Music blog projects

Let's make this a thread on special, usually long-termish projects in music blogs on certain themes. I had my 40 years, 40 albums project a couple of years back in my old blog. At the time I was about to turn 40 and once per week I chose one favourite album for each year from my birth in 1963 up to 2002 and wrote something about it.

At the beginning of this year Tom had the idea to post & review one song per day for the whole of 2010 with the following restriction. The first song was 6 minutes and 5 seconds long and from then on every song would be one second shorter up until a one second blast on December, 31st. His tumblr blog is called It Took Seconds.

After I discovered his new blog about ten days ago I started doing the same from 1st of February on. I needed a new project to fill my blog and that idea was brilliant as it forced me to listen to the music on my iPod following a different pattern than usual. Choosing faves and writing on them is something I enjoy tremendously. The difference to Tom's blog is that I follow a blindtest scheme and don't mention artist names or song titles. So if readers are interested they can guess in the comments what song it was.

Any more interesting projects going on in the music blogosphere right now?

Definitely have to mention Popular.

Then Play Long

How about these 3 #1 albums in a row: Abbey Road->Let It Bleed->Led Zeppelin II. You win, baby boomers.

There's also Ned's Not Just the Ticket and--although it's not a blog project, it's close enough--Whiney's 1000 Times Yes.

Iconography, a Tumblr intending to explore all of Madonna's singles, has been relentlessly great thus far.

This one deserves a mention because the guy's analysis of the songs is detailed and through. It's called Pushing Ahead of the Dame - "David Bowie, song by song, in rough chronological order,with exceptions."
http://bowiesongs.wordpress.com/

The Wonderful World of Louis Armstrong - documenting each song Louis Armstrong ever wrote

http://dippermouth.blogspot.com

There was also one for Low's discography but cant find it on my bookmarks.

By documenting I meant reviewing the song and different versions of it.

There's also Ned's Not Just the Ticket

Ha, thanks for the mention there -- back with a new entry tomorrow (was going to have one for Friday but the Mark Hosler talk on Thursday night pre-empted that).

Should also say that if you want the Tumblr version of it:

http://notjusttheticket.tumblr.com/

Bilbo's Laptop: http://bilboslaptop.blogspot.com/ - a Popular-style project for the US Latin singles charts, exciting for me cos it's music I know nothing at all about.

The Bowiesongs one is absolutely amazing, my favourite music blog at the moment TBH.

Massive respect to anyone who actually FINISHES one of these things by the way. I know Matt Perpetua finished his REM one but otherwise?

This one was finished actually - tho it was only 24 tracks - Kat Stevens writing about every track on the RAVE 92 compilation, it's one of the best things I've ever had on Freaky Trigger I think.

http://freakytrigger.co.uk/ft/2007/08/blog-92-introduction/

Massive respect to anyone who actually FINISHES one of these things by the way.

For damn sure. At the current pace mine'll get take me well into next year.

(Which is as nothing compared to Popular I realize. :-D )

Also, a different kind of blog project -- Steve Aungle's series of posts on Billy Mackenzie:

http://steveaungle.wordpress.com/billy-mackenzie/

He's still working on the organization of the site as a whole -- there are four posts total but not all are showing up properly, with the goal being one a week.

Massive respect to anyone who actually FINISHES one of these things by the way. I know Matt Perpetua finished his REM one but otherwise?

The really excellent Robert Pollard one is still going, My Impression Now. Of course, that one will never be able to be completed as long as Pollard keeps cranking out music.

Also, I love Tom's It Took Seconds. Is it just me, or is he behind a day or two?

Yes, I'm 3 days behind! I'm going to start catching up soon I hope, once the (real job) project that's been eating my time is complete.

It's okay! I've just been following along with my own songs each day and I was losing track.

There was also one for Low's discography but cant find it on my bookmarks.

Would be interested in this...

BOO-YAH

http://youcanttrustviolence.blogspot.com/

http://yearofmixtapes.blogspot.com/

everyone on this board has probably checked it out but this is serious: http://neworder-recycle.blogspot.com/

thanks for that fine drum & bass track, tom. a genre i completely missed out at the time.

i really wanted to do a "review every too short song" blog but i've never known anyone to actually READ a "review every song" blog ever in the history of time

not read upthread?

I know what Whiney means which is exactly why I'm so surprised at how compelling I find the Bowie one.

