Said the Gramophone is now twelve years old. I remember being twelve. It was terrifying. A time when childhood stories, dreamlike and brave, began to brush up against the chafing, torrid, unkind facts of adolescence. So much of being a good grown-up, curious and full-hearted, seems to be a matter of repealing the defence mechanisms learned at that time. Not to be childlike again - but to unlearn the lesson that the world must let you down.
At eleven and a half years old, I almost shut Said the Gramophone down. Dan had told me he was saying goodbye, making time for different things. I published my first novel and won a big prize. I wondered: What's the point? Maintaining this weird old blog, with declining readership, for free, at a time when hardly anyone is using a platform like this to introduce people to new music, when hardly anyone is writing like this, oddly and personally, from a realm of sense and feeling, intuition and dream, not to mention on a site that's green as a pistachio, unfestooned with ads.
But then of course I realized: That's the point. Those are the points. That this is old and weird. That not enough people are doing it. That even if the market can't support writing about anything that doesn't attract >25,000 views, that even if people want music streamed direct to their ears without any intermediary - Said the Gramophone's ambivalence to markets and masses affords it the luxury of stubbornness. Writing Said the Gramophone lets me work things out about songs and art, about myself; lets me figure out new ways of writing, lets me practice new sentences every day. Reading Said the Gramophone, reading the posts and stories by Dan and others, introduces me to wonderful new songs, paints pictures in the back of my heart, and also - best of all - shows me new ways in to music. Each post here, if it's working, is its author's doorway into a song: hand-made, hand-painted, with wood dragged in from the swamp.
I decided I wanted it to continue. And so I packed some provisions, got on my horse, wrangled myself a new gang. In alphabetical order:
- Emma Healey is a Toronto-based poet and essayist. I first read her work when Dan asked her to fill in for him here. Last year, she wrote "Stories Like Passwords" one of the most important essays written anywhere in 2014. She loves music and dislikes puns. She writes like every sentence is a book of matches.
- Jeff Miller is a Montreal-based writer and zinemaker. He has been publishing photocopied, stapled, stamped-and-posted issues of Ghost Pine since 1996. Some of this writing was anthologized for a 2010 collection, showcased on this blog. Last week he took me to more-or-less my first hardcore punk show. It was awesome and as we trekked home through the snow and cold I could think only of how hot the thrill in my chest. Each of Jeff's stories is like a new arrow.
- Mitz Takahashi is a musician, woodworker and furniture-maker who was born in Osaka, Japan and now lives in Montreal. He DJs and plays in bands, including Mavo, who have appeared on this blog. He loves amazing music. English is his second language so he has found new ways to use it, shortcuts and cheatcodes, and his sentences have a way of undoing me.
- I'm still who I am, and I'll go on posting.
Thanks to all of you reading. To Jordan Himelfarb and Dan Beirne. To Emma, Jeff and Mitz, for joining this dumb folly. Please leave some comments on their posts, in the coming weeks; let them know if you're listening.
Posted by Sean at January 26, 2015 1:39 PMAh, this is wonderful! Can't wait to read posts by the new folks. Thanks to you all for keeping this going.
Posted by Kevin at January 26, 2015 1:59 PMThese words are inspiring. Keep up the old and weird.
Posted by Blayze at January 26, 2015 2:29 PMExcellent! I've been a fan of Ghost Pine/Jeff's writing for a short while and I look forward to getting to know Emma and Mitz as well. StG was (and remains) hugely influential in my musical coming of age and I'm thrilled that it'll continue to inspire.
Posted by Brennan at January 26, 2015 2:29 PMThis is very good news indeed.
I know this is more work than just about any other music blog ever, but that's why I keep coming back.
x
Posted by last year's girl at January 26, 2015 2:32 PMThis news totally made my evening. I had no idea StG was about to come to a closure. And I am very happy there won't be any. I went through a similar phase for the better part of 2012 and I found similar reasons to continue, this time stronger and more serious than before. StG has been one of my most favorite places to go on a daily basis. Your writing style is impeccable and has been a source for great inspiration to me. The way you dress up songs with words only adds up to their value and makes them more delicious. I also dig Dan's writing and it's sad that he is no longer contributing. But then, we have fresh blood that will hopefully compensate Dan and Jordan's absence.
