VOTE

Sarah Palin ans Hillary Clinton impersonation --- very funny :)

This is a funny video about political figures.

Presidential campaigning

Sarah Palin Remix

I found this video both funny and very interesting. Enjoy!
-Claudia Flores

New Candidate

I couldn't embed this video...but it's worth checking out. I didn't know he was running.

La Pequena Sarah Palin

Barack Obama Hillary Clinton - Umbrella

Incredible "McCain" Hulk

Sarah Palin Spoof

I though there were some funny parts to this video. I found it on youtube.com.

"Obama" before and after the Debate

This video was the best I could find. I'm not sure who this guy is actually making fun of here. 

Terry Tate: Reading Is Fundamental

Wait for the big payoff at the end of the video.

2 Bonus points to each person who posts a politics-oriented comic video to the blog--but only if no one has posted it yet! Let's see what we can get from the right and from the left!

Sex Drive

-Rachel Cicardo -Leah Cicardo -Mckenzie Clark -Shelly Chrisman


The poster is animated which makes the viewer believe that the movie is a comedy. If the film was a drama, romantic, or action it most likely would not have an animated advertisement. In the trailer the introduction of the characters is empahsized along with the genre. Seth Green was in the trailer and was the only star that we recognized. The clip was interesting and very funny,
and motivated us to go and see the movie. It seems to be targeting young adults; males and females who enjoy dim humor .


The poster and the trailer both tell a lot about the movie, but
the poster is much more informative about the actors' names
and backgrounds. While the trailer is more imformative on the
the movie's storyline or plot.

The official website for this movie is http://www.sexdrivethemovie.com/emovie.com/. The site contains a wide variety of material for anyone who is interested in the movie. The viewer can check out movie times and buy tickets online. They even offer a clip of the first ten minutes of the movie that you can preview.


There are many fan sites for this movie, but one of them which in fact

was a Seth Green fan site featured the following video from Maxim,

"A drink with the cast from Sex Drive ."




It was very interesting to see how easy and simple it was to download and view the pirated version of this movie. I found 3 websites right away that had easy quick downloads to this movie that has barely hit theatres. To name a few would include: Digg.com, wakio.com, and jeqq.com

James Bond 007: Quantum of Solace

Sara Huckabee
Claudia Huerta
Luke Hinton
Janie Hammonds

The elements most emphasized in the trailer as well as poster are the genre and the suspense. Most of the trailer is comprised of the multiple chase scenes in which every mode of transportation is utilized: on foot, motor cycle, car, boat, helicopter, plane and even swinging from a rope like Spiderman. Almost every weapon you can think of is included in the trailer: Fists, guns, knives, assault rifles, and dynamite. The movie appears to being sold simply as “Bond, 007”. Audiences are already aware that, Bond, 007 = action, adventure, thriller, suspense, prominence, beautiful women and sex. There are multiple trailers available but they all seem to apply the same approach.

The Quantum of Solace homepage offers many media options for 007 fans. On the homepage, viewers are able to read frequently updated, official news from the set of the film, watch the Quantum of Solace trailer, read the story of the Quantum of Solace, get free downloads such as wallpapers, IM icons, widgets for Vista users, Myspace and Facebook promotional crossovers. and watch a short video about the upcoming Quantum of Solace video game. This homepage also offers a link where 007 fans can purchase the Ultimate Collector’s Set of 21 James Bond adventures on DVD. Viewers are also encouraged to check out the photo and video galleries of Quantum Solace. Lastly, at the top of the web page, all viewers are reminded that the movie opens in US theaters on November 14^th, 2008.

The website Movieweb.com displays a variety of different information about this upcoming movie. You can read a synopsis, watch trailers, look at posters, and even post comments about the movie on the site. We also found a few Quantum of Solace merchandise contests. One in which you simply had to enter your information, and then answer a few questions about the movie and why you should win the merchandise. The other contest was a little more creative...You had to dress as a Bond character (from any past or present Bond movie), and then send in a short video of yourself portraying a Bond scene under 5 minutes (can be spoof or actual dramatization of a Bond movie scene) to win the Quantum of Solace Merchandise.

