2008 Woodie Awards
Blogs create hype, exert influence
Margeaux Lippman
Issue date: 10/26/06 Section: Features
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When one usually thinks of a blogger, the image of an angst-ridden 16 year old comes to mind but, with the growing influence of blogs on the music scene, this perception is ripe for change.
The growth of 'new media', such as music blogging, has created a viable field for exploration of new bands and genres. However, this influence sometimes leads to the over-hype of once underground independent bands.
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, a Brooklyn, NY based indie rock group, was one such band promoted by the blogging hype machine. Their self-titled first album was released on internet hype alone, and was sold out of bassist Tyler Sargent's apartment without any label support.
The Gothamist, a New York City themed blog, touted the band to the point where it is suggested that "if you haven't heard of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah by now, then you must be reading this from the past" and Pitchfork Media, an indie music website, gave their debut album a 9.0 on a scale of 0 to 10.
Despite this hype, the backlash soon began with Pitchfork editor Ryan Schreiber later ascribing their self-titled album's opening track to a list of the "15 Worst Releases of 2005" as "classic…underground rock pose."
Even further still, talk about Clap Your Hands Say Yeah has come to a standstill throughout the blogosphere.
Matt Gross, staff writer for Tiny Mix Tapes, a music news and review website, attributes this to the sheer amount of initial talk surrounding the band.
"Instead of being concentrated to a few sites, all of a sudden everyone was posting about how great they were," Gross said. "Then what happened? A few weeks later everyone moved on to the next thing, and now you barely hear Clap Your Hands Say Yeah mentioned."
This hyperbolic promotion of music is not unique to blogs. Music fans tend to flaunt their new favorite bands to an extreme. However, according to Gross, blogs magnify this aspect.
"Blogs do the same thing [as individual music fans], only they've got megaphones,
The growth of 'new media', such as music blogging, has created a viable field for exploration of new bands and genres. However, this influence sometimes leads to the over-hype of once underground independent bands.
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, a Brooklyn, NY based indie rock group, was one such band promoted by the blogging hype machine. Their self-titled first album was released on internet hype alone, and was sold out of bassist Tyler Sargent's apartment without any label support.
The Gothamist, a New York City themed blog, touted the band to the point where it is suggested that "if you haven't heard of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah by now, then you must be reading this from the past" and Pitchfork Media, an indie music website, gave their debut album a 9.0 on a scale of 0 to 10.
Despite this hype, the backlash soon began with Pitchfork editor Ryan Schreiber later ascribing their self-titled album's opening track to a list of the "15 Worst Releases of 2005" as "classic…underground rock pose."
Even further still, talk about Clap Your Hands Say Yeah has come to a standstill throughout the blogosphere.
Matt Gross, staff writer for Tiny Mix Tapes, a music news and review website, attributes this to the sheer amount of initial talk surrounding the band.
"Instead of being concentrated to a few sites, all of a sudden everyone was posting about how great they were," Gross said. "Then what happened? A few weeks later everyone moved on to the next thing, and now you barely hear Clap Your Hands Say Yeah mentioned."
This hyperbolic promotion of music is not unique to blogs. Music fans tend to flaunt their new favorite bands to an extreme. However, according to Gross, blogs magnify this aspect.
"Blogs do the same thing [as individual music fans], only they've got megaphones,
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