Big up! It is such a relief to see there are still people with blogs with text! Nowadays the web is full of places where people copy/paste Soundcloud and YouTube clips in the name of music blogging. It's with blogs like yours where one can draw a fine line. Good luck with your new people. We'll be here too.
Posted by Ghost FM at January 26, 2015 2:33 PMWhen Dan left and you advised readers to watch for changes, I was worried. Glad to see this green-as-a-pistachio site, unfestooned with ads will soldier on. (To the latter point, when's your next pledge drive?)
Posted by Matthew at January 26, 2015 2:33 PMThis is great great great, Monday-brightening news. As long as you're posting, I'll keep comin' back for more.
Contributors new & old: stay gold
Posted by brian at January 26, 2015 2:39 PMThis is wonderful news. Thank you for continuing.
Posted by Aimee at January 26, 2015 4:03 PMI read this post - especially its welcome news and Sean's mini-manifesto - with a sigh of relief, a bit of envy, and a lot of enthusiasm at the thought of discovering three new contributors and lots of new music into 2015!
Posted by Michelle at January 26, 2015 4:35 PMThank you all old and new, StG is my main source for new music (and a great read) and has been for some years now. Thank you, merci, grazie en hartelijk dank!
Posted by Michiel at January 26, 2015 5:32 PMThanks for continuing to share!! Appreciated here in San Diego.
Posted by Andrew at January 26, 2015 5:34 PMI have been reading your blog for years, you were one of the first music blogs I found and are still one of my favorites. Best to you and all the writers and musicians.
Posted by Aaron at January 26, 2015 5:41 PMSean, the news that you thought about shutting this down made me truly realize how important it is to me! Thanks for the gang wrangling. Really looking forward to getting old with StG and getting to know the new gang.
Posted by William at January 26, 2015 6:04 PMBravo! StG is my primary source of new music, and music is my primary source of day-to-day spiritual enlightenment. This news makes my year, no joke! From Boston, Chris
Posted by Chris at January 26, 2015 6:05 PMcoool, poet and foreign born...crossing fing!
Posted by petr at January 26, 2015 6:18 PMSo glad you came down on the side of affecting our lives often and intimately. Merci mille fois.
Recently figured out that Apple had downloaded the book I bought when you first made it available Sean – but only immediately available to the northern brethren. I did the worst and best thing – started reading Us Conductors even though I am in heavy deadline mode, and letting Us Conductors into my thought processes and motions and relations every moment until it was finished (and beyond). I loved it, I thank you.
Keep doing well. And welcome to the new kids.
Posted by OpsCenter at January 26, 2015 7:48 PMThanks for continuing. Love this site. I've visited a lot of music blogs and nothing else comes close.
Posted by Jason at January 26, 2015 8:15 PMOnly recently came aware of this blog via Sean's appearance on PM with Patrick Masbourian. The passion comes across and it has opened up my mind to some great new music. So glad you will carry on with your cohorts.....best wishes!
Posted by Marc Barnes at January 26, 2015 9:14 PMWow yay thanks!
Posted by nichole at January 26, 2015 10:25 PMPlease leave some comments on their posts, in the coming weeks; let them know if you're listening.
Of course we’re listening. Especially now, because it’s winter, and there’s a super-blizzard coming up along the New England coast. What else we gonna do? (After we check out MetaFilter.)
Posted by RPS at January 26, 2015 10:47 PMDon't go anywhere, please.
Posted by shane at January 27, 2015 7:07 AMI always thought the colour of the background was more wasabi green. Like wasabi, this site is a bit unassuming and, for the uninitiated, holds a major surprise when you first dive in. At first taste/listen/read your entire existence is altered. The next time you approach, you are excited and a little more cautious - not sure if it is going to be heart/mouth-searing or subtle and warming.
