Good News! The Site Has Been Saved

I finally have a bit of good news to report for a change - I have decided to reverse my decision regarding closing down the site. For those who missed it, last month I posted an announcement here, which stated that I was closing down the site. Shortly after I made the announcement a couple of individuals left comments stating that they would be willing to contribute to the site in order to help keep it alive. The two generous individuals in question are Don and Jim. Jim is a frequent visitor of the Digital Meltd0wn music blog, and agreed to contribute as a way of saying thank you for all of the music that I have posted there. Don runs a couple of great blogs of his own. The first is called "Four Steps From The Blues", which can be found here: http://fourstepsfromtheblues.blogspot.com/ and the second is entitled "Try To Be Amused", and can be found here: http://try-to-be-amused.blogspot.com/

I also have an announcement regarding my own music blog, Digital Meltd0wn An individual who goes by the name of "Strange Ranger" recently offered up a treasure trove of horror film soundtracks as a guest contributor for December's Nightmare Before Christmas event. To say that I was impressed by his posts during the event would be an understatement. It was evident that he took great care constructing each and every one of his posts. After the Nightmare Before Christmas event ended I asked Strange Ranger if he would be willing to join us as a permanent contributor to the blog. Luckily his answer was yes, and I'm very pleased to welcome Strange Ranger as the newest team member of the Digital Meltd0wn music blog. Strange Ranger already operates his own music blog by the name of Motherfucker=Redeemer, where you can expect to find informative posts, high-quality audio, and excellent music throughout. Please be sure to pay it a visit as well.

I would like to thank Strange Ranger, Don and Jim for being generous enough to contribute to Digital Meltd0wn. Running both of the websites was starting to seem more like a chore, rather than being an enjoyable hobby as it should be. Now that the threat of being forced to close down either site has passed, I can relax and enjoy myself a little. I have always had a ton of ideas for both websites in my head, yet always lacked the available time to implement them. Now that I have some help I look forward to being able to bring some of those ideas to life. I expect 2011 to turn out to be one of the most intriguing and productive years in Digital Meltd0wn's history. I know it has been a while since I have added any blogs to the site, but you can expect to see a major update next week.

Major Update - Phase IV of VI in Progress

Click Here to Skip to the Blogroll

In case you missed it, I posted an announcement several weeks ago concerning a series of major updates that I will be making to this site. You can view the original announcement here. To sum things up, I realized that this update would be a massive undertaking, so I decided that it would be best to divide the updates into six different phases. The six different phases for the update are listed at the bottom of this post.

Right now I am working on the fourth phase, which involves adding all of the blogs from the blogroll to the Aggregator RSS feed. This is accomplished by adding each blog's feed to my Google Reader account, which then generates a "Shared Items" page, which can be found here, or by selecting "Blog Updates" from the second menu at the top of this site. The Aggregator RSS feed is initially generated by Google Reader, which I then customize using Feedburner. The DM Aggregator RSS feed can be found @ http://feeds.feedburner.com/dmblogroll

I am also creating a folder for each genre category listed on the blogroll, which will allow me to create a separate RSS feed for each category on the blogroll.
I still have yet to work out all the details as to how I would like to incorporate the aggregated content into the design of the site; however, I can reveal the first design modification to the site that I will make. As I mentioned before, each category will have it's own feed, and I intend to display an RSS feed icon for each category, giving you the option to subscribe to only updates from that particular category. I would also like to display a preview of the most recent updates from each category feed above the list of blogs in that category.

