I just popped out and...

Things I’ve missed while I’ve been away...

The all-new Hype Machine

So the Hype Machine has had a makeover (or gone into Beta or whatever technology nerds call it). Hello to a new stylised interface. Got to say I like the new logo and ‘corporate colours’ (I would say that, I bought one of the t-shirts), but I’m not sure I like the new site. The real beauty of the old one was its simplicity. Plain background, the minimum of ads and just a straight list of tracks. Now parts of the blog posts are on display, which I think is a bit unnecessary. And it seems only three tracks are visible per post. Just give me the old list! That’s all I need – not all the new interactive thingys. Who knows, maybe I’ll grow to like it, but for now, it’s not impressing me that much.

The BT DMA awards

So the results are in and the list has been published. It looks like rather than improving on my placing of 17 last year, this year I’ve slipped to 26. Maybe there were more people out there in the running this year. That’s my excuse anyway (it’s a fair one mind, since my readership is a good bit up on last year, thus increasing voting potential). Mind you, it’s an odd bunch. The blogging pop stars Mike Skinner and David Gilmour are at the top again. The rest are a motely collection of band and genre-specific blogs, sites that are not really blogs at all, nor music blogs. Congrats to Victoria’s Jukebox which managed to beat off a load of the corporate and star-backed enterprises. Elsewhere, of the music blogs that I recognise and frequent, we have Song By Toad at no 22, Headphonesex, Indie mp3 and Fucking Dance all in the top 40 and Sweeping the Nation , Nothing But Green Lights. Keep Hope Inside, music like dirt all in the list.I wonder how many of the top 100 will still be active come next year’s competition though? Maybe there should be some sort of vetting process - I mean, this one (no. 56) is surely stretching the notion of both music and blog.

In Rainbows released

Oh yes. It’s finally here, though I missed the release date by over a week due to not having access to my own computer, finally getting it yesterday. I’ve had a couple of listens and it’s good. I think it’s a bit of a grower. There are no obvious ‘anthems’ here, which is a good thing in my book. Instead the sounds are more subtle and complex and will probably take a good few listens to fully embed in my mind. It’s also good to see that Radiohead are still steering a path of their own. They have a lot to answer for in a way, which being semi-responsible for creating the genre of stadium indie which plagues our charts and record shops, but it’s been a while since they trod that path. The are using electronic beats to fine effect, and their use of strings is beautifully restrained. There seems to be a lot more listening pleasure to have here.

Download: Radiohead - House of Cards