Arts Sections
Latest articles from this section
Sunday, 16th November 2008
Helen Nianias muses art, the student stereotype and our supposed intellectuality...
Monday, 20th October 2008
To choose the high life, the low life, or somewhere respectable in between? Helen Nianias pontificates.
Wednesday, 7th November 2007
Music blogs! The home of music and opinion on the internet - a global force for people's listening tastes and something we dip our toes into every Wednesday. This week it's the sublime and the ridiculous (although not necessarily in that order) with Pop Justice and Music Is Art.
Wednesday, 31st October 2007
Music! Blog! An very old word and a fairly new one. What happens when old meets new? Find out in our weekly look at two of the internet's receptacles for music and opinion.<br />
More articles from this section
This week's music blog update: 'Said the Gramophone' and 'Palms Out Sounds'.
Saturday, 19th May 2007
"NEW MUSIC!" The proclamation of a million media outlets, but how to sift through this never ending pile of mp3s and must-have EPs? Well, as ever, the internet is on hand to supply you with the information that you need to continue your life. The tastemakers of music blogs can make or break a band, but, more importantly, they can introduce you to something that sounds like nothing you've ever heard before. In a good way. In this weekly column we're going to give you the lowdown on a couple of the best.
- Canadian based Said the Gramophone boasts of being one of the worlds first mp3 blogs, and it certainly has a sense of well established sagacity about it. The three posters, Sean, Jordan and Dan, loosely complement each other in their styles, flitting between short story compositions inspired by the chosen song, direct musings about what the songwriter may be feeling, and personal accounts of incidents from their daily lives that they feel are encapsulated by the music. There is also occasional artwork presented as a companion to the mp3, something which makes sense in an environment that seems to be more about gaining inspiration from music, and wanting to pass that creativity on, than bigging up bands themselves.
Having said that, the blog does not shirk from introducing great bands, and returning to old favorites.
This blog is more about gaining inspiration from music, and wanting to pass that creativity on, than bigging up bands themselves
This is where I discovered the fantastic Yo La Tengo and Tilly and the Wall - who have tap dancer a a percussionist! Really! - and recent posts have included Amy Winehouse and Neil Young. If you're in the market for something slightly whimsical, or some original guitar based songwriting written about from an American perspective this should be your first port of call.
- Palms Out Sounds is a different kettle of music-blog-fish entirely. This is an absolutely superb resource for brand new hip-hop and banging remixes. With regular features including Sample Wednesday - a selection of tunes sampled by a particular artist, ranging from Daft Punk to Madonna - Remix Sunday - inspired remixes of indie, hip hop and dance - and the wonderfully named J'aimeP3 - showcasing individual tracks and comment on particular artists - the only problem here is finding the time to listen to everything that is offered. Sample Wednesday is a particularly rich resource for obscure and not-so-obscure soul and electronica that has caught the eye of modern artists.
This blog is also responsible for introducing me to a completely new scene: the insanely creative and slightly ridiculous dance and hip hop emanating from Baltimore, which I came to through an incredible remix of Yo Majesty's 'Club Action', a tune involving a delicious helping of Enya amongst aggressive vocals and rave beats. Trust me, it must be heard to be believed.
