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Welcome to sputnikmusic’s (first ever?) roundtable interview, featuring the contributors! The goal is to create an opportunity to illuminate some of the current contributing team, like how it goes with the staffers in the ongoing Staff Wars series: questions and answers in a cozy interview. But there is a twist: we ask and answer the questions by all of us! We hope you’ll enjoy it.

List of participants (alphabetical order): dedex, dmathias52, Evok, garas, JesperL, Kompys2000, Koris, linguist2011, neekafat, Sunnyvale, tyman128, YoYoMancuso

[Because this roundtable spanned several months, some responses have been edited for clarity.]

[Part I: 2022] // [Part II: 2023]


Question 1, via garas:
Who the hell are you, and what is your spirit animal?

garas: I’m the resident grumpy Hungarian who doesn’t care about just riffs and ambiance (or cats and craft beers) — I’d say it’s the perfect match to my biologist career. It’s darker than you think! [Carpathian Forest starts playing in the background] Also, my spirit animal would be:

Cat photo.

garas’ face every morning

dedex: I’m a Franco-Belgian idiot who likes way too many genres to properly focus on one. I’m a data analyst, so I spend my days looking at stuff and listening to music — dope! My spirit animal is France’s national emblem: the rooster (also called ‘the cock’), ’cause it’s the only animal that can sing with both feet deep in the shit.

Sunnyvale: I’m an American currently living in the great city of Boston. My spirit animal would probably be a giraffe. Who doesn’t like giraffes?

JesperL: Gee, calm down, I’m from The Netherlands (known to most Americans as “Oh, wait, Amsterdam is not a country?”). I’ve always identified with cockatoos because they’re loud, annoying, sometimes vaguely cute, and they’re able to fly. I wish I could fly.

dmathias52: I’m Midwest proud and make a living doing social work, whatever that means. I’ve always identified with the beagle, if only because I have one laying on my lap as I write this (although my borgi puppy isn’t to be forgotten either).

linguist2011: I’m never too good at these ‘introduce yourself’ shenanigans, but let’s just say I’m a weird guy who prides himself on weird tastes. I decided to highlight my contrib name as grey because I come from grey Britain, and my favourite music is often so devoid of fun and colour it may as well be buried underground. See what I did with that last word there? You didn’t? You just discovered my terrible humour, bravo!

Evok: I’m a bone throwing, crystal ball-gazing sloth. Between writing about western Canada’s electronic music scene, buying as much vinyl and hifi equipment my bank account can handle, working a day job, writing for sputnik, taking care of my three cats and being a good partner to my soon-to-be fiancé… well, life is busy, and for a sloth, it’s not easy to keep pace. I’m trying though, and I’m happy. Isn’t that the secret?

YoYoMancuso: Michael Jackson – Thriller superfan. Hippopotamus.

tyman128: I’m a broke college student living in the great yee-haw state trying to become a music journalist somewhere, idk. Spirit animal… I’m never good at this stuff, but I’m just gonna say a bear to be basic because I go to Baylor (yep, absolutely original).

Kompys2000: Ambience enthusiast and conspiracy-minded crank. Chinchilla.

Koris: Prog aficionado and resident sailor. I guess I’ll be a bear. Yeah, that works. I;ve certainly encountered my fair share of bears in person, so I suppose it’s appropriate.

neekafat: Icebreakers! I’m a Chicago native living in LA, pursuing a career in film which is exactly as horrible and wonderful as it sounds. I would even daresay that I’m happy most of the time! Movies are the only thing I’m more obsessed with than music. Uhhhhh, no one’s said ‘wolf’ yet, so I’ll say that! It’s mostly because I had two amazing huskies growing up (one was called “Neeka” and she was fat).


Question 2, also via garas:
What is your favorite blackgaze album, and why is it Sunbather?

garas: Actually, it is Sunbather. But New Bermuda is just as perfect, in my opinion. Sometimes I’m this basic, okay?!

dmathias52: After Googling ‘blackgaze’, I’m like 90% sure I listened to an Agalloch album once?

Sunnyvale: I’ve gotta go with Kodama!

JesperL: Kodama.

dedex: Y’all need to listen to Deafheaven’s Demo.

linguist2011: Actually, several bands got there before I even bothered listening to Sunbather. Nullingroots delighted me, Alcest made my heart fly and Mol made me want to be reborn as a Dane. Maybe that last one is far-fetched, but Sunbather can’t really hit those heights. Sorry, fanbois.

EvokSunbather? I barely know her!

YoYoMancuso: SUN BAT HER.

tyman128: My favorite blackgaze album has to be Silver from a lesser known artist, Daygraves… oh, wait, I just read the rest of the question — can I change my answer?

Kompys2000: Until 2021, my answer actually was Sunbather since that’s the only blackgaze album I’d bothered with, but now I get to be cool and awesome and say that Violet Cold’s Empire of Love is quite good, too.

