MP3 Blog Aggregators Replace P2P

Although Marco spurred me to finally post on this subject, mp3 blogs, I first thought about a couple weeks back when Dennis launched The Fire Through on MySpace. I was trying to figure out other ways to freely publicize and share the music with the rest of the internet world, beyond just the MySpace community (which is substantial, don't get me wrong).

Then there was Jose asking me a couple weeks back, after I emailed him this hilarious remake of Baby Got Back (mp3), "how the hell do you find this stuff?" It's my job. Here's how I do it: lots and lots of reading and mp3 blog aggregators.

My music listening habits have changed a lot over the last two years, as I've shifted from discovering new music from the traditional radio to discovering music through internet radio (KCRW almost exclusively). Now my music acquiring experience has shifted from P2P to blogs, specifically mp3 blog aggregators. I've found a lot of great music from the increasingly number of blogs that I've started reading over the last year or so. More often than not, blogs will post one or two songs from a new or favorite artist to give you a taste of the music. You can link to the 30-second clips on iTunes but why not post a whole track and let your blog readers decide whether the artist's album is worth purchasing. I'm of the faith that a few tracks out there for download actually benefits artists.

But searching blogs for mp3 can be tedious (although I do enjoy it, it's like trolling the aisles of a used record store because you never know what gems you may find). Enter mp3 blog aggregators:

• The Internet Archive (the granddaddy of free mp3 files, not a blog but their collection is massive)
• The Hype Machine (add it to your Firefox search drop-down)
• Stereogum
• Elbo.ws
• Odeo (geared towards podcasts but still effective for finding mp3)

Mp3 blog aggregators aren't my discovery, they are a natural outgrowth of blogs, rss feeds, and good search/cache services-- Audio RSS for Generation Lazy. What's new to me, though, is how easily I've transitioned from using P2P to using mp3 blogs for finding mp3s. The gradual transition has been an evolution and not a revolution, for two reasons:

• WinMX shut its doors, so I started searching for new avenues to mps
• Tons of great, thought-provoking blogs that also share similar musical tastes as mine (buttressed by services like Last.fm)

For example, one of my current favorites and often cited, Fred Wilson's VC blog. Fred posts about a lot of great subjects, from technology to VC and everything in between for those on the cutting edge of internet development. Additionally, he likes great music and he and his family do a weekly podcast, Positively 10th Street, highlighting new and old music that they're playing in heavy rotation.

Mp3 blogs and blog aggregators are more examples of apps moving online (yes, the 'ol Web 2.0 moniker), where the internet becomes the platform. Forget P2P, I can now find most of the music that I want (read- good music that most commercial FM stations would never play) from mp3 blogs.

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Speaking of good 'ol traditional radio, support WBER by voting in their 2005 Listener Countdown. As much as I'd like to, you can only pick from the list of songs that the station has played over the last year (which means you can choose your favorites unless they're on the list) so choose wisely.

Lastly, following up on the funny Slate article on the worst track of 2005, here's the Arcade Fire & Black Eyed Peas mashup called "Hump My Tunnel" that sums up all of 2005 (almost, according to Stereogum).

Currently Listening: Metroplis w/ Jason Bentley - KCRW