Blog Pop Era

tagStarted 2007Peak 2009-2012Last big hit 2013

Indie-leaning pop broken through music blogs and aggregators rather than radio: shimmering synth-and-falsetto indietronica, anthemic chant-along hooks, lo-fi-to-glossy hybrid production and danceable, festival-friendly energy. Buzzy, of-the-moment singles that crossed from MP3 blogs into the mainstream.

History

Around 2007-2012, sites like Hype Machine, Stereogum and Pitchfork plus MySpace and early Tumblr broke acts before labels did. MGMT's 'Oracular Spectacular' (2007) and Passion Pit's 'Manners' (2009) typified the danceable indie-pop sound; Foster the People's 'Pumped Up Kicks' (2011) carried it to radio before the blog ecosystem faded into streaming.

Defining artists

MGMTSpotify YouTube
Passion PitSpotify YouTube
Foster the PeopleSpotify YouTube
Empire of the SunSpotify YouTube
PhoenixSpotify YouTube
Two Door Cinema ClubSpotify YouTube

Essential listening

Kids — MGMTSpotify YouTube
Sleepyhead — Passion PitSpotify YouTube
Pumped Up Kicks — Foster the PeopleSpotify YouTube
Walking on a Dream — Empire of the SunSpotify YouTube
1901 — PhoenixSpotify YouTube
What You Know — Two Door Cinema ClubSpotify YouTube

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Sources

Wikipedia: Hype Machine
Stereogum / Pitchfork blog-era retrospectives
NPR: rise of music-blog discovery