That is all the news I have for now, but I will be reporting back with more news concerning the progress of the update soon. I hope you all enjoy the ideas being presented, as well as the changes actively being made here. As always, please help me out by providing me with any feedback that you can regarding the update. Here is the aforementioned list of phases for the update:

Phase I: Delete Spam Comments (Complete)
Phase II: Remove dead links (Complete)
Phase III: Sort through comments and add blogs that qualify to the list (Complete)
Phase IV: Add RSS feeds for all the blogs on the blogroll to the Aggregator RSS feed (In Progress)
Phase V: Find new blogs to add to the list through personal research and visitor's recommendations
Phase VI: Changes to the code which will enhance the appearance, functionality, and ease of navigation

Digital Meltd0wn Now On Facebook

I finally decided to break down and create a Facebook page for Digital Meltd0wn @ http://www.facebook.com/DigitalMeltd0wn. I created a personal account a few years ago, and I just didn't feel as if Facebook had been developed enough at that point to warrant further use. I decided to give it another chance after hearing many people rave about its usefulness. After exploring it for several hours yesterday, I realized that they have made vast improvements to the service. I created an account for Digital Meltd0wn, as well as a personal account, a few days ago.

Since last.fm has been a continuous disappointment lately, and there seems to be a mass exodus from Myspace, I plan to focus the majority of my social networking activity on Facebook, and here are a few ideas you can expect to see implemented soon. Updates from the Digital Meltd0wn Music Aggregator/Blogroll, along with my own Digital Meltd0wn music blog, will be posted there. I also plan to publish a mirror of the Digital Meltd0wn Blogroll in it's own tab, display the most recent posts from our music blog aggregator RSS feed in a separate tab, and upload some interesting music videos and pictures. I hope you all enjoy these features, and please recommend me any ideas you may have to make the page better.

My primary reason for creating a facebook account is to have the chance to interact with those of you who visit my blogs. I would also like to be able to meet independent artists and labels, and promote your work as well. I created a discussion board thread to give independent artists and labels the chance to promote their music here. I would also like to meet other music bloggers, and if you're interested in promoting your blog, I have also created a discussion thread for music bloggers to share their blogs here.

I want to thank those of you who have already added me as a friend on Facebook. I received over 100 friend requests within a week, which is much more than I expected. I look forward to meeting more of you there, and hopefully participating in discussions with you in the discussion group.

Digital Meltd0wn @ Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/DigitalMeltd0wn
My Personal Facebook Profile: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=785217519

Aggregated Content on Twitter

I recently created a Twitter account @ http://twitter.com/dmaggregator which automatically publishes updates from the Digital Meltd0wn Aggregator RSS feed @ http://feeds.feedburner.com/dmblogroll. I will also be maintaining several lists on this twitter account, such as one for music bloggers, aggregators, etc. so that those interested can easily find their favorite music bloggers that use Twitter. I already have one Twitter account @ http://twitter.com/digitalmeltd0wn which I use to share updates from my music blog. I will also use that account to notify followers when a special article is posted here. Despite the fact that the account is automatically updated, I will still be monitoring mentions and messages, so feel free to strike up a conversation with me about anything that you would like @dmaggregator or @digitalmeltd0wn

I am still working on the aggregator features for this site. I am on the verge of completing the second of a massive six phase update. I just finished filtering through over 500 of your comments, which I must say was a very tedious task, and added all of the blogs that qualified to the list and aggregator feed. The fourth phase of the update will be to add the blog feeds that haven't been added to the aggregator feed, and coming up with a suitable method to incorporate these feed(s) into the site. If any of you have any suggestions or advice as to how I should display these feeds, please don't hesitate to leave a comment. I want to make this site as user friendly as possible and a great resource for all who visit it.

Missing In Action - A List of Deleted/MIA Blogs

Some of you may already be aware that I am in the process of rolling out several major updates to the site. During the last update, I went through the blogroll and removed all of the blogs that have been deleted by Google/Blogger, Wordpress etc.. I was able to find new links for several of the blogs, but I was unable to track down a new url for many of them. If you have any information concerning any of these blogs, please take the time to leave a comment. Here is the list of blogs that are missing in action, along with the respective url that they were using:

