Blogcritic of the Month: May 2006
Published May 01, 2006
Yes, I am a musician. I've had a guitar in my hands nearly every day for the last twenty-five years. Despite my teen years being in the '70s, I never did play "Smoke On The Water" (OK, maybe just a little).
BC: Your very first Blogcritics post (dated August 19, 2002!) is about the death of radio, or more specifically, the extinction of the radio personality known as the DJ. Given that we can no longer turn to radio as a source of the interesting or the innovative, where do you go to get that stuff? Does the Internet play a role in how you go about discovering new bands (or old bands you just haven't heard of yet)?
Mark: It's interesting that you bring up radio. Four years ago, satellite radio was in its infancy. I don't know what will happen with it in the future, but right now, it's a pretty good source of new stuff. The garage rock and jam band channels on Sirius have given me a whole pile of new (to me) artists to check out.
As far as the more "out there" types of music, I have talked about my discovery of a musician named John Zorn. He's tough to apply a strict category to, since he's written everything from straight jazz to hardcore to chamber music. When I joined the Zorn mailing list, I fell into a group of like-minded people who were interested in a similarly wide range of music. I'd bet I have hundreds of CDs acquired because of discussions in that group. Another big influence on my tastes is a little known magazine named Cadence. It's full of reviews of all sorts of jazz and improvised music. That alone should be enough, but the folks at Cadence also sell CDs. They have an enormous listing that's sorted by record label. A perfect thing for the musically curious. So if I happen to like something on say, the HatArt label, right there are a bunch more to check out.
BC: We're seeing the digital age change the ways in which people consume music, and it's changing the ways in which musicians interact with their audience and the ways in which they record in some cases. The means of production are in the hands of the artists these days, with digital recording technology making it possible to produce music independent of the studio system. Any predictions about the future of the music industry?
Mark: Ah, now this is something that should be interesting to watch. Right now we have this sort of churn going on with the traditional parts of the industry trying to deal with the somewhat unwieldy aspect of the digital age. To a certain extent they've lost control over their baby...and I'm pretty sure that they can't get it back. You're right, the availability of modern computers and software has transferred the power of creating and recording music back to the musicians. The real struggle is in distribution. We now have cooperation going on at places like iTunes. We still have the illegal downloading thing.
- Blogcritic of the Month: May 2006
- Published: May 01, 2006
- Type: Interview
- Section: Sci/Tech
- Filed Under: Sci/Tech: Blogging, Interviews, Culture: Media, Culture: Arts, Culture: Administrative
- Part of a feature: Blogcritic of the Month
- Writer: Lisa McKay
- Lisa McKay's BC Writer page
- Lisa McKay's personal site
- Spread the Word
- Like this article?
- Email this
Save to del.icio.us
Comments on this articleComments
Splendiferous - thanks Lisa and congrats Mark! We're certainly glad you read Dawn four years ago - thanks for being such a core of the site all this time Mark - we wouldn't be what we are without you!!
I'm with Joanie. That's the last nice thing I say about Saleski. My revenge shall be terrible.
Great job, Lisa!
I now realize that everyone else appreciates music on a much deeper level than me. Maybe that's for the best.
I think the greatest tribute would be for the word "Saleski" to become a verb here at Blogcritics. Any nominations on what it should mean? And please use examples.
Joanie - I'm with ya.
Known this dude for a while, and all I got so far was some damn coffee.
Seriously -
This is beyond cool Mark, you cranky bastage you.
Outstandingness -- great to see the Great Saleski behind the curtain, and a photo no less !
Congrats, Mark. Now when are you going to get the collected "FML" published as a book?
Great job again, Lisa. I'm already looking forward to next month.
For those BCers who feel slighted at being left off Mark's favorites, I suggest you get him in trouble with TheWife by pointing out that on the desert island he wants a picture of TheWife and not TheWife.
For those BCers who feel slighted at being left off Mark's favorites, I suggest you get him in trouble with TheWife by pointing out that on the desert island he wants a picture of TheWife and not TheWife
I am SO dialing that number right now - "Hello Linda...?"
: )~
hey, at least i didn't say "a picture of katherine heigl"
Well, must be that head cold, you're off your game.
Nothing that wasn't overdue, and Lisa did a fantastic job. Keep up the good work Sir Saleski!
Saleski: Even if I don't know 75% of the musical references you make in your posts, the 25% that I do know are always tactfully written and enjoyable. The BOTM nod is well deserved. Cheers.
I am a Mark Saleski lover from WAY back in the day - glad the world has caught up to my excellent taste!
Cheers to Mark!
- BC: What do you think you'd learn if you could swap to the opposite sex?
Mark: It might be nice to know, once and for all, if size really matters.
I can answer that for you, size does matter.
But only in the brain, everywhere else it's subjective.
Seriously, Lisa, great job, great subject, great read!!!
I'd like to thank everyone for their comments on this piece. These are a huge amount of fun for me to do, and as nice as it is to take credit for it, most of the actual work gets done by the honoree, so it's an easy gig :-)
A great side benefit of doing this (for me personally) is to get to know each writer a bit better as we go through the process of putting it together. Thanks to everyone for reading and enjoying!
Conrats Mark.
I still want IN on that Seeger Sessions pow-wow you and Lisa and DJ Radiohead have planned though.
Pretty please?
Glen
oops..
That was "Congrats Mark", not "conrats"...LOL
Damned butter fingers.
Mark Saleski is a giant among giants, and his Friday Morning Listen should be on everybody's weekly schedule.
Thanks, Mark, for being awesome!
I'll add my congrats here. FML rules the school! We need a book then a movie starring George Wendt as Saleski and John Ratzenburger as DJradiohead.
Sounds like a good movie! Friday Morning Listen: You Won't Know Any of These Obscure Artists' Names - But After Hearing Them, You Just Might Want To!
Kinda long title though.
ah, who cares?! as long as they have car chases and stuff exploding and all...
If you'll let me do just one Charlies Angel pose - I'll do it for union scale.
Well, the short hair precludes the cute 'flipping', but I got those hand gestures down pretty good.
I was going to say "congrats" like I usually do because I'm never quite sure about the spelling of the whole "congratulations" word and besides its a little too polysyllabic but luckily Jackie here had the whole things down pat with all the polysyllalababbles intact and so I must say:
Congrats, Mark!
Car chases, explosions...and don't forget the gratuitous nudity. You've got to have gratuitous nudity. I mean this is about Saleski's life and all.
Congratulations, Mark. A testament to both you and Lisa, I enjoyed the interview as much as I do your articles and the FML.
Sir Salski, if anyone deserves this spotlight, it's you. bask in that glory! you earned it, and continue to earn it, one glorious syllable at a time. and for that honour you laid 'pon my shoulders, a million thank yous. a million. or a million love songs if you'd prefer. it IS a very fetching beard...
Congrats,Mark.
Mark,
Men who are not going bald should not wear their hair short. Please let yours grow in again, it will enhance your metalicity.
brick, i used to have my hair drawn back in a ponytail...it went about 3/4 down my back. just got sick of it. sorry.
good ta hear from ya man. just where the hell have you been?!
Congrats, Mark, you deserve this - I return to BC time and again for your contributions!
Add your comment, speak your mind
(Or ping: http://blogcritics.org/mt/tb/47075)
Damn that Mark! I thought I'd paid him to say I was his favorite Blogcritic. (Note to self: stop payment on check to Saleski.)
Lisa, did you bother to find out if the man has a single brother who might be interested in work as a cabana boy?