Hank calls the technique equivalent to a virtual cover band playing The Beatles' songs. He bought all of their albums, had a computer analyze the waveforms to determine their pitch, timbre and other defining qualities, then destroyed the original copies of the music.

He then had a computer reconstruct the songs based on the data it collected from analyzing the waveforms. It wasn't a recording, but a complete mathematical rebuild of the song.

That's really cool, and incredibly impressive that he managed to recreate the tracks from scratch like that, but there's no way the defense stands a chance against EMI's lawyers. I think I remember this argument being tried before with MP3s. A defendant claimed that because a majority of the waveform data was thrown away during encoding, it was not identical to the original recording.

Nice try, said the judge. As long as it's audibly identifiable as a certain recording, it constitutes as copyright infringement. At least that's what I remember. If anyone knows the specific case or I'm completely wrong, please chime in. Have fun in court November 20, Mr. Risan. [FastCompany]

Back in April, I got great vinyl rips of the major original mono albums, as mixed by the fab four and George Martin. The difference from my stereo CDs—which come from copies mixed in no time by audio engineers to eager to play with stereo panning effects—was beyond belief:

Beatles' record producer and arranger George Martin—the Fifth Beatle—once said: "You've never really heard Sgt Pepper until you've heard it in mono." As it turned out after hours of listening tests, it's completely true.

The first article I ever got published was an opinion piece on Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. I was 16 at the time and, needless to say, quite naive. I wasn't very much into non-Beatles music at that age, mainly because I didn't have much access to it. It wasn't until the next year that I was able to buy music regularly, having at last my own stereo system. But back then, my music world was all about the Beatles—and crap 90s radio pop. My dad had Sgt Pepper along with the rest of the Beatles' records and some compilations of classic rock, from Chuck Berry to bloody Kansas, so that was my music world.

I couldn't stop listening to Sgt Pepper. Non stop, I played it and played it until my ears bleed and then I played it some more. It was the stereo version, not the mono mix, and it has lived with me ever since. Then, a few months ago I read in The Word—a very good British music magazine—that the Beatles in mono are—like George Martin implied—better than the Beatles in stereo. Apparently, the Beatles didn't give a damn about the stereo mix, only about the mono. In fact, they cared so little that they passed on the stereo mixing sessions: Once the mono was done, they left the building.

So I started looking for them. Finding the actual mono mix in the market was impossible. Not to talk about the fact that I don't have a turntable anymore. For some reason, the Beatles company didn't have the mono mixes of the Beatles' albums available either—they are going to re-release them now, it seems, remastered—so I got into Torrent to hunt them down. I couldn't find them in the first try. I found a couple of MP3 rips, but I wanted to have FLAC rips of the original vinyls. After some time I gave up, forgetting about the mono Beatles until the Gizmodo's audio week.

I thought trying it would be interesting for a feature, so I started looking for them again and got 192kbps MP3s, which I compared to the stereo version at the same bit rate. Since Sgt Pepper was my album, I started to listen to its songs in pairs, with my earmuff headphones on.

I was blown away. George Martin was oh so right: The songs do sound different. I was so surprised, that at the beginning I freaked out. "What? What? How? What the fuck?" was in my mind all the time.

When Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band came up, my first impression was that the sound had more thump than the stereo mix. A lot more thump, for a lack of a better word. It was like someone was beating me with a hammer. It was kind of noisy, but it filled my head and pushed me in a way the stereo version didn't.

Then good old Ringo—my favorite Beatle—came up singing With A Little Help From My Friends. Same effect. It felt weird, but so much better. I kept coming back to the stereo versions for comparison and, before I noticed, I was thinking: "These sounds a lot weaker. These sound artificial." Gone was the separation of instruments in the right and left channel too, which now feels so artificial. It was artificial, since stereo was a novelty back then: Most people still listened to music in mono and stereo was the "new thing." As a result, producers overused it, just for the sake of it, like when 3D cinema came out and everything was an excuse to fire arrows and rocks and monsters at the public.

I definitely liked the way the mono version sounded—a lot more, even while I knew the stereo version till the last beat and note. LSD came up: same result. The sound is crisper and nearer. The bass a lot better. Again that special thump, even while this is such a delicate song. Getting Better gets better, and so does the rest, Fixing a Hole, She's Leaving Home, Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite... I just couldn't have enough.

But that wasn't all. In the mono version you can hear stuff that is not in the stereo version. And not just bits, but quite a lot of things. Instruments, notes, even lyrics. Take the reprise version of Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band: It is full of shouting—Lennon going bananas at the end, and other bits at the beginning—that is not in the stereo mix.

Maybe it's the novelty of listening to a "new" take on something that I know by heart, but I doubt it. As an experience, I like it a lot better. So much that I'm dying to get FLAC versions of good vinyl rips—or the remastered mono versions, as soon as they come out. And while your taste may be different, from now on this is the version I'm keeping in my iPod.

