Starting a blog is so 2004. Gubernatorial candidates, third-graders, nuns, the weatherman — if you start a blog in 2006, you're just establishing another blip on a blogosphere radar that's already overcrowded. So, after deciding to start a blog anyway, and because we wanted it to stand out from the reams of e-waste like cubicle poetry, empty celebrity gossip, Web cams broadcasting from a lonely dimension, and mewling "I'm sad today" posts, we just changed the spelling. Music blog? Nah. More like Music Blahg, as in more yak to distract. Bookmark it now, and prepare to shave another 20 points off your productivity rating. Or not.
Debuting Aug. 23, the Music Blahg brings you more music coverage and muckraking, from local record and concert reviews and trolls through the D-Town rumor lagoon to thoughts and observations about the latest pop singles, ugly music trends and artists you should know (or not know) about before their songs are licensed to a flashy ad for Jaguar or shaving cream. We're watching out for your iPod's, uh, cool factor. And besides, hasn't the world waited long enough for our opinion on Fergie's validity as a solo artist? Our opinion? She has no validity. But you can read more about that on the site.
What else is on the Blahg? Well, right now there's a review of John Fogerty and Willie Nelson's Aug. 18 concert at DTE. Willie played the grizzled yet classy elder statesman, while Fogerty's set was a snoozer better suited for those stilted and cheesy "An evening with ..." PBS specials. We give props to New York City singer-songwriter Regina Spektor, and wonder if Zooey Deschanel would be perfect for the lead in a Regina biopic that hasn't been made yet. There's also a You Tube link to the video for "All Over Your Face," the newest single from queer emcee Cazwell, and a (fictional) press release from Sleater-Kinney, who announce they'll be part of the CW Television network's new fall lineup, starring opposite Greg Kinnear in the hilarious new sitcom "Sleater-Kinnear."
The Music Blahg is also a way to expand the conversation beyond once a week. That show you couldn't go to because it was a weeknight and you had your meeting with human resources at 8 the next morning? Or the one you missed because you were holed up in some Woodbridge bathroom doing blow? Well, we made the show, and we'll tell you about it on the Blahg, practically in real time. That album so many idiots are talking about online but no one actually has because it's only available in Japan and you're all out of yen? We've heard it, and we're writing about it right now on the Blahg. The feature stories, interviews and reviews we publish in the music section of the Metro Times aren't any less important, but the Music Blahg is an additional forum. Too, look at the occasional jaundiced opine from features editor Brian Smith as well as input from others in our staff and freelance pool. It's our way of giving you more of everything, because we know you're as greedy as we are.
Johnny Loftus is the music editor of Metro Times. Send comments to [email protected]