Koris: I mean, Sunbather‘s certainly still up there for me. Still, there have been some serious contenders. That new Mol album (Diorama) was fantastic!

neekafat: I thankfully have not perused much blackgaze, largely because Sunbather did next to nothing for me. Some neat stuff on there from a curio perspective, but it just didn’t click with me.


Question 3, also also via garas:
Do you enjoy the contributor title? Does it mean anything to you?

garas: It’s great! Not getting the ability of decimal rating sucks, but it’s a good opportunity to present some real good music to a perhaps wider audience. Also it’s a fantastic way to improve my English while I can focus on something I love to spend time with.

JesperL: I mostly enjoy reviewing vague bandcampgaze records I dig and the ‘contributor’ tag potentially convincing three to four poor souls to actually check the album is very neat (which ties into the whole ‘getting stuff featured’ thing. obviously. yes). Also: all the contributors are very attractive.

Sunnyvale: It’s been pretty fun so far, as others have said, the biggest thing is getting regularly-featured reviews which allows you to really highlight cool under-the-radar stuff.

dmathias52: In addition to it being fun to get featured reviews, being a contributor has also led me to search for music I otherwise wouldn’t have. That opportunity to introduce people to the ‘next big thing’ has led me to discover some of my new all time favorites.

YoYoMancuso: I really enjoy the extra motivation to write, and participating in the year-end feature is something I’ve always wanted to do since I started posting on Sputnik. I’ve also been able to interact more with my fellow contributors because of it, which has been a highlight of my recent days on the site.

Koris: Yeah, I’d say I enjoy it (considering I’ve held the title three different times now). Honestly, I just love how having a tag forces me to open up my mind and try a bunch of music that I otherwise would have never checked out. That, and having the features is pretty cool.

dedex: It’s cool, I guess — doesn’t mean that much outside of Sput but it’s still dope to see your review of an unknown artist get automatically featured. As Xeno basically said in their interview: promote us so we can drive some other albums to Best New Music (thank u xoxo).

linguist2011: I’ll be completely honest here, I never actually saw myself as climbing to anything higher than the user title. I’ve always enjoyed reviewing, and I guess the best thing about contrib status is that I can introduce truly great and underrated bands to people salivating for more musical expansion.

Evok: Eh, it’s been a real slog. How am I supposed to be an inconsistent, writer’s block-riddled mess with the crushing weight of such lofty expectations? Jokes aside, it’s an honour to be part of the team, officially. I was on and off sputnik for years, but sometime in 2017 I kinda buckled down and really tried to become something resembling a half-decent writer. As that journey continued, I finally threw my hat into the ring and got the job. Now I just gotta try and keep up!

tyman128: Not gonna lie, I was shocked when my title changed from user to contrib last year, because I was just messing around writing reviews for fun and not really expecting to go anywhere. While I don’t see it as much of a ‘status’ tag (because I mean, there are some users out there putting reviews waaaaay better than mine), it is a great, encouraging reminder to me to keep pushing and improve my writing. This is actually what led me to become a writer for CaliberTV and to pursue journalism as my degree.

neekafat: I really do love it, despite my abhorrent lack of content as of late. I was a huge fan of Sputnik during my college years, so I’m very proud of it, even if I’m not as active as I used to be. But I still love participating in year-end lists and stuff like this! And being able to pitch dumb ideas for the blog has its perks.

Kompys2000: It’s an acceptable first step in my quest to dominate the globe with my amateur music journalism. Today, sputnik; tomorrow, the world!


Question 4, also also also via garas:
Worst and best album covers ever?

dedex: Best and worst: Giorgio Moroder’s From Here to Eternity. That ‘stache:

Album cover of From Here to Eternity.

quite a fetish

linguist2011: Oh, great, it’s one of these questions. Well, off the top of my head, favourite cover for its wild imagination and striking visual impact is probably Space Ritual by Hawkwind. Worst album cover? Easy, it’s Zipper Catches Skin by Alice Cooper. C’mon, man, you could’ve paid someone to puke on a blank mural at least.

Sunnyvale: Not directly answering the question, but Neil Young’s On the Beach 100% takes the cake for the biggest gap between awesome musical quality and laughably bad artwork. His best album, almost certainly, yet the album cover definitely evokes the feeling that the music has to be terrible.

Kompys2000: There are so, so many fantastic album covers, but if I absolutely had to pick only one I’d go with The Zombies’ Odessey and Oracle. On top of just being so lush and colorful and complementing the music perfectly, it aesthetically captures a moment in time in a way few other great album covers do. Worst is easy: Van Weezer. It looks like something a fourteen year old made in Photoshop in an hour and the ring of faux vinyl wear around the edge makes me physically angry.

