Name: jibjab.com Ӣ Rating: Cool Ӣ Format: Online Software Ӣ Play
Aural editorial. Jibjab.com produces web cartoons, most of them with a political subject. Of interest to audio-games.com readers is an interactive item titled “Capitol Ill.” It uses a basic turntable motif to pit rapping presidential candidates George W. Bush and Al Gore against each other. Based in Brooklyn, Jibjab was founded in 1999 by Gregg and Evan Spiridellis. (Thanks to Tony Kang for the link.)
Name: cymbalism.com Ӣ Rating: Cool Ӣ Format: Online Software Ӣ Play
Scratch mouse. Online mixers are proliferating. The tool at cymbalism.com distinguishes itself with a smart scratching format. The system consists of three batches of musical material: four “drum” loops, eight “instrumental” loops and eight samples, all of which can be triggered with your computer’s mouse or keyboard. The drum loops can be overlaid, but you can only play one instrumental loop and/or sample at a time. If you trigger the samples with your keyboard, you can then “scratch” them on the provided sample pad; the pad provides a visualization of the selected sample, and by moving your mouse you can back up or advance the sample.
Name: Sound of Pi Ӣ Rating: Very Cool Ӣ Format: Online Software Ӣ Play
No, not the movie. This elegant program produces sounds based on the unfolding stream of digits that is Pi (i.e., 3.14159 …). When it first loads in your browser, it recites the sequence in French (“trois, point, un, quatre,” etc.), but there are 20-plus other options, including harpsichord tones and morse code. The program was produced in 1996 as a Java applet by Stephen Braham and Terrance Yu. It is housed on the web page of the Centre for Experimental and Constructive Mathematics at Simon Fraser University in Canada, hence the French-language default. (Be warned that this tool occasionally goes offline.)
