If you must visit another site besides Groovemine to get turned on to good music, these are blogs we love and are well worth your read.
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR: DEVI CHUNG







Flea Market Funk
The old saying goes: One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. But in music, once trash, always trash (unless otherwise remixed) and good music for one is good music for all. Flea Market Funk provides a map to a bounty of  some the most widely respected classic hip-hop, soul, jazz, and reggae. Its author is DJ Prestige, aka Jamison Harvey, of Brooklyn who specializes in deeply funky record finds. The blog gives props to the fellow DJ’s, collectors, and producers within the old-school community (get to know them in his “Big Ups” interviews). Also, don’t forget to check out the DJ mixes  programmed by him and his “guests” and make sure to watch the recommended videos in “Eye Candy”—great musicians caught on tape!

RECENT EXCERPT: (Regarding James Brown) “If he were alive today, Mr. Dynamite, the Hardest Working Man in Showbiz, the Godfather of Soul, Soul Brother Number 1, the King of Funk, Mr. Please Please Please Please Her, The Boss, and my personal favorite: Minister of The New New Super Heavy Funk, would have been 78. James Brown changed not only my life musically, but he touched the lives of every DJ, producer, and hip hop artist that...”  [continue reading this post]







Funky 16 Corners
The Funky16Corners blog is focused on vintage funk and soul music, much of it recorded by artists who are not household names to the lay funk/soul fan. The man behind the site, Larry Grogan from New Jersey, first bestowed the F16C moniker to a webzine in 2000 and has subsequently expanded his brand to his blog and a radio show. Beyond the informative and educational writing, Grogan posts a lot of this hard-to-find music for stream and download. Many of the MP3 singles are left up for a respectful 10 days, but he's got lots of mixes/podcasts to share in the F16C Guest Mix Archive, F16C Podcast Archive, F16C Radio Show, and F16C Soul Club which are easily accessed from the top nav. Many of the posted MP3s are digitized from Grogan's large vinyl collection.

RECENT EXCREPT: “If you’re not familiar with James Carr (and I know I say this all the time, but I assume nothing), get out onto the interwebs, or grab yourself a copy of Peter Guralnick’s classic tome ‘Sweet Soul Music’ and get hip. Carr was, to keep things short and sweet, one of the finest soul singers of the 60s, with all-time greats like ‘Dark End of the Street’ (many would say...”  [continue reading this post]







AOR Disco
With a wink and a nod to the contemporary adult FM radio station, AOR (Adult Orientated Rock) Disco features music primarily from the 1970s and 1980s; from the radio rock of oft-exalted Led Zepplin, Pink Floyd, Kenny Loggins and (even) Bruce Hornsby to popular disco of the time, blogger Matthew Hamilton occasionally delves into the more obscure, as well. The key here, however, is that the music he blogs about has been brought back from the dead with new skin. Classic originals maintain their initial glory but have been reworked and revived by DJ’s and producers of this era, offering a time traveling soundgasm brought on by edit engineering. Very little prose populates this blog. Instead, streaming players, links to download MP3s and DJ mix track listings enable you to share all that Hamilton has aggregated, including exclusive edits and mixes which can also be found on his Soundcloud page.











Unholy Rhythms
This blog is made special by the raw, witch-like, dramatized poetry and prose that is posted alongside each track which works to amplify the songs’ experience. By adding this extra expression to her music, fellow listeners are given the opportunity to see the music in a new light. 

RECENT EXCERPT: My fingers would travel down the serpentine path of your crooked and twisted vertebrae. Those bones which would beautifully protrude out from your hips, raised and poetic, like proud dignitaries, would tremble and shake. Your pale flesh kissed with slight scars and marks...  [read more of this post]







Undomondo
A music blog (and radio show) based in Istanbul, its posts span many genres: from world, jazz, reggae, indie, folk, experimental, and electro. Blending the gap between art, noise, and music, they hop between the present and past, highlighting today's quality podcasts alongside alluring classic hits from the vintage generations.

