Links for 8.30.08: Metallica ages, criticism busts, more music crowdsourcing
by Josh Kimball
*Play: JavaScript Rock Star. (Personally, I can no longer see a blue dot without thinking about David Cross. Or Brett Ratner.) [tobs]
*Criticism: What is the future of the music critic? (Is it 160 characters?) [largehearted boy]
*Juxtaposition: The New York Times reflects on the occasion of Trent Reznor playing at the Izod Center. Guys: Everyone is getting old.
*Crowdsourcing: Bandstocks allows fans to invest in bands, funding production of their music. One of a host of services aimed at crowdsourcing all aspects of the music biz, from A&R to distribution. [chasing lions]
*Elecs: The wristband MP3 player. (Oh, and it has GPS, too.) [crave]
*Metal: The Times follows Metallica to Romania, talks about how old they are and offers some clips from their latest album, “Death Magnetic.”
*Politics: Daddy Yankee will be kicking off the RNC on Monday, and has officially endorsed John McCain as his presidential pick.
Re Criticism – they have no one to blame but themselves for their decline. Few reviewers are worth reading. Aidin Vaziri of SF Chronicle bucks the trend. As a sample, I offer you a link to his fantastic review of Paris Hilton’s “Paris” – http://www.aidinvaziri.com/2006/09/review-paris-hilton-paris-paris-hilton.html. Yes, this one was actually printed in the newspaper.