Music listeners trading iPods for vinyls

By Ben Cowlishaw Online Copy Editor With iTunes and other internet mediums for downloading music, even CD’s have virtually become obsolete. Vinyl records, however, have made an unexpected, unprecedented comeback. With iPods about as small as physically possible, why would anyone want to go back to giant vinyl records? Vinyls are known for having unmatched quality, which is removed on digital files because of space limitations on CDs and mp3 players. The higher quality the song, the larger the file is, thus the fewer songs that can be squeezed into memory space. Instead, songs lose quality and definition, and while the songs playing through iPod headphones are good enough for the everyday listener, they don’t…

Local band, Seastroke, plays to a different beat

Corrina Taylor Staff Writer What makes a band famous is not flashy clothes or a “tough-guy” attitude; it is talent and will to succeed. A local Coppell band is known for its dedication to their instruments and themselves. As self-taught musicians, the members have spent their high school career practicing and working hard to establish their band. Together, 2011 Ranchview High School graduate Jeff McQuitty, senior Jett Raines, Cistercian students Stuart Leach and Matthew Lancaster make up Seastroke. Seastroke is an up and coming band introducing a new type of sound. The use of a violin in its songs adds a nice touch to the overall quality of the songs;  some may even say it…

The Beatles cause a revolution on iTunes

Erica Rohde Staff writer Nearly 10 years is more than a “Hard Day’s Night” for fans of the Beatles. iTunes, being the online music sharing program of the decade, is finally sharing music from one of the most beloved bands of all time. With the launch of the iTunes Store in 2003, the program became a virtual store, entirely different from how people originally exchanged and bought their music. “We’re really excited to bring the Beatles’ music to iTunes,” Paul McCartney told The Los Angeles Times. “It’s fantastic to see the songs we originally released on vinyl receive as much love in the digital world as they did the first time around.” For Beatles fans,…

The Beatles come to iTunes

Zeb White Asst. Business Manager Today, the millions of iTunes users will finally have access to music from arguably the greatest band of all time–the Beatles. Apple released all 13 of the Fab Four’s remastered studio albums, and fans can also purchase individual songs and a $149 box set that includes an exclusive live concert recording. This announcement comes on the heels of Apple’s tease yesterday, when they said “Tomorrow is just another day. That you’ll never forget.” on their website. Check it out now a iTunes.

Illegal song downloads

Laura Kattilakoski staff writer You can either pay $1.29 for a new song on iTunes or type the song’s title into a website that will allow you to download the same song for free. Seriously, which sounds more appealing to most teenagers? Before I get any further, I should just say that I don’t support illegally downloading music. I’m just saying, it’s easier and seems to be the method of choice for high school students. With hundreds of new songs coming out every month, students aren’t likely to want to spend hundreds on new music. A while ago, I saw an article that claimed that 95 percent of songs were illegal downloads. While this statistic…

Apple unveils sweeping new iPod lineup

Zeb White Asst. Business Manager, Staff Writer Apple revealed a stunning new iPod lineup Wednesday featuring refreshed versions of the iPod Touch, the iPod Nano, and the iPod Shuffle. It also announced a new social network built into iTunes plus a smaller version of its AppleTV. The most innovative iPod update was the iPod Nano, which shrunk considerably and now features a 1.8 inch touch screen similar to that of the iPhone. While it sacrificed the video display and camera of the previous iPod Nano, it gains a lot of new features due to the sleek multi-touch interface. The new iPod Touch now features two cameras and Facetime (Apples video-calling service introduced with the iPhone),…

The benefits of Podcasts

Maddie Walters Staff Writer Upon the arrival of my first iPod, I was introduced to the magical world of podcasts. While at first my intentions were purely for the sake of free music, I have since then come to experience the wealth of information that comes with the free purchase of podcasts. First things first, I should explain what a podcast is. A podcast is a series of either audio or video digital media files that are released episodically and downloaded through web syndication. Sounds like a lot of technological jumbo, right? The process is actually fairly simple. Just ask The Sidekick photographer and webmaster senior Tyler Morris. After the disbandment of the podcast class…

iTunes Genius really is genius

Making playlists is a difficult task for me to do. It’s not that I don’t know how, I just can never decide what songs will sound the best with others already on there. I frequently end up deleting playlists after just creating them because I don’t like the way songs sound together. When iTunes enabled their “Genius” feature, I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. The feature allows you to select a song then click the genius button and it makes a playlist for you with songs that are similar to the one originally selected. It also comes in handy when in the iTunes store. It suggests artists that you might like based off…

iTunes U plugs in with students

By Wren Culp Staff Writer Information is available almost anywhere we turn: textbooks, databases and websites trickle with news and resources to help students. But no one would have thought that iTunes would be one of those resources. iTunes is a place for anyone to buy music, movies or games that they enjoy and want to have on their computer. But now the popular media browser developed by Apple Inc. is taking it one step further. And what this program called? “iTunes U”. iTunes U puts the power of the iTunes store at work for colleges, universities and other education organizations so users can easily search, download and listen to educational content just like they…