Five Dollar Radio

The end?

2009-04-04T17:59:00.000-07:00

Not exactly, but I will be transferring some of my posts to my other blog, Available Light. Please direct any linkage there, where I will be writing about music from time to time, just not every day. For further explanation, read this.

Blender Magazine Bites The Dust

2009-04-03T17:51:00.000-07:00

(Cross posted at BlogHer)

Growing up in the pre-internet days (the dark ages to you young 'uns), there were very few music magazines that ventured outside the Top 40. Creem was long gone, and there were a few few speciality magazines for metal fans, but if you wanted something more you were lucky to see a lone copy of Musician or Spin in your local 7-11, dog-eared and usually hiding behind a Ladies Home Journal. As the nineties gave way to the early 00s, and places like MySpace brought indie rock bands to the forefront, magazine choices exploded: Harp and Paste for singer-songwriters, No Depression for alt-country, and Magnet and eventually Maxim's Blender for indie rock, though the latter was never afraid of "pop," refreshing in rock-snob world. As blogs became more popular, and print magazine reading decreased, only Paste remains. Harp and No Depression folded (though No Depression maintains a string online presence and Harp was reborn as Blurt ), Magnet scaled back production to a few times a year and now Blender published its last issue. What does this mean for the music fans? Pop Matters says:

The problem with that is that it’s a half-truth. By design, music nuts will have to look elsewhere for music news, recommendations and such, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that what’s online will take up all of the slack from the publications that disappear. Pitchfork doesn’t and can’t and neither can zines like mine—we each fill our own niches and though that sometimes intersects with the work of other magazines, it doesn’t take up the slack all the time either.

But can blogs fill the void? To be honest, I'm dubious, too. At some point in my life I have read or subscribed to many of the magazines mentioned. I was never a huge fan of Blender -- it felt a little young to me -- but it certainly filled a void, and its sometimes snarky tone made it almost a "blog in magazine form," for lack of a proper pigeonhole. Still, I like longer features that blogs seldom provide. Maura Jonston of Idolator adds :

Blender's overarching popism was a big influence on Idolator from the time of its launch in 2006, and even as the death spiral of ad pages resulted in its once-mighty reviews section being whittled down to a handful of 130-word blurbs, I admired its spunk and willingness to reach across the musical comfort zones that divide people more often than not these days, if not always its choices of "hot," vaguely music-related cover subjects.

I don't see a full "blog revolution," though with more and more print publications biting the dust, it certainly looks like it. I like having something to hold my hands: the thrill of seeing a new issue of something in my mail box, and I don't see blogs replacing that anytime soon. I don't think I'm alone.

Weekly Top Tracks

2009-04-02T17:51:00.000-07:00

Question of the day: rediscovered?

2009-04-01T17:52:00.000-07:00

I recently bought Aimee Mann's new(ish) record @#%&*! Smilers after years of writing her off for one reason or another. Are there any artists you initially disliked that you've "rediscovered?"

More evidence of CDs demise

2009-03-31T17:56:00.000-07:00

I went to Borders the other day to take advantage of their CD and DVD sales. I guess this finally came true.

New Releases: March 31, 2009

2009-03-30T17:50:00.000-07:00

A two-disc set from Leonard Cohen's first tour in fifteen years, Live In London, hits stores today:

In 2008 Leonard Cohen embarked on his first tour in 15 years. Quickly recognized as musical folklore in the making, 29 of the original dates sold out almost immediately, leaving fans and critics alike hailing the show as a once in a lifetime experience. By popular demand, the Canadian/UK tour was extended and by the end of that year it had reached 84 markets worldwide, selling more than 700,000 tickets. The Live In London release fully captures and recreates the extraordinary show from that tour that earned Cohen more than 80 five-star reviews for his performances.

Track listing:

Disc One
1. Dance Me To The End Of Love
2. The Future
3. Ain't No Cure For Love
4. Bird On The Wire
5. Everybody Knows
6. In My Secret Life
7. Who By Fire
8. Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye
9. Anthem
10. Introduction
11. Tower Of Song
12. Suzanne
13. The Gypsy's Wife

Disc Two
1. Boogie Street
2. Hallelujah
3. Democracy
4. I'm Your Man
5. Recitation w/ N.L.
6. Take This Waltz
7. So Long, Marianne
8. First We Take Manhattan
9. Sisters Of Mercy
10. If It Be Your Will
11. Closing Time
12. I Tried To Leave You
13. Wither Thou Goest

Video: The Alarm - The Stand

2009-03-29T18:05:00.000-07:00

This brings back memories...

Question of the day: recommendations

2009-03-28T17:45:00.000-07:00

This is for those of you who use Last.fm: do you actually check out your "recommended artists?" I haven't. Or I hadn't until recently.

Links: March 28, 2009

2009-03-27T17:53:00.000-07:00

New Wilco album details (Billboard)

Blender RIP (Huffington Post)
I wasn't a reader, but I really hate seeing another print magazine bite the dust.

Top Ten Prince Songs of All Time (Spin)

Congrats Bill Streeter

Weekly Top Tracks

2009-03-26T17:51:00.000-07:00

Silly me, I only realized now that these charts are dynamic; therefore, posting "weeklies" is wholly unnecessary. Until I think of another "friday Special," this will have to do: