IFM Relaunch / Songs of the Summer

First of all let me apologies to all of you who’ve wasted your time checking in on this blog lately. It’s been nearly two months since the latest blog post; a time spent weighting whether to bury it in the ground or start fresh and doing it more effective and less time consuming, but hopefully more interesting and transparent. As once stated in the mission statement, I started this blog to provide a venue for pushing, supporting and reviewing artists, bands and labels that create gripping and relevant music. I figured, since I’ve spent most of my life listening to music and sharing my opinion with my annoyed family and friends anyway, why not write and share for people that actually care. Now, two years later, I still love blogging just as much – if not more than when I first started out. I just needed to see if there still was room for it, as the curveballs of life keep hitting me harder than normally.

But to be able to continue doing this in sustainable way there needed to be a few changes. The layout/design is perhaps the most obvious one. Over the years I’ve changed the interface more times than I would like to admit, which probably pissed off more than a few readers. And in retrospect it hasn’t been a good move in terms of traffic growth, but with this new look I went for simplicity and accessibility. So get used to it. It’s here to stay. Probably.

So with that in mind, let me introduce you to the changes and why they needed to happen.

SONGS OF THE WEEK POSTS

The focus for me has always been the music. But in the past I’ve also spent a great amount of time on descriptive writing. I’ve simply haven’t got the time anymore, which going forward, basically translates to less focus on writing and more on music. I’ll still try to maintain the frequency of song/track posts, but with shorter more to the point commentary. About twice a week I’ll give you a post where I sum up songs I want/need/hope/demand you to give a listen. If time allows it, I’ll post more.

ONGOING ALBUMS OF THE YEAR LIST / SHORT, TO THE POINT REVIEWS

I guess it’s hard for some people to understand how much work is gone into writing a full page review. So as much as I’ve loved doing full reviews in the past (probably what I’ve enjoyed the most), I don’t get paid a dime for it and time simply isn’t enough anymore. So naturally, I will cut back considerably on full page reviews.

Still, I’m foremost an album guy. I love the format, love vinyl, love sharing my views and recommendations on album I listen to (always done and always will, here or some other place in life). But thanks to WLFY, possibly the greatest music blog on the planet (thanks Hank & Zach for all the time, passion and dedication over the years, and glad to see WLFY is still very much alive), I’ve gotten around the problem by shamelessly copying an old concept of theirs. It’s basically a changing, on-going top list of the 40 albums (or so) I dance, cry, get drunk to and love the most in a given year.

Once or twice a month I’ll also write short, bulk reviews of albums I love, hate or have some kind of opinion that I feel need to be shared. And if and when time allows it, I’ll write full length reviews as well.

Just as I wrote almost two years ago; this blog is here to provide a reliable guide for new quality music. And that statement rings true just as much going forward.

Now, to start things of, here are just a handful of songs that I’ve enjoyed a lot this summer:

Shabazz Palaces – “Forerunner Foray”

As I’ve told numerous times, Shabazz Palaces’ Lese Majesty was one of the albums I was most looking forward to this summer. So, did Ishmael Butler & Co deliver on the massive promise of their perplexing former record Black Up? No, not entire. But there where a handful of brilliant, twisted, psychedelic-rap cuts that really blew my mind. “Forerunner Foray” was one of them.

Lil B – “No Black Person Is Ugly”

Possibly my favorite hip hop cut this summer was “No Black Person Is Ugly” by hit-and-miss rapper Lil B.

Spoon – “Do You”

Spoon returned earlier with a very solid and catchy rock record, which could well become my all-time favorite Spoon album. And while “Do You” is just one of many many enjoyable tracks on They Want My Soul, this is the one that most likely will convince you to check out the rest.

The New Pornographers – “War On The East Coast”

The New Pornographers are set to return with a new record later this month and “War On The East Coast” followed “Brill Bruisers” as single/teaser number 2. I’ve long learned that a few great singles won’t necessarily translate into a good album, but one can hope that Bill Bruisers is every bit as good as I imagine it to be. Out August 26 via Matador.

Fransisco the Man – “Progress”

Just because I stopped blogging, it didn’t mean I stopped listening. I’ve first heard “Progress” by LA quartet Francisco the Man on IGIF, and it’s a track that grew into this late-summer angst-driven phenomenon that I’ve already listen to more times than I can remember.