Originally posted at WFMU's Beware of the Blog.
Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere
Reports of the demise of the music-sharing blogosphere have been greatly exaggerated. To be sure, the abrupt disappearance of beloved sites is upsetting, but the reality is that far more blogs that reach the end of the line, do so voluntarily. And the good news, if the current climate is indicative of a trend, is that a number of excellent blogs in recent days have come back to life! Last week I mentioned the return of Aduna Blog. Now I'm cheered to see FM Shades back in business and even Voodoo Vault is making a comeback (though finding the "way in" the front door remains a puzzle). Even ProgNotFrog's terrific blog aggregation site is back. You can use it as a search engine, or just scroll through the recent posts from hundreds of blogs.
Welcome back!
[Ed: Thanks to reader Hammer for reminding me about the return of Turkish Psychedelic Music! Please acknowledge your favorite reanimated blogs in the comments below.]
(Blog: Porco's Hideaway)
Did Buddah Records Know They Spelled the Name Wrong?
"A quite dark collection of soul/funk tunes dealing with war, violence, religion, the 'popularity' of the devil and other problems of American society of the 1970s. Barbara Mason is best known for love songs like her first hit, 'Yes I'm Ready,' from the beginning of her career in 1964. For Transition she abandoned the matters of the heart and tackled social issues. She wrote all tunes here which suggest that this project was very close to her heart. But the album flopped, maybe because it missed a hit single, maybe because it missed the optimistic outlook offered by other soul artists that sang about social issues." (Description by El Puerco Rojo)
(Blog: Bongos Flutes Guitars)
Most Fabulous Sound Experience Ever!
"Part of the impact of the group is certainly visual: Six grown men stride on stage and play, during the course of the concert, a total of twenty-five different percussion instruments in pieces covering music from jazz to the classics. But a good portion of The First Percussion Sextet's appeal is aural: The group actually play songs and achieve harmonies with instruments that were designed primarily to serve as vehicles for rhythm. A variety of musical effects is at the mallet-tips of these six musicians, and they also manage to inject liberal portions of humor and excitement into their fare." (Description from the jacket notes)
(Blog: Blue Beat in My Soul)
We Are Family
"I like this record more every time I listen to it, and I listen to it a lot. And I really, really liked it the first time I heard it! Bay area soul/funk with a "real people" edge that really takes it one step beyond. When I first heard about this record I remember thinking, "I don't need no soul record from 1980″ - but the stigma (for me, anyway) that goes along with soul records from that era is unwarranted here. Sound-wise it could have just as easily been recorded in 1970. I have heard some people say that Larry's vocals ruin this record. I could not disagree more. While his voice is not polished, it is not so out of the ordinary as to be an "acquired taste" either. It really adds to the charm and homemade vibe of this record. But here, listen for yourself..." (Description by hcrink, at Waxidermy)
(Blog: Don't Ask Me ..... I Don't Know)
Syl's Big Bro
"Chicago guitarist Jimmy Johnson didn't release his first full domestic album until he was 50 years old. He's determinedly made up for lost time ever since, establishing himself as one of the Windy City's premier blues artists with a twisting, unpredictable guitar style and a soaring, soul-dripping vocal delivery that stand out from the pack." (Description by Bill Dahl, for Allmusic )
(Blog: The Growing Bin)
Weather Overground
"Norwegian cult weatherman, Vidar Theisen, passed away last month, so I figured it was time to give this battered 7" a spin to his memory. Behind the production is synthpopper, Espen Beranek Holm, who topped the Norwegian charts in '88 with this oddity. It's strange stuff if you don't understand Norwegian, I guess, but even stranger when you do. RIP Vidar Theisen." (Description by Pornotrond)
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