Morning Music Notes – Dance Party USA!

This Year’s Sonisphere Concert Is Cancelled

Say it ain’t so – the 2012 Sonisphere festival, held at Knebworth, has been cancelled (via Guardian). The festival was due to be headlined by Kiss, Queen (with Adam Lambert), and Faith No More. Fans of Freddie Mercury are secretly cheering.

As noted on the Sonisphere website, “Putting the festival together in what is proving to be a very challenging year was more difficult than we anticipated and we have spent the last few months fighting hard to keep Sonisphere in the calendar. Unfortunately circumstances have dictated that we would be unable to run the festival to a standard that both the artists and that Sonisphere’s audience would rightly expect.” So basically, poor ticket sales?

If any of the bands are looking for things to do with their free time, feel free to email us and swing by my flat for an exclusive concert. I’ll provide the beer, you provide the tunes!

Banjo and Blueglass Legend, Earl Scruggs, Has Died

It seems banjo is all the rage with indie bands these days. These bands have banjo innovator, Earl Scruggs to thank for that, but sadly, he has died at the age of 88 (via Chicago Tribune). The Country Hall of Fame member died at a hospital in Nashville, Tennessee. Scruggs is a 4-time Grammy winner, and also wrote the theme song for The Beverly Hillbillies, as well as Foggy Mountain Breakdown (used in the 1967 film, Bonnie and Clyde).

Scruggs was known for his unique, three-fingered playing style. This enabled him to get different melodies out of the banjo, making it the hip instrument it is now.

Apple Products are in 50% of US Homes – World Domination is Nigh

The iPod, the iPhone, the iPad, the Mac, and Apple TV are some of the products that are filling 50% of all homes in the United States (via Digital Trends). A survey revealed that over 55 million homes in the USA have at least one Apple product, with the number expected to rise about 10% in the next year. What about Walkmans – why is no one asking the important questions?

The somewhat pricey Apple products are also linked to income, which might be an obvious statement. Of the people making less than $30,000 USD, 28% of them one or more Apple products. This number rises to 77% for those with over $75,000 or more. People over $500,000 salaries don’t answer their phones, so those stats weren’t available.

If Common Interests Are What Makes Good Couples, Then The Dating App Yoke Is On To Something

The new dating app, Yoke, looks at your interests and prospective date’s interests to see if you’d be a good match. The service looks at your Facebook Likes (“Oh, you both like PeteHatesMusic!”), and your listening histories from Amazon and Netflix, and shows you potential dates based on the likeness of matches (via TechCrunch). Can’t you already do this by creeping pics of cute girls on Facebook?

The site also uses Echo Nest to register how similar some of the bands are, and thinks that you might have a launching point for conversations through similar bands, as well. “You like Nickelback? Well I love listening to generic rock, too!”

Yoke allows you to be introduced by your mutual friends, in some sort of non-verbal, online dating world. You don’t need to create a new profile, as it’s run through Facebook – so start deleting those awful pics and guilty pleasure bands of yours. Yoke also makes use of the already existing Facebook messaging service, too. So if you’re scared of dating sites, and like meeting friends of friends, Yoke might be work checking out.

Watch! Nine Inch Nails on Dance Party USA

There was a show in the 80s called Dance Party USA. With a name like that, it surely survived the test of time, right? Apparently not. What did survive from the show was footage of industrial rock band, Nine Inch Nails, lip synching their way through Down in It. CHECK OUT THE AWESOME CROWD DANCING! You gotta love the humble beginnings of some bands. Check out the wicked video below (I should’ve saved this for Friday Afternoon Funnies).

Nine Inch Nails – Down in It (“Live” on Dance Party USA)