Zephyrus of the Anemoi

I recently picked up “The Beatles: Rock Band” for Xbox 360 on the cheap at Old Navy. They had it listed at $40, on their 50% off shelf and my wife had a 30% off coupon with the use of an Old Navy card.

Suffice to say there’s been a great deal of Fab in the house this week.

In the spirit of LOVE, I thought I’d share with you a few of my favorites:

Favorite Beatle: George Harrison – While not the most common choice among Beatlemaniacs, George always had a quiet intensity that made him mesmerizing in The Beatles’ films. Plus, While My Guitar Gently Weeps is one of the most beautiful songs ever recorded.

Favorite Song: Revolution – I like to think of this song as the birthplace of punk rock. I’m sure most would consider that quite a stretch, but the remarkable guitar riffs, strained vocals, and strong political message makes this song one of the greatest of the Lennon/McCartney partnership. Hey Jude is a close second due to its inspiration for Steven Tyler’s trademark sound.

Favorite Movie: A Hard Day’s Night – Call me old-fashioned, but I’m a fan of the classics. Plus, this movie has some of the most entertaining Beatle-quotes I’ve ever witnessed (aside from the “Live at the BBC” album, which has several humorous instances of the boys being boys).

So, what about you? What are your Beatles favorites?

There’s something very calming about driving to karate classes with my son and a warm breeze rippling through the car’s open windows while “Topeka” by Ludo blasts over the car speakers.

Here are a number songs turned into ringtones. I had quite a bit of help getting these created, so if you really like one of them, leave a message in the comments and I’ll be sure to let the creator know.

The Breakup Song – American Hi-Fi – iPhone – NEW!!!

Last Day – Blessid Union of Souls – iPhone – NEW!!!

My Friends Over You – New Found Glory – iPhone – NEW!!!

Battle of Who Could Care Less – Ben Folds Five* – iPhone

Beating Heart Baby – Head Automatica – iPhone

Black Winter Night 1 – Dragonforce – iPhone

Black Winter Night 2 - Dragonforce – iPhone

The Captain – Guster* – iPhone

Enigmatic Mission – Pagan’s Mind† – iPhone

Final Countdown – Europe – iPhone

Hiroshima (B B B Benny Hit His Head) – Ben Folds* – iPhone

Hum Along – Ludo – iPhone

The Last Polka – Ben Folds Five* – iPhone

Love Me Dead – Ludo* – iPhone

Ludo Whistle 1 – Ludo – iPhone

Ludo Whistle 2 – Ludo – iPhone

Peter Gunn Theme – Emerson, Lake, & Palmer – iPhone

The Power of Love – Huey Lewis and The News* – iPhone

Such Great Heights – The Postal Service* – iPhone

* = Created by jPar

† = Created by Adam Cash

Avery has been singing “Topeka” by Ludo for the last couple weeks since seeing them live at the Apple Store. Today, he decided to sing the song while his friend Levii “played” the guitar.

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The lyrics are completely wrong, except for the opening line, but he’s convinced himself that’s how they go. I’m putting the song on his iPod to help him learn the correct words, but for now you can listen to this.

I had one of the most sublime experiences of my life today.

My favorite band, Ludo , performed at the Country Club Plaza Apple Store this afternoon. I haven’t been able to see these guys live for a couple of years now, and it was very refreshing to get this opportunity. It was also my son’s first ever concert, and even though it was a brief acoustic set, he thoroughly enjoyed it.

To those of you that missed it, I’m terribly sorry, but if there are other awesome bands planning to play the Apple Store in the future, I’ll do my best to keep you informed. I have several pictures posted below for your viewing pleasure.

Probably the best part of the entire event was listening to my son turn around and say, “I’ve heard this song before!” That was for Topeka, one of my own personal favorites. He also got his first ever autograph, pictured below, and even shared a dialogue about his Darth Vader shirt with Andrew during the set. Also, I am now the proud owner of a one-of-a-kind iPhone case that I can never actually use again for fear of rubbing off the awesome (pictured below).

I’m collecting the various links to the Online Score Generator for the Smule Ocarina iPhone app into one post so that when I update it, people don’t have to look through the review to find them. Some of these I made entirely on my own, and others I modified based on ones I found at the Smule Ocarina forums.

I’ve also included a key for how I’ve interpreted the icons for the score generator at the bottom of the post.

The Legendary Hero – The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

Zelda’s Lullaby – The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Serenade of Water – The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Jurassic Park Theme

Star Wars Theme

Hobbiton Theme - The Lord of the Rings

Title Theme – The Legend of Zelda

Epona’s Song – The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Prelude of Light – The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Song of Storms – The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Song of Time – The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Score Generator guide:

I skipped 1-16, as they’re obviously just the fingerings, but these 5 are a little different. This is my suggestion for following these symbols.

 - 17: Hold note for about one count and then move right into the next note.

 - 18: Hold note for about one count and then move into the next hold.

 - 19: Hold note for about one count and let fade out, should be followed by 21.

 - 20: Quick breath, then right in to the next note.

 - 21: Breathe, this is your “free” space.

UPDATE: Corrected the fingering for Prelude of Light and added a link to the Hobbiton Theme from Lord of the Rings.

Anyone that has played The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time has wanted to learn to play the ocarina. Anyone. If you tell me you didn’t, I’ll tell you you’re lying. I’m looking at you, Jesse. The problem is that ocarinas cost money. Good ocarinas cost around $60-80. You can get cheaper ones, sure, but they don’t sound very nice. And even the $60-80 ones aren’t the highest quality. Plus, you drop it, and it’s probably gone. FOREVER.

Well, now you can get your very own ocarina for just $0.99. That’s right. Plus the $200 or $300 you spent on your iPhone. And your monthly AT&T bill. But, still just $0.99 for the ocarina.

My cousin Adam pointed out Smule’s Ocarina that was released today and allows you to play an ocarina by blowing into the microphone and touching the screen. I’m going to repeat that, because it’s fucking awesome. You blow into the microphone and touch the screen to denote pitch.

If you don’t realize how awesome this is, then please review below.

Direct link here.

Now, after seeing that, do you wish you had been the genius that came up with this? I know I do. But it gets better. Not only can you play a variety of awesome songs using your brand new digital ocarina, you can share your musical talent with the world. One of the features of the app is the ability to view a globe with little whitish-yellow “lights” on it. Each of those lights is another user of this app. While you view the globe, one of the lights will begin to send green rings and blue waves into the stratosphere. At this same moment, beautiful (and sometimes awful) music will emanate from your speakers. You’re listening to someone else play their copy of Ocarina.

As if that wasn’t already cool enough, Smule has posted a handy tool for you to create and share your own “sheet music” called the Online Score Generator. Adam pointed out an excellent song for your ocarina-ing pleasure: Song of Time from Ocarina of Time. I have been working on it since this afternoon and have much of it memorized. I’ve also taken it upon myself to find a large collection of ocarina fingerings that you can use with the Score Generator to make it easier to share with your friends and family, as well as bookmark for yourself.

So, here is one that I whipped up for you: Prelude of Light from Ocarina of Time.

And here is another: Hobbiton Theme from Lord of the Rings.

And here is a link to a plethora of fingerings to make your days brighter (WARNING: Some of these fingerings are not compatible without adjusting the key and even then they may not be accurate. You’ll have to experiment with them to figure it out).