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December 22, 2006
Shorties
The Chicago Tribune offers fictional gifts for "techno-junkies," including a couple aimed at bloggers.
PolarFleece Blogging Gear. That stereotype about blogging being an activity done in one's pajamas is so Web 1.0. Put it "to bed" forever by purchasing our special Cozy Fleece Bloggin' Sack and matching Blog Clogs: Indoor Footwear for Bloggers. The first is a shapeless, 200-weight, man-size zip-in bag that's just perfect for thinking great thoughts or starting flame wars (it's fire retardant!). The second are one-size-fits-all, and our testers say they're like walking on clouds, although they're great, too, for just wearing as you sit in your computer chair all day long. Sack: $25 with rudimentary sleeves, $20 with simple armholes. Clogs: $15, whole sizes only, please. Specify navy blue for political bloggers, pink for "mommy bloggers."
The Philadelphia Inquirer examines the state of brick and mortar musc retailers.
The Washington City Paper evaluates the music blogosphere.
The problem is that—when compared to the worlds of zines or alt-weeklies—the blogosphere often feels like an arms race. Sites battle one another, writers battle commenters, commenters flame one another, and back up the chain again. An album like Clipse’s Hell Hath No Fury, the No. 1 disc on the Washington City Paper’s critics poll, spurred so much good online commentary that I decided to scrap my review of it for the CP. Within a week of the disc’s release, it seemed as though every angle was covered. And that was just because of the debate on one site, Oliver Wang’s popular Soul Sides. (Never mind the fact that it was impossible to get a jump on the blogs. Clipse and its record label were so protective of the disc that advance listens were almost nonexistent until it inevitably leaked online two weeks before its release; those leaks had been thoroughly digested long before less savvy fans could hear the album.)
In Gay People's News, author Alison Bechdel admits to being surprised that Time chose her graphic memoir, Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic as their book of the year.
“I don’t know quite what to say about the Time magazine thing,” she admitted. “I guess I’m a bit speechless.”
“I’m very happy about it, obviously,” Bechdel continued. “It’s a great thing for queer stories, and for graphic novels, to get that kind of mainstream recognition.”
She is, however, still surprised.
“I’m still a bit flummoxed by it. I mean, Fun Home is an odd little book,” she concluded. “Go figure.”
Congratulations to Dodge at My Old Kentucky Blog for the gift of a baby girl into the family.
Drowned in Sound offers a guide to 2007's early music releases.
Zoilus lists its top albums and singles of the year.
TV on the Radio performs on WXPN's World Cafe.
No Love For Ned has its holiday music show online, along with an option to stream all five holiday shows since 2002 (Realmedia link) (that's ten hours of holiday music). I can't recommend this show enough, of all the holiday mix CDs I receive every year, Ned's is always the most amazing.
The Japan Times asks locals in the music business for their best 2006 music-related memories.
The Montreal Gazette lists the "top bands you don't want to miss in 2007."
Rolling Stone reviews the hot albums of 2007.
MP3.com lists classic holiday rap songs.
The Moscow Times chooses its books of the year.
The Independent chooses the book world's heroes and villains for 2006.
Grist interviews nature writer Jenny Price.
KS: Can you detect differences between the attitudes of Boomers, Gen-Xers, and college students today?
JP: I do think the idea of nature as wilderness is still strong, but that the boomers' children are instinctively more ironic, and -- as others such as William Cronon, Michael Pollan, and Richard White have pointed out -- irony has been sorely missing from the standard paeans to nature as wild and pure.
The Independent asks musicianss for their favorite record of the year.
IMOGEN HEAP
"My favourite album of this year would have to be Milosh's Meme. It's the kind of album that'll make you want to venture out early on a crisp morning, wrap up in all your woollies, end up in a park, settle down somewhere with a warm cup of tea and watch the world go by."
January magazine lists art & culture book gift suggestions.
Drowned in Sound recaps its year in musician interviews.
Thanks to everyone who voted LHB to a bronze medal in the Gummy Awards at Stereogum for best music blog.
The Source is sharing Beatles Christmas recordings.
The Guardian lists the top 100 most useful websites, and lists five sites for recommending music:
last.fm
pandora.com
liveplasma.com
audiomap.tuneglue.net
goombah.com
Daytrotter has a live in-studio performance and interview with Shearwater.
see also:
Largehearted Boy's favorite albums of 2006
2006 Year-end Music List Compilation
Largehearted 2006 Holiday Gift Guide
this week's CD & DVD releases
