it‘s not just the wayback machine. It’s one of the most expansive free digital libraries to exist and you just need an internet connection and an email to access it. Radio, video games, comics, images, magazines, software– it would literally be easier to name what they don’t have than what they do have.
There’s a lot of Internet Archive talk on here (shoutout MJ Lenderman) but i haven’t seen many people mention the Wayback Machine, which to me is far and away the sites coolest feature. You can just throw in any old URL and explore the early internet. Amazing web design and fantastic informational resource.
My favorite thing to do is look up the websites of old defunct bands. I’m linking to one of my favorites from Geoff Farina’s (Karate) band The Secret Stars, where he and his bandmate Jodi Buonanno chronicle their time spent renovating a 19th century Grange Hall into a recording studio/art space.
The internet archive is just the greatest thing ever, i love it for the ephemeral films and lost home videos, old religious and esoteric manuscripts, textbooks, nasa photos, centuries’ worth of magazine issues, old records, lectures…. 💌
e.g. don't buy a $100 dress that mostly sits in the closet, buy a $100 boar-bristle hairbrush instead that you will use for life and will make you feel fancy every day.