Into the Rhythm - http://intotherhythm.blogspot.com
The Mixdiggerz - http://mixdiggerz.blogspot.com
Muse Asylum - http://collectmp3s.blogspot.com
I Killed the Darkness - http://ikilledthedarkness.blogspot.com
The Sky Moves Sideways - http://jrfg.blogspot.com
Staring at the Apocalypse - http://staringapocalypse.blogspot.com
Musica Acida - http://mza-acid.blogspot.com Update: Now known as Bomber Blog
Burton Bootlegger - http://burtonbootlegger.blogspot.com
Outside My Scene - http://outsidemyscene.blogspot.com
Punk Rock Station - http://punkrockstation.blogspot.com
Born In The Basement - http://borninthebasement.blogspot.com
Linkworld - http://linkyourstuff.blogspot.com
The Dark Factory - http://darkdayisatragedy.blogspot.com
Pigs and Sheeps - http://pigsandsheeps.blogspot.com
Broke Down Engine - http://brokedownengine.blogspot.com Update: Removed - Archived here
4Metal - http://4metal.blogspot.com
Library Music - http://librarymusic209.blogspot.com
Grooves of Delight - http://groovesofdelight.blogspot.com
Outside My Scene - http://outsidemyscene.blogspot.com
's Marvelous Distro - http://smarvelousdistro.blogspot.com
Eternally Yours - http://eternally-yours.blogspot.com
Anthem of the Space - http://tonefloat.blogspot.com (Psych)
Hypnotic Breaks - http://hypnotic-breaks.blogspot.com
Caucasian Tabloid - http://caucasian-tabloid.blogspot.com (Techno)
Just Country - http://koningfmjustcountry.blogspot.com
Free Rockabilly Music - http://freerockabillymusic.blogspot.com
Boppe Slag - http://boppeslag.blogspot.com (Surf)
EekTheCat - http://eekcat.blogspot.com (Surf)
DeaconBlues1103Soul - http://deaconblues1103soul.blogspot.com (REMOVED - http://deaconblues1953.blogspot.com)
Bitches Brew - http://jazz-rock-fusion.blogspot.com
World Fusion - http://jazzrock-world-fusion.blogspot.com
Black magic Plastic - http://blackmagicplastic.blogspot.com
Sick Mix - http://sickmix.blogspot.com
JazzRock World - http://jazzrockz.blogspot.com
BluesTown - http://bluestown.blogspot.com Update: New address - Now a private blog

Major Update - Phase II Complete

Those who frequent the blogroll are already aware that I am rolling out a major round of updates. For detailed information concerning all the changes that will be made, please read this post. I just finished phase II of VI, which involved removing all of the dead links, updating the urls for the blogs that moved, and a few new additions to the sidebar.

If you will look to the sidebar on the right, you will see a couple of new sections. The first is the followers blog. If you enjoy the blogroll, I hope that you will become a follower. I have a few nice surprises in store in the near future for those of you who do. I just noticed that the "older posts" link is missing from the bottom of the page, so I went ahead and added an archive menu so that you can easily find older posts. I will try to add the "older posts" link to the bottom of the page when I do my next round of updates, which I will begin tomorrow.

The last, and perhaps most important new addition is the list of the most recent posts from the blogs on the list. Eventually I would like to find new ways to display these updates at full size, as I am trying to incorporate aggregator-like features here also.

As I mentioned before, I will begin Phase III of VI tomorrow. This update will involve going through all of the comments that have been left, visiting the blogs that were submitted, and adding the blogs that qualify to the list. I will also be making more minor cosmetic changes. I will delete each comment as I qualify/disqualify the respective blog. I hope that you all are enjoying the recent changes being made here. Please don't hesitate to provide me with some feedback or constructive criticism in regards to the changes being made. I want to make this site the most useful resource that those who visit it. I would also like to thank those of you who have supported Digital Meltd0wn over the years. Without you DM couldn't continue to melt down into the underground. Here's to many more years of enjoying the freedom to exchange rare and underground music unrestricted.