So yes, I'm excited about tomorrow. To hear how the new mixes are. I'm sure the clean mono set will be fantastic, but I'm really curious about how they managed the stereo remixes. Hopefully, they have added a new dimension, overriding the artificial panning effects, and creating a stereo mix that could live up to the original Beatles' sound. [Gizmodo]

"Conversations between Apple and EMI are ongoing and we look forward to the day when we can make the music available digitally. But it's not tomorrow."

Looks like The Beatles Rock Band is still gonna be the only (legit) way to snag The Beatles catalog completely digitally, at least until someone kicks EMI in the ass hard enough to make it happen. [FT]

Prisoners at Spector's new forced California residence are permitted certain objects, often musical instruments or personal mementos. Spector requested an iPod and a TV, though interestingly not any musical instruments; his wife says he's not likely to want to jam with the other prisoners. We'd love to get a look at Spector's iPod, as long as it's away from Spector himself. The dude is more than a little creepy. [NME, thanks Brian Ashcraft!]

Archive below:

2:30 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:
Hey guys, we'll see you right here live from Microsoft's E3 keynote at 10:25am Pacific–that's 1:25pm Eastern. Of course, you'll want to be here a little earlier for the pre-game coverage. See you then!

9:59 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
We're live in LA, which really means that we're at USC's Galen Center, shoulder to shoulder with our pals at Kotaku. Microsoft is pumping house music. There are lots of green lights. And the show will start at 10:25. Why 10:25? Microsoft moved the press conference up by five minutes in an emergency email last night.

10:02 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:04 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
So what can Microsoft do with an extra 5 minutes? The rumor is a Beatles reunion between Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr (probably for the new Beatles Rock Band game). Apparently said fabled reunion, should it ever take place, would last precisely 5 minutes before Yoko Ono showed up and started a fight.

10:05 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:13 AM ON Jun 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
BTW, Gizmodo will be liveblogging everything Microsoft announces today. But Kotaku is around, too. Check out their liveblog (in another tab, of course!) here.

10:15 am ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:17 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:18 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
I stand by my prediction. I think hulu will be announced for the Xbox 360 either now or later this week. But what else is going on today (besides Beatlemania)? Full Zune Marketplace integration with the 360 makes sense. Shared videos have already been announced. Music seems like the most logical next announcement. What about Live Anywhere, which would link the Zune and 360 in both gaming and media? Ehhhh, I HOPE it's announced, but we've been awaiting the service since 2006.

10:19 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:20 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:21 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
The music is still blasting, but the crowd is fairly subdued. Just announced: the briefing will begin in five minutes. So much for that last trip to the bathroom. Microsoft has kindle placed water bottles in each of our seats. The water spites my full bladder.

10:22 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:
I want some hot Zune action. Zuuuuuuuuuuuune. No Zune signs anywhere though. Just lots of Hulk green.

10:22 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Music just changed from house to a sort of funk rock. Whoa, and some metal, out of nowhere! Microsoft is here. And they're pissed.

10:23 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Everyone who's home or at work right now, we're going to do a little Gizmodo wave. You start.

10:24 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Every light hanging from the ceiling is green. When the aliens invade earth, it won't look so different from a Microsoft presser.

10:25 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:25 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Lights are dimming…I'll admit it, I'm actually a bit excited about what could be announced. Are you?

10:26 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:27 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Factoid: Microsoft starts all their pressers with the Xbox 360 loading sound.

10:27 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:27 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
A Rock Band Beatles clip is playing…maybe Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr are about to show up…

10:27 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:28 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
BTW, the song is Paperback Writer, my favorite Beatles tine.

10:28 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
The Beatles Rock Band drums have been spotted onstage. Will the Beatles be playing Rock Band instruments? How sad!

10:29 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:30 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Jason Chen:

10:30 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Harmonix is onstage talking about The Beatles, reminding the hipsters that there was music before the era of American Apparel.

10:30 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:31 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:31 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
The Harmonix house band is playing, so NO BEATLES. I repeat, NO BEATLES.

10:31 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:32 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:32 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
The gameplay looks exactly the same as every other Rock Band game, but with The Beatles, of course.

10:33 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
I hate that by the time The Beatles come to Rock Band, I've basically grown sick of music games. Am I think only one? (They're still playing, btw.)

10:34 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
I'd also like to take this time to note that this game is not an Xbox 360 exclusive. It'll be on PS3 as well.

10:34 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:35 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Now they're playing the game's first official trailer…a bit anticlimactic after we've seen it demoed live onstage, but whatev. I'm still pumped!! Hulu, please hulu!!

10:36 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:36 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
You should just get X1000000 Star Power whenever you play as The Beatles in Rock Band. I mean, seriously. I know they're not Duffy, but they're still pretty good.

10:38 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
All You Need Is Love will be exclusively available through Xbox Live. Proceeds will go to charity.

10:38 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:38 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
YOKO ONO!!!

10:39 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:39 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
AND OLIVIA HARRISON!!

10:39 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr are live onstage!!! OOH!!!

10:40 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:40 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
"Good morning everybody!" Oh Ringo, you know how to sweep a girl off her feet.

10:40 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
"The game is good." Ringo Starr, ladies and gentlemen.

