After class last Friday, I went back to my place, plunked down
in front of my computer, and checked my e-mail.
That doesn’t sound like a big deal, but hard to believe as
it is, it marked a momentous turning point in the school year for
me, one that will significantly alter my daily routine for the
foreseeable future.
To explain: My computer has been without Internet since last
June. Actually, that’s not true ““ there was one week of
normality in September, before the evil demons took possession of
my BIOS settings, but the point is, I haven’t been doing much
Net surfing in a long time. Worse, that’s meant staying out
of touch with the online music world.
For months, I had dreamed of my glorious return to cyberspace,
with the same fervor Pinocchio probably anticipated terra firma in
the impossibly cavernous belly of the whale. When I logged onto AIM
(with the newly regained ability to write inane thoughts in my
profile) the first person I instant messaged with the good news was
not some close, long-known friend, but a notorious music fanatic
and fellow magazine writer. This historic message went something
along the lines of: “HEY IT’S ALFRED, I HAVE INTERNET
AGAIN. SEND ME MUSIC.”
Unfortunately, this young man was in no position to comply.
“Hw, laundry,” his away message helpfully informed me.
This wasn’t going exactly as planned.
I realized soon after that, left to my own devices, I had no
clue where to start. That is, where to ascertain exactly what to
download (don’t worry, no RIAA artists) and buy. I’m
not talking about Pitchfork’s Best New Music list, All Music
Guide, Metacritic or Dusted’s college radio charts; though
admittedly, that’s probably more than enough for an avid fan.
I wanted to delve a little deeper into the currents of buzz and
hype.
Eight months is an eternity online, and I felt kind of like the
convicts in “Shawshank Redemption” after they’re
finally allowed back into society and realize everything’s
passed them by. (What the hell is a YSI file? I can’t handle
this!) Still, determined to wade through the mysteries of
today’s Internet, I learned some valuable things. Official
publications no longer have the first word in music criticism. It
didn’t take long to discover that distinction belongs to a
number of online communities ““ linked by blogs and message
boards ““ that continuously discuss recent and upcoming
music.
Lesson 1: Music blogs matter. I think you can trace a direct
line from Fluxblog to Spin’s year-end list last year.
It’s not just amateur fans, however: Rollie Pemberton (one of
the few writers out there who knows his hip-hop) of Stylus and
Aaron Newell of Cokemachineglow keep the joint blog Razorblade
Runner, and several Pitchfork writers also keep blogs of their own.
Distinguished critic and DJ Oliver Wang drops knowledge on R&B,
soul, jazz and hip-hop on his blog Soul Sides.
Lesson 2: Message boards might be bigger. Hipinion is a
refreshing (and often hilarious) gathering of anti-Pitchfork
sentiment, among other things, while Sound Opinions is a less
sprawling census of hipster opinion. Philaflava boasts some of the
best hip-hop heads to be found. And once my AIM buddy got finished
with his laundry, he took the time to recommend the boards over at
UFCK.
Lesson 3: Bloc Party, M.I.A. and Saigon are officially Artists
to Watch. Backlash is also inevitable for at least two, if not all
three.
So there you have it: my weekend of re-assimilation into the
Internet. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some more catching
up to do.
E-mail Lee at alee2@media.ucla.edu.