Hippo Campus have released their new EP, Warm Glow, today.
Hippo Campus Release New EP
LANY – “Super Far” Video
Apple Announces New iPhones, Apple TV, and Apple Watch
Apple announced a bunch of new things today. I have a few quick thoughts on everything.
Whether users are out for a run, at the pool or just trying to be more active throughout their day, Apple Watch Series 3 with cellular allows them to stay connected, make calls, receive texts and more, even without iPhone nearby. The third-generation Apple Watch is an amazing health and fitness companion with intelligent coaching features, water resistance 50 meters1 and a new barometric altimeter that measures relative elevation.
This seems like a nice logical step. The idea of being able to leave the house for a workout and only needing your watch and AirPods is definitely enticing. Which leads to:
Soon, the combination of cellular and watchOS 4 will allow Apple Music users to stream 40 million songs right from their wrist.
The watch is making a play as the new iPod. It used to be a thousand songs in your pocket, now there’s 40 million songs on your wrist.
watchOS 4 features an updated Heart Rate app, giving even more insight to heart rate, including measurements during resting, workout, recovery, walking and Breathe sessions. Customers can also choose to receive a notification when their heart rate is elevated above a specific threshold while inactive.
These health updates are pretty cool.
With Apple TV 4K, viewers can enjoy a growing selection of 4K HDR movies on iTunes. iTunes users will get automatic upgrades of HD titles in their existing iTunes library to 4K HDR versions when they become available. Apple TV 4K will also offer 4K HDR content from popular video services, including Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, coming soon.
Pretty standard update for the Apple TV. Without a new remote, I don’t really have a reason to upgrade at the moment. Mine works just fine for what I mostly use it for (a Plex watching device).
The new iPhone features a new glass and aluminum design in three beautiful colors made out of the most durable glass ever in a smartphone, Retina HD displays and A11 Bionic chip, and is designed for the ultimate augmented reality experience. The world’s most popular camera gets even better with single and dual cameras featuring Portrait Lighting on iPhone 8 Plus, and wireless charging brings a powerful new capability to iPhone. Both devices will be available for pre-order beginning Friday, September 15 in more than 25 countries and territories, and in stores beginning Friday, September 22.
Nice looking phones, great spec bumps, and an impressive camera. Also, almost immediately outdated.
Apple today announced iPhone X, the future of the smartphone, in a gorgeous all-glass design with a beautiful 5.8-inch Super Retina display, A11 Bionic chip, wireless charging and an improved rear camera with dual optical image stabilization. iPhone X delivers an innovative and secure new way for customers to unlock, authenticate and pay using Face ID, enabled by the new TrueDepth camera. iPhone X will be available for pre-order beginning Friday, October 27 in more than 55 countries and territories, and in stores beginning Friday, November 3.
Expensive, very expensive. It seems that Apple wants to continue pushing their phones forward without having to be constrained by the need to mass produce at iPhone scale. This new phone gives them the ability to use components they can’t put into the “main” phone that needs to ship millions at once. It looks gorgeous, the camera looks fantastic, and I’m sure I’ll get used to the “notch” sooner or later. The real decision for me will be how the lack of the home button and swipe gesture to get to the home screen feel in real use. It’s something I do a hundred times a day, and it needs to feel natural. I assume I’ll get used to it. Face ID looks interesting and I hope it’s as fast as it demos since I’ve become accustomed to the speed and ease of use of Touch ID. I guess time will tell.
Equifax’s Unacceptable Unaccountability
Farhad Manjoo, writing at The New York Times:
If a bank lost everyone’s money, regulators might try to shut down the bank. If an accounting firm kept shoddy books, its licenses to practice accounting could be revoked. (See how Texas pulled Arthur Andersen’s license after the Enron debacle.)
So if a data-storage credit agency loses pretty much everyone’s data, why should it be allowed to store anyone’s data any longer?
Here’s one troubling reason: Because even after one of the gravest breaches in history, no one is really in a position to stop Equifax from continuing to do business as usual. And the problem is bigger than Equifax: We really have no good way, in public policy, to exact some existential punishment on companies that fail to safeguard our data. There will be hacks — and afterward, there will be more.
Wolf Alice – “Beautifully Unconventional” Video
Wolf Alice have released a video for “Beautifully Unconventional.”
Reports That Matt Bellinger of Planes Mistaken for Stars Has Passed Away
PunkNews is reporting that Matt Bellinger of Planes Mistaken for Stars has passed away:
Strike Anywhere stated, “RIP Matt Bellinger. Devastated to hear of his passing. Planes Mistaken For Stars played an integral part to the early years of Strike Anywheres existence. Kindred spirits and fellow travelers all the way. So many great shows and great memories. Much love to Gared, Mike, Jamie, Chuck and Neil. xoxo”
Bleachers’ Tiny Desk Concert
Bleachers performed three songs for NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert series. You can watch the video below.
J.J. Abrams Returns for ‘Star Wars: Episode IX’
J.J. Abrams has signed on to return and write and direct Star Wars: Episode IX. The movie will be out on December 20th, 2019.
J.J. Abrams, who launched a new era of Star Wars with The Force Awakens in 2015, is returning to complete the sequel trilogy as writer and director of Star Wars: Episode IX. Abrams will co-write the film with Chris Terrio. Star Wars: Episode IX will be produced by Kathleen Kennedy, Michelle Rejwan, Abrams, Bad Robot, and Lucasfilm.
Radiohead – “Lift” Video
Portugal. The Man Perform on Ellen
Portugal. The Man recently performed “Feel It Still” on Ellen.
London Grammar Cover “Purple Rain”
London Grammar covered Prince’s “Purple Rain” for BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge.
The Dangerous Summer Play First Show in Four Years
The Dangerous Summer returned to play their first show in four years at the Metro Gallery in Baltimore, MD over the weekend. According to those that attended the show, they played some new songs, said a new album would be coming early next year, and mentioned the first single should be coming soon. You can find the setlist below as well as a fan shot video of the new track “Ghost.”
Read More “The Dangerous Summer Play First Show in Four Years”
Interview: Brian Sella of The Front Bottoms
Brian Sella is a notoriously sweet guy. So sweet, in fact, that he doesn’t even correct me when I refer to his band’s new single as “Raindrops” rather than its correct title, “Raining.” When I ask him if he still gets nervous playing shows, he replies, “Oh, totally!” When I inform him that I’ve been doing interviews for three years now, but that I was still nervous to speak with him, he laughs.
“Oh, don’t worry about it! You’re a professional. That’s what you’ve gotta tell yourself.”
In the context of The Front Bottoms’ discography, Going Grey reflects Sella’s current “vibe,” a word he uses frequently in our conversation. As he’ll tell me, the band learned that an “anything goes” attitude in the studio can result in plenty of band and fan favorites. In this way, Going Grey is an expansion of the polished-yet-experimental sound of their 2015 powerhouse, Back on Top. It continues to analyze topics such as mortality, relationships and getting older – oftentimes within the same three-minute pop song.
LCD Soundsystem Earn First Number One Album
LCD Soundsystem have the number one album in the country this week:
The set earned 85,000 equivalent album units in the week ending Sept. 7, according to Nielsen Music. Of that sum, 81,000 were in traditional album sales. The album was released on Sept. 1 and is the act’s first new studio effort in more than seven years, and first for Columbia Records.
And, because everyone always asks: it looks like Brand New added another 2k to their total.
National Suicide Prevention
This week is National Suicide Prevention Week. I just wanted to share some resources for anyone out there that may need help. Here’s some numbers you can call in a variety of different countries, and the SuicidePreventionLifeline is full of resources.