I find it quite annoying when I don't know the words to songs I like (tonight it was Radiohead's black star). A quick bit of software on your iPod (/generic MP3 player) would allow it to display the lyrics at the same time as the song. A clever programmer could get a small bouncing ball above the current word, a la karaoke.
other spinoffs : chordeoke for budding guitarists.
-- neilp, Jul 31 2003

4ml http://www.4ml.org/
music and lyric markup language - this might do the trick [neilp, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

lyrics3 2.00 tag specifications http://www.id3.org/lyrics3200.html
Standard way to embed lyrics into an MP3, many free utilities support this. [krelnik, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

myPod lyrics http://www.clichesw...eenshots/lyrics.jpg
close...but no cigar [neilp, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

pretty much there https://www.myirock...layers/irock730.asp
but proprietary [neilp, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

BenQ joybee http://www.trustedr...spx?art=179&head=39
has MPR lyric synchronisation.. sort of. [neilp, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

What the hell is mp9man? http://www.geocitie...assault/mp9man.html
For the new skoolers here. Stripped down text-only version of an incident here on the bakery, although some of mp9man's annos were gone before I could save them. [AfroAssault, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

minilyrics http://www.philocode.com/minilyrics/
they've got one for desktop computers. [neilp, Apr 02 2005]

Correct me if I'm incorrect but I don't think that mp3 encoding includes the lyrics of the song in text format. If this is the case, then the there are two ways to get the lyrics onto the mp3 player
1. By copying them on separately, when you load all the tunes on.
2. By connecting the mp3 player, via the gift of wireless internetty gubbins, to sources of lyrics, which I suppose could be streamed on the hoof (it's only a text file, after all).
-- my face your, Jul 31 2003


or .. change mp3 to include the lyrics... I just think it would be handy, and there are enough places you can download them from dynamically, so apple could just incorporate it into iTunes
-- neilp, Jul 31 2003


Something for mp4. Watch out when you get to mp9, man.
-- snarfyguy, Jul 31 2003


my god, what's mp9 going to do ? err. complete dance steps ? "walkman brothers" version ? smells ? dolby 21.8?
-- neilp, Jul 31 2003


I'm going to get an mp9man. rut-roe...
-- thumbwax, Jul 31 2003


There is an open standard for a way to encode lyrics into an MP3 file, including a way to timestamp the lines so that the displaying application can synchronize the display. See link. So you just need a player to support this. +
-- krelnik, Aug 01 2003


This is a good idea if it could hook up to a larger screen, that way you wouldn't be at the mercy of the selection of current karaoke nights at dive restaurants. +
-- sartep, Aug 01 2003


//my god, what's mp9 going to do ?//
You can tell who the (relatively) old-timers are here, can't you?
-- angel, Aug 01 2003


looks like this has almost been done (see link). Now we just need the lyrics to be incorporated as standard, and to have the karaoke bouncing ball.
-- neilp, Oct 12 2003


Nice one, I had the same idea. Gotta bun the same idea.
-- miggavin, May 14 2006



random, halfbakery