It seems like everybody has a web site nowadays, including record companies. I spend a lot of time on-line, but I've been somewhat afraid to venture onto the information superhighway known as the Interact. Only recently did I get onto the Interact through GEnie, the online service owned by General Electric. I found an Internet address on an advertisement for Green Day's new album from Reprise Records, and I mustered the courage to visit it.

It is located on the World Wide Web at http://www.RepriseRec.com/. I didn't quite know what to expect when I got to the Reprise Records home page, but what I saw was a list of familiar recording artists. I pressed enter on the first artist, which happened to be Alanis Morissette. I was taken to another page that contained the following: A note from Alanis Morissette, Biographical Information, Pictures, Tour Info, QuickTime video of "You Oughta Know," and the option of viewing the cover of "Jagged Little Pill."

I thought this was pretty nifty, except for the fact that I couldn't view the pictures or QuickTime videos, because I don't have the software to support it. I went through the three pages of various artists, and I was impressed. They had recording artists ranging from Belly, Mudhoney, and Throwing Muses to Enya, Frank Sinatra, and Neil Young. Reprise Records also does the soundtrack for the TV series "Friends," and various movie soundtracks for which information is available as well.

Reprise also has many contests. You can enter them by E-mailing your name and address to whoever is running the contest. I have entered one Reprise Records contest, and won. I entered "Fiddlehead Salad, Maine Won't Discriminate" in support of the "Maine Won't Discriminate" campaign. I won a cassette by various Maine artists.

I visit my new favorite web site about once a week now, because Reprise is always promoting a new artist, and sometimes they're willing to send a free copy of the band's first single. If you have a computer, a modem, and an on-line service with Internet access, or Internet software, I urge you to visit the Reprise Records home page. Have a good time exploring the Internet! u