They call their music fast, cheap, and out of control. Fine. But what really impresses about the punk-pop-techno-new wave group called Ultramods is the fact that they were able to hammer out a full music album in two weeks using the Garageband application in the Apple iPad 2.

No more is the iPad's progression from a media consumption tool to one that can be used for media creation more clearly illustrated than this work. Forget your biases and opinions about what defines good music. We'll be arguing here 'till the cows come home. Instead, let's just sit awhile and think about how one thin (13 mm) computing device with a 10-inch screen and no keyboards was used to compose, record, edit, and produce a full music album production including vocals, lead and bass guitar, and drum tracks. The album is called Underwear Party and I really would like to peel it and peek into the production workflow.

The Garageband app in the iPad 2 has a smart instruments feature, and the group used smart drums to create the album's drum tracks. Even more surprising is if you combine the cost of the iPad ($600) and the cost of Garageband ($5), the former will be less than the price of a decent electric guitar and the latter cheaper than some drumsticks.

The GarageBand app has a virtual keyboard, lead guitar, bass guitar and drum, and up to eight tracks of layered instruments can be recorded to create a song. GarageBand also includes "Smart" instruments that automatically generate drum loops and guitar or piano chords so that even people without musical training can pick up an iPad and create a song.

This musical work has shown how Apple has evolved its iPad tablet from being just a device to watch video, listen to music, read eBooks, surf the web, and handle emails to an enabling device that has reduced the entry cost of independent music and video producers.

Max "Bunny" Sparber, lead singer of the Ultramods said he was excited about the dramatically lowered cost of music production thanks to the iPad and GarageBand. Furthermore, there are no additional costs to upload and sell an album on the internet, Sparber said.

"Making an album even a year ago costs thousands of dollars," Sparber said. "This is a huge transformation. It's part of the ongoing democratization where the tools have become inexpensive, and that's a very exciting prospect."

You can listen to Underwear Party in the Ultramods' site here: http://www.theultramods.com.