10:41 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:41 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
And as soon as they're appeared, they are gone.

10:41 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
John Schappert, corporate VP of Xbox, is now onstage. Tough act to follow, buddy.

10:42 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
He's talking about the economy. "Now, more than ever before, people want to have fun."

10:43 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
He's promising "showing, not telling." No charts and graphs. The audience cheered. 10 world premiers of unseen games. And revolutionary new experiences "for everyone." Hmmm….

10:44 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Tony Hawk takes the stage. I wonder what he's going to be talking about… (I'm being sarcastic, it's Tony Hawk: Ride, and he's holding the new skateboard peripheral.)

10:44 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:44 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Accelerometers, IR sensors, you can put your foot on the side of it like you are pushing along.

10:44 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:45 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
"The design is really intuitive…even if you've never stepped foot on a skateboard."

10:45 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:45 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
And now they're cutting to a WORLD EXCLUSIVE trailer.

10:45 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
So, Tony Hawk (live) just teased Tony Hawk (taped, in the WORLD EXCLUSIVE trailer). A bit backwards, no?

10:46 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson
More on Tony Hawk: RIDE at Kotaku

10:46 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:47 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
We're seeing demos of the skateboard being used for the first time. It's thicker than I thought, which I guess is necessary for durability. It also looks shorter than a normal board.

10:47 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:48 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Oh great, the skateboard will be on the show floor. Tony out. Now another trailer…with guns….new Call of Duty!

10:48 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:49 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
The graphics, if these are in-game, have seen a huge jump. The textures are really impressive on models. The people are moving very fluidly, though not so fluidly that it would imply the footage is prerendered.

10:48 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:50 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Yes, it's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Guys from Infinity Ward are coming on stage.

10:51 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:51 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Alright, and they're demoing the game for us. A soldier is in Siberia or something, standing on the ledge of a mountain. Yeah, body textures are really improved. And animations are SO fluid as he icepicks his way up the mountain.

10:51 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
The music is vaguely reminiscent of Star Wars, believe it or not. Understated with like a French horn or something chiming in once in a while.

10:52 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Holy crap,the soldier just jumped a chasm while dual wielding ice axes. He ALMOST fell. I hope he lives! OK, I think he lived.

10:53 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:53 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Apparently I'm a huge Modern Warfare fan because this just seems fantastic. I swear they dropped the temperature in the Galen center to match the icy tundra of the demo level.

10:53 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:54 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Would it be great if a Metal Gear showed up out of the fog? Man, that'd be great.

10:54 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:55 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:55 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Lots of people are shooting and dying now. Wait…you SHOOT PEOPLE IN THIS GAME? What happened to the nice mountain climbing sequences?

10:55 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:56 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Another suggestion for Infinity Ward: Give these guys sleds. HOLY CRAP, snowmobiles. They read my mind. And the soldier just hopped on. This changes everything.

10:56 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:56 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:57 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
You can shoot people while driving the snowmobile. This looks good enough to be its own deadly racing game. OK, clip over.

10:57 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:57 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Infinity Ward and Activision are releasing two map packs first to Xbox Live. OK, now Square Enix coming out.

10:58 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:58 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

10:59 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
They're basically saying how Final Fantasy is the best series ever before showing us some of Final Fantasy XIII, the first Xbox Final Fantasy (announced at the last E3).

11:00 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:00 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Now we're seeing a live demo. Two of the characters are fighting a huge scorpion plane mega boss.

11:00 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:00 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:01 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
The combat now includes four active time gauges, allowing you to consecutively attack with wider tactics. I think that means allowing big spells to charge with more strategy.

11:01 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:01 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
I mean, not to piss anyone off, but it looks just like a Square RPG. And the demo is over.

11:02 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Spring 2010 release. Wow, it'll be a while.

11:02 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:02 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Schappert is back onstage. He's talking about the diversity and quality of exclusives. He's promising everything from here on out of the presser is Xbox 360 exclusive. Cool…but what's an exclusive really mean today?

11:03 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Epic takes the stage, makers of Gears of War.

11:03 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:03 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
They are introducing a new Live Arcade game, the first of its kind from Epic. Predictably, it's powered by their Unreal engine.

11:04 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:04 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:04 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
It's a military sidescroller, similar to Castlevania, with some nice 3D depth. You play a soldier with hookshots, guns, etc.

11:05 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:05 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
It looks very nice for a Live Arcade title. Gameplay is a bit choppy, but it looks fun with neat glowing bullets and lots of explosions. Its called Shadow Complex.

11:05 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:06 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Oh, and Cliffy B is sporting a shirt that Giz readers should know!

11:06 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:06 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:06 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Now we're looking at a zany racing game that uses Live avatars. It's called Joy Ride. More on these games over at Kotaku.

11:07 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:07 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Joy Ride is free to download and play! But new cars and levels are $$$ DLC. It's coming this winter.

11:07 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
I just heard an MGS alert sound…but I think it was from back in the audience, someone's phone or something.

