I’m not in too much of a Halloween spirit this year and not real sure why either. The Misifts are pretty cool, though. And on a totally unrelated note…Glenn Danzig was guest-blogging over at Idolator.
October 2006
It’s been a busy few weeks for me lately and I’ve determined (essentially) that I’m one of those folks that needs busy in their life to feel important. Total mind-trip, man…
That being said, I’ve had a busy day at work today so I’ll leave you with some things to ponder and a killer MP3 from the new Tea Leaf Green Rock and Roll Band release (out today). Enjoy.
To me, there’s been some seriously interesting chatter in the music blog world lately.
Regardless of what you’re in it for, “music blogs” have now entered the gadget/celebrity blog status where advertisers are flocking and therefore (seemingly) everyone has to get in the ring — Glide Magazine, Gawker, TechCrunch, Pitchfork, AOL, Relix, etc. I can say that I saw this coming (partially) but definitely not to the extent it’s blossomed recently…
Some questions: Why a blog? I have at least one guess as a response to that question…but why not just beef up the online prescence in editorial-based content? Why have both editorial columns and blogs separate? Why put news on a blog if you have a music news section already dedicated? Does blog inherently mean “mix” of content — mp3′s, videos, downloads, links to others, a blogroll, etc.? Should every good music site be a mix of this already?
All good questions that I’d hope the editors of such sites are pondering, because hell, I think of this shit all the time while trying to determine what Live Music Blog should be and/or/vs. what it actually is. Sometimes I feel that I’m a little too personal and therefore I’m pigeonholing myself to be some “I like this MP3″ sorta blogger. Isn’t a blog, by definition, personal? Then again, post Justin Timberlake tour dates for those that may have some interest in the guy (and maybe not myself personally) and you’d think the world was coming to an end…
But maybe that’s just because my readers have certain expectations…
And I have a similar set of expectations for the sites mentioned above…
All the above sites were all well-and-good enough in my eyes before they decided that a blog was another way to reach out to readers. I mean — for instance — why does Rolling Stone need music news, columns, and a blog? How the hell do they decide where to put what — especially if a post is a mixed bag of thoughts and ideas? When did they decide that they needed to be more than a magazine? JamBase is much more than a tour database now — you can interact and comment on their site now (albeit under Editor moderation) — and they have a blog, too. See a pattern yet?
While I think some might see it as a natural progression of a media business model — “why not start a blog to interact with readers in a new way?” — I’d see this as a distraction from good content that only becomes more confusing to a reader. Magazines are magazines. Blogs are blogs. And maybe we all just need to be a little more upfront with our intentions. I think, at least, we all owe our readers that much…
What do you think? Too many blogs dillute the medium?
I thought I’d publish this here as this blog has significantly more reach than my personal blog. In the future, you can expect to see some more posts like this there and a little less non-music posts here…sound good? Super.
Vegoose 2006 might have been a little undersold…but the music will still live on…
Here’s a list of downloads from the music festival. Most of the links will be to torrent files, which you learn more about here if you’re not already versed. Most of the shows will probably be in FLAC format, which you can learn about here. Drop any others you find in the comments and get downloadin’!
- Gomez – Vegoose, 10/28/06 [24-bit flac]
- Gomez – Vegoose, 10/28/06 [mp3, ogg, flac]
- Keller Williams Incident – Vegoose, 10/28/06 [flac] *
- Keller Williams Incident – Vegoose, 10/28/06 [video] #
- The Mars Volta – Vegoose, 10/28/06 [flac] #
- Phil Lesh & Trey Anastasio – Vegoose, 10/29/06 [flac] *
- Phil Lesh & Trey Anastasio – Vegoose, 10/29/06 [flac] *
- Phil Lesh & Trey Anastasio – Vegoose, 10/29/06 [mp3, ogg, flac]
- Phil Lesh & Trey Anastasio – Vegoose, 10/29/06 [video] #
- The Raconteurs – Vegoose, 10/28/06 [flac] *
- Rhythm Devils – Vegoose, 10/29/06 [flac] *
- Rhythm Devils – Vegoose, 10/29/06 [flac] *
- Rhythm Devils – Vegoose, 10/29/06 [video] #
- Widespread Panic – Vegoose, 10/29/06 [flac] *
* – bittorrent
# – bittorrent, reg. required
I think I’m going to give that Mars Volta set a listen or two; any others stand out?
Flash Concerts are back for their second year and they’ve already had a few this fall season. Have no fear, though — there’s still a few chances if you’re in a major metro in the near future…
The nominees on the ballot for the 2007 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame have been set…
R.E.M., Van Halen, the Stooges and Patti Smith are among the nine acts on the ballot for the 2007 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, to be held March 12 at New York’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel. Also on the ballot are the Dave Clark Five, Chic, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Joe Tex and the Ronettes.
R.E.M., Van Halen, Stooges On Rock Hall Ballot [Billboard]
Phil Lesh — one of the members of the Grateful Dead that still carries their torch (as if one of the surviving members DOESN’T still carry it) — has been diagnosed with prostate cancer.
In a message posted on Phil’s website…
