In order to learn a bit about the (so called) web 2.0 technologies, I wrote a web mashup of Flickr, Last.fm and Radio Paradise (an internet radio station)  called Snapp Radio.   Snapp Radio is internet radio for the eyes.  While you listen to music from last.fm or Radio Paradise, Snapp Radio shows you pictures that are related to what you are listening to.  Chris Dahlen of Pitchfork succinctly describes snapp radio:

Put simply, it's a slideshow tied to an internet radio station: As you listen to a song, Snapp rolls a series of photos that have some connection to the music-- whether it's a shot of the band, an image tied to the name of the song, or just a response to a theme or a mood.

When the Clash's "Trains in Vain" starts playing, you see the kind of images you'd expect-- the band on tour, and a collection of punk and new wave pins on a worn leather jacket. Then you see street riots, police beating protesters, and some kind of battle, followed by a portrait of President George W. Bush smiling beside Karl Rove-- and then you get a photo of a garrish living room set that doesn't match the wallpaper: the furniture is "clashing." That's right, the software has a sense of humor, and when the next song comes up and it's the Allman Brothers? You see a photo of a racoon playing an upright bass.

Snapp Radio works by collecting information about the song, artist and album along with the social tags that last.fm listeners have attached and using this information to search flickr for images that are related to the music. Some images are concrete - concert photos of the band - while others are much more abstract -  it all depends on the tags.

Here are some screen shots of Snapp Radio - but it is really best experienced live - so if you are at a computer where you can listen to streaming music, head on over to Snapp Radio, fire up an audio stream from last.fm or Radio Paradise and enjoy the show.


 

 

 

Comments:

Wow! I wish I could try it! :-) I get a 404 when I try to visit http://snappradio.com did the site go offline?

Posted by elias on November 11, 2006 at 11:07 AM EST #

Elias - the snappradio.com url is really a redirect - perhaps that is causing problems the real address is at http://research.sun.com:8080/SnappRadio/ Also, if you are inside the Sun firewall - I've seen some issues with at least one of the the webcache proxies trying to get to this site. If you are inside sun drop me an email and we can figure it out.

Posted by Paul on November 11, 2006 at 07:20 PM EST #

Oh! I think my firewall might be worse than the Sun firewall. I can only get out through some of the standard ports (such as http and https ports). Anyway, I should be able to try it tomorrow from work :-)

Posted by elias on November 11, 2006 at 10:56 PM EST #

finally had a chance to try it. its great!!!! I'm listening to bossa nova and enjoying pictures from brazil! :-)

Posted by elias on November 12, 2006 at 09:20 PM EST #

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