YoYoMancuso: I’m really partial to Velocity : Design : Comfort’s album art, I got the vinyl just so I could look at it. Worst is probably Lovedrive by Scorpions.

tyman128: I absolutely love how beautifully designed Bon Iver’s self-titled record is. The worst? Gonna have to go off of recency bias and say Slaughter to Prevail’s Kostolom. Someone genuinely thought, “Yo, that looks badass, let’s use it!” and thought it was a great idea.

Evok: The best? There’s too many to count! It’s also kinda hard to define where the music’s magical invocations end, and the album art’s magic begins, ya know? Like, they’re so intrinsically intertwined a lot of the time. Esoteric’s The Maniacal Vale has always struck me as one of those gems, as has Bitches Brew by Miles Davis, and Schammasch’s Contradiction.

The worst? Oh man, there’s a lot. I’m not kink-shaming here, but Autopsy’s Shitfun is pretty terrible. Also, the hairspray needed to make Wayne Cochran’s Goin’ Back To Miami album possible is probably climate change’s biggest catalyst to date, so there’s that, too. That poor ol’ ozone layer curses his name to this day. Oh, and don’t forget Cryptopsy’s And Then You’ll Beg! That one is just… bad.

neekafat: Well, ya know, a certain someone’s published blog entries for the best album covers of the year (2021, 2020)… just saying! It’s hard to say what the worst are because if something is so actively bad, it therefore has some kind of ironic charm to it… but it’s probably one of those boring-ass black metal album covers of a greyscale forest.

Evilfeast - Lost Horizons of Wisdom album art

neeka’s secret favorite, probably

garas: For both: Battles in the North by Immortal.

dmathias52: Love the style of mewithoutYou’s Ten Stories, Anberlin’s Vital cover is… suggestive. Did I just out myself as a Tooth & Nail kid?

Koris: Man, there are way too many good ones to count. But I think I’m gonna have to go with a classic ’70s cover with Billy Joel’s The Stranger. Hell, I even made a poem review that was mostly inspired by this photo. It’s very simple: Joel just looking at the mask beside him in a dimly lit room. The cover is entirely in black and white and has a charmingly antiquated vibe to it, and that’s what makes it so special to me. It brings me back to those days as a kid, sitting at the piano in solitude and just enjoying myself in my own little musical world.

As for the worst, we have a three-way tie… all from the same band! That would be Avenged Sevenfold with Waking the Fallen, their self-titled, and Hail to the King. Now, my opinion on these albums is all over the place: I love the former, hate the self-titled, and am slightly indifferent to the latter. However, they all have one thing in common: atrociously lazy artwork. “Hey, I’ve got an idea! Let’s just slap the Overkill logo on our album art three times and not add anything else!” And yes, I know they call it the ‘Deathbat’ or whatever, but it’s still hilarious how much they half-assed those covers.

JesperL: Hm. Best? Maybe Gleemer – Anymore. For worst, you can just open up the ‘power metal’ genre tag on Sput and take your pick!


Question 5, also also also also via garas:
If I had mx’s superpowers, I would:

tyman128: I haven’t really been keeping up with Marvel lately, so this is a new one.

linguist2011: mx? What is that, the new Covid-19 variant?

JesperL: … be richer than I am now.

dmathias52: … make the list-making feature more user-friendly. I’m lazy and don’t want to have to hit [ Add another item ] over and over.

Sunnyvale: … add last.fm integration again and make list-making less of a struggle.

garas: … add more genre tags and fix the last.fm integration.

dedex: … make jazz rap a genre.

YoYoMancuso: … BRING BACK MUSICAL NEIGHBORS!

Evok: … bring sputnik into the 21st century with like… NFTs and streaming widgets. Maybe an app too. QR codes and sput-brand buttplugs? I don’t know, I honestly like how archaic it all is. I just wish the technical troubles weren’t a thing. They make sputnik feel… mortal, and I don’t like that because this place is such a safe haven for so many of us.

Koris: … introduce a Facebook-esque react feature for comments.

neekafat: … sell the site to the mods and make it properly community-run. But that’s just me!

Kompys2000: … sell off sputnik to some international media conglomerate that wants to strip it for spare parts and watch as it’s slowly turned into another Buzzfeed clone. Then maybe I’d buy a nice armchair!


Question 6 from dedex:
What was, in your opinion, Sput’s most overrated 2021 album?

Screenshot of the Sput charts page.

Best Albums of 2022 chart will appear in 2027, probably.

Koris: Probably Colo[u]rs II by Between the Buried and Me. To be fair, Sputnik had some of the most measured and reasonable takes on the album, but most of the other sites I frequented just went fucking nuts over the record. And even as a massive fan of the original, I just don’t get all the praise. It’s a fine album, but also way more bloated and disjointed than its predecessor. Plus, there weren’t nearly enough moments of emotion or catharsis to balance out the more technical bits.

