Idolator
Good afternoon! If you're reading this, there's a good chance that you love music, you love blogs, and you especially love watching YouTube clips of Steven Seagal warbling old blues songs. And because you love all those things, we're also willing to bet that you think music blogs are the best thing to ever happen to rock-and-pop nutcases such as yourselves since, well, ever.
And we at Idolator are here to tell you that you've been had.
Like Vioxx and the Patriot Act, music blogs were supposed to improve our lives: At a time when only a handful of carefully manicured acts could sleaze their way into the top 10, the music blogosphere was going to serve as the great equalizer, deflating the MTV-assisted hype machines and giving the asleep-at-the-wheel music mags a run for their ad money. They were as DIY as the zine movement and as musically savvy as the college-radio jockeys of the '80s. Finally, the power was in the hands of the people—very nerdy people, mind you, but they were a lot better than the record execs whose biggest claim to fame was discovering Crazy Town.
For a while, it seemed to be working—without Internet support, it's doubtful that bands like Cold War Kids or Clap Your Hands Say Yeah would have ascended so quickly. But in the last year, the music-blog netherworld has become as homogenized and indistinguishable as the record labels themselves. What used to be a wildly unpredictable chorus of opinions has been solidified into a cabal, one that consists of a half-dozen or so self-empowered pasty white dudes daisy-chaining each others' opinions, all using an adjective-addled lexicon that's one part Lester Bangs, one part street-person crazy talk. Meanwhile, the bands are all starting to sound the same; If we hear one more band that sounds like a cross between Pavement and Talking Heads, we're going to stab ourselves in the eye with an aqua-colored Nano.
And the dirtiest little secret of it all?
For all the talk about the blogs as an antidote to the increasingly dunderheaded major-labels, their enthusiasm sometimes does more harm than good, and many of their championed bands suffer from the association. Sure, the Arcade Fire and the Arctic Monkeys may have helped Other Music and Insound stay in business, but where are the overhyped would-be phenoms of the months past—your Nine Black Alps, your Mellowdrones? Most of them are stuck in a half.com limbo, the victims of not only insanely inflated expectations, but also of a cruelly cyclical mentality that builds bands up, before just as quickly knocking 'em down.
Take the most recent victim of Internet buzz, a 20-year-old gypsy-folk wunderkind named Zach Condon, a.k.a. Beirut. After his perfectly pleasant debut album earned a rave Pitchfork review, it flew through the blogosphere, and Condon was overwhelmed with next-big-thing kudos, even breaking through the mainstream press with a New York Magazine profile. Soon enough, he was playing in front of a packed crowd at Brooklyn's McCarren Park Pool. And you know what? He was just okay—nowhere as transcendent as people were expecting, and not a disaster, either. But his so-so performance garnered tsk-tsking from bloggers in the audience, who were beginning to wonder if he was worthy of all this attention—despite the fact that many of them had been hyping him to begin with.
This is where Idolator comes in. We're as obsessed with the music world as we are with the machinations behind it, and we'll cover the people who are manufacturing the latest band buzz, whether it's an old-guard standby (Rolling Stone), an absurdly powerful new-media turk (Pitchfork), or an agenda-pimping blogger (take your pick).
Of course, being music lovers ourselves, we also want to steer you in the direction of a good song or artist, which we'll do every day. We aim to be discerning, but not snobby. And every time we introduce you to a new artist, we promise to wait at least three months before starting our own backlash against them.
Comments
I love the pic! Where's Booger Presley?
This post deserves so much more, but all I can think to say is "first, bitches!"
FREAKIN SWEET.
Wait, we WON'T be talked down to? What kind of music blog is this?
I agree with a bunch of what you are saying, and the Beirut example is a good one. Buuut, generalizing is bad. There are plenty of good music blogs out there that are just happy to share what they are currently digging (see 3hive). Tinymixtapes could be seen as your Pitchfork - minus hipster bullshit. So to say the whole of music blogs are doomed, is just off the wall. Is idolator.com planning on being their saviour or is this more of a point and laugh expose?
