When I was a teenager and someone asked me what kind of music I liked, I remember knowing that how I answered that question inadvertently let people know who I am. They didn't really want music recommendations, they just wanted to make sure I liked the right music.
One day, mid teen-angst, I realized the trick to that question was, "Oh, I don't know, I really like everything." And then a quick, "Except country, of course." But that answer seemed kind of false in the 80's, because "everything" was hard to come by. We listened to what WPLJ and Z100 told us to listen to. Or whatever we found in our parent's music collection (Jim Morrison and Carly Simon and The Roaches). But it was a bit hard to expand beyond that.
Nowadays though, we really can say everything. In fact, nowadays, I find it really hard to say anything but everything. In the past week I've listened to a bazillion 30-second song clips by unsigned/unlabeled bands whose t-shirts I'm more familiar with than their guitar player's name. That's just the way things are now with music. We really do listen to "everything".
Now a new question I get asked is, "So what blogs do you read?" And wouldn't you know it, the answer to that also implies some sort of personality assessment. It's an interesting question, and rarely do I find two people who say the same thing. People get nervous answering it, too. I can tell by their face that they want to say something that sounds smart or hip.
So, I decided to write a little post about the blogs I frequent, for better or worse.
The Animated Life - Jeff Scher
http://scher.blogs.nytimes.com/
This is one of the NYT's bloggers. He's an animator and does marvelous work. I like how his blog isn't only a place to post the wonderful projects he creates, but that he writes about why he makes them. It gives his work context. He writes well, and briefly, and as an artist I always walk away (or, surf away) from his blog feeling like I got something out of it.
College Humor Videos
http://www.collegehumor.com/
I know, I know. I'm way too old to be reading this. OR, am I? I have a thing for short-attention span, really funny, creative, ridiculous, (emphasis on the creative), internet videos. I just think there's an art to it. I don't actually read this whole website, most of it I find stoopid. But I did set up my igoogle account to subscribe to their College Humor videos. Most of which, I am not ashamed to admit, I really get a kick out of.
Recent Examples:
The Yoga Class (funny!)
Wall Animation (stunning and beautiful)
Kimberlee's Video Blogs
http://www.crucialminutiae.com/?author=10
I like this girl. She does good blog. I've read her book, too. Her blog is called, "Therapy Thursdays" and every Thursday she posts a little video blog for her readers. They are usually therapy-centric musings, outlooks on life, things she thinks about. She has this delicate way of speaking that I can relate to, and I always listen to what she says thoughtfully.
Davey Dance Blog
http://fishel.tumblr.com/
I've already written about this guy, but I'm going to add it to the list in case you didn't hear me the first time. He's great! He dances around the world to appropriately chosen music that subtly matches the history of the place he's in. He said in an interview recently that there are many components to this project. The main, obvious experience is that the videos posted on the Internet are available for anyone to see. But the other experience happening is with the people who walk by him while he's dancing. He has headphones on, so no one hears the music. They just see him dancing. He said NYC people are the most oblivious to it. But if you watch his most recent video blog, it's really fun to watch the people watching him.
Diary of a Disillusioned Dater
http://diaryofadisillusioneddater.blogspot.com/
This is one of the funniest blog writers I have found in a while. Most "dating blogs" are written by women. Lots of them Jewish. Lots of them in NYC. I've been waiting to find a guy online who can dish it out just as well. Better even. It's not just that his stories about his dating life are honest, sincere, and slightly vulnerable. But they are written SO well. And they are SO funny. I've been reading them out loud to a woman I work with. She and I were laughing so hard I could barely get through it.
Skip to his best ones:
Going Halfsies
The Height of Stupidity
The Drive By
Jake and Amir
http://www.jakeandamir.com/
I already told you about them. They make me laugh, laugh, laugh. I think that's what I look for most in a blog. Funny is the new smart.
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