whichwayup.org

Sep 17, 09:23 AM: The Dilemma of the Blog

I was reading this post yesterday, and it got me thinking about the purpose of a blog.

I started my first “blog” back in 1999, before I knew what a blog was. It was a simple site, with a backend written in Miva, where I posted links and blurbs about things I was interested in. It even had Miva-powered comments! If you ask me to recall how to even write “Hello world!” in Miva, I won’t be able to tell you.

Anyhow, when I launched whichwayup.org in 2001, it wasn’t simply with the purpose of being a “blog.”

I’m going to differentiate here between the word “blog” circa 2001, and Blog, present day. Today there are more Blogs than ever, many of them located on free hosting services such as Blogger or Typepad, etc, etc. Many people write very anonymously, often never giving away more than a first name or initial. This is completely different than what I was accustomed to when I started this site.

I was used to the idea of a blog being a personal web site of, well, a specific person. It was more than just a blog, the weblog was a portion (often the primary portion) of a person’s web site. The author would try to convey aspects of their personality through the site—and not just with the weblog. Subtle things such as the layout and typography, or the artwork/photography that went a long with the text… it all established a very personal presence on the Internet.

As such, you read a person’s blog… you were interested in what this person had to say, and you were curious as to what else they were interested in. Maybe you read it because they were from the same town as you… or they liked the same kind of music, or you actually knew them in real life. Or maybe you stumbled upon it and just became fascinated for some reason.

In my own life, I know I’ve ended up meeting people in the real world because of their web presence. A few of my good friends, in fact, resulted from coming across a link to their web site somewhere.

But, it’s different now. Blogs of 2008 are often divided into such niche areas, such as a “wine and food blog of Washington, D.C.” written by anonymous. Perhaps this is because people feel that they should write what they know, or at least write about something they feel they are qualified to write about.

I’ve toyed around with this idea, of writing about something very specific that I have a good deal of knowledge about. But each and every time I try to actually go ahead and do that, I’m very turned off by the idea. I don’t want to tailor my writing to attract an audience, or sell advertising. Sure, if I could manage a very popular home improvement blog, I could probably make some money from it. But I wouldn’t want to limit myself to only writing about that.

So instead, I fall back on the 2001 concept of the blog. That this is a site about Dave Stroup. It is, in a way, a little bit egotistical. Sure, you probably won’t come across this site when searching for any specific term. This isn’t a D.C. blog, or a photography blog, or a design blog. It’s not a wine blog, or a hardware blog.

Instead, it’s my site. I write about D.C. I write about photography. I write about travel, wine, hardware, railroads, design and technology. I write about myself. I’d rather have 20 readers who are interested in what I think, or interested to read my prose… than 500 who come to read something I had to force myself to write.

At the end of the day, the best niche is your own—yourself.

Mar 7, 10:27 PM: Norfolk, Dismemberment Plan, Telograph

Yes, there’s been a lack of updates here. I’ve been keeping myself busy, though.

Last weekend I went down to Norfolk to see my friends Dirty on Purpose and the Lymbyc Systym play at the Boot. The Boot is quite an interesting venue—a seafood restaurant by day, a rock venue by night.

Here are a couple photos:

I’ll soon have galleries posted from the Boot show, as well as the Lymbyc Systym at the Warehouse Next Door here in D.C.

In other news, the Dismemberment Plan has announced two benefit shows in D.C. The d-plan broke up in 2003, so these two shows are a Pretty Big Deal. I’ve got tickets to the Friday show, on April 27. I’ll be taking photos, of course.

The last item for this update is that Telograph will be supporting O.A.R. for five shows in April. And yes, I’ll be there to document the whole thing. Five stadium shows, it’s going to be quite an experience.

Oct 19, 08:56 PM: Review: Dirty on Purpose, Hallelujah Sirens

Dirty on Purpose
Hallelujah Sirens
North Street, 2006

Grade: A

It’s getting close to November, so I feel like it might not be too soon to anoint something as the best record of the year. If I were to do so, Hallelujah Sirens would be the front-runner. I’m still waiting to find a 2006 release that tops this.

From the opening bars of “No Radio,” I was hooked on this band. I came across this album in July, and have been waiting for them to take a trip down to D.C. They had to cancel a show at the Black Cat due to van trouble, but will be playing with D.C. favorites Exit Clov at the Rock and Roll Hotel as part of the DAM! Festival.

Back to the album, though. The word I see used most often to describe Dirty on Purpose is “shimmery.” I’m reluctant to use that adjective myself, but if your introduction is “No Radio” and “Light Pollution” (the songs featured on their MySpace profile), then I can see how that’s fitting.

Speaking of which, “Light Pollution” is certainly worthy of attention, and is a very beautiful song. However, not every track on this record is marked by dramatic crescendos and (I’ll say it, epic, builds). My personal favorite track would be “Lake Effect.” Its a quiet, rather slow song, and has the best lyrics of any cut on the album. They manage to pull off lyrics such as:

The microphone caught every sigh
The microphone caught every comment you made
It caught every cry from the depths of your dreams

Another bonus of this record is that it builds to the best material, nestled right in the middle. “Always Looking” (Part 1) reminds me of Low Level Owl era Appleseed Cast, fading into “Marfa Lights” which brings together everything I loved about, well, the Appleseed Cast, among others, but also makes it fresh. The record mellows out again towards the end, with “Kill Your City,” which clocks in at 5:30 but builds to a beautful end.

This album brings together everything I enjoy about indie-rock. Some may call it derivative of early favorites Jawbreaker, or later favorites such as the Appleseed Cast. However, I find their take on these themes to be original enough to make it worth a listen, and worth the investment of becoming a fan of Dirty on Purpose.