Under the Radar podcast #2

Last month the famously provocative former NME writer Steven 'Swells' Wells died aged 49 after a battle with Hodgkin's lymphoma disease. His passing has led many to comment on the present state of music journalism and lament its apparent lack of authority and credibility, as a legion of bloggers threaten to swipe away the mantle of influence.

For our second podcast we investigate the situation in depth, enlisting viewpoints from both sides of the journos vs bloggers divide.

Billy has spoken to Mike Diver, former Drowned in Sound reviewer-in-chief and now online editor at Clash Magazine, and Matthew Young, the passionate blogger behind the influential, Edinburgh-based Song by Toad. Their answers make for a fascinating dissection of the future of music writing.

What's more, we have tracks by a fine array of UtR-tipped bands, including There Will Be Fireworks and Cancel the Astronauts, and we look forward to T in the Park with music from My Cousin I Bid You Farewell, Dead Boy Robotics and Tango in the Attic.

Enjoy, and let us know where you stand on the journo/blogger debate below...

Play: Podcast #2


Under the Radar podcast #2
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You can subscribe to the Under the Radar podcast at this link.

Running order:
01:20: There Will Be Fireworks - Foreign Thoughts
05:49: Cancel the Astronauts - Late in the City
10:34: Special report: music journalism v blogging (Mike Diver / Matthew Young)
20:18: Second Hand Marching Band - A Dance to Half Death
26:37: My Cousin I Bid You Farewell - The Contented Hearts
30:00: Dead Boy Robotics - We Drown Ourselves
32:59: Tango in the Attic - Jackanory

Words and Podcast: Billy Hamilton, Nick Mitchell

Edinburgh's indie scene rises again

Not since the distant days of Josef K and The Fire Engines has Edinburgh fostered such a healthy music scene. Glasgow always casts a long shadow eastward, not least with the recent commercial success of Glasvegas, but it seems Scotland's capital city is finally emerging with a dynamic, like-minded clutch of bands.

And some of the success can be attributed to local music fans taking matters into their own hands by promoting gigs, writing blogs and even putting out records. One such industrious fellow is Matthew Young, who has been running his lively Song, by Toad blog for a while and recently set up his own record label.

It's early days, but the few releases to date have been of remarkably high quality. First, Meursault gave us an album that was just a few weeks too late for many album-of-the-year polls with Pissing on Bonfires, Kissing with Tongues, which The Scotsman's Fiona Shepherd liked a lot. Then folkier outfits Eagleowl and Nightjar emerged with a pair of EPs that also received strong praise.

They say music scenes occur in cycles, and Edinburgh's indie community is long overdue its day in the sun (metaphorically speaking of course - this is Scotland).