Music, now lyrics

If you're never exactly sure which words a singer screams, mumbles, or sighs throughout a song's stanza, a brand-new add-on released this week was meant for you. TuneWiki (review), a free plug-in for Microsoft's ubiquitous Windows Media Player, can stream lyrics in time to songs you play from your local library. You'll also be able to spool lyrics for the YouTube music videos you initiate within TuneWiki, watching them appear in a pane below the player.

The heart of the application is TuneWiki's lyrics Wiki, an online database whose contents are driven by community contributions, just like Wikipedia's now-iconic encyclopedia. Lyrics may not be available for every song, but registered users are able to create them, thus filling in gaps. TuneWiki breathes fresh life into Windows Media Player 10 and above. If you intend to translate lyrics into your mother tongue, version 11 will more proficiently handle the task.

In other music application news, Songbird (review), the Firefox-based jukebox browser, has received a second serving of feature upgrades. New automatic file organizing, iTunes compatibility, and a 10-band equalizer entice audiophiles to switch from Firefox proper to this very specialized build.

What do you think of these two tunes-centric apps? Leave a comment, or type out a short user review of TuneWiki 1.0 and Songbird 1.2.