Music and audio

Apple's WWDC announcement of the upcoming iOS 7 promised a slew of amazing, long-overdue updates. Unfortunately, however, if you are not a developer, you will have to wait until sometime in the fall for the official launch, like the rest of us. Owners of iOS 7-incompatible devices shouldn't fret, either. The good news is, you can get some of the functionality or at least similar features of iOS 7, in apps that currently exist on the App Store.

1. iOS Mail and Mailbox

The iOS Mail app is still the go-to place for e-mails among numerous users; with … Read more

For his contribution to seven Dream Theater albums (including such memorable tracks as the No. 4 single "Wither" off 2009's "Black Clouds & Silver Linings" and Grammy-nominated "On the Backs of Angels" off 2011's No. 8 album "A Dramatic Turn of Events"), Jordan Rudess is widely recognized as one of the finest keyboardists of all time. In fact, MusicRadar.com bestowed the honor upon him back in 2011.

These days the synth wiz is applying his technical savvy to the development of new apps that allow fans to unleash their … Read more

If a profile like Christian Rudder's turned up in an OKCupid user's search results, it would certainly merit a deeper look. As a Harvard graduate, who's helped launch and sell two successful companies (SparkNotes, in 1999, which sold to Barnes & Noble; OKCupid, in 2004, which sold to Match.com) and an indie musician who's appeared in the romcom, "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist," he'd be a catch by most standards.

Download.com caught up with Rudder, who's also OKCupid's General Manager and Editorial Director, to discuss his company's … Read more

For some audiophiles, Counting Crows and The Wallflowers will forever be associated with the mid-1990s--along with Netscape Navigator, Hotmail, and of course, Windows 95. But don't call their joint summer outing a nostalgia trip. Velvet-tongued Counting Crows vocalist Adam Duritz, hot off the heels of The Outlaw Roadshow (alongside a slew of new indie bands), prefers to view his comparatively intimate Wallflowers double bill as a much-needed respite.

Other than sharing a decade, the comradely combos have shared previous tours, a track (Duritz sang on The Wallflowers' "6th Avenue Heartache"), and even a producer (T-Bone Burnett, back … Read more

Last week, Apple announced that its App Store is approaching 50 billion app downloads. In celebration of the milestone, Apple is giving away a $10,000 App Store gift card to the lucky person who initiates the 50 billionth download.

As part of the celebration, Apple listed the top 25 apps -- both free and paid -- for iPhone and iPad. None of the apps listed is particularly surprising (especially to someone who studies the most-popular list every day), but one thing that did strike me is that a lot of the all-time best sellers still sit near the top … Read more

You don't have to be the host of "American Idol" to use Twitter Music anymore.

A little more than a month after CNET broke the news that Twitter was working on a stand-alone music discovery app and a week after that app was rolled out to an invite-only group of celebrities and others -- including Ryan Seacrest -- the general public can now get its hands on the music discovery app.

Twitter officially unveiled #music on Thursday during "Good Morning America." The company later provided more details about the service in a blog post, saying … Read more

My guess is the whole Harlem Shake craze is just about winding down its 15 minutes of fame.

14:51...14:52...14:53...

But wait! While there's still a shred of interest left, you've got time to make your own videos. Free Android app Harlem Shake Creator Lite and iOS app Harlem Shake Creator HD (both from the same developer) make it ridiculously easy.

In case you've been off-planet for the past month or so, a Harlem Shake vid starts out with a single person, usually masked for no particular reason, doing a little jig to … Read more

SAN FRANCISCO--At an invite-only press event in San Francisco, popular streaming music service Slacker Radio last night unveiled a completely revamped brand. The company's name remains, but Slacker's look and feel have been significantly simplified.

Of course, with the rebrand, Slacker's Web site and product designs have been updated with cleaner, more modern looks as well. Gone are the dark tones, textures, and gradients that crowded Slacker's interfaces in the past. Now, Slacker's multiplatform face is made up of brighter colors, clean lines, and lots of white space, which bring it more in line with … Read more

Pandora's Web-based client keeps a tab open in your Chrome window. Unfortunately, if you're one of those people who has a lot of tabs open, you may accidentally close the Pandora tab in the middle of a great song. You could easily re-open the tab, but you probably won't continue hearing the same track.

With the SoundControl extension you can control Pandora from the Chrome toolbar, and even hide the actual Pandora tab from your window. Here's how to get started:

Step 1: Head to the SoundControl extension page in the Google Chrome Web … Read more