Blogging About Music . . . Like Downloading About Architecture?
By Scott Smith in Arts & Entertainment on Aug 9, 2006 3:59PM
Not only was this weekend chock full of good music, but Chicagoist also got to knock back a few with some old friends and meet some folks whose work we’ve been admiring for a while now, specifically Abby from PunkPhoto, Scott and Amrit from Stereogum, Rachel from Scenestars, Dodge from My Old Kentucky Blog, Ryan from Muzzle Of Bees, and Whitney from USA Today’s Pop Candy.
The next day as some of us were trying to recall the night’s events, someone said, “Yeah, there just aren’t a lot of music bloggers in Chicago.” In the interest of politeness and decorum, we managed to keep the words “Oh the hell you say!” from escaping our lips. It was yet another example of how conversation can be more enlightening when one listens instead of waiting to speak because further conversation revealed that many thought the idea of a “music blog” was one where tracks and albums are reviewed and MP3s are posted.
Chicagoist is a self-confessed rock-geek-bordering-on-snob, and we’ve often spent many a misbegotten evening or weekend obsessing about music and writing about it here. And we’ve covered other sites that do this as well. To our minds, the main difference between Chicago music bloggers and those from the rest of the country is that they/we tend to not just review music and post MP3s, but to write about music and how it is woven into their/our lives.
So as a means of bragging to all our new friends, we've listed some Chicago sites we read to expand our own cultural horizons -- or illicitly snag some new music -- after the jump.
More Readin’ Than Downloadin’
Avant/Chicago – Brent Kado drops knowledge and compiles notable articles and links from various local and national blogs that deal with music, art, and all things awesome.
The Perfect Face For Radio – A companion blog to the WLUW show/podcast, recent posts have dealt mainly with goings-on there, but scroll through the archives for links to YouTube videos and news from Chicago’s rock clubs, fests and shows.
Tiny Mix Tapes – The least local of the blogs listed here, it’s also the most extensive with reviews of new and overlooked albums, recaps of live shows, indie-rocker interviews and an automatic mix tape generator. Sweet.
Betty Rocker’s Music Pantry and Diary of a Subcultural Refugee – These two are blogs that definitely reflect the personalities of their writers. Ms. Rocker posts on her family and her faves and provides thought-provoking top 5 lists. Dave Knapik’s most recent post on the death of Love’s Arthur Lee are typical of his verbose narratives.
And, of course, there’s Transmission, Gaper’s Block’s new venture.
More Downloadin’ Than Readin’
songs: Illinois/Plus/Swedesplease – Three MP3/review blogs from one source, Oak Park’s own Craig Bonnell. Songs: Illinois gets hardcore indie on your ass, while his Plus service delivers MP3s to your inbox. Swedesplease gives you the best rock from the country that brought you ABBA and The Cardigans.
The Crutch Blog – Rising like a phoenix from the ashes of The Crutch ‘zine, Chad Cheatham is now putting the music he used to write about on your hard drive. Check out The Movement That Never Was compilation.
Can You See The Sunset – We just got turned on to this site at Lolla when we met Eric, the guy who runs the joint. If you’re looking to snag some music from artists you saw this weekend, he’s got plenty.
Shake Your Fist – We don’t know too many MP3 blogs that will feature links to tracks by Sugar and from the American Anthology of Folk Music on the same page, so this one’s a keeper.
Image: Jaycraft.net