Well, I’m officially home from my stint down at Langerado. Suffice it to say that I saw a plethora of amazing artists, along with some not so hot live shows, and generally had a brilliant time. I’ll have a full write up coming in the next few days {along with some music}, but for now I’m still recovering from the festivities as well as the ridiculous forty five hour round trip drive. The song posted below is easily one of the best tracks I heard performed live at Langerado. If you get a chance I would highly recommend catching a show by The National.
mp3 : The National - Mr. November
As some of you know a few months ago the joint venture of Hey!Nielsen and Billboard.com decided to nominate 99 blogs in the pursuit of the best blog in the land. The results were entirely controlled by the masses of voting public and, thanks in large part to your efforts, I was the gracious recipient of top five honors. The winner of the voting frenzy was Daytrotter, followed by Rock Sellout, with myself, Adam’s World, and BBQ Chicken Robot rounding out the top five.
Back in December, after the results were tallied, the team over at Hey!Nielsen asked me to answer some questions. I thought I would post this interview of sorts here on TWF as I doubt anyone will ever visit their site and/or be able to find it once you’re there.
How/why did you start your blog? I started my blog over a year ago as an outlet to share music discoveries with my friends. All through university I was constantly burning mixes for friends, girlfriends, and random acquaintances. For awhile I began distributing these compilation discs through email to my close friends but that format of sharing music was a bit too restrictive for me. Hence The World Forgot was born.
How do you interact with the local music scene? Most of my friends, both old and new, seem to be connected with music in some way. Many of them play instruments, attend shows with me, or are forced to listen to whatever song I think is brilliant at the moment. Where I live right now doesn’t have a superb local music scene but I attend any show I can find.
How do you deal with the issues of posting MP3s? What is your policy or agreement with labels, if any? My theory is that almost all music is available in some format, for free, if a person is willing to look hard enough for it. You can download mp3s, get albums from libraries, record satellite radio, etc. I post mp3s in order to promote albums, musicians, and songs that I’m excited about in hopes that people who download and listen to the music will become excited about that artist as well. As of now I have a rather informal agreement with several small labels who love having bloggers promote music for them.
How is your point of view different that of some of the more well-known sites or more established blogs? My point of view is different in that it is my singular opinion that shapes the vast majority of my blog posts. I don’t have a team of writers working with me so almost every word that goes onto my blog is my actual thoughts about the music. Also, I’m not afraid to say when something is terrible. I get so sick of picking up a music magazine or reading a list of reviews where no album ever gets below a 50-60% rating.
What do you know about your readers? People that read my blog hail from all over the globe. In any given 24 hour period I will get hits from every continent and almost all major developed countries, especially Australia, the UK, and the States. I’m still waiting for someone to visit from Antarctica.
What are your five favorite music blogs? The list could be longer, but here are my top five. You Ain’t No Picasso, An Aquarium Drunkard, Good Weather for Airstrkes, I Guess I’m Floating, and Songs:Illinois.
What do you want to be when you grow up / Where will your blog be five years from now? I’m not sure if I ever do want to grow up. But, if I must, I want to still be passionate. I want to be still discovering things that are new and still caring enough to share them with the people that I love. I hope my blog will still exist to promote and celebrate the great diversity of music that this world creates.
What were some of the first albums that you bought? Do people buy albums? Do they call them albums? The first albums that I bought for myself were Weezer’s first disc, The Blue Album, and the album The Colour and the Shape by the Foo Fighters. I would argue people still refer to them as albums as the format the songs come in {digital, on a cd, tape, vinyl} has become more ambiguous lately. Sadly though I feel most consumers have moved to buying single song downloads, which is a shame, as it’s killing the quality of a lot of albums as bands focus on just a few killer tracks and lose their way through the rest of their album.
What was your favorite live show this year / ever? My favorite show this year was seeing Cloud Cult play at The Legends of Notre Dame. My favorite show of all time was seeing Radiohead play in support of Hail to the Thief.
If you could add a category to a music awards show, what would it be and who would win it? Most Overlooked Band of the Year : Cloud Cult
What’s the next great band everyone should know about? There are two acts out of NYC right now that I feel everyone should listen to. The first being Zach Williams and the second being Wakey!Wakey! They’re both making some phenomenal music.
What band or artist do you absolutely hate writing about? I hate writing about any person who’s currently making music, but in reality has nothing to do with the writing, recording, or creative processes involved in making their album. If they’re just a pretty face to sell albums I usually can’t stand it.
In your opinion, what was the most overhyped story of 2007? Anything to do with Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, or Rhianna. Seriously. Oh, and the whole Kanye versus 50 issue. I mean honestly, in what reality could it be assumed that 50 would sell more albums than Kanye?
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