Environmental campaigns seem to go hand-in-hand with music events. Live Earth is a fine example. Many bands are using their tours as platforms for environmental education and recycling programs, like Linkin Park, Cheryl Crow and the Beastie Boys. But nothing sings about environmental doom and destruction like a carefully chosen documentary soundtrack. Finally, someone has matched planetary doom with the perfect soundtrack of doom metal and dark ambient electronica! I feel I have finally found a single category of music to describe many of my favorite bands - a class of music that I haven’t been able to summarize with a single name until today - Music For Environmental Doom! It’s perfect! What other category could so perfectly link Khanate with Gas, Brian Eno with Arve Henriksen, and Mogwai with Sigur Ros or Lamb? I’d love to own a soundtrack with this music, especially if it were on gatefold double vinyl! ([More →])

Linkin Park, heroes of the environment? Well, not too surprising I guess. A few years ago, the band started their own non-profit called Music for Relief in order to channel some funds from the music community into environmental relief campaigns. They just played Live Earth of course, and now are about to head off on the Projekt Revolution tour. Linkin Park vocalist, Bennington, answered questions at a press conference last week, telling reporters that environmental education would be a focus of this tour. ([More →])