I took a look at Liveplasma and plugged in the band name "Blonde Redhead." I don't think it has an entry for Blonde Redhead, however, as I was redirected to the mapping of a band called Screaming Headless Torsos (who?!). My search for the artist RJD2 proved much more fruitful, with little multicoloured planet bubbles bearing the names of some of my more favourite artists like DJ Shadow, Company Flow, El-P, Prefuse 73, Aesop Rock ("Daylight" being one of the best songs ever--but not worksafe!) and more. I was also able to have a little circle-map for the Velvet Underground, which yielded names like the Ramones, Iggy and the Stooges, Television, The Clash, New York Dolls and Elliot Smith. The correlations seem to go well together, and this is a good, quick way to discover new artists (assuming it accepts the artist you plug in).
Music-Map did have Blonde Redhead, lookie. Although I've seen and heard of Last.fm, I don't have an account yet, but I think I may get one very soon. I like the concept of the site, and many of my friends are music fans, and we're always trying to get each other turned on to different music. I'd also recommend Pandora as another means of finding new artists one might like.
However, it's websites like Pandora that are losing out to the new DRM laws that seek to retroactively charge online radio stations for the music they play. Listen to this article from NPR: Music Sites Fight Higher Royalty Fees.
With DRM restrictions and other means of preventing listeners to hear music they want to listen to, I think these music companies are shooting themselves in the foot. I find out about most of my new music online, and I can easily rattle off musicians whose CDs I've purchased after listening to their music online through websites like Pandora, Tigersushi or NPR's Song of the Day: Bon Savants, Sol Seppy, Chad VanGaalen, Blonde Redhead, The Twilight Sad, Beirut, Silver Apples. Artists like the New Young Pony Club, East River Pipe and Hot Chip would be unknown to me without online radio and other online means.
And artists recognise this. This is why so many artists have MySpace and Humblevoice pages to showcase their music online to those who might want to hear, and buy, their work.
Many people point to the record labels as the walls preventing artists from getting their music out to people. EMI's change of pace from the rest of the big labels is refreshing, as well as Apple's iTunes making music available to be DRM-free. Although I do tend to agree with the peanut gallery with the grumble about the higher cost for something that just ought to be anyway, but in the end, it's 30 cents extra for not supporting the DRM ethos. Whether you feel it's worth it or not is up to you.
I actually don't buy music from iTunes, since I normally just buy the CD if I like the artist or band and I've heard at least one or two songs I like (a reckless gamble, I know) and the reviews from my favourite magazines are favourable (BUST and VenusZine being two of a few). In the end, though, DRM and strict policies against music sharing will hurt artists, their fans and their potential listeners by cutting off a means of promoting themselves online.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Week 8's "PS"
My groupmate, Rita, made a Flickr account that you can see from our humble environs of Special Services. See it here. We're using her Flickr account to represent that of our department.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Playing catch-up
Since I was away, I'm going to play catch-up for the OCLS Learn 2.0 lessons with this posting.
With regards to Week #7, I checked out Chug'd and, although I'm quite the beer fan, it didn't look like there was a lot going on with this website. The beer bottles next to the listings aren't the actual brand's bottle, but just a generic icon. And any beer website that fails to mention my favourite brew, Hitachino Nest White Ale, is bound to get a thumbs-down from me. It appears that Chug'd has a long way to go before it could be a useful resource and tool for anyone possessing beer knowledge that goes beyond party keg swill.
When it comes to actually connecting with other beer drinkers, why not have a good cause behind it? Beer Church is a group that gathers people together for good beers and good causes. Our local Orlando chapter meets monthly at Redlight Redlight out in Winter Park, and I recommend the experience. The website itself is also full of information about beer and beer news, like this article on the Top 30 Beer Brand Performers. Newcastle is #1!
I was familar with Catster and Dogster; my old cat (who's now with the ex) has a Catster site, though it hasn't been updated for ages, nor will it be any time soon. You can see it here.
As far as the "Adventure Challege" goes, I believe I've already mentioned Open Source Food, which I've been using for my baking hobby. So far, I have six recipes, though my goal is to be a pro-user by having ten three-star-rated recipes. You can see my profile and recipes here.
As far as Week #8 goes, I don't know how I can catch up with regards to the photos that my department has done. I actually have a Flickr account, which you can find the link for in the sidebar of this blog. In any case, I guess I'll have to talk to my manager, Jim, with regards to catching up to this one. With Creative Commons licensing, I've been familiar with that as well through my experience with Flickr, as well as when I wrote my little Wikipedia article (which has no doubt been rewritten and/or edited since), and with Open Source Food.
Here is a photo I took in Mexico City this past January. If you click on it, it will take you to my Flickr account.
-doreen
With regards to Week #7, I checked out Chug'd and, although I'm quite the beer fan, it didn't look like there was a lot going on with this website. The beer bottles next to the listings aren't the actual brand's bottle, but just a generic icon. And any beer website that fails to mention my favourite brew, Hitachino Nest White Ale, is bound to get a thumbs-down from me. It appears that Chug'd has a long way to go before it could be a useful resource and tool for anyone possessing beer knowledge that goes beyond party keg swill.
When it comes to actually connecting with other beer drinkers, why not have a good cause behind it? Beer Church is a group that gathers people together for good beers and good causes. Our local Orlando chapter meets monthly at Redlight Redlight out in Winter Park, and I recommend the experience. The website itself is also full of information about beer and beer news, like this article on the Top 30 Beer Brand Performers. Newcastle is #1!
I was familar with Catster and Dogster; my old cat (who's now with the ex) has a Catster site, though it hasn't been updated for ages, nor will it be any time soon. You can see it here.
As far as the "Adventure Challege" goes, I believe I've already mentioned Open Source Food, which I've been using for my baking hobby. So far, I have six recipes, though my goal is to be a pro-user by having ten three-star-rated recipes. You can see my profile and recipes here.
As far as Week #8 goes, I don't know how I can catch up with regards to the photos that my department has done. I actually have a Flickr account, which you can find the link for in the sidebar of this blog. In any case, I guess I'll have to talk to my manager, Jim, with regards to catching up to this one. With Creative Commons licensing, I've been familiar with that as well through my experience with Flickr, as well as when I wrote my little Wikipedia article (which has no doubt been rewritten and/or edited since), and with Open Source Food.
Here is a photo I took in Mexico City this past January. If you click on it, it will take you to my Flickr account.
-doreen
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