I am thrilled that StG will continue on - shiny, new, and wonderfully green.
Great news, Sean! Looking forward to many more days and stories and songs with StG.
Posted by Bryan at January 27, 2015 9:09 AMsuch good news. The Internet needs more old and weird.
Posted by Ben at January 27, 2015 10:11 AMSo glad I don't have to delete my bookmark. Thanks for the years of great words and music, and a sincere congrats on the success of your book. Cheers, from a long-time follower and fan.
Posted by Tom at January 27, 2015 10:45 AMGreat news that you're continuing! Reading StG has been a pleasure for the past 8 years or so. Cheers from Groningen, The Netherlands.
Posted by Sytze at January 27, 2015 10:51 AMYou guys are all so kind and amazing. Thank you!
Posted by Sean at January 27, 2015 11:01 PMI love Said the Gramophone! Thank you for keeping it alive, and welcome to the new contributors!
Posted by Robin at January 28, 2015 8:55 AMPHEWF!
Posted by Michelle at January 28, 2015 10:24 AMPHEWF!
Posted by Michelle at January 28, 2015 10:25 AMI love Said the Gramophone! Thanks so much for keeping it going.
Posted by Duncan at January 28, 2015 3:52 PMThank you for keeping STG going. Not long after I found this site, I made it one of my home pages. So I read it every day.
Like other commenters, I really love the combination of written word and song selection. It's always good, frequently superb, occasionally breathtaking.
The other thing that really sets STG apart is how intentionally and personally the songs are curated. So many other blogs seem breathlessly excited about the record of the moment because, well, they're supposed to be. I don't think that would ever happen at STG. STG doesn't feel like indie music hype; it feels like I stopped by someone's house for a beer, and while I was there he played me his favorite new record. And at the same time, told me why he liked it in language I could never hope to emulate (I'm looking at you, October 2, 2014 entry about Sharon Van Etten).
It's a crowded music blog world out there. Believe me, STG stands alone. Thanks for keeping it alive.
Posted by Jon at January 28, 2015 11:40 PMThank you very much for STG
Posted by Jules at January 29, 2015 9:48 AMHi Sean, STG is my favourite music blog. So glad I found you a long time ago and that you're still gonna keep opening my ears and mind with great music and thought-provoking prose. Best of luck from Qingdao, China
Posted by D★vid at January 29, 2015 11:17 PMThis is wonderful news. My boyfriend and I just realized after several months of dating that we've both been reading this blog for years, and it makes me so happy that we can continue to read it together, now.
Posted by Jillian at January 29, 2015 11:41 PMthank you thank you thank you. i wrote stg an e-mail upon graduating from college -- a fancy liberal arts school where the curriculum is passionately devoted to writing everywhere, all the time, on every surface. still i learned more about writing well from stg. when i thanked my favorite professors, i thanked you too.
i can't imagine an internet without you. stg has remained a rare constant for me -- as i moved from new york to london to seattle to philadelphia to california, your weird pistachio pages came along. thank you.
Posted by lauren at January 30, 2015 12:41 PMThis makes me happy. Keep up the good work.
From one of your many fans in Austin, TX
Clearly not enough of us post regularly to thank you for this beautiful blog that you have created.
Thank you for continuing!
Posted by amanda at January 31, 2015 8:48 AMYup.
Posted by Becky at January 31, 2015 1:11 PMSean, et al.
Thanks. I don't get around as often as I used to, but you have quite literally sat with me, reserving judgment, during some very hard times. What I found in your company has made my life infinitely better. Much better.
Posted by Lynn at January 31, 2015 3:37 PM12 years already! I am glad you decided to keep going Sean. It's a bit weird at first without Dan. But that's OK. The new posts have been great!
