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Some songwriters know the secret to creating a catchy American standard. Irving Berlin was in on the gig. So was Cole Porter. And Rodgers & Hammerstein. Wander through this magical site, and you might slip an entertainment empire onto the list, too: the Walt Disney Company. In one visit to this blog devoted to covers of Disney songs, we listened to Usher's rendition of a "Tarzan" tune, Jimmy Cliff's take on "The Lion King," The Supremes revisiting "Pinocchio," and Bobby McFerrin's version of that magical "Cinderella" melody, "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo." Put it together and what have you got? Bibbidi-bobbidi-wonderful. The mouse's oeuvre has inspired artists of every musical stripe, from Louis Armstrong to Tom Waits. The site's only been around since July, but it's already drawn guest contributions from fantastic audio bloggers. As another source of classic American tunes would say, "'S marvelous."

This blog has a bold and simple goal: to "write about every R.E.M. song, eventually." Since its launch in March, Pop Songs 07 has gone about its task with candor and seeming ease. The brief posts take on song after song from R.E.M.'s oeuvre, frequently delving into the group's history, surfacing quotes from Michael Stipe on a particular tune's origins, or refuting popular notions of a track's great success or lack thereof. The pop maven behind the site clearly adores the band, but he (or she?) isn't afraid to venture an opinion. One post asks, "Seriously now, were they even trying with "I'll Take the Rain"?" Another comments, "It's pretty clear that an entire album of this sort of thing would've been rather ill-advised." The Web's R.E.M. community has responded. Some of the posts have garnered up to 100 comments, many of them glowing with pleasure. Michael Stipe, we're just waiting for you to weigh in.

With the proliferation of music online and off, it can be hard to separate the sucky from the superb. That difficulty in making crucial calls about cool tunes is what's led to the boom in music blogs. After all, we can all use the help of an editor.

One editor with his finger on the play button is Justin Gage. Founder of popular blog Aquarium Drunkard, Justin kicks knowledge to music fans each and every day. His genre and era-spanning love of music is apparent from his posts ranging from the brilliantly obscure to the funkily familiar.

We caught up with the busy Mr. Gage for a chat about inspiration, blogging, and music past, present, and future...

Hey Justin, when did you start Aquarium Drunkard (AD)? What was your impetus?

AD started in 2005 as a way to clue friends in to what I was into at the time, be it music, film, etc. The site took on a life of its own within a few months.

So it wasn't all about music in the beginning?

Initially, no Read the full profile...