A couple of years ago I made a conscious decision to effectively say yes to almost any interesting offer that came my way as a result of running a gimmicky music blog, and I can honestly say it was the best decision I ever made.
Some blogs don’t like the idea of ‘selling out’. I figured that embracing such a concept was probably more in line my ethos, and it’s been a blast, frankly.
Anyway, when Skype asked me if I wanted to be connected with another music blogger in Toronto, hit our respective towns and to IM each other all the gristly details, I said yes, because it sounded like, at the very least, a better use of my Saturday night than merely going drinking and watching bands.
I’d be drinking, watching bands and educating through sharing! How altruistic was that?
Well, it was a lot of fun. Cake was eaten. Mani from the Stone Roses walked past me, conveniently reinforcing the image of Manchester as a city with a surfeit of celebrity bassists.
I video-called a new local band called Blossoms, to Tiana, who was in a Toronto record store at the time. It was an interesting amalgamation: live blogging via video.
And, er, speaking of talking to me, here’s today’s new artist TALKTOME. I’m sure you can tell from a cursory glance that ANBAD is not run intelligently enough for that to be anything other than a vast coincidence.
In Aazra, TALKTOME has made a rigid, metronomic, mechanical track that, unexpectedly, has more swing and soul than the bulk of songs that set out to be swing or soul songs.
Stabs of warm, rounded sounds punctuate Aazra, and forms the entire shape, thrust and point of it. Pretty, unusual, and effective.