Weekly Fresh

TuneUp

Neurotic about your iTunes library? There's an app for that! (For your music, not for your neuroses). This new product cleans up your iTunes, replacing unwanted listings like "Track 01" and "Unknown Artist" with song titles, album artwork, genre, and the like. TuneUp boasts other cool features such as concert alerts for artists in your collection. The product is still in its infancy so there are some problems with speed, but it will be fixed in the future. A lifetime subscription runs about $30, but is well worth it for those who like to keep their music organized.

Arcade Fire's "The Suburbs"

The Canadian indie rock band, The Arcade Fire, released their third album this month and it just may be their most daring record to date. The songs vary from new and modern to retro-influenced nods at punk and synth bands of days gone by. "The Suburbs," a concept album, focuses on themes of suburban ennui, despair in modern life, and even some hipster-bashing. It's an epic sixty-five minutes—make time for it! The Suburbs is just as good, if not better than, their previous albums. Here, we see the band growing and maturing, but unlike most bands that "mature," the Arcade Fire stays great.

Auto-tuning everything

Once used only in recording studios for inept singers; auto-tune has now made its way into our daily lives. Since the program is accessible to the general public, everyone seems to be auto-tuning any and everything. Evidence of this phenomenon is all over YouTube. Videos of cats, crying babies, and news stories are pitch-corrected and are set over a generic rap beat. Not even the revered "I Have a Dream" speech was safe from the trend. Whether or not Auto-tune is here to stay or is just another passing fad, it is certainly providing a wealth of entertainment for now.

Everythingisterrible.com

If you have a fetish for obscure and unintentionally hilarious/disturbing found footage, this website delivers the goods. The site is run by a few friends who spend their free time (and they apparently have plenty) searching flea markets for old VHS tapes of commercials, PSAs, and self help videos to post the best of the worst on the site. In addition to an archive of 20^th century cultural relics, the creators of Everything Is Terrible also made two films: each essentially a mash up of clips of VHS gold. Both films can be purchased on their website for one penny.

Trying to decide whether or not to care about the NFL Preseason

Now that the World Cup buzz has blown over, Americans can finally get excited about real football. The NFL Preseason kicked off earlier this month and I'm still trying to figure out what the big deal is. Sure, it's a way to see if the rookies and those players that are on the fence can hang in the real season, but it mostly consists of half-assed games and good players getting injured. All mixed feelings aside, it's still a great time for football fans, hardcore and casual alike, to make predictions and get pumped for the upcoming season.