What's the verdict on the new Strut? (Threads-R)
sticky_dojah
New York City. 2,136 Posts
With all that is going on in this place since the new set-up, let's be honest about what's happening here compared to what was happening before? I see all these threads that spread a lot of criticism, sometimes maybe justified, sometimes maybe not. I'm just curious...don't get me wrong, the Strut is still my main source of inspiration when it comes to music talk. But I have the feeling that a lot of negativity and unreflected self sentiment take over here since the new start. School me, Strutters. And don't shoot the messenger, I'm just curious. Was it always like this? Maybe I'm just feeling the way I feel, since locations are missing...or is it the change of season? What's your take on this place right now? Dare I ask this question without getting ripped apart? Am I too altruistic to understand your ways of behaviour? Is it just the Internetz? Am I too drunk? Help a Strutter out...
Comments
Also skel.
But...
Is it me or is Fuaxxie... mellowing?
I wouldn't disagree with that, but more to the point, I think the increase in membership has had a pronounced averaging effect. As the numbers swell, the collective sensibility gets pushed more towards the middle, and the atmosphere becomes less conducive to the beautiful weirdos and more conducive to those who prefer their shit literal and workmanlike. Consequently, theirs have become the dominant voices on the board.
And within the context of that increasingly neutral palette, you get bland folks developing an exaggerated sense of their own flavorfulness, which results in the kind of overinflated self-regard you're talking about (I think), and everything becomes clogged by the dull (and dulling) ubiquity of those who routinely mistake "wanting to say something" for "having something to say."
I usually hate folks that talk this way, but fuck it: I don't know that I can convey to anyone that didn't witness it just how dynamic and unpredictable and full of heart soulstrut was at one time. I mean, I'm not deluded, and even back then it was far from edenic and knuckleheads ran just as rampant, but the fact is that there was for a good while such a steady stream of lovely, free-form, personal, and--make no mistake--deeply, deeply record-related shit, shit that I simply cannot imagine getting much play (or happening at all, for that matter) on present-day soulstrut.
And I wouldn't necesarily argue with that. Soulstrut is like popular culture itself: You can like it or you can dislike it, but you can never say that it's wrong. It is whatever it needs to be at a given time, and even at its worst, there's still nothing like it. Even so, "I Knew The Bride When She Used To Rock And Roll," know what I mean?
My favorite thing about the new soulstrut is that something about it seems to be making Doc McCoy post more often. I hope folks are appreciating that shit.
the licorice pizza
that little elastic spongy residue of a sticker somewhere on the record that you can easily scrape off with your fingernail
To me, the "new soulstrut" is a bit better than the post-Heatrock soulstrut that immediately preceded it. It seems a bit more focused, with a smaller quantum of completely stupid b.s. As evidence, both james and doc mccoy are posting more.
But I've never been much of a one for "state of the strut" posts and threads. If you don't like it, make it into something different through the quality and tenor of your contributions or go away. It is what we make it, and it keeps me coming back.
Love,
JRoot
personally, since i've had to remove the titties from my avatar, i don't feel "at home" as much... i still sneak in for a peek every few days when i can tho....
it was also good to have it as part of the forum so u could view the list in one hit....
Having said that, the aforementioned luminaries also make me feel like I don't have much to say.
But maybe this has always been the case and I'm just not remembering?
One thing I have noticed with the new site is the increase in UK posters. For awhile they were MIA after a few controversial threads a few years a go and the rise of Vinyl Vulture board, but a lot have come back.
As for the revamp / redesign, from a web master's stand point, it has been a lifesaver to maintain and update.
Word - the whole site seems to switch over at a certain time of day thanks to the time change.
Not exactly what you're talking about, but this makes me think of the heyday of the NYC Gang Of Four: Faux, Paycheck, Donkeys, and Doc Brown. There were years--years, son!--when there was just this endless succession of no-count little dudes who came out of the woodwork to go at those four. And it was ridiculous, because the little dudes would come in under the pretense of responding to some specific (usually very minor) aspect of something that one of the NYC cats had said, but their posts were always just dripping with a righteous ass-hurt that made it beyond apparent that, in their mind, they weren't just, you know, nitpicking with faux_rillz over some Jay-Z record or something, but were in fact Bringing Honor To Their Land By Striking A Blow Against The Evil, Soulstrut-Dominating Hydra Of New York City. It was some kill-the-buddha shit of the most ludicrous kind, hilarious and excruciating in equal measure, and it was really kinda choking the board for a minute there. Every other thread that any of the NYC contingent would post in would become the stage for dragon-slayer histrionics from some greenhorn with a grudge.