Looking for a good first day topic? How about posting a list of these "agenda-pimping bloggers"? That oughta get the Internets goin' nuts.
Though I agree that there's a problem, I'm not sure if the blame ought to be placed on the bloggers and Pitchfork writers. It's not their job to be any given act's publicist -- they can write about things enthusiastically (and preferably critically) and draw attention to obscure artists, but they are not running fan sites and should free to move on to other things to keep their sites vital and interesting. The problem often lies in a fickle audience who are too busy second-guessing the coolness of any given artist and stuck in a self-interested loop of bandwagon-jumping and backlashing, and in labels and artists who are thrown into the spotlight without having much of a plan, and don't know how to, or are totally unable to strike while the iron is hot.
hi maura! wooh! i think this is going to be my favorite gawker property (not hard to do, though).
The odd thing is, it all sounds like argument for a professional music critic. But ... when I say, "professional music critic," I'm not talking about someone who simply gets paid; I'm talking about that mythical big-foot-like-critic-creature who actually knows what they are talking about.
Musical quality exits intrinsically in the music itself, but also in the listener. . . so how can one tell the good from the bad from the meh? It takes the development of taste. Enthusiams are fine, but we should all seek the discerning ear for ourselves...
Thanks, Catherine!
I just wanted to be the first to specifically say HI DERE WHAT IS IT MADE
I love you.
Yay Maura!!
I haven't been to many music blogs before, but I do hear a lot about them (especially the big ones) quite a lot through friends and such so I do agree with you regarding the pimping of bands that don't desearve it (ie Good Charlotte). What bothers me is that in your post you bash these music blogs, but then you state "we'll cover the people who are manufacturing the latest band buzz.." Well, isn't that exactly what these other blogs are doing. Are you just trying to be the blog thats quoted instead of being the blog that quotes others. Honestly what makes you any different then these crap blogs. It just seems that you haven't really spent any real amount of time looking for music blogs, their are plenty out there that not only feature bands that don't suck, but also bands that have no real fanbase outside of their group of friends. These are the blogs people need to be checking out. Your going to hear about these buzz bands whether you like it or not, so why not turn your attention to all the no name bands throughout the world. I do agree with the line "steer you in the direction of a good song or artist", that is what every blog should do. In conclusion, I think that your whole manifesto has left you with no clear direction and has left you with numerouse loopholes to exploite, and will only aid you in embeding yourselves in the 'crap music blog abyss'
If you're so egalitarian, let's hear what you have to say about the new Justin Timberlake record. Be specific and use examples.
(And congrats on opening up shop.)
Ah, that fickle audience. If only they had someone to Urge them to be more discerning in their choices.
excellent logo. horrible name.
I think a list of the bands that you think are more than just ephemeral flashes in the pan would be a good idea. Seriously, I agree with Fluxblog. It's not the bloggers' faults so much as the fickle bohemians (I am trying to avoid the "h" word as much as possible) who prefer the buzz to the bands.
I do like it, the name and the site.
I'll tell you what else I do lator.
intriguing manifesto. i will be so happy to read about music without the 'tude of pitchfork and its spawn, and without the ridiculously verbose musings of daytrotter (which started out as endearing, but has gotten a little out of conrol). let's see if it works...
and clare, pitchfork gave justin an 8.1.
what will truly impress me is if you can get egalatarian with the hip hop. pitchfork should just let it go-- they manage to suck all the fun out of it...
intriguing manifesto. i will be so happy to read about music without the 'tude of pitchfork and its spawn, and without the ridiculously verbose musings of daytrotter (which started out as endearing, but has gotten a little out of conrol). let's see if it works...
and clare, pitchfork gave justin an 8.1.
what will truly impress me is if you can get egalatarian with the hip hop. pitchfork should just let it go-- they manage to suck all the fun out of it...
I have seen the future of Rock and Roll, and it's name is Idolator. (holding back laughter)
I've been waiting a long time for this. Sign me up.
I think a list of the bands that you think are more than just ephemeral flashes in the pan would be a good idea.
Call me a cynic but has there been any list of 'ten to watch for!' bands, in any magazine or book or story or whatever, that actually played out perfectly? Kinda best NOT to predict.