Our group found one website in particular to be very helpful,piratebay.com. Through this website, trailers for Quantum of Solace are available but since the movie has not yet been released there are no shared copies available for users to download. Another website mentioned in our group was mininova.com which also had only trailers available. We concluded that major efforts by the studios were made to prevent leaks of this popular movie.

CHANGELING

Christina Linehan ~ Bobby Lewis ~ Erica Longoria

Changeling is a film set in Los Angeles in the late 1920's. The film is based on a true story of a women who believes the son returned to her after a kidnapping is not her son. The movie was written by Micheal Straczynski and directed by Clint Eastwood. When researching Changeling we found that the most emphasized in the posters and the trailers is the Star of the movie, Angelina Jolie. On their main poster you see just her main head and a small figure of a child below. Though the trailer shows more than just her, throughout the trailer you mainly hear Jolie speaking throughout clips of her struggle to find her son. On the surface we found that they used the fact that she’s an Academy Award winner to really push how great this film should be, however they also pushed her as a selling tool for the movie because the director felt she greatly portrayed the 20’s feel of the movie. The poster itself depicts her as an academy award winner, really pushing that a great actress stars in this thriller about finding her son, appealing to mothers, as Jolie is portrayed as a strong womanly figure. The trailer then reinforces the concept of a mother struggling to find her lost son, going up against a system, not only appealing to mothers, but to those who’ve struggled to overcome a large system. The trailer also pushes the genre of the movie as a thriller based on a true story, from the background music, to quick flashes of her struggle; viewers greatly get the sense of the genre of a suspenseful story. Since it is portrayed as a thriller based on a true story, viewers know it will be more than just low level b horror movie but instead of a real problem. All together, we don’t feel that there is a large significant difference in the poster and the trailer as they work together to intrigue audiences to see the film.

The Official Site for the film, only again reinforces the idea of a mother standing alone against everyone else in hopes of being reunited with her lost son. When you first enter the site, the background is actually the poster for the movie. It’s in that first glance upon the poster where you understand why Clint Eastwood chose Jolie for the role. You then are able to choose to enter the U.S. site where you are given a quick trailer of the movie, shortly after a screen pops up where you see Jolie as a main figure while options appear about the movie.

Cannes Review offers a critical review as well as a brief synopsis of the film. This site links to some tangential sites that cover everything from "blog style" reviews (Blogging Sundance) to an article about an Angelina Jolie doll that recently sold on eBay. Rotten Tomatoes is a site that provides reviews from both "top" critics and site readers. Finding additional information requires a bit of digging since the film has yet to be released, there are other releases with the same title and merchandise has yet to be sold (unless you want a poster). There is a lot to say about the historical premise of the movie (for example, an article in the LA Times) but be warned…it might spoil the plot. In the meantime, you can always check out behind the scene photos, preorder the DVD, or become best friends on Facebook.

It seems that P2P networking is a common resource for those interested in pirating movies. Torrentz.com (streamline searches within P2P networks) and Limewire.com (requires software) are a couple of places one can look for free downloads, but we were unsuccessful in finding Changeling. There is plenty of information about legal downloads out there, but of course none of it was helpful in our quest. If we learned anything, it is that our hacking abilities are worthless and purchasing a ticket is our only hope to see this movie.

Max Payne

Keeley Motton

Avery Merrifield
Olga Panova

Max Payne is the movie directed by John Moore. The cast includes Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, and Ludacris. The thriller is based on the video game. It follows him as he gets revenge for the murder of his family and his partner. The trailer and the poster of the movie as well as the design of the web site put emphasize on the content of the movie and on the fact that the movie is based on the famous video game . So, the targeted audience of the movie are people who played the game or are familiar with it. The trailer implies that movie will contain action, violance and agressive behavior. The trailer and the movie follow the same approach, depicting Max Payne holding the gun or showing violent scenes.

We found the websites of the video game, such as http://www.gamespot.com/ and www.rockstargames.com/maxpayne, which requires age information before you are allowed into the site. And the fan sites for Max Payne are Payne Reactor and a website of the british fans.

