Most blogged artists: Gorillaz, Sparklehorse, Cults

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On March 9, British alternative/electronic act Gorillaz is the most blogged musical act of the moment, with singles and remixes from its just-released album Plastic Beach circulating around the blogosphere. In second and third place, according to The Hype Machine, are Oxford, England indie/dance-punk band Foals and Sparklehorse, the moniker for alternative rock musician Mark Linkous, who committed suicide on March 6 at the age of 47.

Sparklehorse - the name Linkous used for both himself and his band - gained popularity following the 1995 release of Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot and a 1996 tour with Radiohead, during which Linkous nearly died from a drug overdose. Despite a long recovery from that incident, Sparklehorse went on to release five more albums, including Dark Night of the Soul, a 2009 collaboration with Danger Mouse and David Lynch. Bloggers are reporting the news of Linkous's death and sharing clips of songs he wrote and performed throughout his career.

Also in the blogs Tuesday is Cults, two New York film students who, according to Niallar 9 (www.nialler9.com), "appear[ed] out of nowhere last week and straight onto loads of music blogs." The duo has released three songs on its website, including the "retro twee pop" single "Go Outside," which Pitchork (pitchfork.com) says "has the innocent and balmy feel that brings to mind Swedish indie pop, with a tinkling glockenspiel cutting through humidity, an appealingly lazy bassline, and joyous sing-along vocals."

The 10 most blogged artists on The Hype Machine on March 9 at 10:00 AM GMT:

• Gorillaz (unchanged)
• Foals (unchanged)
• Sparklehorse (new)
• RJD2 (-1)
• Cults (unchanged)
• Drake (+1)
• Kisses (-3)
• Secret Cities (new)
• Damien Jurado (new)
• Elliott Smith (new)

Launched in 2005, The Hype Machine aggregates information from more than 1,000 music blogs worldwide. Known for identifying up-and-coming artists, the site enables music fans to easily find out what music is hot in the blogosphere and to instantly hear and buy MP3s.

http://hypem.com