11:08AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:08 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
But for the record, Matt Buchanan and I both looked around for an exclamation point.
11:08 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:08 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Ooh, CRACKDOWN 2! That's huge.

11:09 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:09 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Crackdown's teaser was all of 20 seconds. Sorry, we have no more on the game.

11:09 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:09 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Now we're watching zombies being blown to Hell. This is clearly prerendered, so don't get too excited.

11:10 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Left 4 Dead 2!

11:10 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:10 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Wow, I'll hand it to them, Microsoft is pumping out huge announcements with these short clips.

11:10 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:11 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Now we're watching another preredered trailer that looks like Splinter Cell.

11:11 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:11 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
I know it's Splinter Cell because they called the guy Sam Fisher. I'm not that good. Splinter Cell Conviction is the name of the game.

11:11 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:12 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Ubisoft, makers of Splinter Cell Conviction, are onstage to give a realtime demo. More on these games over at Kotaku.

11:12 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:13 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:14 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Wow, nice lighting, more smoother animation. But not much in terms of textures. The game almost looks cartoony. This is so barely a realtime demo there are so many cuts to CGI. Now we're in a larger environment. Frame rates have dropped quite a bit.

11:14 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:14 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Did I just see bullet time? I think so! Suck on that, Neo.

11:15 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:15 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:16 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Yeah, the game looks fun with varied environments like streets and museums. They still need to polish the edges, which are often distractingly pixelated. But Sam Fisher is kicking ass, Bourne-style. And like I said, the noir lighting is really fantastic.

11:16 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:17 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:17 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
It's very Bourne Identity. The demo is over. It'll be released this fall.

11:17 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:18 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Schappert back, doing his thing. I will say, he's way more comfortable in front of an audience than he was when Peter Moore first left. And he just introduced Forza 3.

11:18 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:19 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Microsoft stage reveals a REAL CAR! This is just like Price is Right! Forza's director is out now.

11:19 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:19 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
BTW, that car is an Audi V8 R10.

11:20 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:20 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:20 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:21 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
It's been called the definitive racing game of this generation twice now during this conference. How's it look? I'm not sure the gameplay we just watched was real, frankly. But it looked…good? We saw so little, it's tough to tell. Now we're watching mechanics talk about how great the game will be in a teaser trailer.

11:22 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:23 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
More on Forza over at Kotaku, btw. And now for another prerendered trailer!

11:23 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:24 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
More Forza pimping. If you need to use the facilities, do so now. Ships October.

11:25 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Halo 3 ODST, World Premier. Bungie onstage!

11:26 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Alright, we're watching what looks like filmed in-game footage. Spartans are dropping from the sky in pods. Lots of inaudible shouting. EXPLOSION. "We're going in hard!!"

11:27 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Now we're waking up on the ground. You're a rookie without his team. And the biggest change is the HUD. You see lines in the helmet.

11:27 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Now you get a lowlight vision mode, and the bad guys are outlined in red. It's SO different, SO much more HUDdy with this new visor. But I like the look.

11:28 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:28 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
The terrain is outlined as well. Outlines outlines outlines. I wonder if it makes designing the depth of a level and lighting easier.

11:28 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:30 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
But even without Master Chief and the new HUD, this feels like Halo…but maybe with a little influence from Call of Duty, with lots of your squad shouting at you all the time. And that's a wrap for ODST.

11:30 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Oh, but that's not all. A TOP SECRET PROJECT TOO!!

11:31 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
"From the beginning"…this is gonna be epic. Someone is floating outside of Earth. Epic soundtrack. This feels more like Halo 3, the scale of it all. The world is being bombed. HALO Reach.

11:32 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:32 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Is it a space sim? We dunno. "Falls 2010″

11:32 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
When you buy ODST, you get an invite to Halo Reach's multiplayer beta. Interesting. We don't know if it's an FPS or not. Moving on…

11:34 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Now we're seeing a clip teasing Alan Wake. It's one of those interactive movie titles. And we've just been promised some realtime demoing of the title. More on these games over at Kotaku.

11:34 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:35 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Now for the realtime gameplay of Alan Wake. It's an over the shoulder, Unreal Engine looking title. There is an annoying voiceover that's like a cheesy novel. Alan has a flashlight, a shotgun and his balls. Someone is knocking over trees and lifting cars in the background. It's very sci fi spooky.

11:37 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Interesting, there is a lot of combat. It looks like the flashlight burns attackers who spark under its influence. This game feels way more like an action shooter than something like Quantic Dream's Heavy Rain or Indigo Prophecy.

11:39 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Holy shit. Alan Wake just busted out a flare in slow motion. OK, this demo is going on too long. There's a bulldozer attacking Mr Wake. I'm hoping it kills him so this demo is over. The sequence ends with To Be Continued. Look for Alan Wake spring 2010.

11:39 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Schappert is back out. Music coming to Xbox Live!

11:39 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
last.fm

11:40 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:40 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
The interface looks slick. It'll be available to Gold members later this year for free.

11:40 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:41 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:41 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Now on to Netflix. They are allowing you to add movies to your queue from the Xbox – no PC required.

