World War IVI
Summary Statements
May 14th
It’s fairly obvious to me and the rest of the internet that I’ve not only “beaten” Candi and Khan, but those of you who champion them. By virtue of being right.
UBERWENSCH: 1. Away team: FML.
Good luck with it all.
The Diplomatic Symposium
May 13th
Okay, internet. I hear you. And I’ve allowed others to attach their names to this e-dventure, so it would be remiss of me to ignore their wishes.
I will cease and desist with my personal brand of charm – mixing business with the pleasure of internet folly. You would like a sober discussion, please have one. There are hundreds of people coming here with some form of interest in this saga. See if you can say something thoughtful enough to get a response.
So far, despite the personal attacks directed at me and my gall, no one has managed to disprove or justify the terrible quality of what should be a professional-standard blog. Every rebuttal seems to begin, and occasionally end with, “Yes, the blog is terrible but HOW DARE YOU…”
Should we not care about this? Does it not matter that there are people in Brisbane actually servicing and profiling the music scene extensively, articulately and for free/a pittance, while the authors of BrizBands do what is quite broadly accepted to be a sub-par job? Does the wide availability of alternative media on the same topic negate the disapproving thoughts of the consumer? Is “go somewhere else” a valid solution? Or should we be demanding a competent standard of output from the professionals we pay to do a specific role, particularly when they are public representatives and put forward as commentators on a specific sub-culture? Should we, in 2009, shrug and be okay with censorship occurring at any level within our media culture? Is the extension of the right to reply a condemnable burden when it is extended to someone who does not wish to be asked?
Can anyone who has come here to “defend” the BrizBands blog mount an argument that does not a) first seek to discredit their opposition and b) begin with “Yes, but..” and end with a list of (what seem like) irrelevant mitigations of failure.
All of it and more – discuss. If this post is anywhere near as well-attended as the one where people got to take part in the internet’s favourite hobby (mud slinging), I will accept a dare from one of my detractors.
Everyone, abide by the rules: Be civil, be informed and above all, mercy mercy, be political correct.
BrizBands Bad Business
May 12th
I simply followed the disdain. I didn’t create it, I wasn’t the first person to decide Candi and Khan were being unfairly propped up by a system that was either being exploited or must be disrupted. I just capitalized on it.
If Candi had been smart she would have stopped this whole thing in its tracks by thanking everyone for their input, acknowledging that it is always hard to find a balance between corporate requirement and “rock and roll” (but that she and Khan would continue to try), and then going about her business. If Candi had been smart she would have done ANYTHING but retreat in to obscurity and censor the hell out of her blog. Maybe she would have changed her content for awhile, maybe not. All she had to do was make the public issue go away – dissolve the drama of conflicting parties by mediating them, temper the scandal of someone daring to call her out with non-chalance. It’s not hard, and it’s not difficult to conceive of that solution. But that’s the whole point: Candi is an idiot. She is an idiot who won an opportunity based off the simple qualification of surname (see comments) and has failed to fill the role she was given.
There is a thriving Brisbane music community, and it certainly deserves to be promoted, represented and discussed in a way that does it justice. No one is expecting artistic integrity here. Please. I’m not grovelling at the feet of C-M and beseeching them to think of the scene. I know these are buzz words, I know the blog rides on the back of an established culture and ineptly tries to penetrate its media habits. Duh, as the kids say.
But at least operate on a principle of equal exchange here. Pillage our interest, but give us something interesting. We tried to extend this thought to Candi and Khan several times. People have been offering her these comments ever since she arrived with her contrived “rock chick” outfits, her painful photo poses and her chirpy, insubstantial blog posts. Not only have she and Khan ignored this stuff, they’ve suppressed it.
That’s how you become Bad Business in any sector, let alone one based around fostering relationships and interactive discussion. I think it is important to understand that when you hold a position of public relation (literal definitions, not industry stigma), you are accountable to and at the mercy of that public. Whether you think what they say is significant, whether you think it is right or entirely dimwitted, you have to engage with them. It’s your only safeguard against being crucified.
You can only leech off the credibility of a publication name for so long before the switch flips and you begin to discredit it. That’s where BrizBands is at. They are obviously aware of this, that is why their actions are based on premises of fear and avoidance. For future reference, BrizBands, the answer is to listen and respond. Because when you won’t, we find others who will.
Do you want to know why? Because we dig journalism, and we dig Brisbane music, and we dig being threatened with professional repercussions for making blog posts.
Also, dear reader, if you’re reading this blog and feel that this sort of rubbish masquerading as reportage should not be allowed to continue, please write about it on your blog and also notify the online editor at the Courier-Mail (cmonline@qnp.newsltd.com.au). You will be performing a public service.
Sincerely,
Saint von Peepz0rz.
We’ve Taken Facebook
May 11th
Comrades!
You’ve been abandoned and your queries have been shat on.
Ignored.
Dismissed as insignificant.
Laughed at, I assume.
Candi has read over your concerns. I took it upon myself to deliver your questions directly to her. Right to her inbox. Her response? To flee you.
As you know, I made contact with Candi. I presented myself reasonably and was absolutely civil and polite, as is my way.
See for yourself:
There seem to be some questions floating around about BrizBands. I wondered if you wanted to answer them!
