My Web Gems

' Musictonic '

12/17/2010

http://www.musictonic.com/

This week I chose to post a link to this new website I found called Musictonic. I really like this website because it takes the hassle out of 'related videos' on youtube, and not being able to find videos on youtube. On this website, you enter the artist you wish to basically cyber-stalk, and then musictonic conviniently shows you every video on the web, that has that artist in it. That way, you can browse through a ton of songs, interviews, and just plain videos of the artist of your choice, without having to deal with fake youtube videos or slideshows or people's fake uploads with your artists' songs. In addition I really just like the design of the website; it kind of looks like the recipricol of google, and is really easy to use.

And if you happen to bored, exploring the worldwide-web, you can also just click on of the recommendations provided to you by musictonic, and possibly discover a new artist, or an old artist you had forgotten about.

HarryPotter Wikipedia

12/07/2010

http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page

This week I chose to post a link to the HarryPotter

Wikipedia page. I thought this was super

interesting, because although there are some spoilers, its a really interactive way ofrecaping what has happened in the books, and if you happen to not want to read all seven 200-page books, yet you still want to watch the movies; this is the place to go. In addition to just recapping all the books, it also provides photos of the actors which play all the characters, and also drawings and stories behind all events. I really enjoyed this website, because although I read all the books, I wanted to clarify some details in the first few books, and instead of reading all of them over again, I just went onto the website. In addition to being useful, this website was just fun to look at. It had a really nice design, and was really easy to use. It was also very accurate, and it has certain bits of information that were never in the books; such as implied facts by J.K. Rowling. Overall, whether your a HarryPotter Fan or just want to brush up on some facts, I think this website is worth visiting.

A-ha's- "Take On Me"

12/3/2010

This week I chose to post the video of the song, "Take On Me", by the A-ha's. I really enjoy the song, because it brings back a ton of memories for me. Of course, I was not actually around when the song was released, but nevertheless, the movies I grew up watching, and soundtracks I had been listening to growing up, all had this song.

In addition, I really like the video. Instead of the cartoon coming to life, the main character, is actually sucked into the cartoon, and then escapes just in time for destruction. I thought it was really interesting to watch, plus sometimes it's nice to just take a second and look at a video of the past. Plus if anyone is ever driving down to LA or Santa Barbara, a.k.a. a ridiculously long drive; this is a perfect driving song.

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes

"Simplest Love"

11/23/2010

This week I chose to put up a song entitled "Simplest Love" by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes as my web-gem. I really like this song, because for once, a song about love was simple. Today it seems as though all movies, songs, and forms of media complicate everything, especially the subject of love, for entertainment purposes, as if that which is simple is no longer worth sharing or having. I feel like this is not only incorrect, but this theme of miserable and tragic love, dated back to ancient times,has become boring. " Less is More".

However what I like most about the song, is not just it's idea of a simple love, but also the melody behind the lyrics is also very beautiful. I like how simple it is, which parallells the lyrics, but despite it's simplicity it is still very effective and catchy. And finally, I 'simply' like this song and think it is worth hearing.

WeAreHunted.com

11/15/2010

www.wearehunted.com

We Are Hunted, is a new website I found this week that basically lists the 99 most popular emerging songs, updated as is applicable. I really enjoy this website because it makes finding new

music really easy. It displays all 99 songs with the artist title, song title, and photo of the musician. The website is free, and if you want, you can sign up and create an account, after which you will be able to create playlists and queues of the songs which you like out of the weeks 99 emerging songs.

It is really well laid out, and visually appealing. Also, you have the choice of buying the songs, or just generally listening to them. It is similar to pandora and GrooveShark, with an emphasis on the artists' new music, and new and upcoming songs. Also, it often includes songs from different countries and languages, further increasing the range of songs being presented, and consequently gives you a wider range of music to choose from, and discover.

"Friday On My Mind" by the Easybeats

11/09/2010

This week I chose to post "Friday On My Mind" by the Easybeats because I feel that many people, myself especially, can relate to this song. We all know how it feels to go through a week, just waiting for it to end, not necessarily because the week is bad, but we have all had 'friday on [our] mind[s]' at one point or another.

