Stanley backs Obama, Gawker chokes & Music Think Tank

With the economy in such a mess, it’s hard to concentrate on music news but a couple of things to note.  In what has to be the most passed-around link I’ve seen in a while, bluegrass legend Ralph Stanley throws his support behind Senator Obama, speaking very plainly and clearing about real issues, rather than the sickening attack ads that another senator is filling the airwaves with.

Also, as a sign of the times, Gawker is cutting staff and cutting back on its program to pay bloggers for page views.  I don’t like to report any publication, online or offline, is cutting staff (except Fox News) but the part about bonuses is noteworthy as that was seen as what might have been an important model for bloggers and companies to use as a guideline.  This pay scheme may still become something of a standard but this setback definitely puts a crimp in the idea and will no doubt send many other pubs scrambling for other solutions about how to stay afloat.

Finally, I wanted to give a shout-out to a brainy site called Music Think Tank which is “where the music industry thinks out loud.”  Not that they have a monopoly on that (even without this blog, PopMatters does that pretty well) but it’s always comforting to find online destinations like this.  I don’t always agree with their prognostications but they get high marks for thinking out loud and tossing out ideas.  Spend some time there and you’ll be glad you did.