Sites & Sounds
Let's find some music . . . we visit ****All-Music Guide, **Starseeker, and *1/2Turbo-net.
Scale: **** Bookmark this site now1x *** Worth a click ** Barely surfable * Web site equivalent of junk e-mail
When it comes to finding what you want on the Web, knowing where to look isn't nearly as important as knowing how to look. No matter where you start out, you'll end up where you want to go as long as you keep an open mind and persist.
First things first: pick a search engine. A good one is the Magellan site, which returns a number of hits without requiring a very specific knowledge of what you are searching for. The site also offers a wide range of links for every subject. My quest at Magellan was to find sites featuring general music information, which I found simply by clicking on the "Music" section of the "Entertainment" category.
Magellan's number one recommendation, the All-Music Guide (AMG) is an excellent music resource, which provides exactly what it promises: a comprehensive database of music. AMG even has its own site search where you can search by artist, album, song, style or even label. AMG also employs people to write music-related essays, and these essays run the gamut of themes and musical genres.
AMG seems to span entire the musical spectrum and even features links to 1400 musical styles, many of which I had never even heard of1x The site's "Musical Map" allows you to "trace the roots of music" - from "ambient techno" to "bubblegum music" to "New Zealand rock" to "paisley underground"(which, believe it or not, was pioneered by none other than The Bangles). With its clean, bright, if not slightly cheesy, graphical presentation and its exhaustive coverage of music, AMG is one of the best music resources on the web today.
Slightly less encyclopedic is the Starseeker site, which is more a starting block than anything else. But if you're in the mood to surf some interesting sites, Starseeker is more than happy to present you with links to "Brass Players in Film Music," or links to Lollapalooza's and the Grammies' official web sites. Most interesting though is "Randy's West Texas Music Connection." You might not have set out in search of detailed info on the West Texas scene, but this is a serendipitous treat for music lovers.
Starseeker breaks down its links into four categories: General Music Sites; Genre Music Sites; Newsgroups (discussing everything from guitar tabs to psychedelic rock); and Music Associations. The site is well-organized, albeit a little bare-bones. There aren't any graphical gimmicks to be found here, but there are good links, which makes Starseeker one of the better places to start out if you're not sure where you're trying to go.
One of Starseeker's links led me to a site heralding itself as the " Ultimate Music Page." It's nowhere near as comprehensive as the other two, but it's a fun diversion in your music information hunt. The Ultimate Music Page is more a work in progress than a full-fledged Web site, but it has at least a few things going for it, not the least of whhhich is a ccartoon of a dancing tuurtle playing a banjo. How many music Web sites can claim that?
While these three sites are great examples of what's available on the web, there are many more music guides, collections, and resources just waiting to be found. Next time we will visit lyric sites so that is only our voice, not the wrong words, that embarrasses us when we sing along . . .
By Urmila Rajagopal
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