11:41 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
They're talking about sky TV coming to the 360, but that was announced earlier this week (and it's UK only).

11:41 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:42 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Not they're talking about the Xbox's video store. It's been "challenged to do more." Today, they answered this challenge with Zune video. HD video library goes 1080P. And there's more…

11:43 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:43 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
All movies and TV shows will stream instantly. And the video store is coming to 18 countries

11:43 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
It's called Instant On 1080P HD.

11:43 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:44 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:44 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:44 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Movies, TV and music are coming to Live Party. A group of avatars can sit together on a couch, heavy pet, and watch content together. It was greeted with an unenthusiastic applause from the audience.

11:44 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:44 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Whoa. Xbox Live is partnering with Facebook.

11:45 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:45 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Felicia Day is onstage. She's from The Guild on Xbox Live. And she's here to tell us why social networking on Xbox 360 is very important.

11:45 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:45 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:46 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:46 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
It shares the same interface as the New Xbox Experience sidescrolling windows. It actually looks a bit clunky. I mean, it's a lot of windows to tab through to find a friend or Facebook stalk an ex.

11:46 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:47 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:47 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Status updates are quarantined to these individual windows as well. There's no one big feed like you see on Facebook (or Twitter). Ugh.

11:47 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:47 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
He;s bringing Metal Gear Solid franchise to the Xbox 360.

11:47 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Facebook Connect allows you to post screenshots from games, Tiger Woods shown here, to your Facebook account. Interesting.

11:47 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
In addition to Facebook, Xbox Live gets Twitter!

11:48 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:48 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
This looks totally different. Twitter is not cut up into various New Xbox Experience windows. Instead, you see one big feed. The background is every so subtly animated. And that's all they're showing us.

11:49 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:49 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:49 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Schappert is back out. And he's "not done yet." He introduces Senior VP Don Mattrick to take over from here.

11:50 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
"It seems we're missing one crucial piece of the puzzle." METAL GEAR!

11:50 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:50 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:50 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Hideo Kojima is onstage. Maybe we didn't imagine that alert earlier!

11:50 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:51 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
The next major release will be called Metal Gear Solid Rising.

11:51 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Don is all like, we welcome you and Snake. And Kojima is all like…wait, I didn't say anything about Solid Snake.

11:52 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:52 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Yeah, if you've played the franchise, it's actually Raiden that you'll be playing. More on these games over at Kotaku.

11:52 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:53 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Kojima leaves the stage. Microsoft takes a cold shower. And the Don keeps chatting about Xbox Live, what it's done, where it's going, yada yada.

11:53 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
People ask me, can you add a motion controller? "Of course we can." But here's the problem, the controller "is a barrier."

11:54 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:54 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
"We asked ourselves a new set of questions. Can we go beyond a controller? … Can we make YOU the controller? We can."

11:54 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:54 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
No controller required. Yes, this looks like the body controller that leaked a few weeks back.

11:55 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:55 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
A kid dodges in front of the TV, a girl turns a wheel she's not holding. A guy lifts a wheel onto a car in a pit stop.

11:55 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:56 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
A little boy stomps around the living room, controlling a giant lizard. A girl kicks a soccer ball. The clips look great.

11:56 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:56 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
A kid holds his skateboard in the air. He says "scan." Then he says "play." Then he skateboards on that board.

11:56 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:56 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Facial recognition. Face to face chatting. You can pull up items, like dresses, to share with your cross dressing friends.

11:57 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:57 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Guys, seriously, these demos are pretty hot. I'm very impressed. We'll see how much is Hollywood magic.

11:57 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:57 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:58 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Apparently we missed the voice recognition as well, because a lady just said "play movie" and "goodnight." The clip is over.

11:58 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
It's called Project Natal.

11:58 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:58 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

11:59 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
The sensor tracks 3D movements and recognizes voices (faces too). It's controller-free gaming. It's compatible with every Xbox 360 launched thus far.

11:59 AM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Steven Spielberg takes the stage.

11:59 AM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

12:00 PM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
"How can interactive entertainment become as approachable as other entertainment?" the father of ET asks.

12:01 PM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

12:01 PM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
OK, Spielberg is telling us pretty much nothing. He saw Natal for the first time 2 months ago, a "historic moment" presumably when Microsoft dropped a truckload of Benjamins right on his lap.

12:02 PM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
"It's not about reinventing the wheel. It's about no wheel at all." Haha.

12:02 PM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Spielberg leaves the stage. The Don asks, "how much of this stuff is real?" He introduced Kudo Tsunoda, creative director of Natal.

12:03 PM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
He's showing us off some early prototype demos. The first demo is the Xbox's dashboard. It signs you in automatically through facial recognition.

12:03 PM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

12:04 PM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
He moves onstage, his onscreen avatar follows his movements…with a few odd chops, but pretty well.

12:04 PM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
You can swipe through the menus with your hands. navigating everything sans-controller.

12:04 PM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

12:05 PM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

12:05 PM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
He's dmeoing Ricochet, a sporty tech demo. You see a transparent version of yourself in gamplay like 3D Breakout. You can use your arms…or your head. It looks very good. Very accurate.

