The UK's new online radio aggregator shows promise, but needs some serious refinement, says Chris Salmon
Last week saw the launch of Radioplayer, the BBC-backed internet radio service that provides a home for hundreds of different radio stations' live streams and on-demand content via one handy website, radioplayer.co.uk. With all 400 Ofcom-licensed stations due to be available by the end of the year, it's a terrific resource. Sadly, though, its search function doesn't do it justice. Search by postcode and you will get your local stations, but browsing by specific interest will be a disappointment for music fans. For instance, search "dance" and the top three results are Absolute, Xfm and 6 Music, hardly stations known for their banging tunes. Meanwhile, searching for "rap" yields nothing at all. Radioplayer clearly has an abundance of great content, but it really needs better ways for listeners to find it.
With Lauryn Hill not having released a studio album since 1998 and Wyclef Jean now more of a celebrity activist than a musician, it's easy to forget the impact the pair made, alongside Pras Michel, as the Fugees. But, 15 years on from the release of the trio's 17m-selling album The Score, that record provides the backdrop to a terrific new mashup album from Russian-born, US-based producer Alexei. Available free from djalexei.com, Drizzy Settles the Score blends the Fugees tunes with a cappellas from rapper Drake. The Canadian's cocksure rhymes are integrated seamlessly, but as much as anything, the 11-track mashup serves to remind you of what great pop music the Fugees made, and how much Hill's gorgeous voice has been missed. Happily, the singer appears to be getting herself back on track following a troubled few years, with recent US solo dates having been well-received. Check out fan-filmed footage of two Fugees classics from last month's Miami show at youtube.com/ArtCulturePower.
In the run-up to the release of their second album later this month, LA indie-rockers the Airborne Toxic Event have been showcasing the album by releasing acoustic videos of each of its tracks. So far, seven have appeared at theairbornetoxicevent.com, under the umbrella of the Bombastic videos. That might seem an odd title for a series of acoustic tracks, but it describes them rather well, as the band do their best to prove their chops as a poppier Arcade Fire. All at Once is particularly rousing, building from a simple guitar and vocal into a stirring climax powered by kettledrums, horns, strings, a children's choir and, you'd imagine, a kitchen sink. It's a fine advert for the album.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/apr/06/click-to-download-radioplayer
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