Face-melting concert photo

The Best iPhone Music Apps of 2009

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.

Slacker Radio iPhone Music App

Slacker Radio

Unlimited free music with over 100 expert programmed radio stations or easily create your own custom stations.
[Free | iTunes | official site]

Public Radio Player iPhone Music App

Public Radio Player

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]


Rhapsody iPhone Music App

Rhapsody

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]

Xtend Fm Radio iPhone Music App

Xtend Fm Radio

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]

Simplify Music 2 iPhone Music App

Simplify Music 2

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]

The Best Concert DVDs of 2009

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.

Eric Clapton Steve Winwood: Live from MSG Concert DVD Cover

Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood: Live from MSG

Two legendary artists renuited for a sold-out three-night stand at MSG. [blu-ray]

Phish: Clifford Ball Concert DVD Cover

Phish: The Clifford Ball

Over 9 hours of music and footage of Phish in their prime at the 1996 Clifford Ball festival in Plattsburgh, New York.

Iron Maiden: Flight 666 Concert DVD Cover

Iron Maiden: Flight 666

Climb aboard Ed Force One with this two-disc chronicle of the Somewhere Back in Time tour.
[blu-ray | more info]


Van Morrison: Astral Weeks Live At The Hollywood Bowl Concert DVD Cover

Van Morrison: Astral Weeks Live At The Hollywood Bowl

Morrison re-imagines his critically-acclaimed classic for two live shows.

Jeff Beck: Performing This Week, Live at Ronnie Scott's

Jeff Beck: Performing This Week, Live at Ronnie Scott's

The master performs with Clapton, Imogen Heap and Joss Stone.

Nirvana: Live at Reading Concert DVD Cover

Nirvana: Live at Reading

The compete historic headlining appearance at the UK's 1992 Reading Festival.

Like Jamtopia? Subscribe to Jamtopia by email or grab the Jamtopia RSS feed

McLovins Virtual Circle EP On Sale Now

Tonight The McLovins dropped their Virtual Circle EP featuring two blazing new tunes and clocking in at almost 15 minutes. Turn up the volume and hit play at right to hear some samples.

The tracks are bound for a full length album planned for Summer 2010, a quick follow-up to their August '09 debut Conundrum.

If you like the preview you can buy the Virtual Circle EP on the McLovins site. The instant download is priced at $1.98 to start, but you're free to pay more if you'd like :)

P.S. Word is the band is planning a limited edition vinyl pressing of the Virtual Circle EP at the request of fans. Nice touch fellas.

McLovins Virtual Circle LP
Sorry. You need to Flash to stream the album.
Get More McLovins: Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Jamtopia, Hidden Track

Like Phish Posters? Don’t Miss Mock Show: EPIC NYE

David Welker Mock Show Poster

Official Mock Show: EPIC NYE
print by David Welker

If you're heading to Miami for Phish, you won't want to miss Mock Show: EPIC NYE. The huge Phish poster exhibit will take place 10 am to 3 pm on December 30th at Miami’s luxurious EPIC Hotel Hyatt Regency Miami, walking distance from American Airlines Arena.

At the show you'll find the best Phish art from over 30 artists like Jim Pollock, David Welker, Jeff Wood, AJ Masthay, Ryan Kerrigan, Tripp, Bullock, Helton, Horan and more — not to mention an acoustic set from The Heavy Pets.

The event will raise funds for Headcount, and Waterwheel and Mockingbird will have booths as well.

If you want to find the latest updates, buy tickets ($20) or see an exhibitor list, head on over to the Mock Show blog.

Like Jamtopia? Subscribe to Jamtopia by email or grab the Jamtopia RSS feed

Jamtopia’s Gift Guide for Music Lovers: 2009 Update

Variety of music and audio products

Cyber Monday has come and gone, but if you're anything like me you still haven't bought a single gift. To help you out, I've updated Jamtopia's Gift Guide for Music Lovers with a bunch of new gift ideas for the music fans in your life.

As always, each category in the music lover's gift guide showcases three great gift ideas priced to match your relationships — good friends, best friends, and soulmates — with a little something for every budget.

And of course each gift idea has solid features, gets positive reviews, and offers plenty of bang for the buck. I'll give you a “Ginz Guarantee” none of these end up in the returns pile.

Happy shopping!

P.S. If you come up with any other gift ideas you think should be featured, post a comment below.

Phish MSG 2009: Setlists, Reviews, Video, Audio & More

Phish MSG Recap

MSG: It's Not Just for Chinese Food

For the second-to-last stop on what can only be described as a great 2009 Fall Tour, Phish is back at Madison Square Garden for 3 nights.

If it's anything like the rest of the tour, you can expect solid first sets, a few bust-outs and rarities, an occasional new cover, and some face-melting jams like the tour highlight so far: Seven Below > Ghost from night two in Albany.

I'll be updating this post throughout the week so stop by now and again for the latest setlists, audio and videos of Phish at MSG.

If you're going to the shows, post a comment below with your thoughts. And if not, don't forget to visit PhishTwit for real-time Phish updates, chat, streams and more.

~ Wednesday 12/2 ~

Setlist | Audio | Reviews

~ Thursday 12/3 ~

Setlist | Audio | Reviews

~ Friday 12/4 ~

Setlist | Audio | Reviews

Like Jamtopia? Subscribe to Jamtopia by email or grab the Jamtopia RSS feed

All trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners.