I should really make a note of where I pick these links up. I have no idea of whether I'm just rehashing slashdot or metafilter N weeks after the fact or what. Nevertheless: podbob is cool.
Now, I've got a problem with the term "podcast." I don't think that combining an MP3 download with an RSS feed is such a paradigm shaker as to merit its own fresh minted snappy neologism, particularly one that has to mine a commercial trademark for its punch, and for a product that isn't even as old as this crummy century.
And may I say: the 21st? So far? Worst century ever. Seriously. I know, it's not even a decade old, but hey, we're on the flipside of the first one and you only get ten per. More than halfway through the first decade and not one great thing has happened. No, seriously, name one. No moonwalks, no Berlin walls falling, shit, not a Revolver or hell, even a Thriller released. Anyone mentions artic monkeys I will kick your ass. It sucks.
Consider: does anybody remember that the iPod was released just over a month after 9/11? October 2001, damn, remember October 2001? That first case of post-office anthrax. Meet Tom Ridge. Hey, Tom Ridge, you never know, he could be a reader, if so, you're doing a heck of a job, T-bone. But wasn't I supposed to get some kind of preparedness kit in the mail? Duct tape and stuff? The concert for New York City, Windows XP, and the iPod. Progress marches on, huh?
But, uh, this isn't the blog about web metaphysics or what's popularly referred to as culture. No, heh, heh, this jest bes the phree musique blog, aw, wes jest sing and dance here, we shore nuff loves to sing. So check it out: Podbop. Couldn't be simpler: enter your city and state (in the format New York, NY works), get a list of upcoming shows in your city, with Sample MP3s of the bands. See, now that makes sense. I dialed up Minneapolis and got me some phree tunes no problem. A couple things to watch out for:
Formats: mostly MP3 but the odd RAM stuck in there
"Samples": of course, who's product is too valuable and important to merit giving away a whole song? The Strokes. No, I but jest, it's cheesy but I suppose a thing like the market dynamics of a single is beyond my ken, and there is a full free song, which I'm in fact linking to, the closest thing to a popular download as I've featured, or am likely to.
Metadata. Or the lack thereof. Again, The Strokes? You better clean up your act, this popped out in iTunes as "Track 1," no other information. You think I want to spend all day typing out information about the free things you give me? That's no way to build a fan.
Download speeds: by the way, you can't blame this shit on Podbop, they're just linking to content hosted by the creators or their agencies. It looked like some of the sites were getting hammered, though nothing took more than a few minutes.
All in all a fine idea, and well executed. Of course the devil in the details is, how much, and how well, how close does it see? And more importantly, will it get people into shows? Of course, listing is at the discretion of the artists, and going to shows is the responsibility of the end-user, so I guess Podbop could say it's up to you. What's in it for them is an interesting question to investigate as well.
Scrivener downloaded... (please read the download etiquette note)
12:51 by The Strokes
Practice download etiquette: Rather than just clicking on MP3 links, please right click + "save as" (Windows) or control+click and "Download Linked File" (Mac). It will reduce the artists' bandwidth demands!
Don't know what this is? Read the FAQ
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