This is going to be the first in a series of staff on staff interviews. I’ve been brainstorming ideas on how to grow the site, and bring new traffic in, and I thought there’s no better way to achieve that than to do a circlejerk staff on staff kind of thing that is going to be of no interest to anyone not already very familiar with Sputnikmusic.com. Anyway, here’s my interview with JohnnyOnTheSpot.

*(Signifies post-interview footnotes).

—————–

Treb: all right let’s do this. Hard hitting questions first. What’s it like having two first names?*

*(question regarding Tristan’s real name context which is lost because he uses an alias on Sputnikmusic.com).

Tristan: I wasn’t aware “Jones” was a first name used by anyone.

I didn’t actually know your last name.* Were you always JohnnyOnTheSpot on sput? Or did you ever get a name change/use a different profile?

*(Me completely missing the fact that Tristan is referring to his online handle versus his real name).

I’ve existed in/around the site prior to that profile but that was the first/only profile I created that I used to any extent, beyond maybe rating a bunch of stuff in 2008-2009(?)*

*(Tristan’s official join date is 2012. I’ll get to the bottom of this if I ever do a follow up interview.)

How did you first hear about Sputnik? I remember for me, I was a big Wikipedia head, and I would read about almost every album I listened to, and I started to see Sputnikmusic a lot in the reviews section, and one day just decided to check it out, and was like “whoa I can go full OCD and rate everything I’ve ever listened to? Count me in!”* And then used the site purely for rating purposes until I discovered the community aspect.

*(Quoting myself while talking about myself. Just generally making this about me as I tend to do, just like with these footnotes!)

When I got interested in music forums in 2006-2007 (I would’ve been a freshman in high school, iirc), I think the first community I fell into was Listology. I have no idea what the state of the site is now, but it was the first exposure I had to people seemed passionate about music in the way that last.fm/rym/sput users are. I think someone mentioned Sput as a resource and I gradually started to find myself there. people who*, ahem.

Did you stick with Sputnik long term for the community aspect? Or more for the functionality of the site, or more just because it stuck around lol.

It’s a site that can be pretty much anything in terms of content, and is malleable in the hands of its users. There’s very little pressure to meet deadlines or cover specific artists. There’s pros and cons to not getting paid – I’d like to think one of the pros is that people write genuinely, or at least have the means to. That said, it does occasionally feel like a tributary of larger, more prevalent/influential websites. I try to do my part in covering random bullshit niche artists no one would care about otherwise. I guess the occasional eureka moment when I discover a new artist or album that I can project myself into in an uncomfortable, exciting way is worth putting to words when time permits, and Sput is a welcoming place for that usually. Re: deadlines – yeah, I mean, new releases are key, but still. Nahmean.

Music criticism is fascinating to me, because one has to be really interested in music, interested in writing, and at least mildly interested in journalism, and has to actually have some form of work ethic which is somewhat uncommon among artists.* Do you consider yourself more of a writer who listens to music, or a big music person that just so happens to write? Do you write other things, either now or in the past? Also did you have any sort of ambitions in journalism?

*(Hot take on artists?)

I’m not a ‘writer’ in any special sense, though when I initially got interested in music journalism I was an aspiring writer of sorts. Now, I’d say I’m more of a music person who writes. Presently the only writing I do is compulsory for whatever course I happen to be taking at the time. I don’t have any lofty ambitions in journalism, as I have too much on my plate to adopt the sort of journalism I’d envision myself conducting. I’m just not devoted enough. I consume music as one consumes food, digests it, and expels what isn’t needed. I don’t think I could maintain a regular following, as I can only rarely evoke that ‘spark’ that more chipper people like Fantano* and whoever have as part of their persona.

*(Tristan actually interviewed Fantano for the site, it’s great, I’ll link it at the bottom).

Do you feel like you have a need to entertain people, or be noticed/praised?

I think I’m too self-absorbed. I use a pen name for my reviews anyway so it’s not like I get any recognition for my output. I mostly like when readers listen to something they otherwise not have listened to, and relate to what I put down. It’s rare, but satisfying. It’s nice getting complimented for my writing but I’d rather build solidarity. I’ve always been envious of writers like plane* that do it so well, despite being pretty nuanced and specific in their interpretations.

*(emeritus staff writer).

Did you look up to guys like plane early on? Were you at all motivated to become staff, or did you sort of just write for the sake of writing and let it sort of just happen? You must have applied to be contributor and then staff, so I guess that partly answers the question. I personally super looked up to guys like Klap and Athom,* and had a super surreal experience when I started hanging out with Athom, and I remember talking about sput in real life, which is absurd.* 

*(Klap is a current staff writer, and Athom is emeritus).

*(Humble brag y’all).

