Crushing Krisis

Comic Books, Drag Race, & Life in New Zealand

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Crushing On: Popdust

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I’ll admit it – I like my pop news. I want my Gaga fix, I love Kelly Clarkson, I snark on American Idol, and I should probably be able to mumble something about Beyoncé to our interns to prove I am not a total oldster.

Yet, the arena of pop news is a bleak place filled with fawning and no-calorie celebrity stories about every popstar’s walk down the street or who they were rubbing elbows with out at a club.

Enter Popdust, launched earlier this year. I first caught wind of it from Twitter album reviewer @1000TimesYes, who is one of my fav Twitter users and one of Popdust’s snarkiest writers.

Popdust obsesses over Gaga, Beyoncé, Glee, Bieber, American Idol, and all other things Top 40 – but it keeps them at arm’s length, remembering that beneath the popularity there is actual artistry to be discussed and dissected. You can almost feel the eyerolls in some of their coverage (especially re: Glee), and they often go meta, talking about why they’re even bothering to talk about the things they’re talking about.

Case and point: their Gaga coverage. When Born This Way dropped Popdust covered it wall-to-wall for a week, running substantive track-by-track reviews, that took Gaga to task for her clunkers. They also landed an exclusive phoner with Mother Monster herself last week – not something most pop blog outlets could say (even if they’re attached to a major media network or print magazine). In the interview they called “Edge of Glory,” her “third best single,” and actually got Gaga herself to comment on what her best songs have been. Amazing!

After the big get I read up on Popdust’s backstory. It’s not as if it was launched by 1000x out of his parent’s garage. It has a major media pedigree, with founders who were EIC’s at Billboard and CEO’s of their own startups that sold for north of $300 million. They completed a $1mill A-Round of financing – one million, for a pop blog! Even if we include all the crazy music and comic books I buy every year as part of CK’s operating budget it is significantly less than 1% of that.

You know what? I don’t care if it takes a million dollars and rich dudes with business savvy to put together a website that takes pop seriously while keeping a tongue firmly planted in cheek. Popdust is my favorite pop news outlet of 2011.

i love it, it’s perfect, now change

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As I gave Gina and Jake my third “we only have to change this one thing” note on a song last night, I wondered if they were starting to hate me.

I’m always the one giving the most notes in rehearsal, whether it be with AC or Filmstar, so wondering if people hate me isn’t unique just to rehearsing with AC.

Why do I do it? It’s not that I have the best ears – Gina and E are much better than I am. It’s also not that I’m the one not making mistakes – I make plenty, sometimes the most! And, I love getting notes – I’d be happy to get some.

So why am I the one Simon Cowelling at the end of every song?

Mostly, because someone has to do it. That’s not to say that every song requires a critique, but they at least all require a moment of consideration before moving on or else rehearsal turns into going through the motions. If you hear things to tweak while rehearsing and don’t tweak them then you might hear the same thing against next time.

Tweaks aren’t always bad things. Jake plays a lot of high, melodic bass lines in counterpoint to my rhythm guitar work and my backing vocals. Last night I realized this was my “problem” on “Real End” – our parts totally matched, but after years of playing with Gina I wasn’t used to the new harmony they created. The fix is simply us both playing our parts with confidence so they’re distinct from each other.

However, I think the real reason for my litany of notes is that my musical super power doesn’t lie in melody or blend, but in being a fan. I make music that I love to hear. Just like you would know if someone singing your favorite song at karaoke sang the wrong melody, I notice when a song doesn’t sound like itself.

I might not be able to articulate what’s wrong (though I certainly do so better than Randy “Pitchy” Jackson), but that’s why I have bandmates to help me! I simply know when something’s up.

I’m pretty sure that Gina and Jake didn’t leave my house hating me last night, just like I know we managed to make improvements on almost every songs in our repertoire.

How many of those improvements came from my notes? Possibly none, but would we have improved without the notes?

I don’t know.

#FollowFriday: @SarahCooley

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Today I’m highlighting @SarahCooley as my #FollowFriday. #FollowFriday is a way Twitter users point out their favorite folks to follow.

Sarah went from someone on the periphery of my social media scene to one of my best digital friends, which to me is what Twitter is all about.