Mentioned upthread: Pop Songs 07-08: Every REM song as of March 2007 (Matthew Perpetua, finished)

There is still this countdown of the "definitive 1000 songs from 1955-2005" with video clips and lots of info, currently at #359:
http://www.crowbarred.blogspot.com/

I thought about blogging about every album on my pc that has yet been uplayed but fuck off could I actually be arsed to listen to all 40+ days of it. I just wanted to know what great shit I was missing out on and what severely needs deleting. Instead I just listened to The-Dream over and over.

now complete: http://stephinsources.blogspot.com/ about the music that influences stephin merritt.

That Bowie one is extremely well done, and I've never really cared much for Bowie. So in depth and thoughtful. Definitely a must read. Whiney I would read you writing about Too $hort for sure.

Lol it is COMPLETE bcuz stephin Merritt will never be influenced by anything ever again

it's weird to think that if i ever did that for a specific artist, it would by necessity have to be tori amos. i'd probably really enjoy it and stuff, but i'm not sure whether i'd want to be that guy. also, i don't want to have to sit through the beekeeper ever again.

I've thought about doing one for the Pumpkins before, but honestly I'm scared of the weird insane-o fans it would draw out of the woodwork.

Hey now.

Haha Ned, you would be the good kind of insane fan. I'm thinking more of those deluded "Billy can do no wrong!" types that would get all butthurt when I got critical.

Hey I'd be down with a blog post analyzing each full song that went into "The Pistachio Medley."

Oooh, now theres an idea!

Another big advantage -- there's a definite end point.

the project should be 'writing every day' but to make that easy, dont force yourself to write about a specific subject.

dont force yourself to write about a specific subject

actually i find that makes it harder

funny you say that. my last post has nothing to do with the music i posted. on first glance at least. sometimes it is more fun to write what is happening or not happening in your life than about the specific music.

File under shameless self-promotion. I am a little frustrated about the low visitor figures on my blog, so here are the songs of the last ten days I posted and wrote a little something about. I always chose my favourite of all songs of the length in question. At the time being I have about 50 tracks to check out per day.

• 5:24 Johann Sebastian Bach - 4. Brandenburgisches Konzert G-Dur, 3. Satz (1721)
• 5:23 Bob Dylan - Love Minus Zero/No Limit (1965, MTV Unplugged version from 1995)
• 5:22 Idaho - Gone (1993)
• 5:21 Massive Attack - Spying Glass (1994)
• 5:20 Pinback - Lyon (1999)
• 5:19 Neneh Cherry - Move With Me (1992)
• 5:18 Depeche Mode - Behind the Wheel (1987)
• 5:17 Talk Talk - Give It Up (1986)
• 5:16 New Order - Dream Attack (1989)
• 5:15 The Cure - A Letter to Elise (1992)

I was going to do a blog on Fugazi analogous to Perpetua's R.E.M. blog around the same time he started it, but I realized before I ever started it that I'm just a Fugazi fan, not a fanatic.

alex, the first link you posted is broken.

thanks, here is the bach again.

5:18 Depeche Mode - Behind the Wheel (1987)
5:17 Talk Talk - Give It Up (1986)
5:16 New Order - Dream Attack (1989)
5:15 The Cure - A Letter to Elise (1992)

That's a brilliant string of songs right there if ever I saw one!

acidted.blogspot.com just ended an amazing run through the alphabet.

i surprised myself that i liked synth pop so much. talk talk isn't anymore in 1986 and the cure never really were but still.

has the Pop World Cup been mentioned?

http://freakytrigger.co.uk/popworldcup

The countdown goes on:

• 5:14 The Field Mice - When Morning Comes To Town (1989)
• 5:13 Thin White Rope - Red Sun (1992 live)
• 5:12 Kings Of Convenience - Parallel Lines (2001)
• 5:11 Joy Division - Passover (Birmingham 2.5.1980)
• 5:10 Lloyd Cole & The Commotions - Forest Fire (1984)
• 5:09 Electronic - Feel Every Beat (1991)
• 5:08 Joni Mitchell - Furry Sings The Blues (1976)
• 5:07 Portishead - Mysterons (1994)
• 5:06 Stereolab - Pack Yr Romantic Mind (1993)
• 5:05 Grace Jones - Nightclubbing (1981)

Nice!

