While listening to RadioEscapade on the CBC I heard mention of a few new CBC websites. I was surprised and pleased to find that the CBC has produced three very cool and surprisingly relevant music and arts based websites. Unfortunately they have mistaken cutting-edge technology (Flash in this case) for just-plain-cutting edge as the sites are heavy and require a fast connection. That said, I have a fast connection and some patience when it comes to finding good Canadian music.
- NewMusicCanada.com
- dedicated to showcasing Canadian bands. a nice ‘if you like [popular international group] then you’ll like [canadian group] feature’ that helps narrow down a list of bands you may not have heard of before. the quality is good but the quantity is lacking. I hope to see more bands up here soon.
- JustConcerts.com
- audio and video of live concerts and live CBC studio sessions. again, not much in terms of quantity, but starting with The Flashing Lights and Starling is pretty impressive.
- 120seconds.com
- the self-proclaimed “home of Bite-sized Entertainment”. animation, video, games, etc. a bit of style over substance but worth a visit.
Some unsolicited advice for the CBC:
- don’t go overboard with the technology. these sites are cool but be weary of style-over-substance. The Flashing Lights live in session is cool enough on it’s own. Just make it easy to get to.
- upgrade your servers. streaming audio and video is only as good as the servers and bandwidth available. many of the video and audio clips I viewed on the three sites were choppy and dropped often while I can enjoy streaming media in surprisingly good quality from sites like Cnet.com and Launch.com
- promote these sites. despite the problems I mention here they are good websites and deserve an audience.