2006 so far has been very good for blogging. While my all-time faves like Catchy Tunes of Sweden, Enthusiastic But Mediocre, Contact, Poptext and Girls On Pop have continued to provide us with ace tunes (and that Into The Groove isn’t bad either!), there have also been some new kids on the blog giving them a run for their poptastic status! Here are some of my personal favourites:
Tip Top Pop
Run by “Splitchick” from the PJ boards, this blog has so far given us an extremely thorough nostalgia trip through the work of Swedish super-producer Max Martin, including loads of remixes I’d never heard before and some great songs I’d forgotten all about. The only bad point so far is her admission that she likes Clay Aitken! It’s also brilliant to have another young female on the pop MP3 blogging scene, as she, I and Abby from Poptext are the only ones I know of.
#1 Hits From Another Planet
A lot of mp3 blogs post rare songs and forgotten gems, but a lot of the time those songs are rare or forgotten for a reason. However, #1 Hits… manages to find songs which are both little known and excellent. I have been introduced to several great bands through this site already (The Lovemakers and The Callahan being 2 particular favourites) and always enjoy reading the posts.
Don’t Stop The Pop
One of the most prolific mp3 blogs is this one, which has several new posts every time I visit it. They again focus more on rare tracks, and although a few are the sort that are rare for a reason, they have come up with some gems too and reminded me of a few forgotten favourites, such as the recent post of Someday I’ll Find You by Shola Ama, an amazing ballad which I taped off the chart when it came out and listened to non-stop for weeks!