12:05 PM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

12:05 PM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
The limb tracking is unlike anything I've seen.

12:06 PM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

12:06 PM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
"You're not using preset waggle commands." Ouchhhhh. Did Microsoft just kill the Wii?

12:07 PM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

12:08 PM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

12:08 PM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
The next demo is Paint Party. They're walking us through this demo at a slower pace. They start with a blank canvas, then splash paint on the screen like they're shoveling water. It's…not compelling, but OK. I mean, a dude is throwing paint at a wall. It's tough to judge the accuracy and/or fun level of this demo.

12:08 PM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

12:09 PM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

12:09 PM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
I do like that the demo/painter/artist is talking to the audience, then he slips in "brown" or "green" and the paint color changes.

12:10 PM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

12:11 PM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Now he's bending over creating a body-sized shadow puppet of an elephant. The game took a snapshot. He's painting the elephant grey, tossing paint at the canvas wildly. He says "reveal" and the wasted grey paint rips off the canvas, leaving only one grey elephant.

12:11 PM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

12:11 PM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

12:11 PM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Project Natal development kits are arriving at Microsoft partners today.

12:11 PM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Project Natal development kits are arriving at Microsoft partners today.

12:13 PM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

12:13 PM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

12:14 PM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
One of his (real) developers is talking to a boy (in the game). It's like they're having a conversation, though clearly the boy hears keywords like "homework" and responds appropriately.

12:14 PM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Now Claire is drawing a picture on a piece of paper. She holds it up to the screen. Natal scans the paper. The boy onscreen recognizes the image. Wow. Coooooooooolll.

12:15 PM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

12:15 PM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
The boy shows Clare how to put on a pair of goggles. Claire reaches down to put on a pair of goggles. Molyneux explains that such is the natural reaction of a human interacting with a piece of software in full motion with audio recognition.

12:16 PM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:
Natal in a word: Holyballs.

12:16 PM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

12:17 PM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Molyneux's response to haters: "Here's the fact, we're showing this behind closed doors at E3." Needless to say, we'll be squeezing our way into said demo.

12:18 PM ON JUN 1 2009
matt:

12:20 PM ON JUN 1 2009
Mark Wilson:
Now Microsoft is wrapping things up, reminding us how awesome they are. Matt Buchanan, snapping shots to my right, keeps uttering how Nintendo is dead and Microsoft R&D just pwnd the world. I guess we'll see where things go from here. Bye everyone, thanks for reading the liveblog. Check out Gizmodo and Kotaku's coverage if E3 all week, and Sony and Nintendo's response to Microsoft's "bringing it" tomorrow morning.

Apparently, the guitars won't be included with the game, but sold separately for $99 each. Seriously, this is getting silly. [Kotaku]

The first article I ever got published was an opinion piece on Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. I was 16 at the time and, needless to say, quite naive. I wasn't very much into non-Beatles music at that age, mainly because I didn't have much access to it. It wasn't until the next year that I was able to buy music regularly, having at last my own stereo system. But back then, my music world was all about the Beatles—and crap 90s radio pop. My dad had Sgt Pepper along with the rest of the Beatles' records and some compilations of classic rock, from Chuck Berry to bloody Kansas, so that was my music world.

I couldn't stop listening to Sgt Pepper. Non stop, I played it and played it until my ears bleed and then I played it some more. It was the stereo version, not the mono mix, and it has lived with me ever since. Then, a few months ago I read in The Word—a very good British music magazine—that the Beatles in mono are—like George Martin implied—better than the Beatles in stereo. Apparently, the Beatles didn't give a damn about the stereo mix, only about the mono. In fact, they cared so little that they passed on the stereo mixing sessions: Once the mono was done, they left the building.

So I started looking for them. Finding the actual mono mix in the market was impossible. Not to talk about the fact that I don't have a turntable anymore. For some reason, the Beatles company didn't have the mono mixes of the Beatles' albums available either—they are going to re-release them now, it seems, remastered—so I got into Torrent to hunt them down. I couldn't find them in the first try. I found a couple of MP3 rips, but I wanted to have FLAC rips of the original vinyls. After some time I gave up, forgetting about the mono Beatles until the Gizmodo's audio week.

I thought trying it would be interesting for a feature, so I started looking for them again and got 192kbps MP3s, which I compared to the stereo version at the same bit rate. Since Sgt Pepper was my album, I started to listen to its songs in pairs, with my earmuff headphones on.

I was blown away. George Martin was oh so right: The songs do sound different. I was so surprised, that at the beginning I freaked out. "What? What? How? What the fuck?" was in my mind all the time.

When Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band came up, my first impression was that the sound had more thump than the stereo mix. A lot more thump, for a lack of a better word. It was like someone was beating me with a hammer. It was kind of noisy, but it filled my head and pushed me in a way the stereo version didn't.

