iChannel Internet Radio
April 26, 2006 – 5:47 pmI have been bringing my iBook to the lab with me this week. I am giving a seminar on Friday and am preparing the accompanying slideshow on my iBook, since I plan to actually present the slideshow from a projector attached to my iBook.
When I listen to music at work, it’s usually on my iPod. But since I have my laptop with me, I’ve decided to listen to some Internet radio a bit just for a change of pace. I opened up iTunes, navigated to the “Radio” section, and found iChannel, whose description in iTunes is “Unsigned and Indie Bands From Around the Planet”.
I must say after a few hours of listening to this station today, I’m impressed. It definitely solves the problem of avoiding listening to things I’ve already heard a thousand times. Their collection is quite eclectic, ranging from a Blink 182 sound to a Jack Johnson sound to a Veruca Salt sound. The advantage is that even if I’m not crazy about a particular song, the next song may be something I’m really into. In fact, I created a text file today to list the bands that I have really liked. So far, I have two: Aphonic and Inviting The Crash.
If you’re bored listening to the same things over and over again, give iChannel a shot. You don’t need iTunes to listen to it; anything that will play streaming music will work. You just might get hooked.
12 Responses to “iChannel Internet Radio”
I first heard Most Serene Republic on one of those Indie channels. Great stuff. And yeah, I have a memo on my treo with a list of the albums I’m going to buy on the next Amoeba trip
By Ellen on Apr 26, 2006 at 10:35 pm
Ellen, you’re going to buy physical media from a brick-and-mortar store? You are so living in the 17th century.
By gv on Apr 27, 2006 at 12:20 am
I hate to pile on, Ellen, but Greg’s right. We’re living in a Web 6.0 world here.
By jjk on Apr 27, 2006 at 12:29 am
I’m a big fan of WeFunk Radio (you can find it under “Urban” in iTunes or at www.wefunkradio.com). It’s a mix of hip-hop, funk, R&B, jazz, and soul.
And I’m with Ellen. I still buy my music in physical form, rather than in electronic form.
By Adam on Apr 27, 2006 at 12:44 am
Oh shit. You’re on web 6.0? I’m still using 5.7.
Are you guys DRM haters, physical media lovers, or “audiophiles” who pretend to hear the difference between cd quality and aac/mp3?
By gv on Apr 27, 2006 at 1:00 am
Yes. Yes. Sort of.
DRM = bad. And while I have a feeling you’re going to start proselytizing about eMusic, remember that eMusic doesn’t have major labels (and yes, there are some good things on the major labels).
Physical media = good. While CDs can get scratched, there are ways to prevent this from happening. Whenever I buy a CD, I immediately make a copy of it. The original goes back in the case and the copy gets used until it needs to be replaced. This way, barring fire or theft, I’ll always be able to get fresh copy of the music on my hard drive. This is important because hard drives fail all of the time. And, unless I’m mistaken, songs from iTunes and the like usually have a limit on how many times you can copy the songs (yes, I’m sure eMusic doesn’t have this limitation).
Audiophile = sort of. I’m not claiming to be able to tell the difference between 320 kbps aac files and a CD. However, I can often (maybe even usually) tell the difference between 128 kbps aac/mp3 and a CD. Heck, even the difference between 128 kbps and 192 kbps can be pretty pronounced. Not sure what the bitrate is for eMusic, but I believe that it’s 128 for iTunes, and that’s just too little.
Finally, another reason to get physical media is the liner notes. If the artist/band/orchestra/whatever does things right, you end up with at least a couple pages talking about how the album came to be and what its place is in the greater musical landscape. On the low end, you get a translation of the lyrics so that you can figure out what’s being sung. It’s certainly true for jazz (and let’s be honest, at least 80% of what I listen to is jazz) that the history of the genre is recorded in the liner notes.
So, until you start getting digital liner notes with your downloads, all of my major music purchases will be physical. I might download a track here or there from a band that only has one or two good songs per CD, but that won’t be often.
By Adam on Apr 27, 2006 at 1:26 pm
Wow, is my comment longer than the original post? Go me!
By Adam on Apr 27, 2006 at 1:27 pm
Haha…without a doubt. Well played, good sir.
By jjk on Apr 27, 2006 at 1:28 pm
Good points. Online music has a way to go. I have had HD failure that lost me music. So what needs to change:
DRM-free music from major labels
Ability to redownload music you already bought
Options for higher bitrates
Real liner notes, not just album art with downloads
It could be a while before we get this wishlist fulfilled.
By gv on Apr 27, 2006 at 3:13 pm
“And, unless I’m mistaken, songs from iTunes and the like usually have a limit on how many times you can copy the songs”
There’s no inherent copy limit for tracks from iTunes. There’s a limit to how many computers any given copy is authorized to play on (five) but if you’ve run out of authorizations (listened at the office, sold a computer, etc), it’s possible to reset the list.
That being said, DRM blows. I think I’ve gotten three tracks off of ITMS, instead getting CDs from Djangos, CD Baby and local retailers. If I ever decide to up the bitrate of what I’m encoding at (or get a stack of hard drives and go lossless), I’ve got the originals to turn to.
By Rob on May 4, 2006 at 4:41 am
I just wanted to comment on one of the two bands you said were your favorites from iChannel….Inviting the Crash…..that is my absolute FAVORITE band. I have to say I am quite partial though as I am engaged to the singer. But it is awesome that you listened and mentioned them in your blog!!! On the band’s behalf I want to thank you for your support!!!!
By Tina on May 31, 2006 at 12:05 pm
Hi Tina. Thanks for stopping by.
Please tell your fiance I enjoy the band quite a bit, and I hope they keep up the good work.
By jjk on Jun 1, 2006 at 11:14 pm