I like checking out the blogs!

This article origianlly appeared in yesterdays "Downtown" in Cork's Evening Echo

Blogging has really taken off in the last few years and even though i've been blogging myself for over three years now I have to admit I really only saw how big it had become quite recently. In music blogging has been very influential in promoting both new and old music and it has also raised up some important ethical questions with regard to file sharing too.
Basically, no matter what tune you are looking for can be probably found within minutes on a blog and the record companies and music rights organisations are doing their best to prevent further illegal sharing of music sales that are already in deep decline over recent years. Personally speaking, i have no problems with the blogs that share only out of print music as it encourages people to go and seek out this music and indeed other music from the said artists. Sharing music that is readily available is different however, and I can see the moral argument about why this should be prevented. This is definitely an argument for another day though.
Blogs are a great way of finding music so here are a few of my favourite music ones that I urge you to check out! These are obviously reflective of my own musical tastes but if you find any blog at all that you like go and check out the links and it will surely lead you to more


http://matthewafrica.blogspot.com/
Excellent soul and jazz blog that shows the knowledge of Oakland based blogger Matthew Africa. He has got some serious music on there, always worth a look

http://www.irishtimes.com/blogs/ontherecord/
Jim Carroll is a music industry veteran in Ireland and i grew up checking out soul and hip-hop articles he wrote for Hot Press, at a time when coverage of hip-hop and soul was pretty scarce. This is an excellent blog that will keep music fans up to date on a broad range of subjects.


http://soul-sides.com
Oliver Wang is a music journalist, sociology professor and DJ who has been writing on pop music, culture, and politics since back in the day. This site is highly respected and I regularly check it out


http://godeeppresents.wordpress.com
Corks very own Greg and Shane are always busy gigging or producing tunes; this is the blog where you will find out exactly what is up, from new releases to Go Deep birthday news.


http://2dopeboyz.okayplayer.com
I've never seen a blog updated so much. All things hip-hop are previewed here, and there are exclusive videos and performances thrown up practically non-stop; not always to my musical taste, but it's great to find fans of quality hip-hop people that are not exclusively stuck in the 1990's


http://beatelectric.blogspot.com
Quality rare disco music with some really informative writing and a serious love of some of the most under-rated music ever released.

http://steviegblog.blogspot.com
Well i have to include my own really! Updated about 3 or 4 times a day you can find all the news here, plus links to my mixes, my tune of the day, a late night chill out tune, some links to my Red Drive features on RedFM, interviews and much much more (I've many Echo articles archived here too)


http://likeathrottle.blogspot.com
DJ Day is a very interesting DJ and producer so as you can imagine his blog is pretty essential! Some wonderful music on here


http://cheebah.typepad.com
This Limerick based blog has been active for ages and features contributions from some of the most knowledgeable music heads in this country, including Shane Curtain and Paul Tarpey.

http://www.chopshop.fm
Another Irish based hip-hop blog that is worth checking. Many of Irelands best soul, hip-hop and funk DJ's have mixes up on this available for free download.