Major Update In Progress - Phase I of VI Complete

Phase I: Delete Spam Comments (Complete: Over 250+ Comments Removed)
Phase II: Remove dead links (Scheduled to be completed on 6/15/10)
Phase III: Sort through comments and add blogs that qualify to the list
Phase IV: Add RSS feeds for all the blogs on the blogroll to the Aggregator Feed
Phase V: Find new blogs to add to the list through personal research and visitor's recommendations
Phase VI: Changes to the code which will enhance the appearance, functionality, and ease of navigation

I would like to apologize to anyone who has visited the blogroll during the last year and run across dead links. It wasn't until recently that I realized that this blogroll is becoming obsolete due to the number of blogs listed on it that have either been taken down, moved, or called it quits. I started this blogroll because I wasn't satisfied with the level of organization of other music blogrolls and aggregators. I've been weighed down trying to devote my time to school, work, and the important people in my life, and I didn't realize how long it had been since I had updated the blogroll. Now it is time to take measures to put this blogroll back into good standing with the music blog community.

I'm proud to announce that I have completed the first of six phases of a major update for the blogroll. Above I have listed the phases of the blogroll update which will be occurring over the next two weeks. It took me a full day just to delete all the spam comments. I have enabled comment moderation so that this won't be a problem in the future. Now I am in the process of going through the 250+ comments that you all have left and adding your blogs to the list as you requested. To be fair I have started with the oldest comments first. Unfortunately this will take the longest of any of the phases due to the sheer number of people, who couldn't be bothered to read the qualifications for being listed, that requested to have their blogs listed.

Tomorrow I will begin removing all of the dead links from the blogroll, and trying to locate new urls for any blogs that may have moved. Hopefully this doesn't slim down the list too much, but if it does at least I will know that only quality blogs populate the list. I will also be making a post requesting the visitors to recommend blogs for the categories that are looking rather sparse.

I also plan to take measures to prevent the blogroll from ever falling into such a state of disrepair again. Instead of allowing the comments to build up, I will check them as they are posted, and add or disqualify the blog in question immediately. I will also be doing a bit of research to find new blogs for the list. I recently discovered a few tools on Google Reader that should speed up this process a great deal.

In addition to working on the update for this blogroll, I have also been working on a HUGE project for my regular music blog. Considering I work at least 13 hours a day, all of this can be overwhelming at times, although I refuse to call it quits. If anyone would be willing to help me keep the blogroll updated, please contact me. I could certainly use some help, even if you can only play a minor role or your time is limited. I hope that you all enjoy the work that is being done for the update.

New & Improved Design - Feedback Needed

Welcome to the new and improved Digital Meltd0wn Music Blogroll. I would like to apologize for taking so long to unveil the new layout. I have been working close to 60 hours a week each and every week, which didn't leave me much time to work on the design.

There are still a number of small fixes that need to be applied to some older posts, as the new CSS stylesheet isn't compatible with some of them, particularly the featured blogs posts. I'll work on fixing these over the course of the next couple of days depending on how much free time I have. Once I've finished that, I'll make the necessary changes to this design so that I can apply it to my regular music blog also. The good news is that the meat and potatoes of this blog, the blogroll itself, is in fine working order. I think that it is much easier to navigate now, and I hope that you all will agree. There are still a number of small hacks that I intend to make in addition to the fixes, which will not only increase the functionality of the blog, but will also improve the aesthetic quality. I hope these changes are favorably received as well.

As always, feel free to leave me some positive feedback or constructive criticism. Please let me know if there is a feature that you would like to see added. I have started a list of known issues, which you can find below. If you spot a problem that isn't on the list, please leave a comment identifying the problem, and be sure to include some info about the browser you are using. I hope you all enjoy the new and improved Digital Meltd0wn Music Blogroll.

Known Issues "Back to top" links are broken in Firefox Fix all posts which are broken due to CSS Stylesheet change "Post a Comment" link is split when post is in expanded mode Change colors of "Previous" and "Subscribe" links below post element Dropcaps aren't displaying in their entirety within certain browsers. Consider changing either the font or margin/padding.

Additional Changes to Make Add tooltips for select urls Add Highslide script for images Attempt to improve page load time Change position of post footer links Add CSS definitions for various headers Finish adding "Featured Blogs" to tabbed menu section Add CSS definitions for additional custom link sections Change the color scheme for custom google search results page