Blogcritic of the Month, July 2006: Duke de Mondo
Published July 05, 2006
The purpose of this monthly series is to highlight an outstanding contributor to the site as chosen by the editorial staff. Over the past three years, Blogcritics has grown tremendously, in large part due to the contributions of a stalwart group of writers who have consistently informed, engaged, and entertained us. This designation is meant to recognize and celebrate the best of the best, those writers who not only shine by virtue of their talent, but whose continual participation gives all of us a reason to tune in each and every day. As new readers are continually discovering Blogcritics, we also hope to introduce these fine writers to a new audience.
Please join me in a virtual round of applause for this month’s honoree, Duke de Mondo!
It would be quite impossible to visit Blogcritics with any regularity and not know the Duke. A Blogcritic since March of 2004, the Duke has waxed philosophical on all manner of pop culture topics, and has offered up opinions on a wide variety of film and music, writing in a voice that could belong to no one else. His distinctive style, braced by equal amounts of candor and humor, liberally sprinkled with the most creative profanity on the planet, and delivered in an Irish brogue you can hear through the screen, has earned him legions of fans. A look through his current series, Pop Cult Mind Wax, gives you just a taste of where the Duke’s writing might take you, and if you’ve missed out on any of these – well, there’s just no reason not to catch up on some of the most entertaining reading on either side of the pond.
In addition to his solo efforts, the Duke is also a frequent contributor to The Hot Topic, an ongoing collaborative effort on the part of several BC writers. Fellow Hot Topic writer DJRadiohead offered the following when asked to describe the Duke:
The Duke is perhaps the first of the New Media Renaissance Men.Think about this — he's a singer/songwriter who makes ‘net records. He maintains a blog. He hosts a podcast. He writes essays discussing film, pop culture, and music. To simply have the ambition to put that many irons in the fire is admirable. To be brilliant most of the time at most of the endeavors is beyond the scope of my imagination. To be a humble, decent sort of fella with all that brilliance and and all that ambition is special. The Duke, at his best, inspires me to continue doing my own creative thing and at the same time gives me the kind of fits of jealousy that make me want to hang it all up.
Blogcritics Executive Producer Eric Berlin waxes poetic in describing the effect that the Duke’s writing has on him:
There are so many things that I love about the Duke's writing that it's difficult to know where to begin. It's like entering a different land, reading a newly published piece: strange and baffling and incisive and barkingly funny all at once. I feel privileged to read his work, as though I'm privy to some James Joyce-ian figure of the electronic age that no doubt will be heralded one day (sooner rather than later, I'm convinced) as one of the most innovative and endlessly inventive minds of his generation. The unique way in which he weaves heartbreakingly hilarious personal tales through pop culture criticism in of itself deserves a deep and thorough examination. It's almost shockingly unfair that Duke is also one of the kindest and most generous souls one can hope to know.
- Blogcritic of the Month, July 2006: Duke de Mondo
- Published: July 05, 2006
- Type: Interview
- Section: Sci/Tech
- Filed Under: Culture: Administrative, Culture: Arts, Culture: Media, Sci/Tech: Blogging, Sci/Tech: Internet
- Part of a feature: Blogcritic of the Month
- Writer: Lisa McKay
- Lisa McKay's BC Writer page
- Lisa McKay's personal site
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Comments on this articleComments
Duke, congrats on the recognition, although I'm sure you are the BCoM every month to your devoted fanbase.
Lisa, great job as usual.
Does this mean we get to upgrade your title to something like Prince de Mondo?
Congrats, Sir Duke.
Thoroughly deserved, fine Sir.
And cheers for the namecheck, kind of you to include someone with such a patchy and low-frequency writing record.
I hope this comes thru - as I'm posting from a sleeply little laptop on vacation.
Yay for Duke! Congrats Babycakes! (Yeah, I dunno where that came from - but it fit)
You deeply entertain and inspire the rest of us.
Very well deserved.
Much congrats Duke! Who deserves it more than yourself? No one, that's who.
Duke--DJRadiohead said it best: your inspiring writing "gives me the kind of fits of jealousy that make me want to hang it all up."