RECENT EXCERPT: “Another gem from the inexhaustible African 70′s catalogue, unearthed this time by Academy LPs and voodofunk is ‘Psycho African Beat’ by The Psychedelic Aliens. Operating late 60′s to early 70′s The Aliens from Ghana fused afrobeat, rock and funk to create an infectious groove...”  [read more of this post]







Lend Us Your Ears / Indieball.com
LUYE/Indieball takes a band-centric approach as opposed to focusing on MP3s or album reviews, sort of like Groovemine Audiofiles. Nevertheless, they do have a convenient "most popular downloads" and "highest rated posts" in the sidebar.

RECENT EXCERPT: (Regarding the Geographers) “The evolution of music is a very comical process sometimes, as the amalgam of genres and subgenres eventually collide. The birth of electronica, ska, and various offspring has sent music in a direction that once held the rudimentary genres of rock ‘n’ roll, jazz, and classical music. Geographer is a child of this movement, a sub-pop mixed with electro beats that leave a listener bewildered at what to call, or think of it...”







Motel de Moka
Not concerned with the immediacy that is common on most music blogs, the writing is less informational and more meditative with contributors from around the world.

EXCERPT: “One of those days when I feel sabotaged from within. The world turning into a pale substance made of hubris and daydreams and obsessions. I’m trying to remain constructive by making a list of  practical things that help me...listening to music that puts me in a halcyon frame of mind. Tonight will be the night I kill all of my idols. It’s time to stop making excuses and move on.”







DANCEFEVER5000
Well-informed, well-rounded music blog on electronica produced by Shilo Urban. Made up mostly of announcements of releases and events.

EXCERPT: “Entry in, nice clean space, straight rectangle dancefloor with the DJ in front and a small seating/chill area on the left. Flown speakers facing down from the ceiling and a line of bins to make your teeth rattle and your hair blow back. You want bass? You get bass.”






Tweaking Trays
For the love of music and babes? For the laughs? The awesome graphic header? For all of the above!

RECENT EXCERPT: “The floors and ceilings of my club/bar would be made of glass and have blue, sparkling lights underneath them and would be frequented by hot socialite chicks with cocaine haircuts...”







Pasta Primavera
A great blog to discover shamelessly sugary indie pop gems, and lo-fi libations that belie the savory suggestion of it’s name.

EXCERPT: Regarding Violens, “Some days these tracks remind me of The Smiths, some days Depeche Mode. I have no idea what the original version of ‘Another Strike Restrained’ sounds like, but Goldwasser’s version is dynamite.”







Aquarium Drunkard
Simply put—without being understated or under-appreciated—it’s a great blog to stay up on what’s new & good on the indie scene while offering an opportunity to be educated on music’s past.

EXCERPT: “Since his auspicious, creepy-as-fuck, debut, Wrong Side of Memphis, at the age of 49 in 1998, Johnny Dowd has been exploring the darkest corner’s of the evil that men do. Twelve years, and as many albums later, Dowd continues down his chosen path...”  [read more of this post]







I'm Waking Up to...
The name should clue you in to what the starting point for this blog is. There’s a great selection music to be read about and listened to. Dan and Brian blog from Singapore, and, consequently they connect good indie music from the East and the West.

EXCERPT: “What would motivate a drone/ambient label like Kranky to put out a good ol’ rock record? not many reasons, I’d reckon, but when you get around to listening to their latest release, the question...” [read more of this post]







Shock Mountain
An eclectic choice of music and events are covered and they're not afraid to venture into the less-talked about underground, alternative material. “We will never host advertising or ask for ”˜donations’ on this site because we do not believe we should be profiting off of another’s hard work. We will likely be posting here until we’re shut down.” You gotta love that attitude!!

EXCERPT: “King Rhythm is an electronic/hip hop artist born and bred in Baltimore, Maryland. Generally when I get an email from a hip-hop artist, I dismiss it almost immediately because frankly, most d.i.y. hip hop is trash. However, I was...”  [read more from this post]







Off the Radar
A great mix of reports on "cutting edge new music" with lots of accompanying media (photos, video, sample MP3s). We recommend exploring the blog via their gigantic tag cloud found a little ways down in the right sidebar column.

