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June 19, 2003
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 Hipster band The Flaming Lips
have a cool multimedia site that ties
in music, art and interactivity |
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If you're going to run with the big Websites, you need to have the really fat pipes. Here are eight reasons to finally ditch that dialup connection.
digital music downloads
Applemusic.com
Right now you need a Mac and the iTunes program, but pretty soon Windows PC users will be able to take advantage of this, the best (legal) music service online today. Its brilliance lies in its simplicity: you pay 99 cents per track, with no monthly fee, and you can burn the songs to a CD, stash ‘em in your iPod or both.
entertainment
ifilm.com
Apple.com/quicktime is still our favorite place for movie trailers but iFilm has those plus other feature-film clips, short films, music videos and choice bits of TV — highlights from Late Night with Conan O'Brien, for example, and even some well-chosen TV commercials (don't miss "Temper Tantrum"). The fattest streams (500K) require a paid subscription to iFilm Plus or RealOne's Superpass, but the 200K streams, which look pretty decent, are still free. Warning: ads are huge, and they're everywhere.
history lesson
Pbs.org/commandingheights
Select the “rich media version” to watch video segments from this PBS show about the global economy. Each of the 40 individual country reports has a video button, which takes you to specific clips about that country; there are also tightly-written synopses of economic, political and social conditions. Click Storyline to watch the whole six-hour show.
just because
Jedimaster.net
Your heart will go out to the awkward adolescent whose own private video of himself demonstrating Jedi fighting techniques ended up on the Internet, inspiring a remix featuring light-saber sound effects and about a dozen other "adaptations." This site, dedicated to the so-called Star Wars Kid, a 15-year-old from Quebec named Ghyslain (wait: maybe he really is a knight of the Old Republic) has them all. Be sure to check out Reloaded (yep, it's SWK meets the Matrix). And don't miss the Benny Hill version. Or SWK 2.0. Heck, watch 'em all. To find out more about the genesis of this project, visit waxy.org and read the Daily Log entry dated May 29, 2003. For the original footage, go to teamabuse.com/toxic/stuff/swk.htm.
karaoke
Atmo.se/readmylips
Amusing video streams featuring George W., Tony Blair, the Pope and other world leaders singing along to Lionel Ritchie and other memorable tunes. Tell a friend.
sports
NFL.com
OK, so we're a little off-season, but sports fans will want to keep this in mind come the fall: NFL Films TV offers of the slickest multimedia sports content online anywhere. Video clips include season highlights, plays of the week and special features. Head to the NFL Films library for a full archive of Best Shots and more.
super group
Flaminglips.com
Loaded with multimedia treats and superbly designed, this site will make you a fan if you aren’t one already. The Oklahoma-based band is hard to describe (alternative? psychedelic? experimental?) so listen for yourself; audio streams from the group’s 2002 dreamy release, "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots," are accompanied by a smooth slideshow of cover art and other illustrations by Lips founder Wayne Coyne; just be sure to have the background in “play” mode. Don’t miss the flash-animated video for the title track.
web radio
LAUNCH
This radio service, free to anyone with a Yahoo user ID and password, takes customizing to a new level. To get started, you select a genre and some specific bands. As you listen, you can rate each song, artist and album using a sliding scale of one to 100; your scores then factor in to future selections (rate something highly and you'll get more of the same). Same goes for your music video channel, and at 300K, the stream looks great — even full screen. A downside: the ads can be a drag, and to get rid of them, you have to pay $4 a month (or $36 a year) for Launchcast Plus.
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