Evok: Honestly, I hadn’t spent enough time listening to what was on the 2021 charts on sputnik to have spent any time on an album I can honestly call a disappointment there. I’m just gonna assume that the new BTBAM isn’t that good, though. Ophidian I’s album (Desolate) left me completely flaccid after hearing all the hype around it, too. Cosmic arpeggios ov melodic dick much?

JesperL: Between the Buried and Me’s album thing.

YoYoMancuso: Definitely By The Time I Get to Phoenix. I get that they’re supposed to sound despondent and bleak, but half the time they sound so bored that they’re even less interested in the album than I am.

linguist2011: Spiritbox’s Eternal Blue by far. I didn’t even dislike it, but the level of hype it was generating even from an already-overhyped lead single really ground my gears. I decided to continue listening to Pupil Slicer’s Mirrors instead.

Kompys2000: That Magdalena Bay album (Mercurial World) was the most lukewarm and forgettable pop I’ve heard in quite some time. 45 minutes of certifiable anti-hype.

neekafat: I strayed away from a lot of Sput-hype albums because I was actually working most of the year for once, but probably the new Tropical Fuck Storm (Deep States). I liked it alright, but it’s far and away their weakest — just some ugly-sounding stuff in there married with garish pop melodies. Not for me!

garas: Since I barely follow sput-hypes, it’s not easy to answer that. I’ll go with Suffering Hour’s The Cyclic Reckoning, because it doesn’t deserve being on the ’21 charts at all.

dmathias52: Any “windmill-core”: black midi, Black Country, New Road, Squid. There’s a ratio of like ten seconds of good music for every sixty seconds of song.

dedex: Turnstile’s Glow On. That shit is wack and mid and not fun and not hardcore. If this is the future of guitar music, we in deep shit!

Sunnyvale: I don’t actually dislike it, but I’m completely mystified by how Stortregn’s Impermanence has maintained a 3.9 average with upwards of 150 ratings. It’s solid but seems incredibly by-the-book, not the type of thing I ever expected to see near the top of the year charts. Also, The Cyclic Reckoning totally slaps and I’m equally mystified by garas’ hatred of it.

tyman128: Even though I enjoyed it, Mastodon’s Hushed & Grim is probably the most overrated to me. I barely remember any of it right now, and I think the praise supporting it was a biiiiiit over the top at the end of the day. Good record, not as fantastic as a lot were saying.


Question 7, from Sunnyvale:
Of the big ’70s prog bands, who’s your favorite?

linguist2011: A ’70s prog question? Now I feel special! Gentle Giant by a whisker. So much innovation from this band over what turned out to be a pretty short period. I mean, In a Glass House makes me want to dance and headbang at the same time — it’s that sort of album.

JesperL: U2.

dmathias52: Is U2 an answer?  Someone else said U2? I’ll go with U2? “Carry on Wayward Son” was a banger on Guitar Hero 2, so Kansas will be my honorable mention.

Sunnyvale: I have to go with Genesis; their prog era is pretty varied in style and consistently very good. Also, they created the best album of that era of prog (Selling England By The Pound, if you’re wondering).

dedex: Yeah, Genesis, but only for “Firth of Fifth”. Crackin’ tune. I don’t care about the rest — oh, wait, there’s that lil’ band Pink Floyd that ain’t too shabby.

garas: I’m a bit uneducated about the ’70s and prog, so I’ll go with Pink Floyd. Also: late ’60s blues rock is the real treat, baby!

Evok: Well, Rush slapped the tits off the late ’70s with 2112 and Hemispheres. Yes had Close to the Edge and Camel had Mirage earlier on. All that aside though, Pink Floyd was Pink Floyd. I mean how can you compete with Wish You Were Here and Animals?

Kompys2000: Pink Floyd was the only ’70s prog band that had swag. And as we all know, swag is the most important factor in making good prog rock.

tyman128: Does Yes count? I’m gonna go with them regardless; Close to the Edge is an absolute classic.

YoYoMancuso: Is Rush ’70s or ’80s? Either way, they’re the correct answer.

neekafat: Does Rush count? I love Rush. 2112 and Hemispheres are just incredible, though some of their best stuff was in the ’80s, of course. I can’t believe I haven’t heard Genesis because Peter Gabriel is literally one of my favorite solo artists.

Koris: For anyone who’s known me for a while on Sputnik, it should be pretty obvious that I’m gonna pick Rush since they’re my favorite band of all time (and the fact that I’ve reviewed their entire discography). Everything from A Farewell to Kings to Moving Pictures is incredible, they were one of the only ’70s prog bands who survived the ’80s by virtue of making great albums that toed the line between accessibility and artistry, and no record of theirs is below a 3/5 for me. Don’t get me wrong, there’s obviously a ton of fantastic classic prog bands: Genesis, Gentle Giant, Yes, King Crimson, and Pink Floyd would all be runner-ups to the top spot. But at the end of the day, I’m just a massive Rush fanboy and I always will be.


