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There’s only 365 days in the year, which makes it hard to keep up on the millions of mp3s floating around the aethernet. It isn’t possible to listen to everything. Finding good musical resources is critical, lest you scuff Soulja Boy’s BAPEs while wandering the audio landscape. He’s a hard cat to avoid these days.

To make things a bit easier, I’ve compiled a few selections from the last 362 days that don’t come with their own dance… feel free to create your own, then post it to YouTube, then send us a link. That’s how we do in 2008.

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Saturday, December 29th at rRed Elephant APB will premiere “The Struggle”. The doors open at 5:30p and the action kicks off at 6p. Even better, it’s free. More info and video outtakes at APB.

Check out the project page for a peek at our contribution.

Probably not, but for those looking for a little something different, Beatport Sync by Native Instruments is the cat’s pajamas. Named after the amazing music store Beatport, ‘Sync allows you to manage your music like iTunes, it will even reference you iTunes library directly avoiding migration of files between each program. It is also a portal to the Beatport site (ala iTunes music store) allowing you to download the latest Trance racket in the privacy of your own home, away from those judging eyes at the record shop. Here are a couple of key features that may make Beatport Sync a part of your laptop arsenal.

Pros:

• Seamless iTunes intergration
• BPM analyzer (Hell yeah!)
• Cross fader for the party DJ
• Beat syncing utilities from NI Traktor
• Beatport sample streams are longer then 30sec
• Downloads are DRM free Mp3s
• Selectable Audio outputs for laptop DJs
• It’s free! (Double Hell yeah!)

Cons:

• GUI is a screen hog
• Runs on Flash 9
• Doesn’t feel rock solid like iTunes, probably cause it’s Flash and not Cocoa.
• Have to surrender your email for download link

A little warning about installing new programs, your experience with programs like this may vary based on your computer’s overall specs. Take a look at the download page for more information regarding system reqs. Also, Beatport is a Electronic music website, no feel good Jack Johnson stuff heaw. Download now

Kids today are spoiled, they don’t need imaginations to play ‘make believe’, they just need the right toys to empower them. Hulk hands, talking Optimus Prime and Darth Vader helmets, Naruto Cosplay costumes, are we stifling their creativity or super charging it? All I know is I would have appreciated a Wookie backpack when I was in elementary school (hell, high school too, who am I kidding). via Gizmodo

Well, it’s Friday, kittens and puppies are cute, and music videos don’t get much simpler.

Is Hip Hop dead? Has the genre once considered ‘Black CNN’ (yea boyee) become a bloated money machine? With copious amounts of ‘Lil rappers who imitate their way up the chart, commoditizing the lifestyle through clothing apparel and ringtones, it’s hard to see the innovation Hip Hop once projected. If this is true, what’s the next Hip Hop? If we add up a few clues, could we be heading towards a renaissance of…Metal?

Entertain me for a second.

First it starts with The Osbournes TV Show (Ozzy Osbourne / Black Sabbath) and The Gene Simmons Show (KISS) as a peak into the lives of the aging rocker elite. Mostly to juxtapose the hardcore legacy against the comedic everyday life of both men and their families. Next, make a few documentaries like ‘Heavy Metal Parking Lot‘ and ‘A Headbanger’s Journey‘ to pick up the journalistic slack. Then take Metal’s number one fanboy, Jack Black (of Tenacious D), and make him a movie star. Black goes on to star as a teacher who uses rock’n'roll as his main teaching aid in ‘School of Rock’, which will no doubt create a new legion of headbangers and rockers. Now, head down to your local stadium night club to witness classic metal bands on their reunion tours. Not convinced yet, take a look at the insane amount sub-genres Metal has spawned in the last 30 years. Then, find the youngest kid you know and ask them what Guitar Hero and Rock Band are. While we’re on the subject of videogames, keep an eye out for ‘Brutal legend‘, an upcoming action title where the main character is a roadie. Don’t think any of this speaks to your inner metal? Then you probably might need to watch an episode of Metalocalypse, an animated series that follows the fictitious Death metal band - Deathclock (warning: not for the soft). Metal may not have taken over the radio (I don’t believe it ever did) but there is evidence that it exists by proxy through Alice Cooper. If this isn’t enough proof that power chords have found a way back into our hearts, what would it take? A Led Zeppelin reunion? Oh wait.

Daredevil skater William Spencer has been courted by MTV to develop a show based off of his Youtube uploads. We can understand why, and kudos for breaking in the front door, but what the hell are skaters gonna have to do to top him? (Think you’ve seen it all before, wait till the end.)

…is the MeekFM Typographic Synthesizer. Too bad there’s only one of them.

But, young interactive netizens, take heart because you can fiddle around with the java version online. Like Lady Sovereign said, “Fiddle with the volume, I beg ya.”