The Bop Spotter is listening to your music picks. But where is it? (original) (raw)
Riley Walz created the Bop Spotter: an inconspicious gadget running Shazam and surveilling the musical tastes of passers-by in San Franciso. Think "Shot Spotter" but for culture, writes Riley.
I installed a box high up on a pole somewhere in the Mission of San Francisco. Inside is a crappy Android phone, set to Shazam constantly, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It's solar powered, and the mic is pointed down at the street below. Heard of Shot Spotter? Microphones are installed across cities across the United States by police to detect gunshots, purported to not be very accurate. This is that, but for music. This is culture surveillance. No one notices, no one consents. But it's not about catching criminals. It's about catching vibes. A constant feed of what's popping off in real-time.
Sunday evening's picks include Mambo No. 5 (A little Bit Of…) by Lou Bega, Shakira's Hip's Dont Lie, and Celebration by Kool & The Gang. I would say it's the same old boomer loop with lovely new tech, but all those are absolutely fine bops. At the time of writing, the Bop Spotter is at 86% battery capacity.
Total Shazams ever detected: 236. That's an average of 236 songs per day.
Battery currently at 86% (a decrease of 6% in the last 4 hours). Last ping was 10 minutes ago (less than 10 minutes ago is good).
Download a CSV of all Shazam results ever.
Shoutout to Nikhil, Raffi and Shihao for advice/help building this! And thanks to MSCHF for design inspiration.
![image: Afghan Whigs ](https://i0.wp.com/boingboing.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Screenshot-2024-12-24-at-12.10.37-PM.png?fit=300%2C222&quality=55&ssl=1&resize=250%2C190 "Afghan Whigs' Greg Dulli brings the darkness to "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas"") As is tradition, please enjoy the savior of misbehavior Greg Dulli of the Afghan Whigs and Twilight Singers singing a hauntingly beautiful rendition of the 1943 holiday standard "Have Yourself A Merry… READ THE REST
![image: publicity photo](https://i0.wp.com/boingboing.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Screenshot-2024-12-23-at-10.39.46-AM.png?fit=300%2C222&quality=55&ssl=1&resize=250%2C190 "Soul legend Al Green brings the light to his cover of REM's "Everybody Hurts"") Last year, the Right Reverend Al Green released a beautiful cover of Lou Reed's "Perfect Day." He's followed that by reimagining another classic song: REM's "Everybody Hurts." Green is a… READ THE REST
![Dog Man Star](https://i0.wp.com/boingboing.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/image-88.png?fit=300%2C169&quality=55&ssl=1&resize=250%2C190 ""Failed second album" is a myth. Blame music critics.") Consider the fabled "failed second album," where hot new bands mess it up following up a breakthrough hit. I was thinking about this yesterday because I'd listened to Suede's Dog… READ THE REST
TL;DR: Want to make your car smarter? Add this 10-inch touchscreen wireless car display with Apple and Android compatibility to your ride for less than $100. While it seems like everyone and… READ THE REST
TL;DR: Babbel can help you learn the local language of your destination with its 14 language offerings, now 129.97(reg.129.97 (reg. 129.97(reg.599) until December 31! As much as we'd like to deny it,… READ THE REST
TL;DR: Plug 13 things into the 13-in-1 Docking Station, on sale for 44.97(reg.44.97 (reg. 44.97(reg.70) until January 12 at 11:59 p.m. PT. Sick of all the adapters? Ditch 'em. This Docking Station trades one… READ THE REST