Question 8 from JesperL:
What is the largest food you enjoy eating?

A smol boi eating a beeg plate

Interview was possibly recorded at Studio Ghibli Inc.

dedex: yo mama

garas: You can’t imagine how much moussaka can go down to my belly at once…

Evok: I frequent a place called Mucho Burrito. Their biggest burrito, with extra meat, is roughly the size and weight of a newborn child (no wonder the Clintons love ’em!). I always finish it, even if it makes me hate myself.

Koris: Back when I was living in California, I used to go to a restaurant called El Gran Burrito. The food was excellent, but what was truly notable was that they sold 6-foot burritos! Needless to say, that was easily the biggest food item I’ve ever seen; regardless, some friends and I tackled it and took it down. Granted, it took what felt like forever, but yeah.

Sunnyvale: Huge burritos are my go-to large food. Also, yo mama.

YoYoMancuso: Do yourselves a favor and stop at a little spot in Chicago called Portillo’s Hot Dogs. Their burger will both cleanse your palate and punish your gut hole.

dmathias52: Going to go with another Midwestern staple. Typically called a “horseshoe”, we call them a Magic Mountain where I’m from. Thick slice of Texas toast topped with loose meat, French fries, and a cheese sauce.

neekafat: Ooooh, this is a tough one because I’m known for my lack of appetite. I finish very few meals. Maybe a Big Mac because it has ‘Big’ in the title.

tyman128: A $5 footlong.

Kompys2000: An entire Little Caesars cheese pizza.

linguist2011: I’m not sure what is classed as ‘large’ these days, so I’ll just go with lasagne. Can never have too much of that stuff. Even if, in true Red Dwarf fashion, it becomes you.

JesperL: A few years ago, I had a massive sandwich somewhere in Eastern Europe. It was like a really long (not particularly girthy) boi and contained lettuce, egg, onion, cucumber, cheese and so much more; it was excellent. I’ve been trying to recreate said sandwich at home for a few years now and I’m getting close, but can’t quite seem to achieve the same taste. It’s probably the seasoning or something. Anyway.

dmathias52: I mainly just enjoy that Jesper clearly asked this question just because he wanted to tell the world about that sandwich.


Question 9 via dmathias52:
If you could steal a single musical ability from one person, what would it be?

tyman128: Out of recency bias, probably Amon Tobin’s experimental composition.

neekafat: God, I wish I could play any instrument. My focus on film has kinda stopped me from diving headfirst into music, but if I could turn a guitar riff like Josh Homme, I’d be fine with doing just that for the rest of my life and live happily.

YoYoMancuso: The only thing better than Michael Jackson’s Thriller is Michael Jackson’s ability to HEE hee, so probably that.

JesperL: YoYo’s ability to enjoy Michael Jackson’s Thriller, probably.

Sunnyvale: Gotta go with Mark Knopfler’s guitar playing; that dude rules.

Koris: Never really thought about this, but I guess I’d like Brian May’s ability to have that perfect balance of virtuosity, expression, and ingenuity in his guitar playing. The way he can transform his guitar into other instruments entirely through his effects and creative songwriting, like trumpets or trombones (see: “Good Company”), is crazy.

garas: The sense of melody from Varg. I wish I could write ambient songs like “Tomhet”…

Evok: I can only imagine what life with Jamie St. Merat’s drumming ability would be like. The ladies must be lined up around the block on his street!

Kompys2000: Liz Harris’ singing voice. Barring that, perhaps Brian Eno’s knowledge of the Yamaha DX-7’s programming capabilities.

dedex: I’d like to have some musical abilities — at all. I do a pretty good SKRRRT but I’d like to attain the GOAT level, like Tyler, the Creator on “Pothole”. Although a friend of mine did recently tell me that my SKRRRT was improving. Yay!

dmathias52: I’m leaning toward Jason Isbell’s lyric writing, but I don’t have the talent to put lyrics to music, so it’d kind of be wasted on me. So I’ll go with Katie Pruitt’s voice, if only so I can crush it at karaoke.


Question 10, this time from Kompys2000:
What’s your prediction for the ‘next big thing’ in music?

