A blog about television by TIME’s TV critic James Poniewozik.

Why iPhone Owners Blow

So what does a TV critic do when his TiVo dies and takes the television with it? Well, as mentioned, I went on an iPhone app shopping spree. The simplest and most addictive program I picked up is Smule's Ocarina, which turns the iPhone into a wind instrument.

By blowing into the microphone and opening and closing four "holes" on the touchscreen, you have access to two haunting octaves of tones. So far, I can play a decent Shaker Melody, but only if I look at the notation online. (I do a little better with iPhone's PocketGuitar, which I already owned.) But if you're more talented than I am, you can do this: 

More, including an attempt to make this post relevant to TV, after the jump. 

As with so many things digital, the Ocarina app, I soon discovered, has in less than a month spawned a genre of performance videos on YouTube. You can listen to any number of Zelda themes. You can see a woman perform a (seriously amazing) version of Oh Shenandoah accompanied by a keyboard track. Or you can watch another woman play her iPhone with her nose: 

Finally, one more video, to justify this post's inclusion on a blog about TV. The truth is out there: 

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