Early on, yeah, I read a lot more reviews than I do now. Robertsona was another one, and Pixiesfanyo, and Chan.* I liked the idea of getting people excited about music as a catalyst, not just a conduit. Once you get disillusioned about being a staff writer *snaps suspenders* you kinda forget being all gung-ho as a user. I’ve never met a Sput user in real life and I don’t think I plan on it. But yeah, I forgot to mention Athom. He was great at concise writing, as was Sobhi.*

*(all emeritus except Robertsona who is active staff).

*(I can’t confirm if Tristan was actually wearing suspenders as this interview was conducted through facebook messenger).

It’s weird to go from idealizing something, to working towards attaining it, to getting it, to becoming disillusioned, and almost feeling obligated to keep doing it. Oh yeah, I worshiped the one paragraph review. Maybe because I’m lazy and a perfectionist at the same time. What keeps you from stopping at this point?

Stopping reviewing?

I don’t mean to sound negative about the whole thing, I’m more coming from the standpoint that we all have complex lives and it’s difficult to fit the site into a busy life in a healthy way. Like, and contributing to the site in general. Because you actively have to decide to keep doing it, when it’s not your job.

There was a period when I reviewed an album per week, and maybe more, and this coincided with a poor interval of my IRL life. Odds are, the less you see me, the better : ]. Anyway, I think I’ll have a more subdued, review-per-month presence for a while. I like having a foot in the door. I’m regularly looking for new music that evokes something abnormal in me, and makes me excited to type. This is becoming less frequent, but I still routinely hold out hope. I read somewhere, in some essay or article, that the critic is the real artist, not the musician. Essentially, the critic defines the art. Sort of a “tree falls in the woods…” thing. I like feeling like I have that power.

I’m interested to know if when you approach reviewing an album, if you feel like you have to have something to say to actually write the review. Something to say, as in a point, or a thesis that goes beyond the realm of “this is good, this is bad”, and do you ever scrap a review because of a lack of a unique perspective, either before you even start writing, or multiple paragraphs deep? lol I can relate to that. There’s sort of a power trip to being a “semi professional online music critic.”*

*(Me trying to agree with Tristan, but it comes off wrong).

I don’t mean power over others necessarily. I don’t think I have that sort of sway. I meant the power to define art in a more self-serving way. As far as my reviewing process – yeah, I like to feel like I have something interesting to say. Whether or not I can convey it interestingly, and convince the reader that the music holds a certain potential, is another challenge. I don’t think I’ve ever written a full-on review and given up on it for that reason. I’ve never been a strong “this is good, this is bad” writer. I’d rather write in degrees of good, explaining the extent of which an album is worthwhile, rather than feeling obligated to justify not giving it a 5/5 just for being competent.

Yeah, like art sort of just exists in a vacuum until it’s defined and its shape given context by usually critics.* I’ve scrapped probably 40 reviews in my time on Sput.

*(Me spouting off some platitude in a last ditch effort to get on the same page as Tristan).

“art sort of just exists in a vacuum” fundamentally, yeah.* I’m not prepared to elaborate on that idea without tripping over cliches but that’s the gist I’ve surmised. I only scrapped one review, but that’s because someone else ended up reviewing it and I didn’t want their sloppy seconds.

*(It’s unsuccessful).

You come across as very thoughtful and meditative when it comes to the whole thing, and dare I say confident in your own abilities, so it makes sense to me that you don’t scrap things often. Lol.

I have a process that I’m happy with.* I worry that I’ve gotten complacent, though. I try to challenge myself with the music, as opposed to trying too hard to be Chan or something. The music and its conductivity should be the star anyway, not me.

*(Tristan not taking my compliment Pt. 1).

I feel like I already know the answer to this question, but have you ever given an album a higher or lower score than the score in your heart (not sure how to word this) out of some sort of obligation/fear of reaction/favor to someone? I think subtly worrying that you’re not getting better is how you get better in a way.

I tend to be a bit more generous with lesser-known artists, but that’s me operating within the Sput system. People tend to avoid sub-3.5-rated albums unless they’re already hyped on the artist. If I ran my own website of which I was sole contributor, it wouldn’t be an issue, because people would eventually get the cut of my jib and I could have a more consistent rating system. Realistically, most albums I hear are 1.5-2.5/5 material. A 3-3.5 album could be a genre highlight, but people are so used to overinflated ratings that they’ll pass up on a no-name artist unless I give them a 4. I think I’m gradually caring less about that, though.

A certain staffer who will not be named* once confided in me that they wrote a 4/5 review for an album they didn’t like at all as a favor to the band. There is that thought of “will this review get less traffic because the rating is poor and people will be less likely to listen to it/care about it/even click on it at all?” I guess ethically would you ever give a false rating in a review, not just a slightly embellished rating, but a completely false one?