The official site for the film is http://www.maxpaynethemovie.com/. The site provides the links where you can find a lot of useful information about the movie. You can find phots, bio about movie, 2 trailers, downloads for your desktop, aim icons or mobile phone, concept art and you can even buy tickets for the movie.

We found planty of websites where you can download a full version of the movie. The http://www.brokenconrollers.com/ provides full version of the movie. You can also download the thriller here . There are many websites that have reviewa such as Internet Movie Database and Get the Big Picture

And you can find a trailer here.

High School Musical 3: Senior Year

Jenna Condit

Courtney Cooper

Sarah Crowe

The High School Musical 3 poster, of course, features all of the main characters from the previous two movies, all directed by Kenny Ortega. The poster features the characters all jumping. this shows viewers that the movie is going to be upbeat and full of energy. The movie itself, is about the senior year of high school for Troy, Gabriella, Sharpay, Ryan, Chad, and Taylor. Because it is their senior year of high school, it would only be appropriate to have the actors dressed in their prom clothes with their graduation gowns loosely thrown over them. This attire, is meant to attract, not only the pre-teen crowd, but the older, high school crowd as well. The theatrical trailer, differs from the movie poster in that it presents the audience with a dilemma. This dilemma would be the problem that Gabriella and Troy might break up because they may have to go their separate ways for college. The poster is all fun, while the trailer shows us a tantalizing snippet of drama.

The official site for HSM 3 may very well be the happiest movie site there is. Welcomed with the songs that will soon be topping the charts, the contents of this website give it's users everything and more. The contents not only describe the movie, but you get to see an official movie trailer, options to reserve your movie tickets, a countdown to the premier, downloads of movie stills, a chance to get your first listen to some of the music featured on the soundtrack, and much more!

If the official site for HSM 3 wasn't enough, don't fear, we have found a site that claims to be the "first and best source for High School Musical." This site describes each individual character and has extra pictures, movie trials, and interviews of the cast. Still wanting more? Check out this one! This website gives the scoop on the cast and an update on any news regarding the movie. The site also allows you to stay current on the latest movements of your favorite celebrities as well as photos to compliment them. Also, if you want to post any information you might know you can, as well as sign up to receive updates for yourself.

As for pirated websites, our group was unable to find the HSM 3 movie itself. We did though find a site that had other movies we could illegally download. The site is called surfthechannel.com. On this site, you can download movies, television shows, documentaries, anime, and music videos.

Role Models

Leigh Rodrigue
A.J. Scherer
Drew Parker
Katie Savage


Role Models is a movie written by Paul Rudd and directed by David Wain. It is due out in theatres on November 7th. Both the poster and the trailer emphasize the two stars of the movie Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott. However, they also emphasize the genre of the movie as well. This movie is a comedy geared towards their target audience which is the 18 to 35 age group.

The official Role Models website has an impressive amount of content for fans. Some of which include both myspace and facebook options for becoming a friend, a link to the director's website, ringtones, a photo gallery, games, videos, and of course the trailer for the film.

Suprisingly, many websites have already reviewed the film. Some of these include the movie blog at ugo.com, cinematical.com, and a great review at IGN.com. All of the reviews so far have been positive with IGN giving the movie a 9.0 out of 10. More information on the cast and the plot can be found at the IMDB.

There are currently no pirated versions of Role Models available. We checked popular bittorrent sites such as the pirate bay, torrentz, and mininova. The film was on none of these popular P2P websites. Although, a pirated copy of the film will come out eventually once the movie comes to theatres.

The Secret Life of Bees

Lindsey Abel
Brandon Arnold
Shawn Blair
Kathy Bowman

In both the movie poster and trailer, what seems to be most advertised are the well-known celebrities; the movie features Queen Latifah, Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys, and Dakota Fanning. Half of the movie poster is just a list of the actresses in the movie with the title, "Feature an All-Star Cast." The other half is the faces of the actresses in the movie. The movie trailer and poster use the same approach to reach their target market. Both the poster and movie feature the predominantly African American and predominantly female cast of the film and by selling the movie through these well-known African American actresses, it's being targeted towards African American women. The trailer sells the movie as this "coming of age" type of movie about a young girl taken in by a group of working women, which is targeting women from the ages of 15 through 50.

