has The blissblogger left us? (not that he's dead)

polz

Member
I think it's safe to say that the blissblogger has left the critical reviewing of new stuff. On his site his posts of the last months are mainly links to obituaries, and discussions about old bands reforming (gang of four et al). And in his last post he made his break with his last love, grime, clear:

People keep telling me, “there’s still good tunes coming out”. But I’m trying not to hear them. The people, but also, in a way, the tunes too. Like with a love affair, I’d rather a clean break.

I'm suspecting he won't be back for contemporary music. He tried to be really enthusiastic about the ghostbox stuff, but it looks like that's only lukewarm interest now as well. He stopped posting here a long time ago already. I'm afraid that everybody over here now will have to decide for themselves what is the worth of new things. (i remember how, when reynolds posted in a thread, the number of replies and views for that thread rose substantially).

Maybe you just can't remain interested in what's new (or not so new) forever.
 

swears

preppy-kei
Funny, I was just talking to a lady his age at work, she was into loads of Rip It Up And Start Again era bands as a teenager (like half the bands mentioned in the book) and will be rooting for Scritti tonight.
Hmmm...it's a shame to see a good blogger go, I felt a bit sad after Gutterbreakz quit.
If momus stopped, that would be the worst, I'd be gutted.
 

Woebot

Well-known member
I think it's safe to say that the blissblogger has left the critical reviewing of new stuff.

!!!

this thread'll surely amuse him. he doesn't post here these days because he thinks forums "disagree" with him. but i reckon there's one thing loitering around with the hoi polloi when (like me and you polz) you're an opinionated amateur, but i reckon it'd be kinda weird/compromising to do it when you've got to have some some perceived stock in your own opinion. it's difficult to be publicly puglisitic and a pro as well.

is he losing interest in new music per se? don't think so polz. simon's as open as he always was to good stuff. i completely share his slightly equivicated response to things at the moment though i'm gradually settling into accepting we're in leaner times.

actually i think depression/disapointment in new music is a really healthy strategy to take. when, say like lester bangs in punk, something genuinely new does come along, something which chimes with one's own firmly-held vision, then one's position is doubly reinforced.

will he thank me for attempting to speak for him. er, not sure i'm too worried.
 
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gek-opel

entered apprentice
He was on holiday for a bit I think so don't declare blissblog deceased all of a sudden! But yes, he does appear to have lost interest in music-as-scene (see his specific interest in rave, drum and bass, grime etc). I think that kind of approach means that when a scene goes downhill (or you perceive it to be going downhill) its a bit of a heartbreaker. This is why all scenes ought to be approached with enthusiasm but not love, on an album by album basis- individual artists are as liable to betray you as scenes are [bastards the lot of them!] (but then again I'm a bit of a misanthropist, so, oh well...)

@ Swears: Momus is one of the most active bloggers of all, one to two mini-essay posts plus discussion in the comments box every day- even if half of it is merely entertaining Jap-fetish stuff, still a good read, and I doubt he'll be halting the onslaught any time soon...
 

swears

preppy-kei
Yeah, momus has got the quality and quantity. I'm always surprised at how he manages to update it all so professionally everyday. Maybe too much Japanese stuff, but he does live there and it is a fascinating country. Ace photos too. If there was any justice he'd edit his own glossy magazine.

EDIT: He did live there. He's in Berlin now. But He travels a lot, so it's a bit hard to keep track sometimes.
 
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Buick6

too punk to drunk
If Reynolds doesn't come here anymore, I might fuck off then as well. Since there's no-one else here who likes rock music or heavy indie bands.
 
Is it a case of the internet killed the hardcopy star in much the same way as video killed the radio star ?

In music the shift began when unauthorized file-sharing networks like the original Napster allowed fans to snatch up the songs they wanted, instantly and free.

But the field is also full of new guideposts: music blogs and review sites like the hipster darling Pitchfork have gained influence without major corporate backing. And customizable Internet radio services like Pandora, Last.fm, Yahoo’s Launchcast and RealNetworks’ Rhapsody are pointing users to music far beyond the playlists that confine most FM radio broadcasts.