*(Don’t DM me because I’ll never tell).

No. Though I’ve always kinda wished we had an option to forgo a rating altogether. I could see myself giving an ironic 5 or 1 but not an outright deceptive rating. I think my ratings generally align with how I genuinely felt upon publication.

Do people/bands ever ask you to cover their album?

^ I’m not interested in doing favours, though. Being an admin for the Sput FB page gets overwhelming in that sense. I respect the grind, but I’m not interested in treated readers like idiots.

I appreciate that.

treating*

I’ve covered stuff as a favor before, but I only did so because I genuinely like the music.

“Do people/bands ever ask you to cover their album?” See above, hehe. Yeah. I get emails daily. Everyone and their dog makes music though,* so people do what they gotta.

*(Snide’s dog to release “Bark Remarks” Q2 2018).

Daily, my god. Bro btw, I’m almost done recording my album. It’s gonna have an a cappella cover of a Converge song.*

*(You already know what this is in reference too).

Sick, send it to sputnikreviews@gmail.com.

You’ve reviewed Tech’s music, not as a favor, just because you like the music, but do you feel weird even talking about a musician you’re “online friends” with?

Tech* makes good music. It’s the same with me and Dylan, I’m a big fan of bansheebeat* regardless of my friendship with the guy.

*(Arguably Sputnik’s most successful musician).

*(Tech as in Tech Honors, half of electronic duo death’s dynamic shroud.wmv. I once messaged Tech “man love has really fucked me up.” and he responded “Hate to do this to ya, but I really need to go to sleep”).

Not really because I’m crediting the sounds, and how I find myself in them. Yeah, the musician created it, but I don’t really care about them unless the biographical stuff lends to the interpretation in a meaningful way.

But do you worry about people assuming you’ve altered your opinion because of your affiliation?

Not really, but my writing style doesn’t really lend to that, I don’t think. I describe sounds that objectively exist, in that sphere, and what they’re capable of facilitating. The subjective part is just my emotional/spiritual/whatever reaction. I have a difficult time imagining myself contriving a response (as in, claiming an album “conjures a feeling __ because of ___” when it doesn’t).

Like I’ve said, if I could forgo ratings, I would. I could worry that people would assume I’m being a bit generous with the number rating, but we’ve covered that I suppose.

We need more writers like you my friend. This ended up more serious than I imagined. You’re very thoughtful and metered, I sort of just spew shit out.

We need more writers with an interesting slant, I think, not necessarily ‘like me’ but … well idk, maybe I don’t know how to take a compliment.* But yeah, I’d like to see more writers that aren’t trying to be future p4k applicants and are actively trying to carve out some semblance of an identity for the site.

*(Tristan not taking my compliment pt. 2).

Yeah I just mean the way you approach things, your objectivity, and your ability to view the work as is, and block out the rest.

I mean,* appreciating an art is innately not-objective, but I try to do my best to examine what’s there, as it sits, and ~then go off the deep end a bit. Know the rules before you break them, and such. My older reviews were much more personal.

*Tristan not taking my compliment pt. 3).

I was looking through them, you reviewed some emo gems early on–

*(journalistically inappropriate smile emoji omitted).

I was drawn to some albums in that vein earlier on because it’s a bit easier to sell the emotive aspects for obvious reasons. When you can make something akin to Jason Lescalleet or Taku Sugimoto* appear to be powerful and intriguing to a bunch of 14 year old neck beards, then you’ve hit peak form.

I’m going to make that the headline quote of the blog. I think I’m out of questions.

*(I’ve totally never heard of Jason Lescalleet or Taku Sugimoto and it threw me off).

*Tristan’s response omitted by request*

It’s been a slice.

*Inside joke in very bad taste said by me redacted. 

*Response to joke also redacted. Tristan’s request for me to omit his previous statement also omitted.

*Me asking why Tristan wants me to omit his statement (omitted).

*Tristan explaining how the comment could be misconstrued (omitted).*

*I just realized I could have left all this in and simply written an annotation about the intended connotation of the statement. Fuck it, I’m in too deep.

I’ll take it out. I don’t think I’ve ever come across that acronym.

where did you want to cut-off? like, after ‘slice’ or–*

*omitted, omitted, omitted.

I’m not sure. It’s been a pleasure. There, I can put that after your last real sentence.

ok sounds good, cheers. Are you well-versed with the blog?

*I’ve posted one blog.

*(Extremely personal and totally unprofessional non-sequitur omitted).

Sorry for all the Dave Wallace-esque footnotes and terrible clipart. I want to thank Tristan, it was a real pleasure talking to you.

Fantano interview: https://www.sputnikmusic.com/blog/2017/05/03/tristany-jonestano-here/