Set up live gigs with each other, announce gigs you're playing around the country or whatever, talk about how the show went, post links to recordings, etc.
The 'journalist' has made a valid statement of a possible opinion. No need to skew that. IF he is wrong, then prove it. It's a question in the form of a statement.
the journalist wrote:The story I hope to write will be about the decline of the garage band and the rise in the use of the internet to share music.
If he's right, why can't HE prove it? In the article that he's writing no less. I'm not saying the statement is wrong, and I'm not saying it's right. What I'm saying is this: if you're going to write an op-ed piece that is completely devoid of any facts, one that places the burden of factchecking on the shoulders of the readers, then you might as well just be writing a livejournal entry.
*current mood* truthy
*currently listening to* Fleetwood Mac
the journalist wrote:The story I hope to write will be about the decline of the garage band and the rise in the use of the internet to share music.
I think what some of these people are saying is that this is not stated in the form of a question or research topic. It sounds as if the journalist has an opinion and is setting out to prove it.
Perhaps a better approach would be:
Has the rise in the use of the internet to share music brought about a decline of the garage band?
or
How has the garage band been affected by the rise in the use of the internet to share music?
or
The rise of the internet to share music: Boon or Boondoggle for the garage band?
edit * But you know what, I should apologize to you, newcomer. Sorry for holding you accountable for an entire field's flaws.
I realized what really set me off against you. It was the phrase, "I already have a confirmed correspondence with .. MC Frontalot". It set off warning bells in my head and made me feel like someone from Nigeria was asking for my bank account number. It's just not the way people word things.
edit * But you know what, I should apologize to you, newcomer. Sorry for holding you accountable for an entire field's flaws.
I realized what really set me off against you. It was the phrase, "I already have a confirmed correspondence with .. MC Frontalot". It set off warning bells in my head and made me feel like someone from Nigeria was asking for my bank account number. It's just not the way people word things.
abecedarian wrote:
Read Borges short story 'Library of Babel'
Ohhh! I love Borges! He's the math rock of the short story! Sorry, this is a completely off-topic drunken interjection, but I wanted to second the plug.
(I don't really see the connection between "The Library of Babel" and music journalism... but that doesn't matter. Get thee to the library!)
To abecedarian: No worries. I'm not a fan of journalism right now, either. I really only took up the field because I need a job that pays a steady income while I write fiction.
To hoblit: Thanks for the backup, though I appreciate everything that has been said. I did word things in a matter suited only to myself rather than the people to whom I'm trying to speak. I'm new to this, so it all helps.
Oh, and I am in fact a he.
To Spud: Absolutely correct. The topic was always a question in my mind, I just put it down in print poorly. I personally believed that garage bands were declining, so that was my topic. However, I also fully expected that view to change and mold the story itself. If my original view was wrong, people would call bullshit on me and I'd adjust. In effect, you're all helping create this story (in fact I am considering listing all of you who helped me in a sort of sidebar bibliography, unless people want to remain anonymous).
"It is a sobering thought that when Mozart was my age he had already been dead for two years." -Tom Lehrer
Innsmouth Look wrote: (in fact I am considering listing all of you who helped me in a sort of sidebar bibliography, unless people want to remain anonymous).
Theres a quandry. Is being anonymous when you would be credited with a psydonym being too cautious?
I was also thinking the other day, you should define what a Garage Band is in this instance. How do I know that what you think is a Garage Band and what I consider to be a Garage Band are on par?
Innsmouth Look wrote: (in fact I am considering listing all of you who helped me in a sort of sidebar bibliography, unless people want to remain anonymous).
you should define what a Garage Band is in this instance. How do I know that what you think is a Garage Band and what I consider to be a Garage Band are on par?
Yes, then break it down into sub categories in genre. We would like a complete indexed list. Then we'll deicde whether or not we agree with that list, whereas then you'll have revised it to suit our needs. Please be as specific as possible.
Hoblit wrote:Yes, then break it down into sub categories in genre. We would like a complete indexed list. Then we'll deicde whether or not we agree with that list, whereas then you'll have revised it to suit our needs. Please be as specific as possible.
/sarcasm
If you want people to know what you are talking about, it helps to define the terms. People don't have to *agree* with you, but at least they can have a real discussion on the thing that you want to talk about, instead 1,000 little side conversations that may not be related to your subject at all.
Here’s the story of Melvin as regards garage bands and the Internet:
I formed a "garage band" in 1998 with the goal of playing as many gigs as possible, landing a major label record deal, and hitting the big time. I came pretty close – I had a fancy NYC attorney shopping my record, and played multiple showcases for label people on both coasts. But despite our best efforts, by 2002, the final word from “the industryâ€
Hoblit wrote:Yes, then break it down into sub categories in genre. We would like a complete indexed list. Then we'll deicde whether or not we agree with that list, whereas then you'll have revised it to suit our needs. Please be as specific as possible.
/sarcasm
If you want people to know what you are talking about, it helps to define the terms. People don't have to *agree* with you, but at least they can have a real discussion on the thing that you want to talk about, instead 1,000 little side conversations that may not be related to your subject at all.
/earnestness
I realise that discussing what a garage band is would end up in an infinate thread. I just think a point of reference would be good in a discussion like this, otherwise I might be talking about one thing and someone might be reading it as another.
A Aussie comedian, Carl Barron has a good story about it. In Aus, what Brits and Americans call flip-flops we all thongs. What Brits and Americans call thongs we call g-strings. When Carl was over in the UK, a guy said to him "You can see that girls thong" to which Carl replies, "So". And the conversation rapidly goes down hill, with talk of Carl and his family all wearing thongs.
sausage boy wrote:What Brits and Americans call thongs we call g-strings.
i have only recently learned that there is a difference between the g-string and the thong, and that has to do with the, er, amount of fabric on it.
When Carl was over in the UK, a guy said to him "You can see that girls thong" to which Carl replies, "So". And the conversation rapidly goes down hill, with talk of Carl and his family all wearing thongs.
Innsmouth Look wrote:I'm not a fan of journalism right now, either. I really only took up the field because I need a job that pays a steady income while I write fiction.
