When the random urge for live music strikes, your choice of band's usually determined by unreliable indicators, like whether you like the venue, or whether the band has a cool name -- which explains why you're constantly moshing to the Butthole Surfers. Make smarter calls, with EffingMusic.com.

A Constructicons-like mashup of GMaps, MP3 streamer SeeqPod, and fanboy news site Bandloop, Effing links upcoming nearby shows with crazy amounts of media about each band -- allowing you to become a huge and annoying Devastator of the local music scene. Simply choose your city and set your search radius and time horizon (from a coke-addled "Today Only!" to a coke-addled "Gimme All Ya Got!"), and Effing'll display bands in both list and GMap view; if a band's music's on SeeqPod, you can play the tracks right then and there, avoiding the endless Googling and downloading that's made you the carpal-tunneled albino you are today. Effing also links to each band's colorfully sh*tty MySpace page (where freeness trumps inconvenience), plus provides buy-links through Ticketmaster (where "convenience" trumps decency).

Because Austin music fest SXSW's coming up, Effing's posted a special page for scoping all the acts and listening to their tracks -- and if all this great music doesn't incent you to buy, then you're the butthole, surfer.

Add this to My Thrillist

Eff you if you don't dig EffingMusic.com