Good writing about music

May 26, 2005 4:12 PM

I'm looking for a blog/site where people post regularly and passionately about good songs.

The "talk about your music collection" meme that has been doing the rounds has really inspired me. I don't want album reviews or band/genre recommendations, but rather people who write engagingly about great individual songs and explain why they like them and what they mean. Fray-esque personal accounts of really good music. Something that is updated semi-frequently and that might open my eyes to some new artists. Any genre is fine, but my own tastes verge towards 4 piece guitar music. Google and mefi search doesn't turn up much. Any recommendations appreciated.

posted by fire&wings to media & arts (12 comments total)

This isn't a blog, but I presume you've read Nick Hornby's Songbook?
posted by matildaben at 4:17 PM on May 26, 2005

This is total self-promotion, but I help write the mp3blog Said the Gramophone.

We focus on two things:
1) Really good songs;
2) Trying to write things truly.

Whereas a lot of musicblogs are mostly about spreading the hottest new tunes, with capsule band bios/genre specification, The house style is weirdly wordy and often far-fetched. We have a literary/nonsense approach to music crit: we take metaphors to extremes, we tell stories, we grasp at straws. We try to tell it as we hear it.

You might like it.

Along the similar lines, I recommend Alex's Close Your Eyes (although he only very rarely posts mp3s).
posted by Marquis at 4:27 PM on May 26, 2005

Gosh: the late hour really seems to have affected me. Apologies for the typos - they certainly don't reflect well! :)
posted by Marquis at 4:29 PM on May 26, 2005

for off the wall -- last night an mp3 saved my wife
posted by thomcatspike at 5:19 PM on May 26, 2005

You might be looking for something like Smells Like Sour.

SLS aims to compile a hypothetical mix of the best 80 minutes of new rock released in the previous six month period. Visitors can submit a tune for consideration and discuss the songs that have been submitted.

People post regularly and passionately about what they perceive to be good new rock songs.
posted by booner at 5:44 PM on May 26, 2005

Last Plane to Jakarta may be of interest to you; its proprietor is one of the most interesting and personal review writers I know of. While you're there, make sure to read the extensive archives, at least the early-on excellent review of Radiohead's Amnesiac done on a song-by-song basis. The older stuff is longer and features some pretty awesome per-article web design.
posted by jacobm at 7:20 PM on May 26, 2005

"large hearted boy" is a nice mp3 blog with some commentary.
posted by mecran01 at 9:24 PM on May 26, 2005

jacobm's recommendation is an outstanding one.

LHB isn't an mp3blog per se, but he links regularly to live shows and news stories about indie rock.
posted by Marquis at 12:01 AM on May 27, 2005

I like lacunae.
posted by Sallyfur at 1:24 AM on May 27, 2005

The Buddyhead blog is one of my favorites.

I just discovered 3hrive and I like it so far.

Then there's also Fluxblog. Although I only understand about 40% of what he's saying in the reviews most of the time.

Anyway, overall I enjoy the writing and the commentary on these quite a bit and have discovered some stuff I might not have given a chance without them. All three are blogs are written by people who really love music. I don't know what I did before mp3 blogs.
posted by box elder at 9:17 AM on May 27, 2005

Another good one is Vinyl Mine where this guy is converting a bunch of his old vinyl into mp3s. So there's tons of commentary and it's all stuff from his personal collection. Buncha olderish and hard-to-find punk and indie recordings.
posted by box elder at 9:31 AM on May 27, 2005

Follow along with our good friend John over at the Tofu Hut. That is if you're looking for an MP3 Blog.

Though, I don't believe thats what you're looking for. You might try I Love Music, it's a board that hits up everything from albums, band lineups, individual songs, album covers and everything inbetween.
posted by lilnemo at 11:01 AM on May 27, 2005