Let’s Go Surfing Now . . . : The Web Offers a World of Sites in Pop, the Arts

There’s a two-part holiday ritual of the ‘90s. First is figuring out what to do with all the plugs and wires on a new personal computer. Once you manage that, there’s a bigger puzzle: how exactly to enter the brave new world.

One user-friendly way is to surf the countless popular culture sites of the World Wide Web and Internet Usenet Newsgroups. They are much more than electronic fan clubs--they offer a way to exchange views and information on art and entertainment in general of sorts with people around the world.

World Wide Web screens contain text, graphics, pictures and, on some sites, real-time audio and video. Simple pointing and clicking on the pictures and links (underlined words) bring a user to new pages or sites of information.

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In fact, it’s the round-about cyber-traveling that explains the name. Since the area is global, it’s called “World Wide.” If one could connect the dots of the places visited, it would look much like a web. The World Wide Web is considered interactive because the person clicking the mouse is in control of what comes up on the computer screen.

For message-style conversations, Usenet Groups are the Internet communications hub. With more than 12,000 groups (and counting), these grass-roots cyber-gabfests are a haven for in-depth exchanges on specific topics. People online who use the major services have access to both the World Wide Web and Usenet Groups. America Online subscribers Keyword web or usenet; CompuServe members Go netlauncher for Web access and usenet for newsgroups; Prodigy users Jump web or usenet.

The niftiest feature is that with the exception of the time charged by one’s online provider, everything is free.

Here then are some sites to jump into. (Remember to type the addresses exactly as shown.)

Television

The Ultimate TV List, https://tvnet.com/UTVL/, is a dazzlingly comprehensive Web site with a listing of 578 television shows. Each show’s sub-page lists all the Web addresses, e-mail addresses, electronic mailing lists, episode guides, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and other pertinent information for each show in their database.

Even fans of a program that ran one season or shorter may be pleasantly surprised to find that their short-lived favorite has a devout online following.

For a general discussion about television, visit the rec.arts.tv usenet group.

Film

Most major films released today have a cyberspace tie-in via a Web site.

What’s on each site varies and ranges from simple text and picture descriptions of the films to highly produced destinations loaded with behind-the-scenes information, photographs, even trailer, screen-savers and other free goodies for downloading. To get to a list of links to the major film studios start at https://www.afionline.org/CINEMEDIA/CineMedia.studios.html/.

If you want movie credit information about a film, actor, actress, director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer, costumer designer or production design, visit https://www.msstate.edu/Movies/ the Internet Movie Database. This staple for cyberspace-dwelling film buffs contains more than 720,000 filmography entries covering more than 52,000 movies.

There are plenty of Usenet groups devoted to film as well. Some of the most popular are: rec.arts.movies.current-films, rec.arts.movies.past-films and rec.arts.movies.reviews.

Music

Fans of rock, popular and contemporary music can begin at the extensive Ultimate Band List, https://american.recordings.com/wwwofmusic, which contains the largest list of music-related links on the World Wide Web. From the famous to the not-so-famous, the list is so comprehensive, it might even include the garage band that practices next door.

People looking for exposure to new music will love Firefly (https://www.agents-inc.com), which functions as a music introduction service and describes itself as the Web site “for people who love music and want to make new discoveries.”

This area also has a great live chat section. There are plenty of Usenet groups devoted to particular artists but for general music discussion the most popular is alt.music.alternative.

Classical music is also well-represented in cyberspace.

A visit to the Classical Net at https://www.webcom.com/music leads to a plethora of links to classical Web sites, mailing lists and searchable indexes for composers and other information.

Classical debates and discourses are held in the Usenet groups at rec.music.classical and rec.music.opera.

Links to information about jazz and popular artists are best accessed through the JazzWeb at https://www.nwu.edu/WNUR/jazz. There is also material on performances, jazz art, education, record labels and more as well.

Theater

The Professional Theater Resources Web site at https://www.fleethouse.com/fhcanada/ western/bc/van/entertan/hqe/net-link.htm is a great jumping-off point to theater-related scholastic links, script collections, lyrics and other listings “of interest to actors and playwrights.”

The most popular Usenet groups for theater include: rec.arts.theatre, rec.arts.theatre.musicals, rec.arts.theatre.plays and rec.arts.theatre.stagecraft.

Dance

From ballet to ballroom, flamenco to folk to reggae, links to virtually every type of dance resource can be found via the Dance Library (https://www.artswire.org/Artwire/www/dance/type.html). Well-visited Usenet Groups on the topic include rec.arts.dance and alt.arts.ballet.

Fine Art / Museums

The cultural nature of cyberspace is well-represented at two remarkable destinations.

A research-based inventory of links, Artsource at https://www.uky.edu/Artsource/artsourcehome.html covers art history, museums, image collections, architecture, art programs, libraries, online art journals and searchable art databases.

For cyber-viewings of fine art, the Internet Art Source (https://www.ftgi.com) is a tour guide to 3,898 listings with an emphasis on galleries, museums and shows.

People who want to discuss their opinions and interpretations can do so via the bit.listserv.museum-l Usenet group.

Comedy

When in the mood for a good laugh or to get to the source of the chuckles, stop by the Comedians’ Web Pages (https://bertha.chattanooga.net/comedy/mail.htm) for links to sites of dozens of comedians and comedy clubs.

Usenet groups dedicated to professional comedy include alt.comedy.british, alt.comedy.improvisation, alt.comedy.standup and alt.comedy.vaudeville.

Just Plain Fun

If a celebrity died after 1969 but “before their time” chances are good he or she is immortalized at the Dead Celebrities Web site (https://www.directnet.com/mgemme/). These surprisingly tasteful pages are referred to by their host as “more of a personal fascination than a morbid forum.”

For lighter cyber-fare related to the living, Mr. Showbiz (https://web3.starwave.com/showbiz/) serves up a daily dose of articles and fan and industry gossip.

To prove that you can find just about anything related to entertainment in cyberspace, consider the Movie Cliche List at https://www.well.com/user/vertigo/cliches.html that exposes the “most annoying and common logic flaws and stereotypes found in movies.”