All told, music consumers are increasingly turning away from the traditional gatekeepers and looking instead to one another — to fellow fans, even those they’ve never met — to guide their choices. Before long, wireless Internet connections will let them chatter not only on desktops, but in cars and coffee shops, too. And radio conglomerates and MTV, used to being the most influential voices around, are beginning to wonder how to keep themselves heard.

“The tools for programming are in the hands of consumers,” said Courtney Holt, executive vice president for digital music at MTV Networks’ Music and Logo Group, who formerly ran the new-media department for Interscope Records. “Right now it almost feels like a fanzine culture, but it’s going to turn into mainstream culture. The consumer is looking for it.”


the new tastemakers
 

gek-opel

entered apprentice
I'm not sure if that argument holds water- I've never read so much writing on music as I do today- the blog network enables the kind of idiosyncrasy (in style, reference points and subject matter) that was long ago bled out of print journalism (as they close in on ever more tightly defined and ill-conceived notions of their core markets in a desperate bid to remain afloat)... I think the problem is with Reynolds personally- as people upthread have noted, the only things on his blog of late have been death, doom, reprints, endings etc... [cue overly demonstrative emoticon::(]

He is apparently really busy with kids and stuff as well [cue K-punk-esque outrage...]
 
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I'd hate to think he lost his mojo, crisis of confidence, questioning his relevence :p. Lately if I haven't got anything nice to say, I go play with my kids too.


It's almost like there's too much writing about music on the net and you don't know who to trust. The times I've downloaded stuff on someones recommendation and upon listening gone 'where the fuck is this guys head at ?' You owe me money for bandwidth dammit.
 

D84

Well-known member
Seeing as he's just finished writing, releasing and promoting a new book which has deservedly attracted a lot of attention, maybe he's just taking a breather.

I'd be a bit jaded too after an effort like that..
 

swears

preppy-kei
Just read over the stuff about World of Twist/Last Few Days/Gary Glitter and there seems to be a hankering for some big, brash pop statement. Maybe that's the next new big thing?
Innovation and teen hysteria side by side.

Just a thought, I'd love to see a piece similar to Paul Oldfield's on Glitter about Andrew WK. My mate does a media degree involving post modern/post marxist theory and is a big WK fan, I'll have to persuade him to knock one up...
 

noel emits

a wonderful wooden reason
Not to mention the footnotes for RIUASA.

Give the guy a break!

x-post w. swears
 
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henry s

Street Fighting Man
re: the thing upthread about there being too much music writing on the net...hear hear...it's not so much the glut of writing but the ridiculous amounts of hyperbole spewed forth...everything released seems to be the greatest thing ever...('sept on Dissensus, of course)...I now find myself becoming immediately skeptical of something that draws across-the-board raves...just seems like peeps are trying to one-up each other, i.e. whoever shouts the loudest gets credit for "discovering" this band/artist/record...like in a bike race where somebody breaks from the pack and everybody else follows, to draft off of them...I think it was Nietzsche who urged us to approach art with resistance, so as to form a credible opinion...now I find myself doing the same with music criticism...which seems really strange...
 
I think the problem is with Reynolds personally- as people upthread have noted, the only things on his blog of late have been death, doom, reprints, endings etc... [cue overly demonstrative emoticon::(]

This might cheer him up. It's not grime and not hiphop as you know it. It is what it is and I like it. It restores my faith, nourishes my soul and uplifts the people. Everything thats good about music..nuf said




New Zealand the worlds best kept secret though not for much longer ;)
 

Guybrush

Dittohead
This might cheer him up. It's not grime and not hiphop as you know it. It is what it is and I like it. It restores my faith, nourishes my soul and uplifts the people. Everything thats good about music..nuf said




New Zealand the worlds best kept secret though not for much longer ;)

The PNC track was GRATE!
 
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