In case you're some foolhardy soul who only reads this here e-zine/blog thingy (hah!), right now feels like high time to point you elsewhere, at least temporarily. 'Cause our compatriots in local music coverage have been pretty fucking on lately, and they deserve some recognition. And y'know what? No one blog, website, e-zine, or print mag can cover it all. We are as uncompetitive as they come, y'all -- anything that helps The Scene helps us all, in my view.

So, here're some reasons to check out our fellow Usual Local Suspects:

The Skyline Network: Firstly and foremostly, I've gotta hand it to ADR; every time I turn around, he's come up with some brand-fucking-new Extra-Special Cool Thing for his dang website, and it's usually one that makes the rest of us look like we spend our days listening to Kenny Loggins and combing our hair, rather than actually working on these strange "Internets" things. Lately he's just been over-the-top insanely prolific, throwing out so much good stuff that I can't be bothered to list all of it (hence Skyline being up here at the top).

Seriously, there's the nice rundown of local label haps, plus excellent reviews of Wild Moccasins, Hearts of Animals, long-forgotten H-town New Wavers The Mydolls, Insect Warfare, and fuck, I've lost track of what else.

Best of all, there's the whole Tite Jams Radio thing, which I really wish I'd had the sense to come up with first (okay, we're not completely anti-competitive, I'll admit it), and now there's this new Badassvertising thing, which means your po'-ass band can now promo its shows, for free, on the one site 99% of the indie cognoscenti in town read. Damn...

Free Press Houston: Alright, I'll admit it -- the main reason I dig the Free Press blogginess is because of Ramon's insightful live reviews (despite the whiskey & beer, he writes better about the bands & music than most stone-cold sober people I know), even-handed CD/record reviews, & truly awesome interviews. His ability to chat up cool local folk like Jenny Westbury & Born Liars turns me green with envy, and the interviews themselves make me realize I really need to get my shit together and take a serious listen to both. Which is no bad thing.

Houston Calling: Speaking of cool-ass interviews, Houston Calling's David Cobb has been going a bit long-form lately, which is very cool, 'cause he's a darn good writer. Case in point (and something you really need to read): his recent interview with Chicagoans Local H. The bit where Scott Lucas threatens to break Spin writer Chuck Eddy's face is fuckin' awesome.

Nonalignment Pact: Yeah, I've been off the NP for a little while now, partly because what I originally read the blog/whatever-the-hell-it-is for the aforementioned Ramon's cogent musings on The Rock in this fair city. Since he bowed out over there to devote more time to the FP, I've been sadly neglecting my NP reading. Except, of course, that every time I happen to pop over there and catch a piece by John Cramer, I either disgust my office-mates by spitting food across the desk or drop into a serious funk for the rest of the afternoon. (And no, the latter's not necessarily bad; if everybody in the world were cheery and happy all the time, I'd have to sell everything and move to Greenland to get away from them.) John, I dunno how you do it, but what you write gets me, man. "Pointy-chinned half-witted inbred field-fairies" -- 'nuff said.

There you go, y'all. Screw Stereogum, gorillavs.bear, and the 'fork -- read locally, people.

Labels: H-Town News, Musical Crap, Public Service Announcements, Things To Read

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