Well it's already big news at other blogs, but I gotta add my piece. Y'know for the past few months I've been entertaining serious ideas about quitting the blog life, due to an increasing sense of irrelevance and the irrepressible feeling that all the energy was in the forums these days. Maintaining the blog seemed almost like an egotistical urge to maintain a certain cult of personality, when logic told me to just let my consciousness dissolve into the forum matrix - to become just one tiny fragment of the group mind. Yesterday my blog identity hit an all time low, partly due to Simon's decision to end his long-standing and highly respected blog Silverdollarcircle, and also the fact that Blackdown snubbed the bloggers in his Pitchfork article (and it's not a case of bigging anyone up Martin, it's about stating the facts). So yeah, I was pretty dispirited with the whole thing, yet somehow managed to tear yesterday's Rinsessions post from my guts in an effort to prove to myself that I still had something to say. Did I succeed? Dunno. Only one person felt inspired to leave a comment. I never understood why some blogs don't have comments boxes. For me blogging is a two-way thing. Gutterbreakz represents my headspace, but if nobody responds to it and stimulates me in return then what's the point? (incidentaly, have you checked Random Generator recently? The lack of comments has led him to honing his MP3 blog down to the absolute bare essentials. It's like "you can't be bothered, so why should I?" and I completely understand his reasons). There was a time when my comments box was a busy place, but now it's usually derelict - further proof that the forums are where it's at now.But there is hope. Back in January this year Matt 'Woebot' Ingram, Wire contributor, one of the most respected bloggers ever and a personal inspiration for my own entry into blogdom, made the same decision that I have recently been hurtling towards: go with the forums. He created his own forum Dissensus and retired his blog indefinitely. But now, suddenly, he's back! Great timing Matt, you've lifted my spirits no end! I don't always agree with everything Matt writes about (still completely mystified by his dismissal of dubstep) but he expresses himself so brilliantly on so many topics. Take his recent thoughts on objectivity in music journalism, for instance. He totally nails that one - I hate boring objectivity too - and I'm totally biased and always favouring like-minded people who contact me and send me tunes, etc. But it's an unconscious thing that I'd never analysed before - Matt illustrates his point beautifully and hits me right between the eyes, makes me realise what I've been doing all this time (and will continue to do!) . Mind you, I have to take issue with him for not knowing about the Testone video. I thought you read my blog, mate?! Obviously not, otherwise you would've known about it! Congratulations on your return, anyway. Long live Woebot! The blogs will rise again!!