Then good old Ringo—my favorite Beatle—came up singing With A Little Help From My Friends. Same effect. It felt weird, but so much better. I kept coming back to the stereo versions for comparison and, before I noticed, I was thinking: "These sounds a lot weaker. These sound artificial." Gone was the separation of instruments in the right and left channel too, which now feels so artificial. It was artificial, since stereo was a novelty back then: Most people still listened to music in mono and stereo was the "new thing." As a result, producers overused it, just for the sake of it, like when 3D cinema came out and everything was an excuse to fire arrows and rocks and monsters at the public.

I definitely liked the way the mono version sounded—a lot more, even while I knew the stereo version till the last beat and note. LSD came up: same result. The sound is crisper and nearer. The bass a lot better. Again that special thump, even while this is such a delicate song. Getting Better gets better, and so does the rest, Fixing a Hole, She's Leaving Home, Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite... I just couldn't have enough.

But that wasn't all. In the mono version you can hear stuff that is not in the stereo version. And not just bits, but quite a lot of things. Instruments, notes, even lyrics. Take the reprise version of Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band: It is full of shouting—Lennon going bananas at the end, and other bits at the beginning—that is not in the stereo mix.

Maybe it's the novelty of listening to a "new" take on something that I know by heart, but I doubt it. As an experience, I like it a lot better. So much that I'm dying to get FLAC versions of good vinyl rips—or the remastered mono versions, as soon as they come out. And while your taste may be different, from now on this is the version I'm keeping in my iPod.

Listening Test: It's music tech week at Gizmodo.

EMI says that audio engineers spent four years remastering the collection of albums, combining the latest sound technology with vintage studio equipment to give it an updated, but authentic sound. Each album will come with a short documentary about the respective recordings, and the expanded booklets will have new photos and liner notes included.

There's no word about modes of digital distribution yet, but keep your ears peeled—EMI says they'll discuss that later. And for those not sold on the difference between Stereo and Mono, just look at The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds as an example of similar stereo/mono recordings from that era. The difference is like night and day, kids. Night. And. Day.

THE BEATLES' ENTIRE ORIGINAL RECORDED CATALOGUE REMASTERED BY APPLE CORPS LTD. AND EMI MUSIC FOR WORLDWIDE RELEASE ON SEPTEMBER 9, 2009 (9-9-09)

London, England – April 7, 2009 – Apple Corps Ltd. and EMI Music are delighted to announce the release of the original Beatles catalogue, which has been digitally re-mastered for the first time, for worldwide CD release on Wednesday, September 9, 2009 (9-9-09), the same date as the release of the widely anticipated "The Beatles: Rock Band" video game. Each of the CDs is packaged with replicated original UK album art, including expanded booklets containing original and newly written liner notes and rare photos. For a limited period, each CD will also be embedded with a brief documentary film about the album. On the same date, two new Beatles boxed CD collections will also be released.

The albums have been re-mastered by a dedicated team of engineers at EMI's Abbey Road Studios in London over a four year period utilising state of the art recording technology alongside vintage studio equipment, carefully maintaining the authenticity and integrity of the original analogue recordings. The result of this painstaking process is the highest fidelity the catalogue has seen since its original release.

The collection comprises all 12 Beatles albums in stereo, with track listings and artwork as originally released in the UK, and 'Magical Mystery Tour,' which became part of The Beatles' core catalogue when the CDs were first released in 1987. In addition, the collections 'Past Masters Vol. I and II' are now combined as one title, for a total of 14 titles over 16 discs. This will mark the first time that the first four Beatles albums will be available in stereo in their entirety on compact disc. These 14 albums, along with a DVD collection of the documentaries, will also be available for purchase together in a stereo boxed set.

Within each CD's new packaging, booklets include detailed historical notes along with informative recording notes. With the exception of the 'Past Masters' set, newly produced mini-documentaries on the making of each album, directed by Bob Smeaton, are included as QuickTime files on each album. The documentaries contain archival footage, rare photographs and never-before-heard studio chat from The Beatles, offering a unique and very personal insight into the studio atmosphere.

A second boxed set has been created with the collector in mind. 'The Beatles in Mono' gathers together, in one place, all of the Beatles recordings that were mixed for a mono release. It will contain 10 of the albums with their original mono mixes, plus two further discs of mono masters (covering similar ground to the stereo tracks on 'Past Masters'). As an added bonus, the mono "Help!" and "Rubber Soul" discs also include the original 1965 stereo mixes, which have not been previously released on CD. These albums will be packaged in mini-vinyl CD replicas of the original sleeves with all original inserts and label designs retained.

Discussions regarding the digital distribution of the catalogue will continue. There is no further information available at this time.

The bundle, which comes at $250, will include new instruments modeled after the real ones used by the band, which may or may not include that violin bass Paul used. Still, custom plastic instruments are custom plastic instruments, so we're excited. [Kotaku]

Before its glorious post war role as a tool for musicians, a Neumann bottle mic was used in 1936 Berlin Olympics as German Chancellor Adolf Hitler opened ceremonies on. Soon the Third Reich used the then groundbreaking clarity of the mikes to "not only transport the words and information, but...emotion." And so often was it used, it gained the nickname Hitlerflasche, or the Hitler Bottle.

