Links
Heres some links that I either frequent, found helpful, or are interesting in some way (interesting, at least, to me). They are broken down by genre for ease of navigation, and include resources for musicians, links to the sites of some bands i like, news and news aggregate sites, and other points of interest. Perhaps you'll find something you'll like!
Musician Resources
Chordfind: Ever try to write a tune on the ol' gee-tar, and couldnt think of what chord to use? Or wanted to find an alternate phrasing for a chord? Or simply wanted to learn a new chord? Here's the place to do all the above. An A+ resource!
Ultimate Guitar Tabs: A huge site with literally thousands of Guitar (and bass) tabs. Loads a bit slow at times, and is prone to popups.
KVR: This site has so much to offer a musician, that it's hard to narrow down. Tons of free software instruments and effects, loads of reviews, and a forum that is non parel. If you use any sort of computer resource to make and record music, you'll find no better place to find new toys and to have questions answered.
Gersic: The place to find free audio plugins for your home recording needs. It's HUGE, so make sure you've some time before you dig in.
Garage Band: If youre looking to post some of your music (and have it critiqued) or want to find some new stuff to listen to, this is a worthwhie visit.
Bands and Performers Sites
Note: As much as I enojy (read: love and slather over with nerdy, obsessive glee) a variety of artists, I'm aiming to put more 'unknown' type artists into the list below. They're not in any sort of order...I just post 'em as i find 'em.
Mike Portnoy: One of the most amazing (and busiest) drummers out there. Best known as the drummer for Dream Theater, he can also be found pounding the skins for Liquid Tension Experiment, Transatlantic, Yellow Matter Custard, and more. His site has music clips and videos, so it's worth the trip for fans of interesting music as well as fans of his various bands.
Varttina: A Finnish group that mixes traditional Finnish music with jazz, rock, modern world, and progressive music. They sing in their native language, so I have no idea what they're saying, but they're utterly enchanting none the less. The videos on their site will give you a nice glimpse into what they're about.
The Tea Club: An unsigned find in the vein of King Crimson, Swervedriver, and Sunny Day Real Estate. Check out the song, "Purple Chukz", which is my personal fave. (Free music Download on thier site.).
Cert1fed: Interesting band that skirts around the prog rock genre. Sorta moody stuff, with some really nice synths and guitar work (free music downloads on site).
Arya: Hard to pin down an exact genre, but stays mostly around heavier types of musc. The instrumentation is tight and well played, and they are fronted by a female vocalist that is simply powerful.
Exit Motel: Not exactly sure how to describe them, but from their site: "It's been said that their delicately severe sound arouses notions of Soundgarden meeting Pink Floyd." I'm not sure that's what I hear, but it's a good place to start.
Aaron English: Amazing musician and songwriter. Very percussive, worldly vibe, coupled with modern rock sensabilities. Right up your alley if you like Peter Gabriel, Sting, and the like.
The Mosquito: Very textural Progressive rock. Soncily wonderful and intricate, with excelent musicians. Reccomended (highly!) if you like your music a little out there (ie: Jethro Tull, Gentle Giant, and the like). Free music Download's on site.
The Wrong Trousers: Any band that can take a mandolin, a harp and a bass and make them make beautiful music together is worth checking out.
News Sites
Project Censored – An amazing site which covers news stories that don’t seem to receive national media attention…but should. Check out their yearly lists of the top 25 news stories ignored by the ‘popular’ news media.
McClatchy News Service – The closest I will come to main-stream media. The best pool of news reporters in one place that I’ve found…and they don’t rely on Twitter for their news feed.
Jonathan Turley – Law professor and some-times contributor to TV news, Jonathan Turley is a vibrant voice discussing what’s going wrong in Law (covering civil and constitutional law as well as law enforcement).
Prison Planet – A site run by radio host and documentary film maker, Alex Jones. Often decried as a ‘conspiracy theorist’ (and, admittedly, quite a bit over the top at times, his site features a wealth of stories that one might be hard pressed to find promoted elsewhere.
What Really Happened – The site for the radio show of the same name, hosted by Mike Rivero. An excellent aggregate site for stories one never seems to hear about.
Greg Palast – One of the best investigative reporters out there. His book, Armed Madhouse, is an absolute MUST-READ for anyone who feels that something is wrong in the world but cant quite put a finger on what it is (remember: once down the rabbit-hole there’s no coming back). He does have a bit of “liberal’ slant, but his reporting is spot on.
Fortean Times – For stories of the Paranormal, UFO’s and things that go bump in the night.
Interesting Reading
Echoes America – Another site that I created (a shameless plug, I guess), chock full of photographs from various parts of America dating all the way back to the 1800’s. There are also some (very cool!) video clips, a jukebox playing some of the earliest recorded music, and a shop as well. Check it out!
Echoes Tampa – Sister site to Echoes America with a spotlight on the Tampa Bay Area.
Echoes: Flatbush, Brooklyn, and Beyond – Sister site to Echoes America with a spotlight on New York
The Black Vault – A repository for declassified (sometimes procured via the Freedom of Information Act) government documents, started by John Greenwald in 1886 and still going strong. A HUGE site which offers up a great deal of information, a forum, and even radio shows.
Thomas – ‘In the spirit of Thomas Jefferson, legislative information from the Library of Congress’. I enjoy (find myself compelled to?) having conversations about things government related, but when I open my mouth I often receive blank stares, cries of disbelief, and a general gnashing of teeth. When asked where I looked up my information, this is the first site I point to.
Archiving Early America – An amazing site which features scans of newspapers, maps, and other written works from early America. A window into the past.
Eternal Egypt – A blurb from the site: ‘Eternal Egypt is a living record of a land rich in art and history, people and places, myths and religions. The stories of Eternal Egypt are told using the latest interactive technologies, high-resolution imagery, animations, virtual environments, remote cameras, three-dimensional models and more’
Found Magazine: One of the most strangely compelling sites I have ever found. For the site: ‘We collect FOUND stuff: love letters, birthday cards, kids' homework, to-do lists, ticket stubs, poetry on napkins, telephone bills, doodles - anything that gives a glimpse into someone
else's life. Anything goes...’
Project Guttenberg – 28,000 (and still growing) FREE (and legal) books available for download. Examples include: Ulysses by James Joyce, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, and so on and so on…
Howard Zinn – A site featuring the work of the preeminent historian, Howard Zinn.
Internet Movie Database (IMDB) – THE site for all information (including all the ‘little people’ who’s names flash by - utterly ignored - in the credits) on every movie (and TV show) ever made.
Ghost Investigators Society – A great and long running site and a must view for anyone interested in ghosts. There’s some cool photos and videos, but my favorite part is the amazing collection of EVP’s (Electronic Voice Phenomena – a disembodied voice not heard by human ears but captured on a recording device) which are best listened to in a dark room with headphones on.
The Internet Sacred Text Archive – From their site: ‘…the largest freely available archive of online books about religion, mythology, folklore and the esoteric on the Internet. The site is dedicated to religious tolerance and scholarship, and has the largest readership of any similar site on the web’.
GameSpot – The preeminent video game site. The best part is the video reviews of over 1,000 games they have featured. Spend a few minutes on here and you’ll never get stuck with a suckey video game again!
Bud Hibbs - How to protect yourself from scams and scammy debt collectors. From the site: 'EVERY DAY we receive E-mails & phone calls from people dealing with collectors for the first time. They include heart-breaking stories: Bank accounts emptied suddenly, judgments granted on debts not really yours; jobs placed at risk by collectors contacting the employer; neighbors harassed for personal information in an effort to shame you into coming up with money. Start your education here'.