Adios, The Brainwashed Brain

I was deeply troubled to discover today that one of my favorite webzines is closing down. The Brainwashed Brain has been a constant source of new music for me since I stumbled across in years ago. I would greet the beginning of each week with a quick run through all of the current issue's reviews and almost every week, I'd pick up some new CD by artists I'd either never heard of or had never fully investigated.

So shed a tear.

I'm not sure exactly why they're closing down. Brainwashed.com isn't folding (thank goodness); just The Brain. Perhaps it just got to be too much work. After all, The Brain grew and evolved over its lifespan, starting out as a lickle website and ending up as a bigun, with multiple contributors, all volunteers.

And I think that's very telling of independent (or at least non-mainstream) music. These are folks who didn't get paid. They wrote about music because they loved it. Helps keep your integrity when you don't take adverts from big labels. In fact, The Brain never reviewed stuff that was on the majors. They were staunchly anti-corporate and always picked stuff that was weird enough not to be boring.

So I thank them.

I thank them for all the lovely glitch I heard about from them. I thank them for all the fantastic downtempo I heard about from them. I thank them for all of the tasty, evil metal I heard about from them. I thank them for all the dark ambient and drift I heard about from them.

In other words, I owe these folks a lot.

So thanks, Brain. Thanks very much.

Easing me into the post-Brain era:

Various - Music For Seances Compilation
(all the MFS releases, lovingly compiled by Wink Jr)

Various - Stronger, Faster, Thinner
(Wink Jr does it again, this time with release from the Thinner label)

Various - DJ Abstract's Twilight Mix 3
(mad mellow music, man)

Various - Psyfunk Part Deux
(yet another Wink Jr mix, this one awash in four on the floor, baby)

Helmet - Strap It On
(or I'll rip it right off)