@SarahCooley

Why follow Sarah? On most days she tweets a friendly good morning, she’s an expert in community management and blogging platforms, she’s a vegan with great recommendations on NYC eateries, and she had a full-time career in social media before she had a quarter life crisis!

(Also, she helped to kindle my unhealthy addiction to fashion scarves.)

But, enough from me – let’s hear from Sarah!

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@krisis: How do we know each other?

@SarahCooley: Wow, this is a long story ;) But I first met you at a planning meeting for #BlameDrewsCancer.

[What Sarah declines to mention is that she was part of our Ground Control team (along w/@amanda_nan) when I went skydiving in 2009.]

@k:How do you use Twitter?

SC: I use it for business and for personal. Lately I’ve really been enjoying that so many of my non-techy friends are using Twitter.

It has been helpful to me in two ways. #1, so that I can see how people that aren’t early adopters use Twitter, which helps me to be better at my job. #2, because now my friends understand so much more about me and what I do, since they use Twitter too.

@k: What’s the coolest thing that’s happened to you because of Social Media?

SC: I don’t know if I can pick just one story. So many different things have happened to me because of social media, but I am the most thankful for how it has shaped my career. [Read more…] about #FollowFriday: @SarahCooley

Things To Do In Philly, 8/11 Edition

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It’s back! My totally biased, totally nepotistic list of the most awesome stuff you can entertain yourself with in the greater Philadelphia area over the next week.

Take note: though these are events from my favorite artists, you have to be pretty awesome to rank on that list at all. I’m not going to send my dear readers to anything sucky. Or, at least, if I am I’m going to be clear that it might be sucky.

First, I must plug the thing that actually involves me, which I have the most power over making un-sucky:

Saturday 8/13
Who: My acoustic duo, Arcati Crisis, plus bass!
Details: 6pm, FREE & BYOB, All Fired Up, 602 Haddon Avenue, Collingswood NJ
Why? Arcati Crisis habitually enjoys a summer hiatus, but we’ll make a rare appearance outside of our rehearsal cabana to play three-ish hours of acoustic music in this awesome pottery arts studio. That’ll include the entire AC repertoire, plus a few special solo tunes. Plus wine. How can this possibly go wrong?

Now, on the rest of the next week…

Alexandra Day & Samantha Rise

Thursday, 8/11
Who: Alexandra Day & Samantha Rise-Roberson
Details: 7:30p, $10, Tin Angel, 20 S. 2nd Street, Philly
Why? It physically pains me that I cannot attend this show due to rehearsal, so you should go in my place. Alexandra Day is one of my favorite songwriters in Philadelphia. I know I say that a lot, but how many other people did I ask to play the first dance at my wedding, hmm? Alex has a voice like red wine and an utterly riveting stage presence at the piano. She’ll be backed by a band on this co-bill with Samantha Rise-Roberson, a phenomenal vocalist who I highlighted on CK way back in 2008. This show is a must-see.

Thursday, 8/11
Who: Balkan Dance Party with West Philadelphia Orchestra and the Electric Simcha
Details: 10p, $5, Tritone, 1508 South, Philly
Why? WPO crosses demographics to unite street punks, hipsters, and U-City intelligencia into a frothing crowd of folk-dancing fiends. This is their monthly dance party, with special guest “Hasidic punk band” the Electric Simcha.

Friday, 8/12
Who: Mieka Pauley and Dwight & Nicole
Details: 7:30p, $10, Tin Angel, 20 S. 2nd Street, Philly
Why? You may recall a certain Cosmo-contest-winning alt-folk troubadour Ms. Pauley playing in my dining room for CK’s 10th Anniversary Concert last year. There is video evidence to prove that (a) she was here, and (b) she is 100% awesomesauce. I have a whole live album of hers to mix down and release any month now. Until then, catch her in a rare Center City appearance.

Friday, 8/12
Who: York Street Hustle at World Cafe Live w/DJ Apt One
Details: 9p, $7 advance, World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St, Philly
Why? Spend less than $10 on a Friday evening dance party with a Motown-fueled 10-piece cover band fronted by one of my Philly vocal crushes, Aaron Brown. Shall we watch them sing my favorite Marvin Gaye song? Yes, let’s:

[Read more…] about Things To Do In Philly, 8/11 Edition