The Official Site of the movie has an incredible amount of features. When you first acces the site, the trailer for the movie plays. Once you enter the site, there's a music player, playing songs from the 60s [the movie is set in 1964.] Within the site, there are biographies of the stars and cast of the film, there are links to watch television appearances promoting the film and view photos from the premieres. They have wallpapers, and bookmarks available to download, they have available short clips from the movie, a photo gallery of the making of the movie, a time line of civil rights milestones in 1964, and links to reviews and articles about the movie. Another feature they have are "Sites of Interest"; they list links to sites about everything from the author of the book, to Civil Rights information, to beekeeping. Overall, we found the official site really impressive.

Some additional information on the film including plot overview, critic reviews, and fan reviews can be read at Fandango and Rotten Tomatoes. You can also view exclusive scenes, see a tour of the movie set with the author of the book, Sue Monk Kidd, which the movie was based on, read an excerpt from the book, and purchase the book at Borders. The movie also has it's very own Official Myspace page where fans can leave comments about the movie, view the individual pages of the actresses from the movie, read the movie director's blog, and view a large photo gallery from the movie. Other than that we couldn't find any fan sites for the movie or merchandise other than the book, and the Sparknotes for it.

We checked a couple of sites, but couldn't find an actual copy of the movie online as of Thursday afternoon, though with the movie release on October 17th, this could change. Some sites we visited were The Pirate Bay, BT Junkie, and Watch Movies.net.

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa

James Briones

Blair Center

Alyssa Cevallos

On November 7 DreamWorks Animation returns with Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa. The cast returns with Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, Jada Pinkett Smith, David Schwimmer along with guest stars Alec Baldwin and the late Bernie Mac but one comparison to the poster from the first movie is that there is no mention of any of the movie stars names. The trailers due not mention the names either but many well recognize the voices. The poster is definitely a loud one with bright colors and the whole animated cast in the center. The font of the title has received a makeover which clearly stands out. The poster and the trailer each compliment themselves as both relaying the style, the plot and the overall demographic for this movie.

Those who wish to visit the official site http://www.madagascarmovie.com/ will find characters bios, activities, games along with the trailers. There also downloads for wallpapers and email signature.

We are sad to say though, as promising as Madagascar 2 looks, are search for reviews and merchandise is rare and limited. We read that old merchandise is selling for anticipation of the upcoming film but it is weird though that the film is coming out in two weeks and there is not as much attention being payed to it right now. We're guessing as soon as it comes out that there will be some support along with the video game that is coming out along side it.

We could not find any pirated versions on any of the bit torrent sites that we know. I guess no one cares to rip off this movie as well. From what we researched is that in the upcoming weeks there is a movie known as Madagascar 2: Escape 2 Africa and we didn't even know it is coming out but we think that just like it's predecessor that it well do well when it does come out.

Saw V

Watch the Trailer on Yahoo! Movies

Mark Immler
Bailey Klatt
James Leach
Kimberly Kahanek

The genre element, which is horror, is most emphasized. The official trailer is vague in giving information about the actual plot. It is just a short, suspensful trailer with loud, creepy music. It also emphasizes the horror genre by claiming that "Halloween belongs to Saw V" since the movie comes out October 24th. The poster is simliar to the trailer. It is definitely not focusing on the actors in the movie. It is simply playing up the fear factor. Our group's explanation of the vagueness in releasing real details in the movie, other than the fact that it is scary, is probably due to the standards that Saw productions have already set for themselves. Potential audiences are familiar with the movies and don't need many details to be convinced to go watch.

The official site for this film is located at www.saw5.com. Upon entering the official site the administrator has separated it between a restricted version and a version for minors. The official site offers picture galleries, information about the story of Saw series, blood drive information, and a mash up section that allows you to create your own trailer.

Merchandise for Saw V can be found at collectsaw.com. This website is the official Saw V Auction where props, wardrobes, autographs, etc. are sold through eBay. A very popular fan site is myspace.com/saw5movie. This site allows viewers to post comments, download posters and Myspace skins, as well as, get screen savers for PC/ MAC computers. This is an extemely easy website to navigate and get the latest information on Saw 5!

