Music Monday: Music Blogs

Photo by Active Steve Courtesy of Flickr
(Creative Commons).

The following article first appeared on Apartment613 on May 11.

Recently we profiled two local photographers who chronicle Ottawa’s music scene. In this week’s column, we expand our focus to include the numerous other music bloggers from the National Capital Region.

Music Writers

Most local bloggers probably don’t consider themselves to be journalists or writers in the strict sense of the word. However, given that many music-related blogs contain interviews, previews of upcoming shows, reviews of new releases, insightful analysis and interesting bits of information, it is fair to say that many area bloggers are producing work that is comparable to traditional music journalism.

As a case in point, Ottawa Showbox, which we have mentioned before on Tour de blogosphere, is a great blog for music news. (I reviewed OS on my local blog recently). Couch Assassin is another fantastic site where you can find, among other things, previews of upcoming shows and musician profiles. For punk rock lovers, Ottawa Explosion (alternative tumble site here) is worth checking out, while those interested in reading about classical music can link to The Heckeler. Music Inkorporated, meanwhile, is another blog that you can read to get news and music-related analysis.

Concert and Event Listings

Besides Apartment613, numerous local sites contain information about musical events in our region. If you are a fan of traditional Irish music, then the Irish Music Ottawa – blog is the place to go. Classical music fans can read Music and Beyond, while devotees of folk music should check out Spirit of Rasputin’s. For blues fans, Ottawa Blues This Week is an indispensable source of information, with its extensive list of shows and events.

Birdman Sound is another good site where you can find upcoming shows, along with posts that contain musical playlists. Hardcore and punk fans can read Ottawa Hardcore, while patrons of Raw Sugar Cafe can follow the hip cafe’s tumblr site to see upcoming shows. My Ottawa Show Listings was quite active last year, although it seems to be currently dormant. That said, this site is worth bookmarking in the event that it starts up again.

Blogging Musicians, DJs and Radio Show Hosts

Ottawa Live Music bills itself as the only interactive live music show in the city, while Harmony & Groove, who mix pop, funk R&B and soul, also have a blog. Ditto for local jazz vocalist and songwriterRenée Yoxon, who has a tumblr account, and piano player, singer and songwriter Tyler Kealey.

Local hip-hop innovators A Tribe Called Red have a blog, although it hasn’t been updated since this past January. Similarly, Brad Turcotte, who performs under the name Brad Sucks, has a web site / blog, though it appears to have been last updated in mid-March. The Souljazz Orchestra also has a site where they post news about their musical careers which is updated on a periodic basis.

Other blogs that you may be interested in checking out are the CKCU show Debaser, the site for DJ CPI, the blog of JayBizz LeFresh, and the one for DJ Hobo & Sweet Cheeks, who uses a SoundCloud account to post musical mixes.

Miscellaneous

Finally, Pearl Pirie, whose impressive blogging we have already profiled, started earlier this year the music-related site earworm curation.