Musical Innovations

My new computing situation is being troubleshooted, so please forgive the formatting.

If you're not regularly using The Hype Machine to create music blog-curated playlists rooted in thought instead of advertising dollars, then you're already behind. But take a short break from the routine searching of Elbo.ws, perusing of LA's Little Radio, streaming of Pandora, and browsing of live shows and music videos on YouTube to check out some new musical innovations. In this fast-paced online music scene, increasing digital architechture is populating the skyline. And hopefully the cheap, intellectual, ecofriendly development continues.

Band Site Live - Apparently if myspace hurts your eyes, there are people willing to sell you slightly pimped out features for a monthly rate ($20!). Dumbed-down web development tools like these are the new Geocities.

Zune Beaming - What's do you call an iPod ripoff backed by huge corporate budget? The new "Zume" promises to threaten Apple marketshare of the mobile music device by introducing new features like "beaming". You know how much you hate Apple Store download restrictions because you don't feel like you own the music? Well now the songs just self-destruct and delete themselves after three days... and your beloved Joni Mitchell songs will be disappearing faster than the one hit wonders. And, Microsoft has "no plans to the conversion of protected/DRM iTunes songs" sticking to the Godless strategy of making compatibility harder for all of us in order to beat the strategy of innovation. Bloggers were even lavishly rewarded to write about it.

Bishop Allen's monthly EP technique that provides alternative ways to digest music, Our Lady of the Highway is offering subscriptions to their band. For a meager $15 paypal transaction, subscribers are promised full access to the material that the band outputs... including a copy of the CD, online mp3s, b-sides, album artwork, acoustic versions of songs, remixes, and a copy of the next CD. It is a reasonable way for fans to support artists' directly without relying on selling a produced "product" as necessary to the creative process.

Our Lady of the Highway - I Get The Sense (mp3)

Bishop Allen - Click Click Click Click (mp3)

Bishop Allen - The Same Fire (mp3)