Back to the Music Blog - and Back to Thoughts about Politics and Music Blogging

I’ve gotten back to working on my music blog.  For some reason, I have just, finally gotten hooked on YouTube, and I’m starting to post a whole bunch of videos.  This is something I should probably have done from the start.  Maybe if I manage to overcome my technological laziness a little more, I’ll also get into posting mp3s, as any music blogger should.

I’ve posted YouTube videos of M.I.A., Natacha Atlas, Blondie (strangely enough), Monsoon and Sheila Chandra…  I’ve also just written a bunch about Sheila Chandra too.

Some people might expect that my music blog would be more political in nature and/or maybe would get into more political bands (or a larger number of political bands).  But that’s not how my musical tastes go, especially not these days.  My love of M.I.A. came about not because she is political, but because she does stuff that appeals so well to my tastes in music - and manages to make some very interesting political comments on top of that.  (Of course, there are other factors also, but never mind.)  And I probably could say the same about Natacha Atlas, and a few other people whom I might focus on.

Many people in the U.S. who consider themselves anarchists or radical leftists still seem to have some interest in anarcho-punk.  Unfortunately, at least when it comes to the music, I have no desire to go there at all these days.  In England and Europe, there seems to be more of a history between anarchism or other radical politics and hardcore techno, which is closer to some of my musical tastes in recent years.  But in the U.S., the anarcho-punk associations remain much stronger and, once again, I just can’t bring myself to start blogging about that stuff, not even about old CRASS.  

Fortunately, there are interesting bloggers out there who are still willing to cover that terrirotry - such as Transpontine, over at History Is Made at Night.  (And, maybe because this is a British blog, he also discusses an old anarcho-crusty gabber scene and assumes most people will know what he’s talking about.)