Blogging: it's perhaps the silliest word in the modern English language, yet it's an increasing pandemic for many different avenues. From 13-year-old girls coming of age to political analysts speaking their minds, blogging has swept the world with its easily accessible information. It's nearly impossible to floss your teeth anymore without at least a podcast or a webcam.
The music industry, like most all other industries, has found blogging to be an advantageous way to get the music scoop to readers instantaneously. Moment-by-moment concert criticisms and praises, expansive CD reviews, and personalized lists have all proven beneficial in the commingling of music and Internet.
Though literally millions of music blogs are surfacing every day, we at the Advocate have separated the wheat from the chaff as far as validity goes and whittled them into a top five list:
1. Pitchfork Media: pitchforkmedia.com
The Chicago based website encompasses minute-to-minute CD reviews and interviews in cohesive, easy-to-navigate yet content packed pages. Whether it's news, features, or the increasingly popular "Forkcast" you're looking for, Pitchfork makes digital music steering effortlessly simple.
2. Pop Matters: popmatters.com
Since 1999, Pop Matters has been typing up nearly every topic under the entertainment culture's umbrella. From movies to comics to music, PM has their thumb on the pulse of pop culture. The site's blog offers a more personalized, less journalistic approach at music journalism that allows readers to connect much more accessibly.
3. Onion's A.V. Club: avclub.com
The satirical weekly newspaper we can't help but flip through has an equitably witty rhetorical site that we can't help but click through. Their blog specializes in list-formatted and themed short write-ups that will have you laughing, remembering, and feeling silly for not having thought of it first.
4. Stereo Gum: stereogum.com
The far less formal Stereo Gum has got the right idea: give away free music with your blog. People are 6,000 times more likely to visit your site if they can get something for free. Stereo Gum has casually, well-written columns alongside a horde of MP3s from the hippest indie music bands.
5. Daytrotter: daytrotter.com
Just like Stereo Gum with the free music giveaways, only the folks at Daytrotter have a studio at their offices in Illinois where they have artists stop by and record a little session. They've got an imaginative artist to draw pictures of each major feature they write and usually have, at minimum, three downloadable songs to accompany them.
From the mainstream to the hidden, music blogs are a force to be reckoned with. Though any (and most every) one can start a blog, it's these open-minded innovators that might actually find a way to make a decent living off of them.
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