After some vigerous searching we found Saw V online on a torrent download site called btjunkie.org. The torrent download was posted on October second which seemed unusual because the movie wasn't in theaters. After checking btjunkie.org further, we found comments from other users of btjunkie.org saying that the Saw V posting was a fake/virus. After searching through many torrent sites that specialize in posting pirated movies, we had no luck. After conducting a search at ovguide.com, a site that searches for streaming movies, we found and almost watched the movie streaming at Sidereel.com. But it turns out the movie had been removed with the message, " We're sorry, but the link you clicked has been removed from our system." I guess for now we will just have to wait until it reaches theaters.

EXCLUSIVE: TWILIGHT MANIA

Claudia Flores-Lauren Graham-Courtney Hall

The Twilight Movie, out in theatres on November 21st, is based on a book adaptation from Stephanie Meyer’s story, “Twilight”. It is directed by Catherine Hardwick, who was actually born in McAllen, TX. It is the first feature length film of many to come from a series of three other books including: New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn. The movie is centered on Bella Swan, who is a young teenage girl that risks everything when she falls in love with a beautiful vampire named Edward Cullen. The elements most emphasized in both the trailers and posters follow the same approach by focusing on the two main characters played by Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart. It shows a developing relationship filled with constant conflict and most especially, it gives fans of the popularized saga a visual image of the characters now being portrayed on screen. There are even several posters and trailers made from actual fans that can’t seem to get enough of Twilight. Overall, the thread for this movie has become so successful with the final trailer featured above and two shorter teaser trailers. Most all of them have been translated into Italian, German, and even French.

Summit Entertainment, the distributors of the film, are selling this movie for the growing fan-base by letting people subscribe to Summit’s mailing list through the official site in order to receive up to date information regarding new trailers, photos, and twilight-related quizzes. The official Twilight site has an image and video gallery, movie synopsis, cast and crew, production info, links to fan sites, contests, and even the worldwide release dates. There are blog-type updates for eager fans to sink their teeth into. We think the target audience is similar to that of the Harry Potter Franchise, but they are also trying to bring a larger audience gap between early teens to late twenty year olds. Latest full length trailer is bringing the appeal to both men and women in that it has some action in fighting scenes involving good verses bad vampires. Most importantly, an unforbidden romance between a human and an immortal.

There are more than 280 fan sites dedicated to the movie including such top sites as Bella and Edward, Twilight Lexicon, and Twilighters which include pictures, wallpapers, ringtones, message boards, and video clips.Various places sell merchandise for the film such as Hot Topic, which sell shirts, posters, buttons, and key chains while the Inkworks site has premium trading cards available to purchase. Amazon has even gotten in on the action by selling the complete Twilight Saga Collection and The Complete Illustrated Movie Companion. Another online store, Fueled by Ramon, is featuring a pre-order combo which includes the soundtrack, t-shirt, and bookmark all for $24.00.

As a group, we were unable to find any pirated versions of the film, in such sites as Movie6. On the other hand, were able to find different critical reviews such as the Movie-Fanatic Review, which comments on the newest trailer just recently distributed. VMan Magazine has an article with pictures of the male cast showcasing a preview of the film. The Hollywood Reporter also dishes on the pros and cons of the franchise, while Reelz Channel has a new video which guides those interested about the cast and characters of the Twilight phenomenon.

W. - Matthew Scherer, Robert Stephens, Robert Uribe, Daniel Schorlemmer

Both the poster and the trailer emphasize the tongue in cheek satire of the movie, which is a parody of George W Bush and how he became President of the United States. The movie is being sold on the emphasis of George Bush's presidency which many people disapprove of. The films target audience are people who don't support Bush or feel that his presidency has accomplished anything. The poster doesn't have any people featured in it. It just consists of a large W and various quotes made by the President. These quotes aren't favorable to his character. The trailer focused more on showing scenes from the actual film. They're using the same approach as far as highlighting his negative moments.

Here is the link to the official site. The site was constructed by Flash. It's layout contains the trailer, info about the film, a photo gallery, cast, crew, and downloads. The photo gallery contains still shots from the movie. Everytime you open the page you are greeted with a different humorous picture. We suggest trying it.

