Best Local Music Blog

Some pop phenomena are impossible to ignore, especially when led by a lanky 17-year-old kid named DeAndre Way who calls himself SOULJA BOY. The Chicago-born, Atlanta/Mississippi-bred teen created viral hysteria in a matter of months with his contagious song and dance, “Crank That (Soulja Boy).” His MySpace page has logged over 10 million views in 18 months. The page currently hosts over 130 YouTube videos featuring fans and celebrities such as Lil’ Wayne, Beyonce and Travis Barker replicating his dance. But the best footage is recorded by Soulja Boy’s personal camera man as he documents and YouTubes practically his every waking moment. It’s enabled him to go global from his bedroom with the backing of Interscope Records. Since the label signed him via Atlanta’s own Mr. Collipark, his song has reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and No. 11 on it’s United World chart. And his debut album doesn’t even drop until Oct. 2.

www.myspace.com/souljaboytellem

Music blogs have become the homemade zines of our generation. Everybody has one, and most of them are completely useless. That’s why when a worthwhile music blog such as CABLE & TWEED comes around, we jump on it. Rich Vining at Cable & Tweed has been indulging the music geek in all of us since January ‘06. The blog presents a perfect balance of local and national music coverage. But the real gem is the MP3s Vining posts from concerts performed locally. Where else can you hear the Decemberists performing live with the ASO at Chastain?

cableandtweed.blogspot.com

MySpace is the 21st-century equivalent of a Trapper Keeper binder — it’s covered in unicorns, dragons, notes from friends, and rock ‘n’ roll fantasies. Except now you don’t just scratch “MASTODON Rulez!” in red ink, you can also link to the band’s profile, make a logo background or embed a song. Fittingly, heavy music fans have embraced MySpace, and CL deems the logo worthiest of being scrawled in the biggest block letters to be our own local metal leviathans. Over the summer months, Mastodon’s profile became a compulsory click for previews of Blood Mountain, the epic album from arguably Atlanta’s sickest act. The page also features links to behind-the-scenes videos, old photos and more. Though seemingly incessant road warriors, Mastodon always maintains a home on the Net.
www.myspace.com/mastodon.

Local DJ, promoter and band manager Preston Craig launched KISSATLANTA.COM in March 2005, according to its first post, “so that people might gain a better understanding as to what the driving force is behind the music and venues in Atlanta.” In just over a year, it’s made impressive strides toward that goal, from chatting up new cultural obsessions to disseminating information on hot new local bands. The blog now features several local writers alongside Craig’s acerbic yet enthusiastic prose, all dedicated to chronicling Atlanta’s indie-rock scene.
www.kissatlanta.com.