Name: SoundzAbound
URL: http://www.soundzabound.com

Education is the true cornerstone of any society, but that doesn’t mean that educators have all the advantages they should have for doing their jobs as thoroughly as they need to. There are many parts of the world in which the remuneration they receive is out of proportion with the task they have to undertake. They can’t really afford to create materials for their students that go beyond a certain point of refinement.

SoundzAbound is a resource that solves that problem to some extent. It’s a library of music, audio themes and sound samples that can be used at no cost – provided the uses these are put to are always educational ones.

In this way, educators can create powerpoint presentations, podcasts and audio guides in a more confident (and certainly richer) way.

You (as the educator) have to purhcase a lifetime license for gaining access to that data. And note that if you feel more comfortable working with physical media (IE, a CD) then you will be able to do it that way – the option of choosing between having online or physical access (or both) will be the first you will face when buying a license. Five different volumes of audio materials are available, and the music that is compiled ranges from holiday tunes to global compositions. And a nice touch is that if you decide to go only for the CDs then you will still have online access to the library for one full year.

Name: Mixest
URL: http://www.mixest.com

By now, you probably have your favorite sites for finding independent talent. Maybe you resort to this one, or maybe you have bookmarked some other website that serves that purpose. There are enough of these spread all over the WWW to keep everybody happy. And you can argue whether or not the one I am reviewing now is indeed “the best way to discover indie bands” as I say in the title. But I frankly don’t think there is one which  is as easy to get to grips with as Mixest. When you land on its homepage a clip will start playing automatically for you to enjoy. When that song finishes, another will begin playing. And so on. You aren’t required to input anything or hit a single key if you don’t want to. You can head straight to the site and leave it open as you go your merry way. When (and if) something that has you tapping your feet and/or banging your head starts playing it is a mere matter of clicking on the window again to see who it is, and make a mental note.

But the best parts of the whole service are unearthed only when you are willing to interact a little with the service, of course. You can favorite each single track that you like, and you can even use a “Block” button in order to prevent someone who is as tuneful as The Vibrators ever coming through again.

In order to favorite anything you must first create your own account. That costs nothing – just pick a username and a password and you will become a Mixest user as quickly and sure as night follows day. From then on, you will be ready to start building a library of indie artists of its very own.

Name: Lystener
URL: http://www.lystener.com

OK, I am the first to admit that this site is not the greatest thing ever since Swiss Cheese came along, but I quite like it. That is probably because I am a lyricist and I can’t divorce a song’s music from its words, but even casual users could get something good out of it.

If we look at its roots, what the site lets you do is to input your Last.fm username in order for the lyrics to the song that you are listening at that time to be displayed. When that happens, you will be able not only to read them but also to share them with your friends.

That is not as superfluous as some of you might be thinking. For starters, non-native speakers of English (like me) often have trouble catching a word or two, even after years of listening to English music. That is something obvious – it is not the same listening to Liam Gallagher than listening to John Denver. Sometimes we frankly can’t get the words right. That is one use this site will certainly have.

And as far as native speakers go, something like Lystener will give them a further chance to socialize online. Is there a better way to get through to a new acquaintance than sharing the lyrics of the one song that sums up who you are with him/her? And is there something more frustrating and time-consuming than typing them down yourself? Exactly.

Name: Mixtap.in
URL: http://www.mixtap.in

Mixtapes ruled. They gave us one of the first true glimpses of freedom when it came to making others experience music in the same way that we did. The way we had arranged the songs was to be the de facto way to experience these artists for anybody who came into possession of the mixtape later on. Any person who wanted to know you better just had to get the tape you had assembled and play it.

Mixtapes also had other ramifications. For example, I can’t think of the song “Runaway Train” without thinking of the last seconds of an ad that played right before the version someone had taped for me started. Even when I am listening to “Black Gold”, in the short silence that separates “Tied To The Tracks” from “Runaway Train” the final seconds of that ad play in my mind. It will probably be like that for evermore.

Maybe you are too young to know all this. If that is so, I have the perfect site for you. It is named Mixtap.in, and it will let you create a mixtape for others to enjoy. You can add up to twelve tracks for each mixtape that you create, and you can then label it. If the mixtape that you have assembled is meant to sound like Dr. Hook then you simply state so. Others will be able to find it in a much easier way then, as all the featured mixtapes are readily searchable.

And there’s more to it all, since you can request Mixtap.in dub a tape for you. In that case, all that you need to do is choose the artist that you like and see what comes up. That is a truly ace tool for discovery, and it turns the whole process into something automatic without sacrificing the quality of the actual results.