Evok: It seems that as the internet-age advances, the hybridization of art is only accelerating as our ability to share information en masse integrates itself into our world. If we think of human-to-human interactions as synapses in a brain making connections with each other, then the 21st century is currently staring down the barrel of one very unified consciousness. That’s going to continue to take art (music included) into some wildly innovative territory. Combine that with the technological advances in 3-dimensional sound engineering and augmented reality, and the possibilities are endless. The innovation we’ve seen in the past 50 years is exponentially greater than anything that came in the 12,000 years before it, and that trend isn’t losing any steam. We’re currently in a Renaissance of consciousness and art is the mirror in which the collective soul of the world reflects on its own state of being, so wherever we go, it’s gonna be very interesting.

tyman128: The ‘next big thing’ always seems to be revolving at a fast rate in the modern age. It’s honestly hard to predict what comes next. I want to say a heavier emphasis on older rock influences will be the next thing to happen, but it feels like music trends are changing daily and can’t really be predicted anymore.

dmathias52: I think the ‘next big thing’ will be a lot of medium-sized things. New music is so accessible now that I don’t think there will be any huge culture breaker. Kacey Musgraves is a good example — she’s selling out stadium tours and is one of the biggest names in music, but has never had a huge commercial hit and probably many more people haven’t heard of her compared to people who have.

dedex: Merci, Olivia Rodrigo, rock is back! For real, though, rock has been so damn dead commercially that now zoomers want to make it cool again. Prediction: it’s gonna be both good and bad. It’s gonna be huge again, though, and y’all gonna hate it.

JesperL: 2000s Europop will make a massive comeback within the coming two years as a reactionary movement against PC music and hyperpop.

garas: I have no idea. But whatever it will be, just please leave out black metal out of it. It’s already very shameful that bands like Liturgy exist (please disband already).

Kompys2000: Everything old is new again! At long last, the 20-year nostalgia cycle is fixing its bloodshot eyes upon mainstream rock music’s shameful 2000s decline. Get ready for ironic-yet-affectionate pastiches of all your favorite aughts radio darlings: Staind, Nickelback, The Fray, 3 Doors Down, and more! Also coming soon: a well-deserved critical reevaluation of either KT Tunstall or Sara Bareilles.

Koris: Honestly, my answer is basically a combination of Dedex’ and Kompys’ answers. Lots of nostalgia and a rock revival. And to tell you the truth, I’m already having mixed feelings about the kind of rock that’s being brought to the forefront today. While I enjoy artists like Olivia Rodrigo, I can’t say I’m completely on board for a massive wave of pop-punk nostalgia acts flooding the market. Especially the blink-182/The Offspring suburban ‘teen comedy’ strain of the genre.

neekafat: Not to disagree with Kompys here, but I’m pretty sure we’re on a 30-year nostalgia cycle. Literally everything last decade was boring-ass ’80s-worship, so I’m so down for some boring-ass ’90s worship. I mean, we’re already seeing a lot of new pop artists embracing guitar music for the first time in a while, so I think rock is no longer dead? Okay, so Evok is onto something…

YoYoMancuso: Flavor Flav Super Bowl halftime show.

Sunnyvale: YoYo’s band Domestic Terminal releasing a Thriller cover album. Make it happen, please!


Question 11, from garas:
Should there be a cap on the number of 5.0 reviews a user submits? How do you feel about 5.0 reviews?

Kompys2000: Ratings mean different things to different people, so I can only speak for myself. But I don’t think I’d ever write more than one or two 5.0 reviews in a year. Any more and I feel it’s sort of a boy-who-cried-wolf situation where people will start taking your excitement over an album with a grain of salt. Plus it’s nice to occasionally try and find interesting things to say about music I don’t think is amazing!

Koris: Are we strictly talking about new releases, or both new and old? Regardless, I don’t think there should be a limit as long as you can explain your reasoning well enough. Just express your thoughts as you deem fit, and if the record happens to be a 5 to you, then so be it.

garas: Maximum one or two? Not quite sure though. Writing about a perfect album is not easy, because nowadays I rarely find albums that might be worthy of that rating.

Sunnyvale: I think 5-star reviews are like any other review. If they’re well-written (like Sowing’s hype reviews), then I have no gripe with a user churning them out. Personally, I’ve only written two 5 reviews all-time, but maybe I’ll add to that total in the coming months.

JesperL: No one should be allowed to write 5.0 reviews ever. Unless they think the album is, like, really good and worthy of a 5.0.

tyman128: Well… 3 of my reviews in the last year are 5.0, so I’m just gonna say as many as you desire. I don’t have an issue with 5.0 reviews, especially if it’s an album you are passionate about. No need to put a limit on the amount of reviews, because if it’s something you love, it’s worth sharing it!

neekafat: Um, as many as they damn well please. I hate this whole “shaming people who are effusive about how much they love things” thing. Who gives a shit, I love that you love it. Write only 5.0s. Worship art. Cry to every single song you’ve ever heard. I don’t care. OK, Sowing does do it a bit much, though.

dedex: I don’t know; I’ve only done one. I’m too much of a nerd to give that many 5.0 reviews. Basically, it boils down to: is the review a good review? If you wanna pull out 5.0 reviews like Sowing, you better match his writing.

dmathias52: Let people be excited as much as they want and let people bash others for being easily excited as much as they want.

