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Video of the Week:

Bob Mould -- The Descent (Live on Late Night With David Letterman)

óè bit.ly/the_descent

While you wouldn't exactly call it a comeback, pioneering rock frontman Bob Mould definitely returned to form in 2012. His album The Silver Age may be the best record he has done since 1992's Copper Blue, and his fierce live show reinforced the belief that Mould's time in Minneapolis noise mavericks Hüsker Dü, his solo work and his recordings with Sugar are some of the most important rock records of the last three decades.

BookRx

óè books.knightlabprojects.com

Discovering new books and authors isn't as easy as it seems. You can ask friends, talk to librarians or bookstore employees, see what Amazon suggests while you are searching through the online retail giant's seemingly endless selection -- or you could try out BookRx. Developed by students at Northwestern University, the online tool taps into your Twitter feed and makes recommendations based on your tweets.

Obviously you'll need a Twitter account to get personalized recommendations from the site, but you could always see how it works by putting in the name of a friend, celebrity or any Twitter account you know.

Richseam

óè richseam.com

Richseam is a robust music-discovery platform that's built around connections and collaborations among artists. The simple web tool helps you discover new music by drawing connections between bands and artists.

The one downside is the streaming music service used on the site is Spotify, which still does not let Canadians access its massive database of music. Hopefully this will change in 2013, but even without on-demand access to the music, the site's algorithms and information still make it a great tool to discover new bands or find out about artists who may have been outside your radar.

Burpple

óè bit.ly/Burpple

If you're an aspiring foodie who loves to bombard your Instagram and Facebook feeds with all the hot restaurants you are hitting up, what dishes you're ordering and what you had for breakfast -- or even if you just love close-ups of beautifully crafted meals -- Burpple is the new social food journal for you.

Currently only available for iOS/Apple devices, Burpple just locked down a new round of financing that should kickstart development of apps for Android and Windows 8 phones. The social food app has rolled out a new batch of photo filters that will make your photos look even more delicious.

Track of the Week: Baauer -- Harlem Shake

óè bit.ly/harlem_shake

This year, there was no escaping rookie electronic producer Baauer and his speaker-rattling underground anthem Harlem Shake. Played by a wide swath of DJs, Baauer's tweaked-out synths, tightly wound drum programming and intricate sound design is the blueprint for the next wave of EDM. The 23-year-old producer will make his second appearance in Winnipeg on Feb. 10 at Republic Nightclub with Just Blaze (who has produced tracks for Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Kendrick Lamar and Eminem, among others). Tickets for this red-hot pairing will go on sale soon.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition January 3, 2013 C15