Name: Tastebuds
URL: http://www.tastebuds.fm

As much as I try not to babble all the time about music when I first meet someone, I always end up doing so if the other person shows a certain degree of interest in any of the bands I like. The thing is, not a lot of people where I live know who the heck The Who or XTC are, so I mostly end up taking about the value that music has in people’s lives, blah, blah. As a matter of fact, I have a small group of CDs in my collection that I like to call “social” albums – these are albums by artists I don’t really like but that everybody else adores like U2, The Ramones and Bon Jovi. Whenever I host a party, these are the albums I bring to the room where the Hi-fi will be located. Playing “That Wave”, “Rook” and “Omnibus” is not something that lets anybody find common ground here in Uruguay.

I wanted to tell you that because the site I am reviewing today is centered on forming relationships between people based on the music that they like. It is not exactly a dating site, but it matches you with another single who shares your very same musical tastes. You will take it from there, in the direction you want to take it.

The matching process itself works in two different ways. The first is faster, but it necessitates you having a Last.fm account since Tastebuds checks it and sees exactly what kind of music you like. A series of matches is then produced.

On the other hand, those who don’t have a Last.fm account will have to submit the information manually. The end result is the same: a list of people that are in your wavelength.

I sincerely found this site quite appealing, but I am terribly biased, of course. The thing is, if you read this blog you will be too. Musical affinity must be one of the strongest bonds you know, and something that you believe in with all your soul. Just like I do. And I find it hard to even imagine that you won’t like a site like Tastebuds.fm.

I went to the cinema the other day with Luis, one of my best friends. We both were ‘80s kids and (like most boys back then) we were bitten by the martial arts craze that hit like a cyclone on the strength of movies like “The Karate Kid”.

Thus, we went to see the remake not because we thought it would be any good but (much like the new A-Team movie) we were curious about how an icon of our generation would be presented to kids today.

Leaving aside that the movie was an obvious vehicle for Will Smith to promote his son Jaden, and that Jackie Chan did very little fighting (not to mention that the movie should have been called “The Kung Fu Kid”), we were surprised at how entertaining it was. What the heck, children and their parents were clapping and hollering all through the tournament at the end.

So, the movie went more smoothly than we expected. Except for something.

Justin Bieber. He had a song in.

And it was a duet. With Jaden Smith.

Now, if the site I am about to introduce you to did not exist the chances of me or my friend creating one like it after that unfortunate incident would have been quite high.

Named Shaved Bieber, it is an extension for your browser that eliminates mentions of the teen idol as you are browsing the Web.

This tool is available both as a Firefox add-on and as a Chrome extension, not to mention that you can use a bookmarklet and become a vigilante all by yourself.

Before you leave a comment below, I would like you to actually watch The Karate Kid and see if you can come up with an actual justification for the inclusion of Bieber’s song. Then, tell me if you can really say that a service like this one is really unwarranted.

Name: Tony-b Machine
URL: http://www.tony-b.org

Every rock & roller has got a bit of a shady past that hangs like a sword of Damocles over his head. I am no exception. Before listening to The Who, before listening to Oasis, before listening to The Sex Pistols… can you ever dare to guess which artist I intently listened to?

DJ Bobo.

Those of you who are still reading (and who haven’t wiped MusicKO from their bookmarks after such debilitating news) would be less shocked when you learn I was that keen on DJ Bobo only because my older brother (always a role model to me) was a rabid fan of electronic music. And you will feel relieved when I tell you that I never, ever lay a hand on his Ace Of Base and 2 Unlimited CDs.

[My brother from behind my back:] Hey, have you seen my copy of “The Sign”? Wait, here it is, what was it doing in your backpack??

Shit, man!! Keep quiet for a second, will you?!

Ahem.

Before it gets any worse I am telling you about this new app.

Named the Tony-b Machine, it will let you create your very own piece of electronic music. And the way you can get around doing that is dead clever (and entertaining, too). You simply pick the relevant effects (”Kick”, “Snare”, “Hi Hat” and “Cymbal”) and push the pertinent keys as you go along.

The results are actually very impressive, and one of the best bits is that you can proceed to save and upload them for everybody to listen to.

That is it, basically. This is the kind of site that you have to try in person to see how catchy it can be. Besides, now I feel an incredible urge to listen to Creedence Clearwater Revival and then to Bachman-Turner Overdrive so I have to go.

[My brother from behind my back again:] Oh, and you also had my Doctor Alban CD! I thought I had lost it for good years ago!

Sigh.