YoYoMancuso: You should be allowed to write as many as you want, because… that’s how the site works. But be warned: if I don’t think the album’s a 5, then your review sucks. I am the center of the universe, so my opinion clearly matters the most.


Question 12, posed by an apparent garas alter ego:
What is your most heartwarming album? Why does it make you happy?

dedex: Clever Girl – No Drum and Bass in the Jazz Room. It feels like a Spring morning: clear blue sky, not cold yet not too warm. I already feel better just thinking about it.

neekafat: Ready the torches and pitchforks: probably Viva la Vida by Coldplay. It’s just such a bittersweet and full set of songs, it’s sequenced so goddamn satisfyingly. “Strawberry Swing” has been scientifically proven to be one of the most calming songs of all time (Google it), and the rest of the album is just like a warm blanket. I love, love that album.

JesperL: Either Oso Oso’s Basking in the Glow or Hammock’s Everything and Nothing. They remind me of summer, long overnight bus rides, and not being miserable.

garas: Probably IV by Fief. It’s a super mellow, carefree medieval ambient album for daydreamers like myself. Listening to that album is like having a long walk in the countryside, next to a flowery meadow in early summer. A light breeze catches in your hair, the sun warms your face and you feel completely free.

dmathias52: The Everglow by Mae. The perfect cheesy album.

tyman128Behold by My Epic. I don’t know what it is, but the beauty of that record is just so heartwarming to me.

YoYoMancusoYou’re Always on My Mind by A Great Big Pile of Leaves. One of the few albums that I’m literally ALWAYS in the mood for.

Kompys2000: The Flaming Lips – Clouds Taste Metallic. The music equivalent of hugging an old friend.

Sunnyvale: I’m going to cheat and name the first two which come to mind: Kishi Bashi’s Lighght and Van Morrison’s Moondance. The former is almost over-the-top happy in vibe, while the latter exudes a calmer sense of warmth, so they each hit right in a slightly different mood.

Koris: Definitely Ghost by Devin Townsend Project. Every time I listen to that album, I think back to my teen years in California, specifically being at the beach and just watching the waves or walking on the boardwalk. Plus, as I’ve said previously, Ghost was the gateway to widening my musical palette in a way that I’d never experienced before. So there are always going to be a lot of positive memories associated with that.


Question 13, from back-to-grumpy garas:
If you could travel back in time to attend one concert, which one would you choose?

A still frame of a clock.

garas is a time-traveler. In 4 years, it will be 2026.

JesperL: Wait, how does this work? Could I travel back in time to a concert I already attended and then speak to my past self? Because if so: any concert I was at early 2018-ish. I’d tell myself that I’d have two years to go to as many shows as humanly possible. Maybe also invest in Bitcoin. Buy Pfizer stocks. Et cetera.

YoYoMancuso and neekafat in unison: Flavor Flav Super Bowl halftime show.

dedex: Not exactly a concert, but would have loved to attend a representation of Mozart’s The Magic Flute — Die Zauberflöte — in Vienna. And I bet the afterparty would have been fucking wild.

Kompys2000: I’d have loved to see The Allman Brothers at the Fillmore East.

Sunnyvale: No particular concert in mind, but I wouldn’t want to miss Led Zeppelin in their ’70s prime.

Koris: I would definitely go back and see ’80s Queen, particularly something like Wembley Stadium or Live Aid. All members were in their prime musically, and Freddie was at the absolute peak of his showmanship. There’s a reason that Queen’s live performances from back then are the stuff of legends.

dmathias52: Does musical theatre count? I’d have loved to see the original Into the Woods on Broadway without knowing what was to come in the second act. Or Carol Channing’s Hello, Dolly!.

garas: 1990, 26th of November, Germany, Leipzig, on the stage no other than: Mayhem. I wasn’t even born yet!

tyman128: I’ma let the nu-metal kid in me come out and say I wish I could go back to Woodstock ’99 and attend that. It just looks super fun and I wish I could be there to experience it.


Question 14 from film aficionado neekafat:
How do you feel about the Marvel Cinematic Universe?

dmathias52: I’ve seen like five of them but there’s too many now and I have no desire to try to catch up. Spider-Man is cool, though.

Sunnyvale: I do casually enjoy (most) of the Marvel movies — just certainly need to space them out since you can easily overdose on the generic aspects that a lot of them share.

tyman128: 4 / 5 Excellent.

garas: I hate superhero movies. The first Deadpool was the most tolerable from those handful of movies I cared enough to watch, but that’s also a soft fart compared to the videogame from 2013.

dedex: I mean, it’s kinda good entertainment with the babes innit. I don’t care, really.

Kompys2000: Eh, I prefer my serial narratives and my big-screen theater experiences nice and far away from each other.

