Mike Damante
The influence of the Internet over the world of music spans far beyond the days of Napster. Napster was indeed a revolutionary tool in how we receive and listen to music and made the whole record industry rethink the way it does business. For music fans it is easier to get music by just going online, and with one click of the mouse you can have a full album in your music library.
Apple has also revolutionized the way we listen with the iPod and iTunes. Portable CD players are almost obsolete as the iPod has set the new standard in music on the go. The era of the MP3 is upon us, and it won’t be long until the CD is a collector’s item like the vinyl record has become
Web sites such as Pitchfork, Punknews.org and Absolutepunk.net have had huge influence on the industry and have been key tools in generating hype for bands.
Nowadays, bands get signed because of the number of friends they have on Myspace. Not sure if that is a good thing or not? Actually, it is a bad thing. Most of the bands signed off Myspace friend counts and song hits are horrible and don’t deserve the success they get. You know just the bands I’m talking about too. The bands with girl haircuts, puffy 1980s-style sneakers, anorexic body shapes and had daddy buy all their gear for them. You can’t usually tell them apart by sound either – picture Panic at the Disco with dance beats and junior high lyrics that are "OMG totally hot."
The way of the blog seems to be the trend in all forms of online journalism. Entertainment blogs such as Perez Hilton are popping up by the dozen. Music blogs are the "in" thing, too. My tag team partner, Roshan, is a lot more hip to those than I am.
Roshan Bhatt
Thousands of music blogs are on the interwebs, waiting to be discovered. A simple Google blog search of a song title, album title or artist could direct you to your new favorite blog. In the past few years, such methods have pointed me in the direction of some amazing sites, covering all genres and style.
If you’re a closet hip-hop head, you could visit The Smoking Section (smokingsection.uproxx.com), one of the largest and most comprehensive hip-hop engines on the web. The group posts "Loosies," or loose singles and "Stray Shots," which are full albums. For other hip-hop blogs, my top picks are 2dopeboyz (2dopeboyz.com) and Nah Right (nahright.com).
Other sites with heavy personal traffic are top-rated blogs that cover music along the lines of electro and house, or the DJ circuit if you will. Choice selections would be Missing Toof (missingtoof.com) and Panda Toes (pandatoes.blogspot.com). Runner-ups for this category would be Red Threat (redthreat.wordpress.com) and Butter Team (butterteam.com). All of these Web sites are surefire destinations to grab music that will be fueling your next dance party.
If you’re just into blogs that cover several genres of music, my personal favorites would be The Music Slut (musicslut.blogspot.com) and Stereogum (stereogum.com). Finally, I need to address the local spotlight. Southside Discotech (southsidediscotech.blogspot.com) is a blog hosted by UH student Kendall Phillips. His site will also cover electro, pop and hip-hop along with where to find the hottest weekend spots.
Lastly, We Wore Masks (weworemasks.blogspot.com). It is a blog run by yours truly and Jerome Mendoza, who hails from Dallas. Our blog will cover just about every genre of music, as we are both truly eclectic in our tastes, and you are bound to find something you love. Be sure to give the last two Web sites the hits – we need them