Now I am going to listen to The Style Council’s “The Whole Point Of No Return”…

Name: SeeJoeRock
URL: http://www.seejoerock.com

Forget about “America’s Got Talent”, the Internet is where the chances of being discovered lie for any young performer (Greyson Chance) or for those who did never get the exposure in their day (Steve Moore). There is something incredibly idyllic about it all- it is the knowledge that if you are good, you are making it. The Internet obliterates the loathsome meet-and-greet tradition that places all the emphasis on who you know, and not on what you can do. And new performers know it by now.

I think that is the reason why there are lots of social sites for indie musicians available. Well, this is a new one – and it is quite comprehensive if you ask me. Bands can create their own profile pages, upload their songs, stream their videos and create a calendar that highlights upcoming gigs. They interact both with fellow musicians and with members of the public while doing it all. And they also do get a chance to interact with industry professionals. That is a possibility that is not offered in that many networks for indie musicians as far as I can tell.

In practice, it translates into the fact that budding musicians can get in touch with photographers and designers to work on the artwork for their albums, and also with young directors that are willing to convey into film any ideas they might have for videos.

Also, they can network with more seasoned musicians that are part of the site. In this sense, something akin to a tutelage is born and the concept of “community” comes fully alive.

Name: BuyWidget
URL: http://www.buywidget.com

There is no end to the number of ways in which you can sell and market music online. If anything, these services become more and more direct as time goes by. A case in point: the Buy Widget website.

In general words, Buy Widget is a generator of playlists that you can place in your blog or website in order to sell music. These playlists take the shape of widgets – hence, the name of the service. If you want to sell something else, you will have to browse. But if you want to sell your own tracks this will do the honors.

You can upload entire albums and then have people buy them right away. The widget is also somehow configurable, and you can tweak with more aspects than one – you get a chance to modify the logo that is displayed and so on.

Of course, a system for direct monetization is always preferable to other revenue models that adhere to a “one size fits all” ethos. Buy Widget simplifies the way in which your own music can be sold so notably that just any person can get down to it. All he needs is having a website or blog. If he does, he will be able to get this system working for sure – WordPress, Blogger and TypedPad blogs are fully supported. So is HTML, of course.

And I have not even talked yet about the possibilities this offers to blogs covering independent and/or emerging scenes. Using it, creating a revenue model that could benefit all the artists that are featured on the blog is just a matter of talking it over with everybody.

Name: Lyreach
URL: http://www.lyreach.com

If you love music as much as I do, the ultimate aggravation is listening to a terrific song and not being able to find out who is the performer afterwards. Personally, it makes me go madder than the squirrel from “Ice Age” whenever something happens to its dearly beloved nut.

That is why a site like this one sounds promising. Basically, it is a search engine for lyrics. In theory, it should produce satisfactory results even if you have only a couple of words from the actual line to throw at it. Once you have typed the words in, it will show you all the possible matches with links to MetroLyrics for you to dig deeper and see if that is indeed the song you were after.

Well, let’s take it for a test drive.

First try:

Song: “My Generation” by The Who
Words I will use: “talking”, “generation”, “baby”

Results:

talking gentleman I’d like to

talking get down through the

talking get em baby Nicki

talking get in the game

talking get on dis motorcycle

talking get on down mothafuckas

talking get that shit that

talking get the fuck off

Mmmh.. let’s try again.

Second try:

Song: “My Generation” by The Who (again)
Words I will use: “talking about my generation baby” (that is, the exact lyric)

Results:

talking about my Generation hope

talking about my Generation Injected

talking about my Generation talking

talking about my girl my

talking about my girl on

talking about my girl talking

talking about my girl that’s

talking about my grandma like

talking about my hair but

There it is. The third link directs to The Who’s classic. But shouldn’t such a classic top the list?

Let’s carry on…

Third try:

Song: “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” by Elton John
Words I will use: “goodbye yellow brick road”

Results:

goodbye Yellow brick road When

goodbye Yellow brick road where

goodbye Yes it s time

OK, it got it right this time. Both the top tiers were taken by a lyric from the John/Taupin song.

Right, this is the final try:

Song: “Mayor Of Simpleton” by XTC
Words I will use: “mayor of simpleton”

Results:

mayor of simpleton but I

mayor of simpleton or get

mayor of simpleton Please be

mayor of simpleton Then I’m

mayor of simpleton you’ll be

mayor of some small town

Excellent, the first five slots link to XTC’s song.
I was afraid it would fail because it couldn’t handle a notably more popular song like “My Generation” that smoothly. But Lyreach did quite fine in the end.

One definitive suggestion would be adding a bookmarklet. That is not hard, and it makes thing so much easier on everybody. Other than that, Lyreach does its bit good enough.