Neumann took the old carbon-grain broadcast microphone, which uses bits of carbon sandwiched between two plates, and turned it into a mass-produced "condenser" microphone, which has one fixed plate and another that forms a diaphragm moved by sound waves.

How soon we forget the power of the microphone, in a world where it's been largely perfected for all practical uses. [NPR]

Though McCartney will probably make off with the lion's share of the cash sum, Ringo Starr and the families of the late John Lennon and George Harrison will also benefit. Michael Jackson, EMI and Sony will also be paid, as they each own a share in the back catalog. McCartney may actually have to pay out a little more on his divorce settlement because of the deal. How that works is anyone's guess, but you gotta feel sorry for him; having to share all those millions is just plain malicious. When the albums will actually hit iTunes is not yet confirmed, but we'll keep you up to speed with any banging of Maxwell's silver hammer. [United Press International]

For starters, NASA: You got the choice of the entire Beatles catalog, and you pick a song only because it contains a relevant metaphor? I mean, have you ever listened to Revolver? Wait, actually, you clearly must've, since Paul McCartney performed "Good Day Sunshine" in Nov. 2005 for the astronauts aboard the International Space Station. If you're aiming at aliens, why not choose something a little less intelligible, like "Dig a Pony," "Come Together" or "Tomorrow Never Knows." If those weren't written for space aliens, I don't know what.

Next on my shitlist: EMI and Apple Corp Update: and Michael Jackson too. WTF???? I've been a lifelong fan of your stupid Fab Four, but you're giving six billion purple globules from the Crab Nebula a shot at digitally retrieving The Beatles before I get one single measly 99-cent download? How is that fair? (Of course, the complete Beatles catalog is already on my iPod, but still!)

And finally, a message to the Crab people: Don't trust these downloads. You'll see the file streaming into your antenna array and you'll be like, "Sweet! Free music!" But then you open the file, and you get this message on your Crab Nebula equivalent of Windows Media Player 11, saying that in order to enjoy this track, you need to get authorization from a central server. You click okay, and the message has to travel back to earth, taking another 50,000 years or so. Which may seem worth the wait, only the track itself expires in 30 days.

So good luck to you, purple Crab people. And GFY, recording industry. You have dissed me for the last time. [Network World via The Inquirer]

"It's all happening soon. Most of us are all sort of ready. The whole thing is primed, ready to go — there's just maybe one little sticking point left, and I think it's being cleared up as we speak, so it shouldn't be too long. It's down to fine-tuning, but I'm pretty sure it'll be happening next year, 2008."

"You've got to get these things right," he explains. "You don't want to do something that's as cool as that and in three years time you think, 'Oh God, why did we do that?!"

This latest round of Beatles-on-iPod scuttlebutt comes from a music industry consultancy called Music Ally, which also somehow knows that this Yellow Submarine iPod will commemorate the date when all the Beatles tracks suddenly become available on iTunes. The prescient consultants add that all these Beatles songs will be exclusive to iTunes for a month before they're offered on any other music download services.

If that's the case, why would Apple offer an iPod with all the Beatles songs pre-loaded, probably at a deeply discounted price, rather than just selling a repainted collector's model and let the fans spend more money in the store? Just like they did with the U2 iPod, you get the fans to buy the special iPod and then let them buy the songs with a higher profit margin.

That said, we've been bamboozled by all these Beatles/Apple rumors so many times, we're not going to hold our breath waiting for this one. [Tech Digest, via CrunchGear]

Meanwhile, Warner Music, which has an agreement with YouTube, announced that it would begin to share music videos for free on ad-supported sites based around artist. OK, so like, how is that different than the promotional artist sites that already have videos? Oh, right, ads. Thanks WMG!!

You know all of this business wheeling and dealing aside, I'm just glad we might actually be entering a new golden age of the music video. I mean, nothing will ever touch A-Ha's "Take On Me" or Jamiroquai's "Virtual Insanity," but do I want my new music rendererd visually for better receptivity into the assorted memory banks of my brain? Yes, I do. – Wilson Rothman

YouTube signs broad licensing pact with EMI [Reuters]
Warner to put ad-supported video archive online [Reuters]

McCartney's upcoming album, perhaps presciently titled Memory Almost Full, will be his first release to be available for download, and that will be released on June 5. Keep in mind that the Beatles music deal's still not officially settled, nor did McCartney say anything specific about the iTunes Store. Yet. – Charlie White

Exclusive: McCartney Goes Digital, Beatles 'Virtually Settled' [Billboard]

However, for some reason, EMI will still be holding a news conference in London, and Apple CEO Steve Jobs will be there, too. WTF is Steve Jobs going to be doing at an EMI press conference if it has nothing to do with the Beatles on iTunes? Other EMI artists? Your guess is as good as ours. We'll find out at 8 a.m. EDT, when there will be a webcast of the event. If this is another false alarm, we're going to have to shoot some Coca-Cola or something. We'll update you as soon as we find out anything. – Charlie White

Apple/EMI in deal, but Beatles not included-source [Reuters]