Sorry, this is just not meta at all, but I don’t really have a general-purpose blog (at least not one that’s particularly well read!).
I have decided to sell all of my CDs. Only vinyl/digital downloads from now on.
I know this is not a big deal to most people, but I am emotionally attached to those CDs in a major way. I still have like completely unplayable scratched-up copies of Rubberneck and Nevermind in my collection. So this is HARD FOR ME TO DO.
I’ve only listed sale-able music thus far, but I have many other CDs that I cannot or should not sell; eventually I will process them and give them away to folks who know me in real life or live nearby, so stay tuned!
I’m a new follower to the blog, and I’m quite enjoying it. And that’s saying a lot, because I don’t care much for rambling blogs or music journalism. I think the reason I’m liking this blog is the same reason why David (of PRR) enjoys reviews:
From a great record review you can get to know the writer as well as you can get to know the music they’re writing about, you can come to understand part of who they are, and hopefully also what they look for in ALL music as a system of interlocking values rather than an isolated judgment, you can finish the review and maybe articulate that system and understand how they might respond to other music.
David is a real connoisseur of Pitchfork. He treats Pitchfork like part of a dialogue, rather than the voice of authority. His blog is a welcome counterpoint to the influence that Pitchfork’s had on so many people in my generation. He’s a lucid, interesting writer, and even though I’m a little out of the music journalism loop, I’m going to keep reading.
Its not that I don’t listen to music. Its just that I swore off music journalism when Peel’s first album came out in 2007. At the time, I wasn’t a huge blog reader, but I assumed that sites like AllMusicGuide were generally accurate, and visited them from time to time. But then I saw it from the other side. I dredged through a lot of drivel and a ton of plagiarism. And even though our reviews were overwhelmingly positive, the negatives still hurt my feelings. It’s pretty infuriating to have a reviewer criticize you over a set of influences that they themselves fabricated. Don’t they understand that their own ears have an influence-filter, too?
And despite whatever experience you may have had a SXSW, Austin really is a small town. Musicians here all know what happened to Sound Team and take reviewers’ opinions with a BIG grain of salt. And as for writing? I think the old saying is “Writing about music is like dancing about architecture.”
OK, I’m not really dissing on people who read or music critiques. Music blogs are super helpful when you’re stuck in a small town (as I used to be), and many many blogs are straight up positive, existing just to let the world know how awesome obscure reggae bands are, or whatever. Good music writers are going to be worth reading. Any writing is ultimately about connecting with people and having a shared human experience. Which gets me back to PRR ….perhaps this is a blog that will help me to appreciate music critique again.
I’m writing this post because Pitchfork Reviews Reviews is meta. But you should follow it because it’s a great blog.
Now look at me… I went and wrote a rambling post about music journalism. It’s as if this were a meta blog or something!
{{{Sunset}}} is this super cool band from Austin. This is their van. You can see why I like it :)
Sunset is Bill Baird’s project. He’s an interesting dude who also runs Baby Blue, a studio/venue/hangout here in town, and he recorded a live Peel album for us once, during a big party we had at Baby Blue. (The Peel album is yet unreleased BTW)
Anytime somebody completes a project in Austin, I am amazed. -BB
Here’s another unfinished Bill Baird/Peel collaboration, too. A video for Moxy Blues!!
Courney Love, photographed by the author Jami Attenberg at SXSW 2010.
Everyone in Austin was absolutely scandalized when Courtney Love collapsed on stage, because, you know, she’s such an international icon of of restraint and etiquette.
Over at mikemake.com is an awesome collection of Beatles themed infographics.
These visualizations are part of an extensive study of the music of the Beatles. Many of the diagrams and charts are based on secondary sources, including but not limited to sales statistics, biographies, recording session notes, sheet music, and raw audio readings.
In particular, the one below is a diagram of self-references in Beatles songs. Click through to see it larger.
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