On the occasion of writing my 100th post over at My Impression Now ("Glad Girls" got the honor), I thought I'd check back in to see how my peers in the catablog business are faring. When I last wrote about this in July, there were a few of the 23 known single artist song-by-song blogs going great guns, a few that already had fallen by the wayside and several of us in the middle writing when we had the chance.

Today, things are slower still. Only 10 of the 23 are active, mine included, while at least three have closed up shop permanently and the other 10 haven't published in a few months. I certainly don't judge; it's a challenge to come up with something new to say, and you certainly do so -- unless you're writing about Pearl Jam or R.E.M. -- for a very small, albeit dedicated audience.

I caught a second wind with my Guided by Voices blog in November, nearly doubling my output over the previous months to finally get to 100 on Monday. Of course, that leaves me with about 1,100 to go (more once Robert Pollard realizes he hasn't released anything in a couple of months and graces us with more music). It's a daunting task, but I have benefited as a fan by taking it on, for it makes me think about why I like or dislike the songs, and that analysis can deepen those feelings and make me appreciate the work all the more.

So here, as the year is drawing to a close, is a report on the known catablogs, all created since May when Matthew Perpetua got the ball rolling with his still excellent R.E.M. blog, Popsongs 07.

R.I.P.
Robynsongs - Robyn Hitchcok
Chrome Canyons - Wilco
Spring, Sprang, Sprung - T-Pain

M.I.A. (including month of last post)
All My Little Words - Magnetic Fields: June
Blursongs - Blur: August
Emotional Karaoke - Mountain Goats : July
Fridgebuzz/Radiostutters - Radiohead: October
Hyper-ballads - Bjork: July
More Words About Buildings and Songs - Talking Heads: July
Paraguay and Laos - Bluetones: August
Separated Out - Marillion: August
Ten Thousand Lies - Nine Inch Nails: June
So Misunderstood - Wilco: September

Still Going Strong
Crimes on Paper - Self
Fragments of a Cale Season - John Cale
I Can't Sing It Strong Enough - Pavement
More Than Ten - Pearl Jam
Music from a Bachelor's Den - Pulp
My Impression Now - Guided by Voices
One Imaginary Blog - Cure
Popsongs 07 - R.E.M.
Too Many Words - Low
Solar Prestige a Gammon - Elton John (69-77)

Labels: criticism, music, My Impession Now