PLANET OF THE APPS: 27TH JULY 2011

NEWS

MusicPound

New iPhone app that helps you compare your music collection with a friend to see what you share, what stuff they have you might like, and gives you a score based on 'the brilliance of your music library'. Which is a bit worrying.

BandHawk

A new location-based iPhone app that lets you find unsigned bands near you. The idea being that bands sign up and create profiles, which are then shown to people using the app to see where they are and when they're playing. Bands can also upload music to BandHawk so people can see what they sound like, while fans can post photos from gigs that appear on the band's profile.

Google+

Lauren was asking about this the other week, but now its iPhone and Android apps are out. So we could talk about Google's attempt to take on Facebook and Twitter with a social network, and how the apps fit in with that.

REVIEWS

Bjork Biophilia

It's finally out! So we can play with the Bjork app and talk about whether it's any good, whether people will buy it, and what it all means for future album apps... iPhone/iPad only. You could play the Bjork song (Crystalline) in the background as an alternative to me faffing about on-mic.

Pixies Official

The Pixies have a app - iPhone and Android - which goes quite a bit further than most bands. You can stream their Purple Tape demo for free, download their 2004 Coachella festival gig for free, and register to get streams of other gig recordings - Manchester 1988 etc. It also has gamey things where you can win badges for your fanboy or fangirlism.

ShapeMix Mobile

The latest remix app for iPhone, which lets you monkey about with songs by tapping your touchscreen. This one claims to be easier to use than the rest, as you swipe little circles around the screen rather than fiddling with a set of decks.