So Congratulations, I guess.
It's 3AM in a room lit by the blue glow of a dead channel, and a half-drunken Jeff Fahey rolls out of bed.
Restless, he nudges the trackpad to wake up his laptop. By random forces of short story plotism, he surfs his way to this page, and lets out a cry of frustration.
A woman rolls over and turns on a light. "What's all the matter?" Harry-Potter-Woman asks.
"It's that fella," Jeff growls, "the one who mocks my last name... he just got awarded Blogcritic of the Month."
"Oh, him," HPW replies, "Just forget you saw it, baby." She rolls back over, and pulls the covers taut between her legs. She takes a breath, biting the corner of her lip as the air billows in her lungs.
"Why don't you come back to bed," she exhales, "and show me why you were the sexiest cowboy in Silverado." HPW turns off the light, a sly grin on her face.
Congrats Duke.
Congratulations Duke. Of course you knew you deserved it.
All hail the Duke. Nay, let me put that in Duke terms.
All hail the motherfuckin' Duke. I strongly encourage all y'all to read his assesment of GG Allin DVD. I could link it here, but you will have more fun searching for it... I promise you that.
Oh Duke, you just get sexier and more charming -like the last single guy at 3:00 am on a drunken Saturday night.
And that my friend, is meant in the most sincerest and lovingest way (as a former drunk from back in the day).
When the Duker is on -- and he frequently is -- he is the finest pure, white lightning, stream-of-word-slinging emotion-wrangler these pages have ever seen. Congrats and thanks Aaron!
Well said, Eric. I second that.
The podcasts bring out the Duke I like the best, both Mondo Podcast and BCRadio. Not just the energy, but the fact that he doesn't always need music to liven up his tone.
Allow me to be the troll who says the bad things but I'll lay up a bit and just say I'm too uncultured to understand Duke's written prose. M'bye it's al' th' ap'st'ph's th't g't 'n m' w'y.
But truth be told this interview and his answers had a brilliant wit to it and it doesn't matter how you write, you'll see it.
Congratulations on getting recognized, Dukester
Folks - i was away for the week there, and return to find that not only has this been posted, but also, a wealth of beautiful words flung my way both in and out of the article itself. I dunno what a fella might say to thank anyone for the kindsa things said, or to thank the BC powers that be for selecting me for this, or to thank Lisa for the ammount of work she put in, so what i'll do is say i'm out my mind wi' happiness an such, and that even though i obviously knew this was comin, what with the questions and the "we've picked you for next months BC Of The Month", even so, it still seems all the surreal in the world. So thank you. Heh, and Mark Sahm, friend, that was altogether beautiful. I only hope Harry Potter Woman ended up with such an outstanding example of humanity.
Introduced me to Bright Eyes, Ryan Adams and The Pogues. What a legend.
good on ye! wow. thats some size of an interview!
Oh how I remember him when he was but a boy; when he would use the humble pen and paper. No more. Nay! The paradigm has indeed shifted.
Note to self: Write a companion guide translating and/or attempting to explain Duke's amazing prose.
Sort of like a James Joyce companion book but with more bits about rock and music and suck
keep up the great work, man.
I'm going to go print out your picks to read on a dull day since your pieces inevitably brighten my days.
For some reason both the 72 hour link and the anus link both go to, er, the anus, um, piece.
I'll read one piece about your butt but two - let alone 72 hours about your anus - seems a bit much.
Scott, thank you for the kind words! and thank you also for pointing out that error. i've sent a wee email to the BC yahoo group for to see about havin it sorted out.
Terry Hughes - sweet joseph's fuck! what a kick upside the teeth from back in the day that was! a pleasure to see your name up yonder. the email's still the same, incidentally, if'n you wanna fling one on o'er.
Beautiful Ms Gillian; much appreciated, that support right there. and ms McKay surely went to the very furthest boundaries of her duties in compiling this number.
Fearghus - glad to be of service, mate! thanks also!
You're welcome, Duke.
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Cheers, Duke. I have known this honor was heading your way for some time now and have been looking forward to this. Well done and well deserved.