Born on the Web

Tnx Pieter for the tip

Lissie - Everywhere I go (Live)

Well the future lays in the browser, everybody knows that. And that is the exact reason that from today on, I'll change my standard music player on my computer. I've been long with Winamp. It is fast, responsive and has an incredibly cool classic skin, which I'm sure going to miss. But times change, just as my listening behavior has changed. I find myself listening less to my personal music library and more to last.fm radio, shoutcast stations or StuBru via streaming.

So since a few months I've been playing with Songbird, the music player based on Mozilla Firefox, which actually makes it a browser that can play music. And I have to say the more I use it, the more I really like the flexibility and openness open source alternatives bring. Just like Firefox their is an add-on ability. Where I recently found some cool powerfull add-ons.

But the real power of Songbird is in the way how it can handle online music. It plays MP3's as good from a website as it can play them from your hard-drive. Songbird is native web player. This allows you to just use the internal Skreemr MP3 search engine and start listening to your favorite band. Every time songbird finds a link to an audio file on a webpage it will automatically put it into a playlist. Which means you can immediately start listening, without downloading.

And the future of Songbird lays in integration with webpages. If you take a look at the functionalities of their webpage API. You'll see the direction they are going. Via Songbird, you will be able to play music from webpages but also the other way around. Webpages can get to know what you're playing. And for example give bring you other related music. (There's even a business model in that one)

Songbird, the music player for the net natives. Bright future ahead...

The original from Postal Service - Such Great Heights (great song!):

The a cappella version, simply stunning!:

... can't stop watching it.

I'm listening a lot to pandora lately. So why not share my stations: (feed readers -> click)

Try my favorite quickmix. Not your thing? Kris has some nice radio stations.

If we, Belgians, should be happy with one thing, it's definatelly our summer music festivals. The line-ups are always very impressing, the atmosphere and the surroundings are so cool. Werchter is just 20 km from home, but Rock Werchter always feels like going on holiday. I'm just checking out this years' line-up and it's looking very promising. I think it going to be better than last year. There are a few bands I really want to see, I tried to give you an impression by linking to some live videos, quality isn't always good:

• Manu Chao: I saw them in 2001 in Werchter, they were absolutely incredible ! One of the best shows I saw live ever. Even if you don't like their music, you will find their show great. Only for this band I will pay my ticket. Live videos : 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 (this last song is great)
• Roger Sanchez: Simple, if you want to party he is your man ! Also saw him in 2001 on Werchter. A memorable moment. Live video : 1
• Soulwax Nite versions: We know them all from soulwax and 2 many dj's , it is always a great show when they're playing. I saw them in this concept last year on Pukkelpop. Live video : 1 - NY excuse - E-talking
• Vitalic: If you have to much energy, this guy can help you. He always takes his crowd to a higher level and never fails, I experienced this last year at pukkelpop and I love techno. Live video: 1 - Poney Part 1 (very cool clip)
• Mogwai : I'm a fan of these guys. This is my kind of music, I never saw them live so I'm curious how they going to bring their music. Live videos : 1 - 2 - video clips on their official site
• Arctic Monkeys: the next hype ... Live video: 1 - 2

I'm probably going to see others like deus, eels, ... but the above are already on my schedule. I'm astound by the amount of video data available on YouTube, just try searching for your favourite band.

I've always been a fan of Royksopp, but the magic of this song made me silent. It's difficult to describe the voice of the girl (Karin Dreijer). So intense beautiful, I can't stop listening ... help ! Listening/Watching tip: Put yourself comfortable in your dark computer room. Put on your headphones, loud enough. Sit back and enjoy the magic of music. Royksopp - Where else is there? (movie clip: Windows Media Player), from the album with the same name. The other songs from the album are also very good, you've probably already heard the single: "Only this moment" .