Ever since man could hear music online, web sites have offered forums to listen to the latest offerings from the world's unsigned bands. Unlike the radio world, these sites let anyone with a digital version of their music take the stage... and like the radio world, the quality of the songwriting can be amazing or amazingly pathetic. Take, for example, Jared, the so- called Butcher of Songs... (0:45)
<Jared from the top...>
Jared is allegedly the head of security at Freeverse Software... and has become a cult hit on the net... inexplicably inspiring users to play him over and over and over. Download him if you dare, for his voice is a sickness that will soon infect your home or office... yep, there's even a CD available.
On the brighter side, there's the Internet Underground Music Archive... where visitors can hear nearly a thousand musicians in dozens of genres... from a capalla to country to jazz. IUMA is the granddaddy of music sites and is now watched by the music industry. You can buy cd's and tapes from many of the online artists... bands like Poisonous Aluminum Badger, The Neanderthal Yodler, and the Hula Monsters. (1:25)
<Clip from Hula Monster's "She Don't Mind>
Unlike some music sites, which tie themselves to one kind of audio format, IUMA stores music in ways that work with almost every browser and modem out there. IUMA also has chat areas to talk about the bands, links to dozens of web-zines and a calander of events. The only downside to IUMA is the sheer volume of advertising they shove down the modem at you.
If the ads at IUMA bug you, head over to IndyMusic-dot-com where a commercial- free set of tunes is available for anyone with a browser plugin called Shockwave... a free add-on for Netscape and Microsoft's web browsers. IndyMusic also has a wide array of songs,such as this from a San Francisco band called The Mockingbirds (2:05)
<Clip from "Porno Star">
At IndyMusic you'll need a 28.8 speed modem to have a good experience. In addition to the music, you can talk about the artists and visit their web sites. IndyMusic may not have the name recognition or the depth of IUMA, but I found myself spending a lot more time there because things loaded so much faster.
Both IUMA and IndyMusic have options to play a continual, commercial-free stream of tunes... nice if you have a high-speed modem and a computer that can play the music while you word process. Its not terribly clear to me that the net replaces radio in any real sense, but at least these bands are getting airtime somewhere other than college radio. On the internet, anyone can get in the rotation. (2:45)
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