5 More Band Blogs You Need to Follow

by Anne T. Donahue

April 14, 2010

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The blogosphere – the best way to stay up-to-date with artists, their music and any other endeavours, written by them, for you and with the personality you’ve come to love so much. Hence, here’s a list of five more of our favourite artist blogs and why you should check them out.

While there’s something innately personal about catching your favourite band live, or (better yet) running into them after the show, you can’t help but feel a little removed when reading about their goings-on and musical updates via generic internet reports and 140-character announcements.   Cue: the blogosphere – the best way to stay up-to-date with artists, their music and any other endeavors, written by them, for you and with the personality you’ve come to love so much.  Hence, here’s a list of five more of our favourite artist blogs and why you should check them out. Make sure to read the first part of this list which features prolific blogger bands Fucked Up, Tegan and Sara and more.

Drake

It’s rare to find an artist with the time to regularly write at all, let alone while on tour and establishing a successful hip-hop career.  However, the blog of Toronto’s Drake not only offers a glimpse of life on the road, but life as hard-working and determined artist, forging a path sure to lead to the ranks of hip-hop royalty – as branded by his cover of XXL magazine (also featured on the blog).

While other sites hide behind elaborate background schemes and flowery content, Drake’s venture into the blogosphere reflects his confidence and honesty as a musician – relying solely on his talent (or in this case, words and content) to convey his point while keeping your attention.  He may not be a writer, but his photos and videos offer the personality lacking in corporate or label-run efforts, working to simply speak for themselves.

K-OS

Less a website and more of a universe, K-OS’ blog offers everything from videos and links to “Randumb” LP finds and “The 5”: short Q & A with the likes of Evanne Cochrane, Sarika Suzuki and anyone else deemed worthy.  The ultimate go-to for everything informational, music-related and generally awesome, the blog lacks the pretentiousness of many artist-run sites, and despite the opportunity to do so, K-OS doesn’t utilize it as another extension of the universal PR machine.

However, while he still promotes his tours, music videos and artistry, each “official” aspect is extremely personalized and understated, weighing as heavily as the rest of his subject matter and allowing itself to stand on its own.  For fans of all-encompassing blogs extraordinaire, Sheep in Wolves Clothes is the ultimate in random, fun, organized and interesting – and just when you thought it couldn’t get any better, you’re presented with the iconic wolf graphic.

Andrew Wyatt

While some people aren’t familiar with the name of the Miike Snow front man, those that are – and those who’ve stumbled across his blog – have come to understand the intensity and insight behind the American musician.  While the site only boasts two entries (so far), each are quite detailed, touching on everything from his experiences on the road to his thoughts on architecture  to the haunting history behind an incredibly historical (and relevant) building.  Here’s hoping he returns to the blogosphere soon so the possibility of living vicariously through Wyatt and his adventures can continue.

Los Campensinos!

Not just a blog, but an entire site dedicated to the antidotes and updates from Cardiff’s talented indie rock darlings.  Encouraging (“nay, requiring”) fan and community interaction, each of the six band members regularly offer their accounts of touring and music-making, putting forth news, photos and firsthand accounts of life on the road, while honing an incredible talent for making it seem like they’re writing specifically for you.

Nominated for an NME Shockwave Award for Best Band Blog this year, Los Campensinos! vocally maintain the importance of social interaction, encouraging the sending of comments, posts and personal emails (“Please don’t email us boring business crap.  Use the emails over to the left for that.  Cheers.”), and consistently reply to fans who mention them on Twitter.  Now if only they hadn’t lost out to Radiohead.

La Roux

We’ve all imagined (or secretly pined) for life on the road, and while reading about the trials and tribulations of tour adventures is undoubtedly entertaining, sometimes only photographs are necessary when writing skills may not be up to par.  So while Elly Jackson and her band are likely quite eloquent, well-worded and capable of writing, the group’s decision to post only photographs of their exciting experiences make their blog much more accessible and “casual-scroll through”-friendly.

Like checking out Facebook photos or your favourite Tumblr, La Roux’s site invites fan to share in fun the band so obviously has, offering photographs that showcase their friendships, their travels and their obvious enthusiasm.  (And who knew they were so closely linked with UK TV presenter/fashionista Alexa Chung?)

Tags: Music, Featured, Andrew Wyatt, Drake, La Roux

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