The imdb already has critical reviews submitted for the film by it's users. The films official site has wallpapers available for free download. Other than that, there isn't much additional material on the film yet.

We checked several sites for a pirated version of the film but we couldn't find it. We checked the following sites: 66 stage, project free Tv, and watchmovies.com. Most of the time these sites offer pirated movies that are currently in theaters, but in the case of this film we couldn't find it.

Zack and Miri Make a Porno

Jose Vela, Daniel Villarreal, Jill Wilson

The film, Zack and Miri Make a Porno (written and directed by Kevin Smith) is being marketed in an interesting way. On the left, you will see the poster for the Canadian release of the movie. This particular poster was banned in the US due to its suggestive visuals involving two well known actors (scroll down to the bottom of the poster, wait for it...and there it is). Zack and Miri... stars Seth Rogen and Elizabeth banks, so the poster (seen above) that lines theatre walls in the US wants to emphasize that, while poking fun at the MPAA for not letting Smith and Co. use their original poster idea. The poster gives gives a sarcastic description of the movie, which is trying to make the audience laugh. You can tell by this quote that the movie will be a comedy. The trailer also emphasizes the two main characters, as well as other actors and actresses. You can definately tell here that the genre is comedy, it is very apparent here. The movie is being sold based on its genre and the ability for it to make audiences laugh and have a good time. The trailer definitely shows that this movie is not for kids, and most Seth Rogen fans are use to seeing him in "R" rated movies anyway. Even the Green Band trailer for the movie can be considered far too suggestive for the younger crowd. In the end, both the poster and the movie suggest that you will be watching a raunchy sex-comedy; as if the title wasn't enough.

On zackandmiri.com, browsers will immediately be greeted by an "Age Verification" prompt for viewing the Red Band trailer. The main page includes a graphic of refrigerator with "magnets" attached to it holding up the poster for the movie. You'll find links to the MySpace and Facebook sites, "Kevin Smith's Production Blogs", a link to get info on the "Cast andCrew" and a menu atop to better navigate the site, including sections marked: "the story", "watch the trailer", "about the production", "downloads", "photo gallery" and "Get Your Porno I.D.". At the bottom there are also links to merchandise you can purchase, and a link to "Money Shots: The Making of Zack and Miri Make a Porno", a series of short web documentary's that followed the making of the movie.

There is tons of material for Zack and Miri... online thanks to production company View Askew, which was started by director Kevin Smith. From here you can access NewsAskew, all of the latest news on the world of ViewAskew and of course Zack and Miri... Here you can also access "My Boring Ass Life", Kevin Smiths personal blog. Here, Smith posts the latest news on the film and he has also managed to post the reception the film has gotten so far, which can be found here. The folks at ViewAskew have also divised a way for fans to get in on the fun with Zack and Miri Star I.D. a site where fans can create their own "Porn I.D."by filling out a survey and making a profile for themselves.

As far as pirated versions of the movie, torrent sites like IsoHunt and Torrent Reactor claim to already have versions of the movie even before its October 31st release date. We're sure more of these will pop up soon on other torrent sits.

Internet Radio

Natalie Couling, Jenna Condit, Courtney Cooper, Sarah Crowe

2) This is a host website which has sorted songs and albums in different genres such as, rock, pop, rap, oldies, country and many more. When you first enter the website, you are presented with the different genres on the top of the screen. You then simply click on the style of music the listener prefers. Once the listener clicks on the genre, it takes the listener to the main site of that genre which presents a more specified listing of the songs. After clicking on the specific style of genre, a screen will appear with a mixture of that style of music the listener has selected. You can skip or repeat the songs that appear on your screen. The display of songs gives the listener options to block songs, add songs or share them with a friend. You can also make a donation or give feedback on what you thought about the website.

Anywhere you see this icon, just click and start your listening experience.

