music is my radar

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Blog of the Week #13 - The Art of Noise

"News, views, reviews"

I'm not sure if I'm breaking any of my own rules here by nominating a blog you are probably already mostly familiar with. Like the British Constitution though, as these rules are entirely unwritten, I'm going to do what I want.

The Art of Noise is a collaborative blog with the main contributors being Ben and Jonathan S, with occasional help from Jonathan B, Pete and Phill. The original objective was to have somewhere to collect together the music posts that appear on their own personal blogs. Original content was okay, but it was basically somewhere that you could (re-)read their thoughts on music in one place. Somewhere along the line (in November last year), I got asked if I would like to contribute to their big new feature: "The A-Z of music":

"Each week a panel of contributors – which includes both bloggers and non-bloggers – will write a short music-centred piece. The subject could be a band, an artist, an album, a song, a genre, an instrument, a manager, a label, a record shop, a magazine, a critic, a fanzine, a concept – the only limitation is that the chosen subject must begin with the letter of the week, ‘Sesame Street’ stylee"

Would I like to contribute? Hell yes. This week we've got as far as 'R', but the contributions have been anything but predicatable. No Beatles under 'B', no Dylan under 'D'.... and so far not a single thing duplicated, in spite of the fact that we all submit our pieces independently and via email. My own writing aside though, what we have had is some of the most eclectic and interesting writing about what it is that makes music so interesting.

It's fantastic.

But don't just take my word for it. The Art of Noise has just been pulled out by The Times as their blog of the week.

"The web has opened up music criticism to anyone who wants to say why they think the Strokes’ new album is another disappointment. But some rare blogs have risen above the mass of mediocrity to deliver interesting opinions. One such is The Art of Noise. It is not the usual reviews- driven enterprise; instead, several contributors analyse popular music in a highly personal way, with posts devoted to each letter of the alphabet. So, “A” covers Adam and the Ants (left), the concept of “amplification” and Asian Dub Foundation. A simple idea, but compulsive reading."

Congratulations! Well deserved.

It's not about me - there are far more interesting contributors to the list than me - but because I'm into lists...... here are my own personal contributions to the A-Z (so far):

A is for.... The Auteurs
B is for.... Blackpool Empress Ballroom
C is for.... Coldplay (natch)
D is for.... Debaser
E is for.... Elastica
F is for.... Foo Fighters
G is for.... Gene
H is for.... High Fidelity
I is for .... Iron Maiden
J is for.... James
K is for.... Kings of Leon
L is for.... Lionel Richie
M is for.... Morrissey / Marr
N is for.... Nottingham
O is for.... Ohrwurm
P is for.... 'Piano Man' - Billy Joel
Q is for.... Quelqu'un Ma Dit - Carla Bruni
R is for.... regional accents

Who knows what 'S' will bring?

Blog of the week.

[Previous blogs of the week: Delrico Bandito, I have ordinary addictions, Girl With A One-Track Mind, Ditch Monkey, Skinny Legs and All, Wandering Scribe, Sarah, MC Hammer, Lisa Whiteman, Paul Daniels, 2012 Olympic Special, Some Guy On A Journey]