MP3 blogs: For some great music online
By Edvarcl Heng, CNET Asia
13/02/2007
URL: http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/musicplay/0,39050461,61989253,00.htm
Good music, as some say, is hard to find. Before the Internet, it was all about hanging out at Tower Records and sampling CDs before forking out the week's pocket money for a Chynna Philips album. It's a low-cost and time-intensive activity. But the chance to look groovy while bobbing your head knowingly to the rhythm is a great pull for chicks.
Those days are long gone. Corner CD shops no longer have the same crowd draw as when Michael Jackson was still more black than white. To rid themselves of melody melancholy, fans have been resorting to digital music, legal or otherwise.
The blog is the new buzz medium. And MP3 blogs are the new nets that music lovers are using to reel in the harvest. While mainstream media has been fixated on popular music, individual MP3 blogs cater to an eclectic school from arty indie rock to New Orleans soul. Frankly, these are stuff you probably would never hear on the airwaves or reckoned you'd even be interested in.
However, the digital sea holds its fair share of tanked albums. For every great catch, there's bound to be a barrel of flotsam floating around. Savvy music trollers know this best; it's not about casting the longest line, but knowing where the best fishing haunts are. Here're a few Internet music pools that usually get our gills puffing.
Fluxblog
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One of the first known MP3 blogs, Fluxblog is a no-fuss, no-nonsense pioneer of the MP3 blog format. Musically, it's hard to pin down the blog's preferred sound, but every recommended track is accompanied with an introspective--and sometimes technical--write-up that, depending on your mood, can make for mundane or great reading.
Catch of the day: Wings' Arrow through Me
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Cocaine Blunt
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What's music without the cool-beat-of-choice for some of today's youth? Rap has a home on this blog which, unlike its name, is certainly sharp. The writing is direct (hence blunt), speaks street cred and, unless you are familiar with rap lingo, you probably wouldn't dig what the homies are saying.
Catch of the day: Outsidaz's Keep on (DJ Miz Mix)
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Music for Robots
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Getting lost can be an enlightening activity. At this diverse blog, music can't be squared since the large number of contributors would confound any attempts at categorization. The tone is fun and friendly, but sometimes lacks the depth we've come to appreciate at Soul Sides.
Catch of the day: Suburban Kids With Biblical Names' Loop Duplicate My Heart
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Big Stereo
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Chronic party-goers on the clubbing circuit would love to check out this site. Big Stereo promises big sounds and it's sitting on the blade of the cutting edge itself. In fact, it has a reputation for unearthing sparkling new gems from the indie, electronic and remix scene.
Catch of the day: Goose's Low Mode
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Aurgasm
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We love the wordplay on this one. Sonic orgasms are so good when you have multiples with one sterling playlist. Aurgasm is a music blog which introduces an eclectic array of tunes and everything's downloadable. No DRM, no price, no credit cards. Everything's free for sampling and, if you like it enough, there's a purchase link that will point you back to Amazon for the CD.
Catch of the day: Booka Shade's Mandarine Girl
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Soul Sides
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Fabulous, fabulous site. The owner of this music blog has been busy digitizing all his vinyls and, from what we hear, it's a work of love. Oliver Wang has an astounding store of music knowledge as well and he puts it to good use, writing posts that educate as well as entertain.
Catch of the day: Betty Hutton's Blow a Fuse
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Womenfolk
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Here's one for all the feminists out there. If you like female vocals, this ladies-only music blog carries enough content to wipe out male oppression. Chock-a-block with some rarely heard-of songstresses, it's also a billboard for upcoming performances by all the soulful ladies.
Catch of the day: Katie Herzig's Fools Gold
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The Hype Machine
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If checking up on MP3 blogs everyday is turning out to be a hassle, the Hype Machine makes for a brilliant content aggregator. What it does is it searches 1,027 (as of press time) MP3 blogs and makes all current music posts listenable on a streaming pop-up Flash player. You can click to read, listen and buy.
Catch of the day: Garbage's Crush
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