Pitchfork.tv

Remember when MTV stood for Music Television? Last spring, online indie superzine Pitchfork decided to revisit the 24-hour music channel concept. And on the wings of big intentions—“Given music’s nearly inexhaustible supply of notable artists and genres, there are no limits to how deeply it can be explored”—the online network has taken off and become probably the most fulfilling documenter of independent music going. In addition to music videos (updated daily) there’s a variety of original programming, from Pitchfork’s own regular live music shows filmed on rooftops (Don’t Look Down) and in basements (Juan’s Basement) to artist interviews with the likes of Mastodon and M.I.A. Additional music-centric programming includes a catalog of a variety of live concerts (from Monotonix to Titus Andronicus), weekly full-length features (presently the documentary Kill Your Idols), original Independent Film Channel productions, and assorted special presentations, including a three-part series on Public Enemy’s landmark It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back. It’s a music junkie’s paradise, all hi-def and hi-fi. And, unlike its broadcast TV counterparts, here you choose what you watch. The biggest plus, of course, is that you get nothing but music, with very little of Pitchfork magazine’s frequent tastemaking blather.