Library Of Congress Releases Flash-Only "National Jukebox," We Cry Out For An App

Normally, beyond reporting industry news, we at AppAdvice don't really extend ourselves too far out of the App Store. Earlier today, though, we received a tip that was just too enticing to ignore. Reader Jim Wilson submitted the following:

Just learned that the Library of Congress now has a streaming "National Jukebox" with rare music and sounds. I'm wondering who will be the first with an iOS app that will let you look through it and play the music.

We couldn't have phrased that last bit better ourselves. The app environment is rich with all kinds of database browsers and content aggregators, and Jim's idea is a completely natural thought to have when presented with any amount of new and unique "public domain" data (especially when said data uses Adobe Flash and won't play nice with your iDevice). Check out the website and play through some of the stuff. The National Jukebox features samplings from the Library of Congress Packard Campus for Audio Visual Conservation, and it's pretty incredible. Know, though, that I am biased towards the more aged of arts, be it writing, painting, film, television, photography, or music. I'll never forget the old wax-cylinder recordings my friend dug up on Kazaa in the heydays of P2P. Heck, maybe those recordings are somewhere in these LOC archives! I'd better hop to lookin' through all 10,129 entries... Somebody, anybody, make an app for this. Pitch your idea to the LOC, and get a contracted job! Do it!

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