I’m not sure if it is considered poor form to contact someone on their personal Facebook about something like this. If it is I do apologise.
Thanks for your time.
To which Candi responded quite well, I thought. I warmed to her immediately.
Hi Meg,
I’m not sure what you want to ask but I guess it’s fine! How can I help?
Cheers.
Perhaps she was under the illusion that I wanted to talk about Behind Crimson Eyes. Perhaps she thought I wanted to ask her just how she became such a god damn super star. Whatever her expectation, it was not met. Shortly after sending her the following questions, her profile disappeared.
Thanks Candi. I know you’ve copped some sarcasm and such – around that HiFi post at least – so I do appreciate that you’re still willing to chat with some spazz on the internet
I’ve noticed that the detractors of BrizBands are primarily people who are intensely involved in the Brisbane music scene. Others do not appear to be at all disappointed with the BrizBands output. When you and Khan are writing for the blog, is there an audience in mind? Are you specifically writing for the “everyman” who occasionally buys a ticket to Good Vibrations or do you also want to capture the “gig pigs” who are out there every weekend?
In a recent look at BrizBands’ index page, I found that there were 3698 words (content, not headings etc) and only 162 of those were about Brisbane bands. Of those 162, there were two occasions of criticizing Brisbane bands, and two occasions of promotion (one show, one album, from memory). Is the blog there to profile Brisbane’s organic scene, or to announce the tours of interstate/overseas bands to Brisbane?
How do you decide which bands are profiled on BrizBands? You seem to have heavily promoted Behind Crimson Eyes, for example. Is there a reason for that?
Also – is your father Earle Bridger the photojournalist?
Those are my general interests. There are specific questions from other people too.
Brisbane street press writer (Rave, Mess+Noise, FourThousand) and blogger, Andrew McMillen, asks:
How did you get the job?
Do you think you do a good job?
What is the hardest part of your job?
Do you read any other music publications but your own?Local (celebrated) photographer for all kinds of music rags, Justin Edwards, asks:
What’s your current/all time fave Briz band(s)?
What’s your fave venue?
How often do you go to gigs?
Who’s gonna be the next big thing?And Everett True, the famously controversial British journalist and man about town, asks:
Did you pass journalism at college?
I was fair, Candi. I was straight up. I tried to do your job for you – I tried to bring the needs of your audience to the fore, I tried to show you the way to achieving a balanced dialogue with your readers. And you had to go and be a fuckwit about it.
It might be time for the gloves to come off now, internet. It might just be.
The Frontlines
May 11th
I’m on them, for you.
Candi Vegas is taking questions. Let me know if there’s anything specific you want asked.
Stay strong, comrades.
Open Warfare: One (OR: Start slow, be gentle)
May 10th
It is well-accepted that with standing and influence comes responsibility. Power is not a one-way street. As mentioned previously, UBERWENSCH.com is widely understood to be the most popular website on the internet, and I, at its helm, the most popular blogger. Inherent to this is my role as protector. Of the internet, of its wayward darlings: Of you, dear reader. Of you.
My soul – pure, untainted by the stench of sin, untouched by the lesser emotions – cries out for you, the brazen, the unwashed, the plebeian bastards of existence. The People.
I lead a life of integrity, of good nature. And I wish to encourage others to do the same. Through force.
So it is that we find ourselves standing valiantly against “BrizBands“. The charlatans behind this blog were afforded a great opportunity.
“Here,” the Courier Mail said, “Take this salary and write a blog that explores Brisbane’s vibrant music scene thereon.”*
And what did they do? They failed you.
Not on my watch.
You’re on notice, BrizBands. Step up your game or take it somewhere else.
A quick analysis of the BrizBand index page, to begin with.
Words (content): 3698, according to Google documents (who are you going to believe). You can say a lot in 3698 words. Evidently you can also say nothing at all.
Words pertaining to Brisbane bands: 162.
Here they are:
The first band, Hits, wasn’t very good so I wasn’t sure if it was the bad band, or the sound guy, but I felt like it needed more bass; it was a bit tinny sounding. (Clearly I have a lot of technical sound experience if I use words like ‘tinny’ but you know what I mean. I hope!)
Brissy band The Grates, but the ticket sales staff have just informed me that their show is already sold out. So it looks like Kate Miller-Heidke‘s show is the next available night if you want to go check out the venue.
The night was a lot of fun, but unfortunately it was the Brisbane band Stature: Statue that disappointed me
The Driving Conditions have been on BrizBands before, after I went to check them out at the filming of Friday Night Live. They’ve also opened for rockers Rose Tattoo and are about to release their debut album, ‘Full Throttle’.
Which is to say, the Brisbane content is disparaging, hateful and malicious. Or it is irrelevant; a barren and haphazard copy-paste job straight out of a gig guide, and occasionally pertaining to Mike Goldman.
The rest of it is, by and large, promotional in nature, and centers around bands from overseas who happen to be playing in Brisbane. I won’t say much about this just yet.
Except. Well. Heads up, BrizBands. There’s already a blog about that shit. It’s called the Internet.
More on this later. It’s 4AM and I’ve been at a gay bar. Now is not the time.
*Not actual quote.
