While listening to RadioEscapade on the CBC I heard mention of a few new CBC websites. I was surprised and pleased to find that the CBC has produced three very cool and surprisingly relevant music and arts based websites. Unfortunately they have mistaken cutting-edge technology (Flash in this case) for just-plain-cutting edge as the sites are heavy and require a fast connection. That said, I have a fast connection and some patience when it comes to finding good Canadian music.

NewMusicCanada.com

dedicated to showcasing Canadian bands. a nice ‘if you like [popular international group] then you’ll like [canadian group] feature’ that helps narrow down a list of bands you may not have heard of before. the quality is good but the quantity is lacking. I hope to see more bands up here soon.
 

JustConcerts.com

audio and video of live concerts and live CBC studio sessions. again, not much in terms of quantity, but starting with The Flashing Lights and Starling is pretty impressive.
 

120seconds.com

the self-proclaimed “home of Bite-sized Entertainment”. animation, video, games, etc. a bit of style over substance but worth a visit.

Some unsolicited advice for the CBC:

• don’t go overboard with the technology. these sites are cool but be weary of style-over-substance. The Flashing Lights live in session is cool enough on it’s own. Just make it easy to get to.
• upgrade your servers. streaming audio and video is only as good as the servers and bandwidth available. many of the video and audio clips I viewed on the three sites were choppy and dropped often while I can enjoy streaming media in surprisingly good quality from sites like Cnet.com and Launch.com
• promote these sites. despite the problems I mention here they are good websites and deserve an audience.