Obama's a cappella performance of Al Green hit as a ringtone

President Obama's recent impromptu a cappella performance of Al Green's hit "Let's Stay Together" at a fundraiser at the Apollo Theater in New York last week is now available as a ringtone on his official website:

President Obama was inspired to sing a bit of Al Green during a recent campaign stop at the Apollo Theater. And now you can have his rendition of "Let's Stay Together" as a ringtone.

[via Rolling Stone]

Violinist interrupted by Nokia ringtone, plays the ringtone

According to Cnet, Slovakian violinist Lukas Kmit was giving his viola full rein at a Jewish Orthodox Synagogue in Presov when a Nokia ringtone interrupted his flow. Instead of rending his garments and screaming to the heavens, he improvised. He played the ringtone, expressing cool beyond reason. [via News.com]

In the news again: Phanthom ringtones/vibrations

According to The Telegraph, smartphones are so addictive many users now hear “phantom vibrations” because they are desperate to receive new messages, a study has found. The findings will be presented to the British Psychological Society’s Division of Occupational Psychology Conference in Chester. [via SmartMobs]

... Some people are so hooked to their devices that they even begin to experience “phantom” vibrations where they mistakenly believe their phone is buzzing in their pocket, it was claimed.

First written about in 1996 - Click here for links to articles related to audio illusion, phantom phone rings or ringxiety and fauxcellarm.

Musical dissent with Myxer's Anti SOPA ringtone

Mobile entertainment site Myxer has released a more musical form of dissent. CNet reports.

Myxer's free Stop the SOPA! ringtone launches a rap-style rant about SOPA over a funky backbeat.

The ringtone, created and produced by Myxer staff, has the following lyrics:

Let me share with you something that is dear to me,
And that is taking away our rights and the right to be free,
We need to join together to end all this misery,
And stop the SOPA from ever happening.

They're trying to censor the Internet--that's the dumbest thing I've heard,
Why is Congress acting like an uptight nerd?
That doesn't matter right now we need to stop this bill,
And show the Internet some love instead of watching it be killed...
***Operator Noise***
Sorry, this ringtone cannot go on due to government standards and has been taken down.

New bill suggests ringtones played with the intent to annoy could carry 6 months jail time

Has America gone crazy? According to WDBJ7.com, a bill (HB39) sponsored by Delegate Bob Tata, R-Virginia Beach, would upgrade using a cell phone ring with ‘the intent to annoy’ from a Class 3 misdemeanor punishable by up to $500 fine to a Class 2 misdemeanor which would carry up to 6 months in jail and a fine of $1,000.

The First Album Recorded Entirely on the iPhone is Here

Alabama-based rock band One Like Son spent last year recording a new set of songs solely with iPhone track apps.

[via Mashable]

Download the sound of silence for $0.99 to honor Steve Jobs. Really?

How do we pay hommage to one of history's great innovators? And also inspire people to help fight the disease that took his life? Moment of Silence Inc. suggests downloading The Steve Jobs Moment of Silence single on iTunes for $0.99.

Download the sound of silence? How bold of them. Put another way, feel free to pay something for nothing.

Ringing Cell Phone Halts Philharmonic Performance at Lincoln Center

The music director for the New York Philharmonic stopped a performance at Lincoln Center Tuesday night after a concert-goer allowed their cell phone to ring loudly.NY1 reports.

They say the ringing was so loud and non-stop that Gilbert stopped his orchestra and glared at the offender, who was sitting near the front of the theater.

People in the audience shouted out threats to have the culprit thrown out of the performance.

The owner of the cell phone never identified themselves.

Other embarrassing moments over cell phone disruption at concerts, theaters, or conferences.

Rick Perry camp creates Romney 'I like being able to fire people' ringtone

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is not only making headlines over his controversial comment about liking to fire people during a campaign stop in New Hampshire. Thanks to the Rick Perry camp, he’s also making ringtones. Washington Examiner reports.

The latest jab in the GOP presidential race comes from Perry camp, which created the ”I like being able to fire people” ringtone available for download on his website.

Interesting, the link leads to a error page, ringtone seems to have disappeared for now.

[via Washington Examiner]

The Music Business Welcomes the Future, a Decade Behind Schedule

It took more than a decade. But the music industry’s sales numbers are finally starting to make sense to the kind of people who are reading this story right now: For the first time ever, the labels’ digital sales have surpassed CDs and vinyl.

But just barely: Digital sales accounted for 50.3 percent of all U.S. music purchases last year, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Read full article in All Things D.