Article by John in the Seattle Weekly Reverb Residency

[sour29]

I think hands-on experience beats college education in A LOT of cases. Many fields of study seem to be mostly self-serving (esp. arts), all you can do with a degree is to become a college teacher yourself.

Yeah, I learned this one that hard way. Film Studies degree. Basically means I can watch movies better than my friends. But without any journalism credits to, you know, be a critic. And so I'm qualified for little more than to teach Film Studies. Oh, but wait! I need to go to Teacher's College to do that, too.

Thus, I have no marketable skills.

[grant]

Actually, it seems like the best advice might be to go to art school, then drop out once you've met enough bandmates.

[Moni]

Actually, it seems like the best advice might be to go to art school, then drop out once you've met enough bandmates.

That's what Michael Stipe did!

[Squid]

The Captain's latest piece, which discusses the evilles of Top 10 lists, is up.

I've already gone on record as being in violent agreement on this topic - even though I get caught up sometimes and say that an album is in my Top 10. That is an overstatement built of well-intentioned hyperbole, a shorthand (read: lazy) way of saying, "I LOVE THIS". And I do. But it's more like a Top 60. Where the Top 60 keeps changing. Yeah.

So anyway SPEAKING of lazy - it was a big treat to have someone lay out my argument against lists so eloquently for me. Thanks, Cap'n.

[grant]

What did you like best about the article? Could you maybe itemize the key points for me?

[Liesbeth]

I actually quite disagree with several of John's points, but won't bore you with it. Unless you give me 5 reasons that I should.

[Mike McCusker]

What are your top ten top ten lists?

[Moni]

Another reason why Top-10 lists are usually annoying is because they always generate the same kind of boring, pointless "That guy is so wrong!!"-responses and discussions. As in, "I totally agree with #2, #4, and #5, but how the hell could he have put #1 on top??? And why isn't xx on the list? Also, #7 higher rated than #8?!? What a joke!!!!!111"
Gah.

Unless you give me 5 reasons that I should.

1) I'm sure John appreciates geeky discussions about his writings
2) There is not that much happening on this board right now
3) I'm bored (New Year's Eve Day at the office = yawn)
4) Writing exercises are always GOOD
5) This article deserves better responses/comments than those posted on SW.com

[Mike McCusker]

Great article, but he should have stopped at 9 or gone to 11.

[sour29]

Unless you give me 5 reasons that I should.

1) I'm sure John appreciates geeky discussions about his writings
2) There is not that much happening on this board right now
3) I'm bored (New Year's Eve Day at the office = yawn)
4) Writing exercises are always GOOD
5) This article deserves better responses/comments than those posted on SW.com

+1

[pahouk]

I'm always a little bemused about which of John's columns get people stirred up. Since John did two radio interviews about this and I've seen the article cited on several blogs I guess there was more pent up emotion about top ten lists than I had realized. (Personally I thought his Phil Spector article was more controversial.) I usually have one of two reactions to most top ten lists: who are these bands? or why would anyone want to listen to these bands? But I think that's my old age talking. Anyways, I'm always glad to read another insightful article by John.

[pahouk]

Even though John is cruising the Caribbean, his column still managed to magically appear: http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/reverb/2 ... eres_n.php.

[Moni]

I'm always a little bemused about which of John's columns get people stirred up.

Admittedly I felt very defensive myself after reading John's superfan-article, but he seems to attract an awful lot of "Meh your opinion sucks"-haters lately, judging from the comments on his columns. Weird.

Oh but here's something nice from Duff McKagan's SW article: "I finally got a chance last week to meet and hang out with The Long Winters guru and fellow Seattle Weekly columnist John Roderick. To be honest, I was a little bit nervous when first seeing John; he seems to be the smartest guy in the room, and intellectualism has at times fed into people also being smart-ASSES to me. I'm not sure why that is. Maybe I am just an easy butt for a joke. But in my case, at least, last week, he was also the NICEST guy in the room, and he shares my low and classless taste in humor. Cool dude."

[John]

I think the "meh" commenters are just what you expect when you write for a wider audience. I use to take it personally. I'm sure I've told you the story before, but Dave Eggers once asked me if I read reviews of my own work, and when I said "Yes", he grabbed me by the shirt and shouted "Don't read reviews!" I've stopped reading comments on the Weekly website and, let me tell you, it's made my life better. The good ones are nice, but it's always surprising what a foul mood one single "meh" can put me in. In all honesty I didn't change the settings on the blog to stop sending me comments, it just changed automatically in some Village Voice shake-up, but I'm grateful the blog comments don't come any more. Fuck those "meh" people anyway.

But that's nice, what Duff said, isn't it?

[No You Are]

But that's nice, what Duff said, isn't it?

The Duff comment has to be worth at least 10 "meh"s.

Dude, it makes me feel good and it isn't even ABOUT me.

[pahouk]

A special Wednesday edition of John's column in which he makes fun of both West Seattle and Florida: http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/reverb/2 ... attlei.php. I need to stop reading the comments to John's columns. This one features a particularly obtuse person who just didn't get it.

[Liesbeth]

I can't believe there have been no angry comments on that photo. What a predictable shot of the indigenous West Seattle palm tree, and that pale blue sky doesn't do the always magnificent Alki Beach weather justice, whatsoever.

[pahouk]

I can't believe there have been no angry comments on that photo. What a predictable shot of the indigenous West Seattle palm tree, and that pale blue sky doesn't do the always magnificent Alki Beach weather justice, whatsoever.

I really wish they hadn't published that photo. We try not to let people know that's what Seattle really looks like. We had pretty much fooled everyone into believing it rains here all the time and then they go and let the cat out of the bag.

[grant]

This one features a particularly obtuse person who just didn't get it.

GUILTY.

[pahouk]

A new article is up: http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/reverb/2 ... as_dil.php.

I agree with John that the connections between listeners and bands is becoming a more personal thing, rather than a shared communal thing, but I don't think that's necessarily bad. I've always been more interested in music that mattered to me, regardless of its "importance" in the bigger picture. I'm sure Dylan's music meant something to a lot of people, but I've never really felt any connections to it. I don't think that music that's just trying to reach one single person is any less valuable than music that's trying to change the world.