This one ended as well but this guy's run through of all the no.#1 R&B singles of the 90's and then some remains my favourite music blog projects.

http://viladepatos.blogspot.com/search/label/Miss%C3%A3o%20de%20Pesquisas%20Folcl%C3%B3ricas

For anyone following Not Just the Ticket, you're about to enter early 1992 nostalgia in a big way.

http://yearofmixtapes.blogspot.com/

― dan138zig (Durrr Durrr Durrrrrr), Sunday, February 7, 2010 9:14 PM (3 weeks ago) Bookmark

cool thread. def second this one^^^

Still going:

• 5:04 Cocteau Twins - The Hollow Men (1982)
• 5:03 The Field Mice - Sensitive (1989)
• 5:02 Joni Mitchell - Coyote (1976)
• 5:01 Diabologum - Mieux Vaut Se Taire (1994)
• 5:00 Boards of Canada - Dayvan Cowboy (2005)
• 4:59 The Smiths - That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore (1985)
• 4:58 Cocteau Twins - Heaven Or Las Vegas (1990)
• 4:57 Joy Division - Dead Souls (Licht und Blindheit version) (1980)
• 4:56 Mazzy Star - Fade Into You (1993)
• 4:55 Annette Peacock - Too Much in the Skies (1978)

Finally found the Low blog I mentioned upthread. On the sidebar there's some good 'oeuvreblogs' as well:

Low: http://youcanttrustviolence.blogspot.com
Magnetic Fields: http://thebookoflove.wordpress.com/
Blur: http://blursongs.wordpress.com/
Mountain Goats: http://emotionalkaraoke.blogspot.com/
John Cale: http://blog.fragmentsofcale.net/
Radiohead: http://radiostutters.livejournal.com/tag/fridgebuzz
Bjork: http://hyperballads.wordpress.com/
Pavement: http://pavemoresongs.blogspot.com/
Pearl Jam: http://fivevs1.wordpress.com/
Pulp: http://musicfromabachelorsden.blogspot.com/
Guided by voices: http://www.tirbd.com/min/
The Cure: http://www.oneimaginaryblog.com/
REM: http://popsongs.wordpress.com/
Marillion: http://separatedout.blogspot.com/
Wilco: http://wilcosongs.blogspot.com/
Elton John: http://solarprestige.blogspot.com/

Presentation on most of these is not very crafted tho.

Actually I just noticed that Low blog is written by none other than Ian Mathers.

Yup, the Low one's really enjoyable.

Man, I still feel like a jerk for some comments applied to Mr. Mather's on the Stylus site back in the day. Ian, if you are out there, sorry for being a little harsh.

I was right, but I was not cool about it. I thought some of your writing was OK, just not a few of your less-well-thought-out opinions.

And hey, Low is amazing. If you read this shit, here's my request: you should review the track "Bombscare" from the Low & Springheel Jack EP of the same name. One of the best things they have ever done for sure.

http://thesmithsproject.blogspot.com/

This girl Janice is vowing to record her own version of every Smiths song before the end of the year. Ambitious to say the least. Unfortunately, she's not as great as you'd like her to be.

Is she better than Morrissey solo in the last decade?

Pretty achievable standard.

http://www.sleeptalkinman.blogspot.com/

i have become so frustrated about the lack of resonance and readers that i have changed the language of my posts to german. i am at 3 minutes 39 secs now. it's a smiths song. the fifth one. new order had six up to now, joy division five. joni mitchell and nick drake five as well. out of 116 altogether.

i have become so frustrated about the lack of resonance and readers that i have changed the language of my posts to german

That'll show 'em...?

Yeah, I don't know, Alex -- there's no question there can be those down moments when you wonder what you're doing it all for, but persistence can be its own reward. I'm almost up to my fiftieth entry on my project this year and I'm really happy with how it's turned out.

Ned, I don't comment much on your blog, but know that I head over there every week or so to catch up, and have read probably 75% of those NJTT entries front to back. Alex, I've clicked over and read a bunch of yours every time it's been linked here. Unfortunately, I can't read German...

x-post
it's my mother tongue, you know. and it could well be that my writing is a wee bit more solid. given that there are no comments in whichever language i write, it doesn't matter, really. maybe i'll put a google translate link somewhere.

ned, you nailed it with the persistence. it does make me feel good to write something on the music i love on a daily base. ilxor, everything up to 4:22 (kings of convenience - i don't know what i can save you from) was in english. here is the index of all songs up to now.

btw i finished my project on saturday. in the end i covered 334 tracks (see index link in last post). during the last two weeks i alternated between english and german.

Nice! I've been in the planning stages of mine for the past several weeks, hope to be launching it within the next month or so - depending on how much real life interferes.

Hey Alex, I love your blog (what I can read in english), but it seems like for the old clips it says "file not found"...are the clips no longer available?

most clips should still be available but the 13 tracks between 5:29 and 5:17 are offline.

re clips again: sometimes there are buffering problems. in that case a shift-reload (clear cache) or a shift-play should work. i had that with the smiths song "this night has opened my eyes".

OK thanks