Nine websites that prove the Internet isn't totally awful

Sandra Bullock verses the Internet in simpler times.

It seems like a long time ago. When the Internet was actually good. Or at least not really bad.

Before mass surveillance was baked in, and everything was owned by the worst people in the world, and the whole thing began melting our minds and twisting reality to the point where truth itself lost all meaning. You know, when it was just about cats doing silly shit.

I’m sure I was happier then. I liked dialling in. I liked AltaVista. I liked it when there were entire websites devoted to making giant versions of your favourite chocolate bars and biscuits (pimpthatsnack.com) or dogs dressed as bees (beedogs.com).

Given how screwed the world clearly is right now, and how much it is driving me crazy, I wanted to offer a moment of respite from the madness. To take us back to a simpler time, to pluck out some digital diamonds from the silicon valley of shit, and share with you nine websites that I love. Websites that are… like… nice. And fun. And interesting. And not evil.

So, in no particular order, here goes:

1. Apollo 11 in Real Time

Featuring real audio, footage and telemetry from the Apollo 11 mission, this site offers users the chance to follow the journey to the moon in real time. Join in-progress as the experience loops, mapped to the exact time in 1969, or opt to start at t-minus 1 minute to launch. Stellar.

2. Studs Terkel Radio Archive

One of the great interviewers, Studs Terkel talked to some of the most fascinating people of the 20th century – from Muhammad Ali to Bob Dylan to Toni Morrison – during his 45 years at WFMT Radio in Chicago. Here you can access an archive of over 2,000 of his original recordings, capturing the voices and history of the American century.

3. UbuWeb

Film. Sound. Dance. Poetry. Conceptual Art. This site is a brilliant resource of avant-garde art and creativity, featuring material by, and about, everyone from Nan Goldin to Ornette Coleman, Man Ray to Merce Cunningham.

4. The Nightly

An endless radio station that plays sad, old, gloomy and obscure music. Especially good after dark, with a single malt and a real fire.

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5. Clive James

Archive of the legendary TV pundit and intellectual, Clive James, this site offers a treasure trove of incisive cultural commentary. Essays, extracts, poetry and video. It’s the perfect companion to his 2007 book, Cultural Amnesia: Notes in the Margin of My Time, and reveals James for the witty and perspicacious prose stylist he was. Essential.

6. Penguin Classic Cover Generator

Hours of fun making your own Penguin Classics covers. What’s not to like? A brilliant idea, brilliantly executed.

7. Radiooooo

Another online radio station. Select a year and a country and it plays music from that year and country. Simple. And properly amazing. Opening up the world in a way that feels much needed in times like these. (Thanks to SP Murphy for the recommendation)

8. Intertapes

More brilliant audio. An evolving collection of found cassette tapes from around the world, including voice memos, field recordings, mixtapes, bootlegs and more. Weird and slightly uncanny. But in a good way.

9. Proust FM

Inspired by many of the above sites, this is my own contribution. Proust FM offers a continuous broadcast of Marcel Proust’s masterpiece, In Search of Lost Time. Played on a loop, forever. You can also start from the very beginning, select a chapter, or leave and pick up where you left off. Perfect for those sleepless nights.

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If you have any other websites to recommend, I’d love to hear about them. Please just leave a comment below.

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