iPad has unfortunate name, good music taste

January 27, 2010

Perhaps one of the most anticipated devices of all time (rumors of an Apple tablet device first started circulating around 2003), the newly announced Apple iPad is certainly a game-changing, revolutionary device albeit one with an unfortunate name (iTampon jokes abound on twitter). Will it be the same magnitude of a cultural phenomenon that the iPhone or iPod were is yet to be seen, but what’s certain now is that this thing looks pretty frickin’ sweet and the price is right.

One of the things I’m most interested in during Apple product releases is the music they use in their marketing content. I spotted Bon Iver and Arcade Fire among the classic rock / oldies selections on Steve Job’s iPad that was used during the Keynote, and in Apple’s promotional galleries / videos you’ll notice the iPad is playing a wealth of great music (including my #1 and #2 albums of 2009). Here’s some of the albums filling up Apple’s iPad:

Spoon – Transference
Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Grizzly Bear – Vecktimest
Rogue Wave – Permalight (not released till 03/02)
The Decemberists – Hazards of Love
Alicia Keys – The Element of Freedom
Ben Kweller – Changing Horses
La Roux – La Roux
Howling Bells – Radio Wars
Muse – The Resistance
Noisettes – Wild Young Hearts
Them Crooked Vultures – Them Crooked Vultures
Wilco – Wilco (The Album)

We will have to wait who they choose to soundtrack the inevitable iPad commercials (if I had a guess it would be La Roux, since all the screenshots show her album “now playing”), but it’s obvious those folks at Apple haven’t lost their touch for picking out great tunes till fill their products. Here’s some MP3 samples from a few of the above albums.

MP3 Phoenix – Lisztomania
MP3 Spoon – Written In Reverse
MP3 La Roux – Bulletproof
MP3 Grizzly Bear – Two Weeks
MP3 Rogue Wave – Good Morning
MP3 Wilco – Wilco (The Song)
MP3 Howling Bells – Into The Chaos

If you’re looking for hands-on pictures / video of the Apple iPad, check Gizmodo / Engadget.

Posted by Taylor in Mix, Tech