Name that tune
Author: Voo, Jocelyn

TAPPING MY FOOT ON THE BAR STOOL to the off-kilter rock beat, I tried to distinguish the artist who was caterwauling through the speakers in the dingy midtown bar. "It's Karen O, definitely Karen O," I yelled to my cohort who, at that moment, was equally intent on identifying the mystery songstress. "Who else's voice could make a growl like that?"

But as the song progressed, it became clear that the corrosive vocals pumping through the room did not, in fact, belong to the garage-punk queen, but were those of another unapologetically ferocious frontwoman, PJ Harvey. It was a lamentable error, to be sure, and ever since that night I have been unable to utter the word "Yeah" more than once without pausing to think first. Forgive me, Peej, I'll never mistake you again.

But it's times like now when I am sure the rock gods have heard my 50 Hail Marys and watched me roll around in broken glass and cacti as penance. Though I personally don't understand designer ring tones or custom cell phone wallpaper, Rocket Mobile (www.rocketmobile.com) has released Song IDentity, a program that allows your cell phone to identify almost any song's artist and title. In the 10 seconds you hold your cell phone to the source of music, Song ID searches the 2 million and counting listings in its extensive database, ultimately producing the correct artist, track and disc info (and perhaps also saving your pride). And it's not just for musical poseurs like me who don't know their Ashes from their Enzo Enzos; Song ID covers multiple genres, from bluegrass to electronic to hip-hop. It's the lazy--or shamed--audiophile's dream gadget. What's left to say but rock on.

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