The DJs Life: Black Eyed Peas

It is no secret that Switched staffers do not number among the Black Eyed Peas' fan club. We've just never bought into the self-indulgent seriousness of Will.i.am and his "band's" atrocious, confounding videos. (And we still haven't forgiven them for unleashing the phrase "lovely lady lumps" onto the unsuspecting public.) In his continuing quest to assault human senses and linguistic decency, Mr. i.am's poorly named will.i.apps company has launched 'BEP360' for iPhone, a 360-degree romp through the lives of everyone's (least) favorite techno-rappers.

The idea of an app totally branded for a band isn't a bad one, especially when, as Will tells TechCrunch, it "allows artists to add more layers onto that 4-minute song that is audio only." But 'BEP360' aims to take the experience to the "next level." The iPhone app launches with lots of augmented reality -- like being able to point your iPhone at the album cover in order to watch a cartoony member of the band recite his (or Fergie's) last tweet. But it seems like Will has taken an interactive page out of Google Street View. Shot with a simple, 360-degree camera, the 'BEP360' music video allows the viewer to land in the middle of a Peas party, and pan around using the phone like a viewfinder to choose their perspective in the video. By scrolling and zooming around the room, the viewer is immersed in the total party, forgoing a "music video" for an "experience." Womp womp.

BEP360

Okay, fine. That's kind of cool! And it's kind of cool that 'Will.i.apps' is being created. As a result, the same technology will be available to other artists who want to have their fans "immerse" themselves in an artist's world. The idea of thinking beyond video is an interesting one, as is any way to more fully texture a musical experience. Just... why "Will.i.apps" and the virtually insufferable, Futuristic (with a capital "F") Black Eyed Peas? The band's latest venture only serves to remind us that -- even though they have an obsession with being totally techno and "next level" -- they are still the bastions of pure, egomaniacal, musical evil. Also, the whole aesthetic is very "Bionix"-era De La Soul. The Black Eyed Peas: Making the future (as envisioned in 2001) a reality.