Rock Stars' Art

It's not often that you hear of musicians wanting to become artists - actors maybe; but it appears that in reality, Rock stars actually love showing off their artistic skills. London Scream Gallery is currently showcasing artwork from Rock and Pop singers, past and present, from now until the end of October. It's not surprising that some of them show extreme lack of artistic flare (although are obviously worth a fortune!) However, others make me think that perhaps they took the wrong route when deciding to be a musician. Some of them are pretty dark and obscure though - maybe that's the effect the Rock star lifestyle has on you.

'The Enabler' by Marilyn Manson shows depth and emotion and reflects the image he portrays as a Rock Star.

'Red Charlie' by Ron Wood of the Rolling Stones paints very lifelike portraits - who knew you could be so skilled at two things?!

I can't say that Bob Dylan has quite the same skill, as shown in this supposed self-portrait. Not only does it not resemble him, it makes me wonder if he painted this before he became a musician - potentially when he was a child.

Chris Mars of The Replacements paints creepy, yet really detailed and realistic pieces, as displayed here in 'Haggerty'. I really like this piece, but can't say I'd want it in my house - luckily I can't afford it!

John Lennon's 'sketches' - although not the most skillful - have become utterly iconic, and recognized worldwide. 'Real love' is clearly of him and Yoko, despite its simplicity.

Just a Daft Punk?

Literally too much time on their hands or just sheer entertainment? I'm going for the latter, any other opinion is probably jealousy.

Shazam!

I can't begin to explain how frustrated I get when I'm out and about - in a club, or a café - and a song comes on that I love, but just can't quite put my finger on what it is.

That was until i discovered Shazam, a mobile phone based music identification service. When that annoyingly familiar song starts playing, just call 2580 (if you look on your keypad it's pretty easy to remember!), and hold your phone up to the music. Within a minute or so, the name of the song and artist is sent to your phone.

Yes it costs, but in my opinion it's a small price to pay to keep me from thinking about nothing else for the rest of the day.

Also, a small word of warning - Shazam doesn't work if you have a song stuck in your head, which you then 'sing' down the phone after dialling 2580. Believe me, I've tried.

Spot-on

Imagine having unlimited access to music for just £10 a month.
Better still, imagine having almost the same thing, for free!

Well now you can. Spotify is a Swedish music streaming program through which users can browse artists, albums or create playlists from a huge catalogue of music. I have been an eager user of Spotify since I heard about it a few months ago, and have so far been able to listen to about 90% of the songs I have searched for. There are a few major bands such as The Beatles, AC/DC and Metallica whose music is not available, as these artists have 'opted not to be added to Spotify' yet. However, I for one feel that I can sacrifice their music in favour of up-and-coming artists; after all, I think I've had my fair share of The Beatles' music during my Liverpudlian-fuelled childhood.

Of course, there's always a catch, and here it is. Spotify is funded by advertisements and paid subscriptions. Therefore, the standard, free version of Spotify - only available in parts of Western Europe - is occasionally interrupted by a 15 second advert. Whereas, if the user chooses to pay an unnecessary £9.99 a month, they can listen to the music 'ad-free'. Some people think that infiltrating their music with adverts is a step too far, and leap at the chance to waste £10 a month in order to get rid of them.

When I stumbled upon Spotify, I asked myself, 'Since when has anything been free?' - Apparently it's when I stop being excessively fussy, and allow a short ad to interrupt my listening every half an hour.