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Thanks, Baltimore Magazine!

Best of BaltimoreThis is just a quick note to say thanks to the editors of Baltimore Magazine for awarding us with a spot in their City Guide 2009 as one of the top Baltimore-centric Corners of the Web and now including us in their Best of Baltimore 2009, designating us Best Arts Blog (we didn’t even pay for advertising, because we don’t have any!). We’re all really flattered and gratified that you think so highy of us.  Here’s the full recap of what they had to say:

In recent years, Baltimore has become an explosive center for new music, garnering national and international attention, but until Aural States, auralstates.com, launched last year, there was no single website that effectively captured the enthusiasm and dedication of the city’s music obsessives.  Founder Greg Szeto and like-minded writers post audio and epic reviews from shows, endlessly promote local bands, and, to celebrate the site’s first anniversary in January, hosted the city’s best new festival, Aural States Fest, featuring hometown standouts Arbouretum, Wye Oak, and Caverns.

While we might not post as frequently as your average blog, we try to make every post (except maybe ticket giveaways, we figure brevity is the best option there) passionate and possessing some depth beyond the superficial that largely seems to pervade the entire sector of “new media.”  We figure if someone can take the time to make the music, we can take the time to write about it in more than a couple paragraphs.  We hope we can continue doing this for a long time to come, and provide a meaningful and distinct voice in the discussion of all the amazing music going on in our wonderfully flawed city.

Thanks to all the readers, everyone who has and continues to contribute content in the form of words or photos, and most of all thanks to everyone in the music community, the people who run all the amazing venues in the city, and the labels and artists who take time to chat and let us plaster their MP3s and photos all over the ‘net.

Other notable music-related winners include Nolen and Bruce from Double Dagger as Best Dynamic Duo (Batman + Robin suits at the next show?), Carl Grubbs as Best Musician, Kathy Fahey (artist for many a beautiful show poster, the show/compilation The Birdwatcher’s Companion and Wye Oak’s If Children among many other things) for Best Artful Design, the BSO’s Marin Alsop and An Die Musik’s Henry Wong as MVPs (Visionary and Jazz/Classical, respectively) and the Baltimore Round Robin as Best Tour.

Thanks City Paper & Baltimore!

So I just wanted to say a quick thanks to everyone for getting us City Paper’s Best of Baltimore – Best Local Music Blog award in both the editor’s picks and the reader’s poll.  When I started this whole thing in the end of January, I would’ve never imagined that things would pick up so fast.  I am really happy with the way things are going and proud of our content and the staff I’ve accumulated.  The fact that we have covered nearly every genre imaginable (jazz, classical, R&B, Bmore club, electronic, dance, reggae, ska, punk, pop, rock, metal, indie, folk, country, bluegrass, musicals, soundtracks) is in itself, a miraculous feat.

Despite this wide coverage, we have always strived to bring quality over quantity.  We have never been content with spamming MP3s or regurgitating press releases like some silly PR mouthpiece as CP rightfully called out the infuriating majority of the indie blogosphere.  I firmly believe that the Hype Machine fueled, hits-driven culture is crippling and dangerous for music and artists in general, creating a vicious cycle of hype and backlash that is stifling for someone trying to do something grander than crank out a few populist, floor-filling bangers (but don’t think I don’t enjoy ‘em).  I liken it to the news media and their complicity in ruining politics and news coverage in general with reactionary pandering and the rise of pundit and talking head culture with firm opinions built upon shallow knowledge and ignorance.

Our goal has always been to provide accessible, intelligent writing to introduce readers to new music or recast old favorites in new and insightful light, while also offering more in-depth coverage like our rather exhaustive interviews, picking artists to wee bits for the obsessive/compulsive music geeks out there.  That’s always been how I’ve wanted to distinguish us.  And I’m glad it shows, at least to some extent.

Stay tuned as we’ve got a wealth of stuff planned going into the fall and winter, and we’re working hard to bring some special things to the table as we approach our 1 year web-birth day in the winter.

In the mean time, here’s a small offering of quality audio from some other winners of Best Of awards.  Congrats to every in the music scene who won this year, including but not limited to institutions like Jeff the Taper, the Ottobar and TaxLo.

Oh and one more thing.  To celebrate, we’re running a small giveaway for one copy of Ice Cream Spiritual, the latest release from Best of Baltimore 2008′s Best Band, Ponytail.  Just comment this post or email us for entry!

Thanks again, and keep reading!

Best Band – Ponytail

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MP3: Ponytail – Sky Drool

Best Upgrade – Wye Oak

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MP3: Wye Oak – If Children Were Wishes

Best Summer Jam – Mullyman “Party Walk”

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MP3: Mullyman – Party Walk

Best Song – DJ Excel feat. Pastor Manning “That’s What A Pimp Does”

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MP3: DJ Excel feat. Pastor Manning – “That’s What A Pimp Does”