In addition, I really enjoy the 60's vibe that the song creates; a very happy and light-hearted mood. The Easybeats were an Australian band in the 60's. This song was actually recorded in Abbey Road Studies (where The Beatles had recorded many of their hit songs). "Friday On My Mind" became a hit, and sold over one million copies worldwide; Eventually earning a gold disc. Although the Easybeats never officially announced their break up, they parted ways around 1970s. However, despite the bands decline, "Friday On My Mind" continues to live on.

GrooveShark

11/04/2010

http://listen.grooveshark.com

Grooveshark is a new website I discovered this week that I have found to be an amazing tool to find and listen to new music. It's like the infamous Pandora in the sense that it chooses which songs to play for you next, based on your previous choices, and allows you to discover new music and new bands. However, Grooveshark is, in my opinion, more advanced and well laid out,

because it feels like an actual program, and it allows for you to add more input into what you're listening to. For instance, you are able to add songs to your queue, without starting a new channel, and it still recommends you to new songs and new bands. Grooveshark also allows for you to create playlists and explore a virtual community of other fellow 'groovesharks'. You can find people with similar music choices than yours, and people with completely different musical choices. And if you want, you can even choose to simply go incognito, and not even create an account;

Grooveshark allows you access to all features without you signing up (even though it is free). All in all, I feel like Grooveshark is an amazing tool, and more people should discover it. [Click on the photo to navigate to website]

Stumble Upon

10/20/10

www.stumbleupon.com

StumbleUpon is like the ultimate go-to website if your ever bored or searching for inspiration. There seems to be an infinite amount of possibilities to browse through and each one is different and unique in it's own way. Stumble upon works like this; you go to the webpage, either sign up, or if your already registered (for free) then you continue on and simply click the STUMBLE button in your Stumbleupon toolbar that appears at the top of your page. What seems like a simple little button, ends up exposing you to a never ending database of infinite possibilities. Whether you wish to browse through historical websites, artistic websites, mathematical websites, or just random fun websites StumbleUpon has

what you wish to view. In fact, even if you don't know what you wish to stumble upon, you can simply not choose any limitations, and you will be redirected to an absolutely random and amazing webpage. Once upon a time I recall the youngsters visiting bored.com for their salvation from boredom. Well StumbleUpon is like the new and improved bored.com, except with it's versatile material and access, it is now not only for kids, but for everybody with a desire to learn something new. For instance I would have never originally researched something as random as Tim Burtons online gallery, but one day, in the epitome of my bored-ness, I decided to go to StumbleUpon, and stumbled upon just that. Something I would have never looked at before, I spent an entire hour browsing through, and was not at all bored or distracted. The gallery was incredible, but what really affected me was this little toolbar, where the second I got tired of the gallery, despite how amazing it was, I was able to click stumble again, and all the sudden I was at another corner of the earth researching a dead monarchy in China. It was incredible! And in my opinion StumbleUpon has the ability to bring universal communication into the hands of any person with a computer.

The Kooks- She Moves in her own way- Acoustic

10/20/10

The Kooks are a English indie band from Brighton, England. They currently consist of Luke Pritchard (lead vocals/guiar), Hugh Harris (lead guitar/ backing vocals), Chris Prendergast (drums), and Peter Denton (bass/ backing vocals). This is an acoustic performance of their song, " She Moves in Her Own Way" from their album, ' Inside in/Inside Out' released in 2006-2007.
I particularly enjoyed this performance because often times bands have very good songs in the studio, but when it comes to playing them live or at a concert, the song seems lacking. I chose to put this song up, firstly because I loved the song, but in addition, I felt that this song sounded exactly like, if not better, than the studio version, which is something that is very rare in modern society with autotune and other tools artists can use to edit their music. I very much respect the fact that even though this aol acoustic session acoustic/live, they are still able to retain all their sound and not sound flat or different from the original; this shows that they are talented in reality, not just because of editing. Although editing is very important and still takes talent, it's takes a a whole different kind of talent to be able to perform perfectly without editing. Also I think the video retains a sort of contained happiness, where no matter what mood you may be in when you begin watching it, the second you turn it on, it captures your attention and you get sucked into the music and the environment; I really enjoy that about this video and think that many people would enjoy the song, their talent, and also the simply enjoyable environment they create with their performance.