTunes | official site]
Quickly tune in some of the country's best internet radio stations. Rock, Jazz, Top 40 and tons more. Plus Howard 101!
[$0.99 | iTunes | official site]
Stream music from all your computers to your iPhone over WiFi, EDGE and 3G — integrated with iTunes if that's your thing.
[$7.99 | iTunes | official site]
2 Comments 
iPhone Music Apps | Year-end Lists
Posted Dec 17, 2009 at 4:10 am CT by Todd Levy
I wouldn't exactly call this a banner year for concert DVDs, but to help you find the diamonds in the rough I'm pleased to announce Jamtopia's Best Concert DVDs of 2009.
In some ways this may be your father's concert DVD collection (Woodstock, Van Morrison) and in other ways not so much (Maiden, Nirvana). Come to think of it, there's pretty much something for everyone. Plus at about $15 to $20 a pop, you can probably still afford to go see a real concert.
Two legendary artists renuited for a sold-out three-night stand at MSG. [blu-ray]
Over 9 hours of music and footage of Phish in their prime at the 1996 Clifford Ball festival in Plattsburgh, New York.
Climb aboard Ed Force One with this two-disc chronicle of the Somewhere Back in Time tour.
[blu-ray | more info]
Morrison re-imagines his critically-acclaimed classic for two live shows.
The master performs with Clapton, Imogen Heap and Joss Stone.
The compete historic headlining appearance at the UK's 1992 Reading Festival.
Comment Concert DVDs | Year-end Lists
Posted Dec 31, 2008 at 11:25 pm CT by Dan Buczaczer
Please welcome Dan Buczaczer to Jamtopia!
Dan Buczaczer's musical roots run deep. He's worked on a video with Lenny Kravitz, stood in a bathroom line with Fiona Apple, and even peed next to Elliott Smith. Dan recently put together this list of his picks for the 100 best songs of 2008, and he's graciously allowed me to feature it here. As we move into 2009 I'm hoping to expand Jamtopia's musical horizons a bit, so I'm extra thankful to Dan for this wonderfully diverse list. It's truly a step in the right direction.
The last two weeks of December are my favorite time of year but not because of the Christmas spirit and goodwill and peace towards all. It's because I love lists. Kind of to the point of obsession. Gripe all you want about the cheapening of journalism… tell me there's a list inside a magazine featuring the Top 10 or 40 of something and I'm probably breaking out my wallet. Why? Lists are fun. They instantly provide food for thought in the most simple design interface of all: a column of content in ranked order.
Covering the best singles instead of albums is a big step for me. Historically I've always sent around lists of my favorite records but the times are a-changin' and in an age where everything is available it's frankly much more fun to act like Girl Talk and just sample obsessively from everywhere.
Any list worth it's weight has criteria and caveats. Here are mine:
- This list is in reverse order because that is the only way to put together a list. Anyone who starts with #1 gets no joy out of life and isn't paying attention to whatever poet talked about the journey being at least as enjoyable as the destination (I may have butchered that).
- These are tracks, not singles. Why? Because radio is dead, as is MTV. I have no idea with most of these if they are singles or not. It's like knowing when your favorite TV show is on in the age of Tivo. Who cares?
- I only feature one song per artist because the list is much more interesting that way. No one wants a list with a surplus of tracks from one artist hogging the ranks. This is about appreciating the wide variety of great music in 08.
- These were all released in one form or another in 2008. A few are from albums in 2007 but were released as singles in 2008 (OK, so sometimes I know what songs are singles). The point is I bend the rules at will to make the list better. Work with me on this.
- If I'm wrong about the release date of something, direct your blogger hate at Wikipedia and Rhapsody, not me.
The list is below with links to every song. This took me far too much time to put together. If you have Rhapsody, you can listen to the complete playlist. Just know that the Rhapsody list is missing songs # 48, 58 and 59 so you'll have to revert to this post if you're a completist (and bravo if you are). Either way, set aside just under seven hours to make it through the list. And enjoy.
Comment Guest Bloggers | Music News | Year-end Lists
Posted Dec 29, 2008 at 3:26 am CT by Todd Levy
UPDATE: See the best concert DVDs of 2009.
If you've got a jones for some live music but you're stuck home or there just isn't anyone playing in town, sometimes a cold beer and a hot concert DVD will really hit the spot.
To bring your concert DVD collection up to date for the new year, you can't go wrong with any of the selections from the 12-pack below — Jamtopia's Best Concert DVDs of 2008. Plus, most of them are only about $15 so you'll still have some cash left over for a real 12-pack!
Two incredible Who concerts including a 1977 invite-only show in Kilburn, North London plus London Coliseum from '69. [blu-ray]
Scorsese captures the world's greatest rock & roll band and plenty of special guests at the Beacon Theatre in 2006. [blu-ray]
All the classics and a few rarities from Skynyrd at the 1996 Loreley Festival in Germany.
This two-night compilation from Rotterdam, Holland in 2007 combines classic Rush material and nine new songs, plus bonuses. [blu-ray]
Footage from Maiden's 4 night stand in Long Beach, CA at the end of the 1984-85 World Slavery Tour and a bonus documentary.
Over three hours of performances from the year-long Chaos In Motion World Tour plus behind-the-scenes documentary and more.
Comment Concert DVDs | Year-end Lists
Posted Oct 14, 2008 at 11:58 pm CT by Todd Levy
With sincere thanks to all of the 195 professional and amateur concert photographers who entered the 2008 Jamtopia Concert Photo Contest, I'm very pleased to announce the finalists.
I must say it was nearly impossible to pick just 12 finalists from the more than 330 great concert photos entered, but without further ado, here they are…
Franki Doll || Feb 21, 2008
Photo by Roger Krueger
Die Mannequin || Apr 24, 2008
Photo by Reinier Asscheman
Grace Potter || Apr 25, 2008
Photo by Greg Homolka
OK Go || May 16, 2008
Photo by Tasha Schalk
Boris || May 29, 2008
Photo by Nathan Wind
Ratdog || June 1, 2008
Photo by Matt Beauchemin
Eating Glass || June 8, 2008
Photo by Ben Hajdukiewicz
Radiohead || June 9, 2008
Photo by Samuel Dietz
Anthrax || June 22, 2008
Photo by Jazmin$Million
Pearl Jam || July 12, 2008
Photo by Jeff Kravitz
Paramore || July 25, 2008
Photo by Cody Mulcahy
Gogol Bordelo || Aug 19, 2008
Photo by Alexandre Pinabel for Collectif ISO
Want to see the winner? Come back on November 1st for the big announcement.
5 Comments 2008 Concert Photo Contest | Concert Photos | Jamtopia News | Year-end Lists