Posted by Maryam at January 31, 2015 11:21 PMIn the winter of 2010, after several weeks of trying to catch my breath from a slow and painful break-up, I stumbled across your blog. I was comforted by the number of songs I had never heard, and pulled in further by the words that were paired along with the tracks. Soon thereafter I began my own blog with the intention of never repeating an artist, album or song—there are a few exceptions. of course. All along the way I kept coming back to your site for inspiration. Eventually, I found it in me, somehow, to begin writing, as a way to deal with my daily anxieties. For as long as I can remember I have struggled with writing, but the freedom I found when pairing it with music took me places I had never been. I kept it up for almost a solid 4 years until I was asked to stop. I am glad that you are choosing to continue. Thank you for your words, the music and for years of inspiration. I will follow for as long as you post.
Posted by Yanez-Lazcano at February 1, 2015 11:47 AMThis post has been sitting in my RSS feed (speaking of old weird media) while I put off reading it, because I was afraid it would announce an all-new Web 3.0 interface with streaming media and pop-ups asking me to subscribe to your newsletter. I seriously teared up when I read this and all the grateful, jubilant, relieved comments below. Thank you for keeping the faith, for bringing new hands on board, for so many gifts of sound and word and feeling, past and future and in this precious now.
Posted by Lindsey at February 1, 2015 11:25 PMHi Sean and company,
I remember walking home through the snow some day just before Christmas in 2010, feeling shitty and lonely and bored and unuseful in a very 17-years-old-way. I was listening to Cuddle Magic's "Expectations", pondering how to write about both the song and my 17-years-old-bored-lonely-unuseful-shitty-feeling at the same time. I obviously remembered where I'd found "Expectations", and why I'd started listening: because the accompanying text in itself made me feel something other than I already did. Or - It took me outside of myself, provided a perspective to myself. And it reflected the music to such perfection that I both understood the music and my own reaction to it much better than if I'd just come across it at some "normal" blog.
I've not been a regular visitor, but I've come back once in a while. Always to be reminded that what's really the point writing about music is writing about the interaction between music and listener. That's the main theme for my own writing as a journalist today. I've learned it from you, and I'm grateful. Thanks. And thanks for continuing to do such an amazing - and important - job.
Eva.
Posted by Eva at February 2, 2015 4:19 PMThanks so much Sean, I'm extremely grateful for all the effort that you and the other writers put into this blog. STG is my favourite music blog and the only one that I've ever followed with any regularity.
Posted by Sean at February 4, 2015 1:31 AMI cannot say how much it would pain me to see StG close its doors. This was one of the first blogs I stumbled upon while I was discovering my musical tastes in high school, coming up on ten years ago. The wide variety of songs, coupled with the strangely personal writings, spoke to me in a way that I had never experienced (and have not experienced since).
Though I've drifted in and out over the past decade, I always made the time to check up on things a few times a year. I'm glad that I chose these past few months to become a "regular" again, though I still remain mostly silent in the comments. Thank you for keeping it going, and I look forward to a new experience with the new gang.
Posted by Patrick at February 5, 2015 1:55 PMI echo what
last year's girl, Matthew, brian, William, petr, shane, rgsc, Ben, Jon, amanda, Lyyn, both Seans,
and especially Lindsey and Patrick
all said first.
I love STG! It has introduced me to so much. Best of luck from Aberdeen, Scotland.
Posted by Barry at February 9, 2015 4:16 PM!!!
I'm so glad to know that good things are continuing.
Thank you for existing.
:)
Posted by Cole at February 12, 2015 1:42 PMThank you. Said the Gramophone means more than you'll ever know.
Happy Birthday, many more.
Posted by gbs at February 14, 2015 1:06 PMI know I'm late to the party on this, but after stumbling onto the site in 2008, it's been one of a few constants in my life. The layout might be green and the formatting like the one hospice patient who just won't die, but I do believe it's the heart and soul in your words that keep us all coming back. I only wish this was written from Washington D.C. so I could buy you a round or two in person.
- Brandon
Posted by Brandon at May 7, 2015 3:27 PM
and it will begin playing. All songs are also available to download: just right-click the link and choose 'Save as...'