Blogging's still in it's infancy, I say. We're nearly at the point where every music fan will have a blog, and they'll all be on a level playing field. Then, it won't be the individual agenda anymore, but the communal agenda. No more pasty-white-dude cabal.
VIVA LA REVOLUTION!
"What used to be a wildly unpredictable chorus...using an adjective-addled lexicon that's one part Lester Bangs, one part street-person crazy talk."
That's an insanely convoluted sentence, considering its subject--that the average blogger writes like an acid victim with a thesaurus. Don't become the thing that you hate.
Still, I'm thrilled to start reading. Good luck.
Wow...so many commentators are already sounding like they're talking down!
We're a bitter, bitter bunch, amigo.
Curiously missing from your Manifesto was how you plan to cover the Beatles, and Beatle-related items, a subject that all young people seem to be intensely interested in. (In the same way those from the 1970s idolized the Dinah Shore of forty years earlier.)
I suggest one possibility which would show the proper disdain would be using only the first letter and last letters of all bands that have animal (or animal pun) names. Thus: A-----s for Animals, B-----s for Beatles, C-------a for Capybara, etc.
Good luck on your new endeavor.
woo-hoo! i'm glad you're here. i've been waiting for gawker to add a musical sibling to the family.
woo-hoo! glad you're here. i've been waiting for gawker to add a musical sibling to the family.
(sorry if this is a repost, i've been having trouble with comments lately...)
B-b-b-but Beirut is actually really really good. I know fuck-all about their show in Brooklyn or the apparent blogger backlash. All I do know is that the album is quite wonderful and that I've been listening to it with great joy and frequency over the past few months.
First day fighting the good fight and already so many preconceptions.
Hopefully the manifesto will stay true. Now if only Gawker Media would return SPLOID the internet would be complete.
kick ass, you guys.
and now I go silent forevermore.
Can one be both both intrigued and skeptical? I mean, the subject appeals to me and I'm sure it can be entertaining, but I'm pretty sure this is still a music site by pastey white folks--probably even New Yorkers who will be biased towards crappy NY bands. In six months I expect the normal "cooler than thou" attitude.
I'll agree with you on mellowdrone. Their EPs and live show are so good, but that album was only eh at best. I'd still say they're worthy of the attention they get, but to toss Next Big Thing accolades their way is a bit premature. I'm waiting to see what they do with their next album, and hoping they move more lo-fi instead of keeping their current generic LA rock direction.
This has the potential to be the only music blog that matters. hell yeah. sign me up.
i really wish you had included the song that goes along with that picture as your first mp3.
Hear hear. A music blog that is discerning and not always positive? Shocking!
Sweet! I'm sure the folks hawking the Madonna Brand tracksuit jacket are just chomping at the bit to get at the demographic that yearns to be told what to like.
Shut up, I'm dreaming of places where lovers have wings.
(In all seriousness, this looks like fun!)
You mean indie music blogs are not completely free of hypocrisy and foolish hype? Shut up, I'm dreaming of places where lovers have wings.
(In all seriousness, I foresee myself killing a lot of company time on this site. Hurray.)
Here's to compounding your "my comment didn't look like it went through" error by...commenting some more.
am i late?
I only started reading music blogs a few months ago, was absolutely delighted by 'em. Insane about 'em! And then, they all just blurred together...
So yes, I think this is a great idea! A great manifesto. Best of luck with everything.
Back in October of 1985, I submitted a letter that was published in this issue and I would like to view its contents... How do I go about doing this????
i guess i'm several months too late to comment on this one, but did Beirut really get a "rave" review on pitchfork? the record got a 7.7 which is "good-not-great" territory and Brandon Stosuy said, "...exaggerated expectations shouldn't dissuade anyone from enjoying Beirut's best work..." and, "Beirut's received quite a bit of pre-release buzz. He deserves some of it."
it's fine for pitchfork to be your whipping boy - they certainly need someone to question their influence over who buys what record in any given week - but pitchork and the idolater seem to be of one mind on Beirut, making it a bad example on which to, you know, base your entire mission statement.
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