Did you see these
-
heated discussions and some name calling over at Goodhodgkins?
http://www.goodhodgkins.com/2006/07/09/essay-in-defense-of-the-album-format/#more-306
http://www.goodhodgkins.com/2006/07/06/opinion-the-garden-state-effect/#more-301
Both posts are diatribes on the correct way to listen to music and the correct way to behave at concerts (and the irony here is we're not talking about Shostakovich or a night at the philharmonic but instead grade b run of the mill indie rock). Basically the first post questions the demise of the album format and the rise of songs not in the context of the album. And the second deals with attending concerts and having to deal with drunk rude people not interested in the music for the "right" reasons.
Commenting has been put on hold but I'd like to add that for the writer over at Goodhodgkins his problems probably reside in part due to the fact that he started a blog and now has to write about all these songs/bands/issues and get photo's/exclusives/interviews and that aspect of mp3 blogging (although he refuses to call himself an mp3 blogger) changes a person from a casual, albeit serious fan to more of a professional writer who doesn't get paid (no advertising on Goodhodgkins). Real music critics don't complain about all of these somewhat trivial problems/issues because they're getting paid and so they treat the writing and the music like just what it is --- a job.
While I do generally like to provoke I truly think these are fairly interesting and aside form the pettiness valuable discussions. -
i really wish this thread didn't exist
i've had to deal with enough shit for these posts already, including people having the audacity to tell me how to run my own blog on my own blog while in the same breath calling me elitist and pretentious. so i don't really want to discuss this further. but you guys can, i guess. the comments turned into personal attacks (particularly on the album essay), and whether you agree or disagree with me, that's never warranted or approrpriate. i feel like i took a lot of shit for stuff that had nothing to do with me and people refuted points i was never actually trying to make. i was stating my own opinions (not facts) on my own blog, which i admit has a narrow-minded focus.
i do my best not to take these things personally, but it's hard not to, especially when some of it comes from people you respect.
comments were re-opened for the garden state thing earlier and i'm just going to delete anything malicious that comes through
also, i am advertising now, but that will have absolutely no bearing on the writing. -
Real music critics don't complain about all of these somewhat trivial problems/issues because they're getting paid and so they treat the writing and the music like just what it is --- a job.
Except that this is what the institution of the Music Column is for - complaining about nuances of the life of a music listener. I'm sure Klosterman has a piece on crappy audiences, if not one on The Shins and Garden State. Trends are always good journalism fodder. MP3 bloggers aren't exactly reinventing the wheel here, we just come packaged with free stuff.
I thought Ryan's Garden State column was pretty silly (no offense) but only because I went through that stage already and hopefully I've moved on. I'm also a guy who posts diatribes about Pitchfork reviews, so whatever. -
people telling you how you should run your own site is a side effect of having comments open.. it sucks, i agree, but that's how it is in any genre of blog.
-
I can definitely see how people would perceive those (especially the Garden State one) as pretentious-- not that I disagree with your point. But, the people who think that post is pretentious are probably the same ones who aren't at a Shins concert for the "right" reasons.
[EDIT]: What I think I mean by that is that people who view going to a show as a social event or pure entertainment are probably too shallow (for lack of a better word) to see a concert as a musical experience of value enough to be cherished as you do (and thus find you pretentious). -
It's pretty iffy in general to say someone goes to a concert for the "right" or "wrong" reasons. I'm inclined to offer that there might, actually, be many, many reasons that people go to concerts other than as a quasi-religious experience. The frat contingent at a recent Band of Horses show were one of the most energetic and appreciative crowds I've seen in a while, and the band loved it. What's wrong with that? Absolutely nothing. In fact, they were very similar to many of the Guided by Voices crowds I saw while they were still touring. And a large portion of my pure enjoyment of a live show is exactly the pure entertainment value and social atmosphere. I mean, why else go to a live show?
-
to hear heady jams, obv.
-
I go to live shows to stalk musicians.
;) -
one of my fondest memories of the past semester occured a voxtrot concert at a religious venue where everyone else in the audience was under 14 and there to see a local punk band... until voxtrot happened and elated indie love puberty ensued. live shows exist because they're unique, unscripted, and vulnerable.
-
my favorite concert (but not the best) was seeing Akron/Family on campus a few months back, when nobody really knew who they were and it was a bunch of hipsters expecting some folk - A-Fam played a 30 minute noise jam and most of the crowd left. It was awesome.
-
The thing is: those two posts generated very interesting discussions, i've hardly ever seen so many comments in a blog post.
That's the way the blog-o-sphere can work. Everyone can add his own opinion to said postings. I loved that.
Some of the name-calling and diatribe was unnecessary, though. -
Taking things personal is the area where things get tricky. If you can post your opinions, as personal as they may be and weather the idiots, as well as the disagreements that are valid, then you should be fine.
Its hard not to want to respond to every disagreement but you really cant do it. Like Duffy said, commenting is a free for all, and can get messy quick. Even so, those posts are the kind that Kottke links to, and thats not all bad..... -
Well the hardcore scene is reviving agian.. (at least in socal)
As to ryan: Although they are controversial and bring up good points, the comments, whether you like them are not, also bring up good points and serve to educate and show different points of view. the comments are similar to what blogs do, unearth different opinions and show different sides (to in our case music) to their case concert going and stuff.
Its really informative to hear the different opinions, voiding the fact I have mine.
Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Categories
- All Discussions3,267
- General2,523
- Band Promotion217
- Blog Promotion259
- MP3 Blog Tips148
- MP3 Blog Tools120
- Private Messages0