EXCERPT: “Big fan of Kent! They are one of the biggest rock bands in Sweden, unfortunately they're not as known around the world. In the late 90's they tried to reach outside their fan base by recording albums with English vocals on 'Isola' in 97' and 'Hagnesta Hill' in 99' in addition to recording in their native tongue of Swedish which they had always done. That was...”  [read more of this post and others on Off the Radar]







Feel My Bicep
A great eye for images that accompany their posts. There's lot's of music available for streaming. When discussing a rare, obscure recording—perhaps, found only on out-of-print vinyl—they frequently offer it as a download, keeping the love alive.

EXCERPT: “Deep dark haunting and haunting tune just released on RVNG, part of Pink Skull’s new album on the label. Really great dark influence on this this is like Boards of Canada meets Redshape meets italo disco! Weird tune but great none the less. This is just a bonus track on the album, and if you are a fan of LCD Soundsystem or Noze you will defo dig...”  [read more from this post and others on Feel My Bicep]







Muzzle of Bees
Based out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, MOB is connected to the local scene and beyond.

RECENT EXCERPT: “It’s (Summer of Fear by Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson) being correctly described as ”˜a biting cross-section of Petty and Dylan, Pavement and Fleetwood Mac, delivering a eulogy to yesterday and the curtain-drawing promise of another day.’ I know the guy has won my ear when my favorite track on the album (”˜More Than A Mess’) clocks in at over eleven minutes. Take a listen to ”˜The Sound’ below and see if he can win you over as well.”  [read more from this post and others on Muzzle of Bees]







Opus.fm
Highlights stuff that they love or find interesting. Blog's design is beautifully clean and minimal, making it very easy to read and the writing and choice of music is right on.

EXCERPT: “And then along comes Hymn To The Immortal Wind, the latest from the Japanese post-rock quartet (Mono), and it strikes me as a perfect soundtrack for the times. While listening to their apocalyptic sturm und drang, I find myself given to emotional outbursts as big as the band’s musical ones; I simultaneously want to cry at the sight of the dark territories their music traverses even as I am buoyed up by, and rallying to, the climactic...”  [read more of this post and others on Opus.fm]







The Walrus
More organized than most blogs; a branded stand-alone music player; click on categories in the left sidebar to find an expanded offering of content

EXCERPT: “Blood Feathers have been making a name for themselves in Philly for some years now with their thoughtful Muswell Hillbillies-style of rock (sans the silliness). You’ll instantly feel at home with “Dont Know You At All”, the first single from their forthcoming album Goodness Gracious”  [read more of this post and others on The Walrus]








Gorilla vs. Bear
Over 6,000 hits per day, great photos, and commentary on new and classic recordings.

EXCERPT: "When Animal Collective was in town last week, Geologist suggested that based on our over-posting of Dum Dum Girls, Vivian Girls, and the like, we may be into the fuzzy garage pop from relatively obscure '60s Indonesian girl-group Dara Puspita. I tracked down—and have subsequently been enjoying— their exceedingly charming 1967 album A Go Go, which is definitely worth a listen if you can find it (the original LP is apparently next to impossible to find, and it isn't cheap). Check the sweet Bee Gees cover, which is..." [read more of this post and other entries on Gorilla vs. Bear]







unpiano: music
Authored by Jesse Pollock and Mark Kaiser, the writing is slightly smarmy, sometimes self-deprecating—enjoyably so...definitely take a glance at an accompanying blog unpiano: photo.

EXCERPT: "Last time I was out record shopping, I picked up a Grizzly Bear 7” that happened to have two of my favorite songs on it. I played it all week and then filed it away not thinking about it much. Well, apparently it was a huge deal that I found it at all since they were super limited and are selling for a ton on ebay already. Anyways, it appears that I do things right every now and then. The 7” features a couple songs (which I may or may not have posted here before) from their performance on KCRW last year and are arguably better than..." [read more of this post and listen to/download some great music]







