From Maisonneuve, the record store is dying, but that could merely be a symptom of a much larger problem: that perhaps the city itself is dying; and Pink Floyd’s music can no longer be sold as single downloads or as mobile ringtones — a win for artistic integrity, right? Andy Battaglia reviews Cracked Media: The Sound of Malfunction by Caleb Kelly. There's no such thing as religious music. Thirty years ago, a rock writer coined the term "Oi!" to decribe his favourite music; soon "punk's idiot half-brother" was synonymous with arson, racism and football violence. Musical orientalism: Orientalism in western art and literature has been much commented upon, but a Paris concert series has broken new ground in exploring representations of the orient in music. Is there such a thing as a perfect song? Yes, it exists, but you gotta have faith, maybe even in Coldplay — maybe. A look at how Pandora avoided the junkyard, and found success. From PopMatters, an article on MP3s, the death of the record store, and the birth of the closet hipster; and maybe it’s the crappy economy, or just an extension of the long-term trend in popular music toward smaller and smaller ensembles, but it sure seems like there are a lot of one-man bands out there lately. Ko Htwe explores Burma's underground music scene and finds rappers and hip-hop artists with a political message. The trouble with easy listening: iTunes and iPods — what's not to like? How about the devaluation of the music experience. If music is free, how do artists get paid? Steve Almond on why music criticism is a pointless exercise. From The Futurist, an article on reinventing the music business. Deemed music that is “not real”, electronic sounds have come to occupy and permeate spaces focused on alterity, from the fringes of academia to the disposal heap of exotica.
