The big news for the Load Down this week is that a company based in Selfridges in Central London is offering “iPod survival” tutorials. It’s an initiative that has been met with general derision, the consensus being that people who don’t have teenage children to help them master their gadget should at least be able to read an instruction manual.
It’s undeniable, however, that instruction manuals are easily as boring for most of us as a nagging technophobic older relative is to a savvy young teen, so maybe the concept isn’t such a bad one.
But the real sticking point seems to be the price, and it’s a fair point. How does one justify paying £65 to Speedpod, the company offering the service, when you can go round the corner to the Apple Store on Regent Street and get advice free? Even simpler, there is an free online tutorial at www.apple.com/support/itunes/tutorial. This easy-to-follow film, narrated by a very perky young lady, takes you through every step of using your iPod and iTunes.
Speaking of young ladies, Katie Melua begins her British tour tonight. If you are going along, make sure you bring your mobile phone. This is not so that you have the option of playing Snake during the slower numbers — that would be rude, but because if your phone is MP3-enabled at the end of each gig you will be able to purchase by text that night’s performance of her upcoming single, Spider’s Web, which is not available until March.
This is essentially a wheeze to sell lots of versions of the single in advance of the release, as each purchase counts towards the eventual chart position. But who cares about that? If you are a fan, it’s your chance to get a unique memento of what will no doubt be a lovely evening.
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Equally technically ingenious is the British Library’s Mozart’s Musical Diary at www.bl.uk. As you click and turn the pages, audio clips, transcriptions of the composer’s entries and extensive notes bring the book and its author vividly to life. What better way to celebrate his 250th anniversary.
It’s celebration time too for fans of finger puppets and fake blood. Psych-rockers the Flaming Lips this week confirmed that their new album At War with the Mystics is ready for an April release. A teaser track The W.A.N.D. is now available from all major digital stores and you can also watch the video to upcoming single, Ambulance Driver (a classic Lipsian ode to emergency services) at www.flaminglips.com.
Finally, Sharon Stone’s playlist can currently be seen on the American version of iTunes, www.itunes.com. In this unintentionally hilarious weekly feature, a celebrity picks his or her ten favourite tracks from the online store and writes something pertinent about the choices.
Alongside Bob Dylan’s Just Like a Woman, Marvin Gaye’s What’s Goin’ On and other uplifting classics, Stone has recommended F***ing You Tonight by Biggie Smalls. “For me,” Stone explains, “Biggie Smalls is the most talented rap musician/composer ever. That’s it.”
The song contains the lyric, “Skip the wine and the candlelight, no Kristal tonight/If it’s alright with you, we f***in”. Who would have guessed that Sharon Stone would be such a cheap date?
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PHOEBE GREENWOOD