There was a minor resurgence in that same kind of windmill-tilting right around the time Good Records was jumping off, but man, nothing like back then.
Well, given how that captures the current state, I guess things HAVE always been the same.
I still think surreptitious banning is underrated but I don't think Raj is with me on this one, ha.
I see zero evidence of this.
There's very little genuinely interesting music-related discussion going on here these days. And way too much fundamentally uninteresting discussion of politics and society. A disturbingly large number of the people contributing to the latter threads appear to be doing so in a vacuum, i.e., they get most of their news from SoulStrut. If you're into music and/or records, Waxidermy is a vastly superior forum these days. Even if most poasters there do hate both rap and fun.
As for the level of debate, I think it's still pretty lively on the whole, and it definitely seems to have swung back more in the direction of music. Much as I enjoy the NRR threads, there did seem to be a time when music talk was maybe taking a bit too much of a backseat, and not necessarily at election time either. So there's that. But if we're talking about issues of quality relating to specific threads (and I think we are, aren't we?), my position has always been ???it's not enough to say something is shit/overrated ??? you have to know why, and be able to say why???. One of the strengths of the Strut is the value that's placed on informed opinion, wherever it emanates from, and it's one of the things that keeps me coming back. Old heads might occasionally talk smack about ???little dudes??? or whatever, but the overall ratio of smarter cats to hopeless dumbasses (and there's never been an excess of those, really) is still far higher here than in a lot of online communities I've come across.
Finally, on a personal level, it is immensely flattering and humbling to learn that anyone would think my contributions to this place are worth singling out for praise. Amongst my circle of friends, I'm considered one of those guys who knows a lot about music, but the sheer breadth and depth of knowledge (as well as the willingness to share that knowledge) that's displayed here on a regular basis is enough not only to remind me how little I really know, but also to fuel my enthusiasm for seeking out new shit, or shit that's new to me. Also, at the risk of turning this into a bit of a circle jerk, in the last few years I've been lucky enough to find myself in a position where people occasionally pay me to write, and I have no hesitation in saying that it's james' contributions to the Strut that I consistently use as a personal benchmark for my writing, in a ???how do I make it this good???? kind of way. I know its been said here before by others, but it beggars belief that the man doesn't do that shit for a living. In the UK, particularly on the broadsheets, there are some diabolically bad writers hacking out absolute shite on the regular and earning a decent wedge in the process, but I have no doubt that many of them would curl up and die of shame if they were ever to read some of the stuff james gives away on here. So, right backatcha, my man.
This is exactly how I feel. I don't need this site to talk about politics/weather/youtube crap/life or whatever, I have offline friends for that. Its nice to have a bit of that in between the music-related stuff, but lately it has had a tendency to dominate. What most of my offline friends DON'T have, though, is an obsession with music, specifically with music on vinyl that was made a long time ago, stories surrounding that music etc. THAT is what I came and come to SoulStrut for; nerding out about pressings, session-musicians and drum-breaks, not all that other shit, which there is enough of elsewhere already. That is also why, when the list of threads is all about TV, politics, redecorating and motorcyclists, my interest flies out the window and I cruise over to Waxidermy or VV.
The mix-section has improved immensely, however, and of course I will never be able to stop checking this place out. It has provided so much quality time-wasting and knowledge over the years, all I am is grateful.
It's not so complex, it is only a message board. If you don't find the thread topics relevant to you, you are free to start one that is. Standing on the touchlines, yelling about how things 'aren't what they used to be' (although it may be true) is not a good look, at all.
I've been on Waxidermy since day one. Back then I think I knew what around 15% of the music they were talking about was. Nowadays it's more like 4%.
That's admirable, but if I did that I'd never be able to post shit.
As for suggestions:
I would like if the word "Classifieds" to be clickable to lead into the classifieds section, and it would be nice if the classifieds section was listed among the forums. Commentary on sale threads can be cool and humorous as well; right now they feel a little sterile. Finally, the way the classifieds is designed can be cumbersome to deal with at times, it'd be nice if it was more user friendly, particularly with posting pictures.