I know I’ve paid respect to CBGB before, but an off-hand comment that I read today that the club’s “glory days are long gone” made me really wonder about the effect that the closure will have on the music industry.

The press have made a big deal out of it, musicians have lobbied to keep their doors open, but how much will the closing actually affect? Not much, really. The club played a huge part in laying the groundwork for a lot of amazing music, but as the article pointed out, it’s well past its prime. For the past ten years, the club’s influence has been mostly in black and white t-shirts (most of which were probably bought by pretentious name-droppers at non-CBGB locations). The degrees of separation between most of today’s favorite bands and the venue are probably two or more as far as influences go.

My point is, it’s sad to see a music history landmark go, but it’s done its job. CBGB & OMFUG, the place, is no longer as important as the mindset that it helped create. The club’s closure is most comparable to the breaking up of an important band that hasn’t had any significant release in years.

Having never been there, I myself can’t actually miss it. All I can do is be thankful for the mindset.

I’ve been enjoying Cloud Cult for a while now, mostly thanks to a random tipoff from The Sneeze, but over the course of the last day or two I’ve realized the genius of their 2005 album, Advice From The Happy Hippopotamus.

If you like Band Of Horses, Modest Mouse, Radiohead or The Flaming Lips, these guys might be for you.

I keep coming across all sorts of random videos on YouTube that are well worth viewing but haven’t ever mentioned them to anyone. All are music-related, of course:

• mewithoutYou performing “In A Sweater Poorly Knit” at Cornerstone
  I saw this well before Brother, Sister came out (and probably should’ve mentioned it then). It was the moment I knew I would love this album.
• mewithoutYou vocalist Aaron Weiss speaking at Cornerstone 2005
  Be warned that it’s 40 minutes long. Well worth the time spent, though. I love this man’s honest heart.
• Art Brut performing at Pitchfork Fest
  Hilarious. This video shows exactly why this band never ceases to amuse me.
• Sufjan Stevens and David Byrne (of the Talking Heads) covering “Saginaw, Michigan” live
• Music video for Sufjan’s “Romulus”
  (Did anyone else know there was a video for this? I sure didn’t…)
• The Decemberists live on Conan
  This was just a couple days ago. I’m loving their new album, by the way.
• French DJ group Birdy Nam Nam performing “Absesses”
  I had never heard of these guys, but their turntable skills take them beyond your average DJ. If this were just an audio track, I probably wouldn’t realize turntables were even involved.