Music for Robots
EXCERPT: "The introduction of electronic elements—the drum machine, the synth line—feel entirely organic. Amber Weber's voice has completely come into its own as one of the greats. Earlier this year she did her best Emmy Lou Harris on the Pink Mountaintops record and it was perfect. Now she steps back into the spotlight on the second Lightning Dust record and she's got everything under control. The vibratto, the soaring—it's all under control. In lesser hands this vocal would go flying off the rails, but Amber's got half a dozen releases under belt and countless nights on stage. Clearly this has all paid off, as..."  [read more of this post and others on Music for Robots]







The Yellow Stereo
Lots of video which slows the scroll and overall movement, but ideal fodder to explore via entries on concerts, videos, contests, and video games. A good selection of downloads including: A Hawk and Hacksaw, Bachelorette, Bike For Three!, Black Moth Super Rainbow, Blank Dogs, Grizzly Bear, James Blackshaw, Loxsly, Opsvik & Jennings, Phoenix, Sharon Van Etten, Sir Richard Bishop, Sunn O))), The Decks, The Intelligence, The Lava Children, Tiga, Viva Voce, War Tapes.  [check out The Yellow Stereo]







Captain Obvious
EXCERPT: Where his two previous albums, 2005's Pixel Revolt and 2007's Emerald City, were wading knee-deep in post-9/11 paranoia, Romanian Names trades in the politics for a more personal feel. Vanderslice has set aside the apocalyptic and abstract imagery of songs like 'Kookuburra' and 'White Dove' for more narrative songs like album-closer 'Hard Times': 'To find an answer I searched every sentence/ And ended deeper still/ In hard times.' While the production on Romanian Names is as meticulous as anything Vanderslice has released, it somehow also feels effortless. A mid-tempo pop song built on rich layers of electronica, "Too Much Time" is an example of Vanderslice at his catchiest. While Romanian Names may not be as thematically intriguing as some of his past material, it's as listenable as..."  [read more of this post and others on Captain Obvious]







The Color Awesome!
The Color Awesome! is Paige Parsons & Philip Pickens. They met in high school and have been best friends for over 20 years. Both share a passion for music, photography, film, and just about any other A/V stimuli you can think of.

EXCERPT: "I felt all giddy when I checked my inbox this morning and found a note from Sea Wolf’s publicist, Juliana Plotkin. As we reported in April, Alex and company have been sequestered in Omaha for the past month recording new material with Mike Mogis. Today’’s update from Juliana contained the exciting news of a September release for Sea Wolf’s Sophomore LP. I’m counting down the days and voyeuristicly watching the recording progress via bassist Ted Liscinski’s “Life in a Van” photo blog. Full progress report with..."  [read more of this post and others on The Color Awesome]







Air & Sea Battle
EXCERPT FROM A RECENT POST: "This New Zealand punk band won’t stop”¦ and we’re pretty goddamn grateful for that. The Clean have been on and off since 1978 and now they are back again with a new full-length on Merge Records titled Mister Pop (September 8th, 2009). The band is one of the founding members of the NZ punk scene and have paved the way & influenced artists such as Pacvement, Yo La Tengo and Camper Van Beethoven. We had the pleasure of seeing The Clean open for Yo La Tengo at their (somewhat) annual Hannukah show in Hoboken, NJ."  [read more of this post and other entries on A&SB]







A Tender Praise
EXCERPT: In the movie Forest Gump, Forest finds himself a significant part of many major historical moments from the 1950’s onward. From meeting a young Elvis, to investing in Apple, Gump was everywhere. Perhaps the same could be said about the late keyboardist Nicky Hopkins, who played a significant role in recording some of the most important albums of the 60’s and 70’s, who helped shape the sound of 1960’s Rock N Roll and..."  [read more of this post and other on A Tender Praise]







AWmusic
AWmusic.ca is a Toronto-based blog. With over 20 writers, there are daily reviews of, CDs, mp3s, and concerts. They cover genres of all types, from indie rock to electro, to post-rock and hip hop.

EXCERPT: "I feel like god wiped his ass with my brain and I just got beaten up by a group of skinhead midgets from Nebraska. So unless you want to read about the stuff I’m coughing up and how it compares to whatever the hell Conor Oberst coughs up when he cries himself to sleep, there will be no review today. However, I’ve been messing around with 8Tracks..."  [read more of this post and others on AWmusic]