BRITISH BANDS: BLUR & RADIOHEAD
Written By: Vanessa Trzybinski, Rebecca Wiley
<<http:// www.underworld.net/kiosk/kiosk.html>>
Description
This is a Radiohead fan page entitled "O(2) kiosk". The home page presents an index that lists
categories that comprise the entire site. It contains a text archive that talks about tours and latest
shows under the "Infopage" link. It has a link to the "Official" web site for Radiohead that has
been approved by the record company. The "Personal" category contains sites set up by different,
and multiple fans. The "Press" subheading is an archive which has different articles on the band
and the "Miscellaneous" link connects to a page that provides a way to join a mailing list. The
Shop category speaks for itself and gives places where you can buy Radiohead merchandise.
Evaluation
A positive aspect of this web site is that it was just recently updated so the person is
well-informed. The useful "Quick" subheading brings you to the page where you can find almost
anything you are looking for quickly. An impatient netsurfer could take this subheading to get to
where he wants faster. The Infopage link contains information on ticket sales that a fan would
definitely want to know. Another thing we liked about this site is that it provided a way to
contact the person who set up this page through a "Credit" subheading, allowing viewers of his
page to critique his page. A negative aspect of this site is that the press link did not contain a well
developed complete article archive. Another weakness is the miscellaneous section. A person
would really have to look for something because there is no specific topic or clear directions.
<http://sac.uky.edu/~jsmoor0/radio-head2.html>
Description
This site has basically the same links that the previous site provided, but with more detail. It
has additional subheadings, such as lyrics. It gives the lyrics to all three of their albums. This site
contains a media section where a person could obtain audios of songs and interviews by clicking
on more links present.
Evaluation
A definite characteristic of the site that the other one lacks is that it has more subheadings, and
therefore avoids redundancy that a lot of web pages tend to have. The media section we
particularly liked because it gave good links to other sites. The tour link was more detailed in that
it gave a list of where they played and the particular month. One weakness of this page was that
its main link was unavailable and the facts link was projected as an unfinished new page new
where they were collecting pictures to be pasted. Despite how detailed the lyrics link was, the
words were too small and one would have to strain their eyes to read what was written.
<http://www.parlophone.co.uk/blur/>
Description
This is an official site for the band Blur called "BlurSpace". The home page is decorated with
bubbles that when a person points to them individually they can be linked to a merchandise,
scrapbook, or specific album pages. The merchandise link provides pictures of articles of
clothing, their prices and order addresses. The scrapbook link provides a vast array of pictures of
the band members in concert, in studio, and candids. Each link to a specific album provides
every song that the album contains. If you click on a given song, they present you with the lyrics.
Evaluation
This page's strength and weakness is that it is very simple. It has very few links, so a person
has little chance getting lost, but because it is short and sweet it may not have all of the details and
little "tid bits" a fan is looking for. A positive point is that the site is quite creative and is visually
stimulating for any viewer. This page is definitely not just "plain vanilla" with no illustrations.
There were a lot of great photos/pictures provided by the scrapbook, giving a newcomer to the
band a basic idea of who is in the band. A bit of confusion is presented, however, because after
returning to the home page from one of it's links, it appears that some bubbles are new, in
different places, or even missing. This can be very frustrating if a link is found to be very
interesting and later seems to be nonexistent and inaccessible.
<http://www.home.aone.net.au/uralba/bron1.htm>
Description
This is the "Ultimate Blur Links" page, literally. It is illustrated with pictures, that are labeled
with various links. A viewer can click on any one of the many photos and he or she is brought to
a specific topic. It provides links to fan pages, official sites, and links to specific band members
for fans who have a favorite. Interviews and information sites, mailing lists and discography sites
are also sub-headed on the pictures. The home page also includes a list of music stores that carry
the band's album.
Evaluation
This site is by far the best fan site for Blur. It has just been recently updated. A definite plus, providing the newest, latest information. Again the pictures that the home page offers are something to catch the viewers eye. One thing that we liked about this site is that by clicking the band member's shrines and tributes photo, the fan is brought to a link where you can join a "cult" and get information on each or a specific individual band member. You can actually chat with other people that feel the same way about a specific member through this link. An additional strength of this site is that it provides links to official web sites for the band Blur, including "BlurSpace". It literally has everything that you could possibly want to know. If we were to criticize this web site, the only negative aspect about it would be that it could and usually does take a long time to load because of the many pictures.