A Few Words On Why I Write

Ever since I was a little kid growing up in the Midwest, USA, I’ve been fascinated with music and film journalism. Music and film critics covered the two most important things in my life: albums and movies. Before I dove head first into buying albums in the 5th grade the movie theater was the most important place for me. More so than amusement parks, museums, the county fair, or browsing the toy section of 3D or Tepe’s(okay, the toy aisle was up there for sure.)

I’d get to the newspaper before my dad would so I could check what movie they reviewed and to see if any of them were coming to one of our local cinemas. I can very clearly remember reading the reviews for both The Empire Strikes Back AND Return of the Jedi in the Times Union. And can you believe it, the reviewer dropped one of the biggest spoilers in cinema history by mentioning that Darth Vader was, in fact, Luke Skywalker’s father, in their review? My 1st grade mind was blown(and disappointed.)

As I got older I’d watch Siskel & Ebert’s syndicated movie review show(first Sneak Previews, then At The Movies, and finally Siskel & Ebert.) I loved watching these two guys sitting in a faux movie theater and arguing over films. Whether I agreed with their opinion or not, they both came across insightful and passionate about what they thought of the film. In the mid-80s I was just starting to get into horror films, so a large swath of their reviews were opposing the flicks I was excited to see. Still, I was mesmerized by the balding guy and the big guy and their occasional agreements but largely disagreements in regards to film.

But once I started listening to music it was music reviews for me. Rollingstone, Hit Parader, Metal Edge, Creem, whatever rag was on the stand at Owen’s Supermarket I’d dive into while I waited for my mom to grab what we needed. As I got older Rollingstone was the main one, as it seemed these guys and gals would deep dive into records. It wasn’t just a surface level review. David Fricke was my guy, and I appreciated the work he put into music journalism, even if he disliked the majority of what I loved in high school. I was an avid Rush fan, as well as listening to plenty of the metal bands of the day. That included the Sunset Strip crew, thrash metal, and was just starting to dip my toes into alternative music. So music journalism at that time was pretty lean in terms of people who were deep diving albums by LA Guns, Dokken, and Racer X.

Whenever I’d go to the mall I would hit Walden Books or Readers World and seek out the Rollingstone Album Guide. In it was 20+ years of album reviews, and whenever I started getting into a band I’d see what the post-hippie critic conglomerate at RS had to say about them. Man, they did NOT like Led Zeppelin. Or The Doors for that matter. Or most prog albums. In the late 60s/early-mid 70s Rollingstone was the Pitchfork of their era. Very uppity college graduates(probably lit and English majors with a few Philosophy degrees thrown in) sticking their noses up at what most people were flocking to stadiums to see and hear. Lucky for me by the time I was 15-16 years old my mind was already made up regarding 70s behemoths like Zeppelin, Rush, Aerosmith and the like(I dug ’em. Thanks mom and dad.)

So what I’m trying to say is that music and film journalism – to me then and now – are both very important arts. And yes, I think criticism is art. There are plenty of hacks out there that are just churning out content for big publications, but for the last 60 years there have also been passionate writers and fans of albums and movies(and books for that matter) that want to talk about art and give you their opinion on it. Starting this page was my way of having my little corner of the universe where I could talk passionately about albums and movies that moved me. I’m not writing for a publication, so I’m not covering anything that I don’t like or love. I’m not here to put more negativity into the world. I’m not going to write about something I don’t like. That’s not why I’m here. If it’s an artist or auteur that I’ve been a fan of for years and they put something out that I don’t like, well I may write about it and will be honest about my opinion of it. But I’m not writing about pop artists or country artists. It’s not my world.

With the recent swallowing up of Pitchfork by GQ magazine it’s evident that music criticism is disappearing behind pay walls and monthly subscriptions. Apparently selling ad space on your site isn’t enough. There are still some decent music sites like Consequence of Sound and Stereogum, but the world of music and film criticism is changing. Not for the better, either.

That’s why personal blogs like this, Tumblr or Substacks are so important. I think this is the truly last great frontier when it comes to arts-based journalism. The voice of the regular guy or gal espousing on a record that hit them hard; or a convoluted art film that someone can’t quite figure out but can’t quite forget either. These are the voices that need to spread the word when it comes to music, film, and books. These are the voices not bought by ad time or told by a board of directors who or what will be covered based on popularity or record label heft.

The days of getting your voice heard and your opinion posted only if a newspaper or magazine hires you to do so are gone. Sure there’s going to be plenty of shit-posting and poorly written pieces, but that’s what comes with this sort of Wild West scenario. And honestly, you had that with bigger publications that were paying people for it. If you want to make art, well you can put that out there too without the help of a middle man. Options are many. You control what happens with your art, not some A&R rep or stuck up grunt that just got out of the mailroom. I’m not saying you’re going to “make it”, but at least you know your art and work is represented how you want it to be.

We’re all independent contractors. Go forth and do with that freedom what you will.

If you ever considered writing about something you’re passionate about, do it. There’s literally nothing stopping you, but you. We need far more independent voices and less corporate-owned ones. Music journalism had a pretty great run. Whether you loved or hated reading Pitchfork, you can’t deny the integral role they played in legitimizing the role of music criticism in the world. Sometimes pompous, always self-important, but I was a regular reader for many years. They got me to buy quite a few albums, and also pissed me off when they shit on something I loved. That’s the beauty of it. It goes both ways.

I write because I want to, and because I need to. Music was the seed, which then branched out into personal essays, movie talk, book talk, and eventually it all blended into this patchwork I call, well, me.