3) Accuradio features all of the major, well-known genres such as oldies, jazz, rock, pop, latin, urban, etc., and each of these has a number of sub-genres. For example under the broad category "urban", there are blues, classic soul, and hip-hop options, and under "pop" there are top 40, adult contemporary, and love songs sub-genres. Once you have chosen a genre and are ready to start playing the songs, a list of the artists on the side of the window allows you to deselect the artists you do not want to hear, leaving only the ones you do. Once the songs begin to play, you are able to skip songs. The only drawback is that you can't see what song is coming after the one you are currently listening to. However, it is assumed that you like all the artists left on the list, and you can skip the song if you so desire.

4) On the AccuRadio site, there are indeed advertisements for various businesses. Some such businesses include a Virgin Mobile ad offering a camera phone with Bluetooth. As you click on different radio stations more advertisements appear at the bottom of the page. Some include LaQuinta Inns and Suites. As for in between songs, there seems to be about one ad, in this case, I heard one for ESurance. Another interesting feature is that when your listening to a radio station, say “Decades Radio,” and you come across a song that you really like and you want to buy it, there is the option to do so. Each station includes a picture of the current cd you are listening to as well as the previous cd and two cds ago. If you hear a song that you really like and you want to purchase it, what you do is click on the cd cover and it directs you to amazon.com. From there, you can see what other songs are featured on the cd and reviews of the cd. Although you don’t have to be a member to listen to the radio stations, there is an option that appears occasionally which asks if you would like to receive the AccuRadio newsletter for free. It also gives you the option to decline the offer and continue listening, but then the message returns later when you click on other stations.5) The genres that are available are all one’s that are pretty common. You have your Rock, Pop, Oldies, Jazz, Urban, Country, etc. However, under some of those genres you have specific types of music. One that I’ve personally never heard of is called “Cabaretdio” which is found under the “Vocals” genre. According to the site, this type of music is, “sophisticated Manhattan-based song stylists.” Another would be under the “Country” genre. It’s called “Twang” which includes the sounds of Hank Williams and Johnny Cash. There does not appear to be the option of listening or checking out any celebrity playlists. There are stations that play particular artist though. If I click on the “Oldies” genre I have the option of choosing stations such as, “British InvasionD which includes The Beatles and Petula Clark. The “Motown” section includes Diana Ross and the Supremes, The Marvelettes, and the Four Tops. When you choose a particular section, you can then deselect what artists you don’t want to hear that are included in that section.

6) This website makes it easy for the listener to find exactly the style of music they like. The site is very easy to maneuver through and find exactly what you want to listen to. The best feature would have to be how organized the different genres are and how easy it is for the listener tolisten to what they want.





AccuRadio was named the winner of the 2008 "People's Voice" Webby Award for "Best Radio"

SomaFM: Do you have great taste in music?

Leigh Rodrigue
Aj Scherer
Drew Parker
Katie Savage

SomaFM is a commercial free non profit radio station. It offers 14 various channels of streaming radio from San Francisco. It provides information for those whose corporations have blocked the website at work so employees can never be without their SomaFM music. To pick which station you want to listen to you simply click on one of the graphics provided with the quick, witty summary of what you will expect to hear.

The listener has limited control of what music is played. To listen to a song first pick the genre you want to hear then you must click on that station, which then takes you to a streaming broadcast. Users are unable to skip or listen to previous songs but a song history is offered with links to amazon.com if you wish to purchase it. The site is interactive in the fact that it links to a site "yelp" that listeners can blog about their opinions on the music and website in general.

SomaFM is a non profit station but will happily take donations to continue their service. With a $50 donation you will receive an awesome SomaFM t-shirt. "Show the world you support SomaFM and have great taste in music! " This site allows listeners to enjoy their music with a commercial free atmosphere. You can not buy music directly, just click on the amazon.com link to purchase.

We have never heard of almost all of the genres offered by SomaFM. It provides Groove Salad, Space Station Soma, Beat Blender, Boot Liquor, Doomed, and a few more. Although you will recognize some of the artists, such as Johnny Cash and Death Cab for Cutie, you can broaden your horizons to new music you may end up loving. There are no celebrity playlists or stations because this is mainly music not played on radios or TV that no one has ever heard of.

We think the whole website is pretty unique, the graphics are paired incredibly well with the music provided by that particular station. The summaries are entertaining and describe the music to a T. The best feature is it's all around original and you probably won't find another free music website like it.