Koris: The MCU movies can be hit-or-miss, but I think a lot of people severely underappreciate how much time and effort it must have taken to adapt such an intricate, interconnected world onto the big screen. While I agree with the detractors that the films can get homogeneous or ‘assembly line-esque’ at times, I’m willing to forgive the flaws and enjoy the movies for what they are. Plus, that moment in the first Avengers movie where Captain America throws his shield at Loki — and subsequently fights him for the first time — made me clap and cheer in a way that most films simply couldn’t manage to.

neekafat: I got a lot of shit in film school for defending the MCU, but I genuinely think the cinematic event that they pulled off should not be dismissed just because they’re big pop films. There’s definitely a lot of them that don’t land, but there are some great action melodramas to be found in their catalog, and it’s no wonder why audiences connect with the characters so well. In school, so many people said shit like, “Anyone can make a Marvel movie, it’s the lowest common denominator of film.” But then Oscar-winner Chloe Zhao couldn’t even do it with Eternals. Let’s stop pretending that pop films are any easier to pull off than indie or arthouse films.

JesperLThree Cheers for Sweet Revenge has some bangers.


Question 15 from Koris:
If you could only have one disbanded group reunite and release albums again, who would you pick?

tyman128: mewithoutYou, please come back, I miss you.

Kompys2000: I like Julien Baker — really, I do — but good God I want The Star Killers/Forrister back. Please, I just need more emo anthems.

dmathias52Turnpike Troubadours, but it seems like that’s happening this year! At least reunion shows are.

JesperLPity Sex, always and forever. Best emogaze band and they only put out two records so realistically they’d still have three to four solid ones in them.

dedexAlexisonfire because they fucking rule. Shows are good but those mfs don’t tour Europe.

Sunnyvale: I’ve gotta go with The State Lottery. When The Night Comes (the Colton avatar album, for those who don’t know) is legendary for me, then they only released a little two-song EP and were never heard from again. I’ve always felt like they had another classic or two in them.

Koris: Well, if you asked me before October 2021, I would have picked Porcupine Tree. But since they’ve actually reunited, I’m gonna have to go with Nevermore. Despite frontman Warrel Dane’s tragic death, I feel like they could pull an Alice in Chains and reunite with a different singer since Jeff Loomis was always the main composer of the group. It wouldn’t be the same without Dane, but if it means we could get more high-quality tech/thrash goodness, then I’m all for it. Plus, The Obsidian Conspiracy –- while a solid album -– wasn’t really the best note to go out on, at least when you compare it to the quality of their other work.

garas: You should have asked the opposite, because I could name some bands who should disband right now. Also, I won’t give a straight answer: technically Immortal still exists, but I really-really want to see the world-star lineup join their forces again. Please Demonaz, Abbath and Horgh: make peace! We need you!





Koris
03.01.22
Oh hey, it's up! Nice

Dewinged
03.01.22
Lovely people, and lovely read. The blog is on fire lately, damn!

Divaman
03.01.22
Was there an actual round table involved?

JohnnyoftheWell
03.02.22
ace stuff

kompys wins this for understanding how to hug old friends, and jesper is a close runner up for understanding how acronyms work. great scenes across the board though

surprised that *almost* everyone answered well on the overrated 2021 q, less surprised that yolo and neek once again proved their runt credentials

Sunnyvale
03.02.22
Oh, this is up now!

No physical round tables were used in the making of this blog post...



SteakByrnes
03.02.22
can't believe i wasn't invited

Purpl3Spartan
03.02.22
Smh

Dedes
03.02.22
Turnpike Troubadours mention hell yeah brother!
Ive never spoke to you Mathias but a man who jams turnpike is a friend of mine.
Also love these contrib interviews. Really puts the person behind the screen on a brilliant display.

MiloRuggles
03.02.22
Fun read nice stuff
Stop derailing my One Man 2021 Hype Train pls. This includes you Johnny

bgillesp
03.02.22
Lol, the prog section killed me. Fun read

FR33L0RD
03.02.22
Fun read, interesting stuff in there.

Gnocchi
03.02.22
Smashing

Sowing
03.02.22
This is an outstanding feature with a ton of really good questions and even better answers. Nicely done to all involved!

insomniac15
03.02.22
Fun read haha

dedex
03.02.22
woo it's live! Mega thanks to garas for actually starting this, to all the contribabes, and to Jom for politely asking us to hurry up and finish this thang

Bedex
03.02.22
what a cute way to start my mornin'!

JesperL
03.02.22
hell yeah this was fun, shoutout to garas for the orchestration :]

someone
03.02.22
Jesper is Sputnik's own Rich Evans

Pheromone
03.02.22
wow this is the FIRST i am hearing about this

someone
03.02.22
im trying to come up with a joke about the contributors that didnt partake in the roundtable

call them squaretable or sth

Koris
03.02.22
Hi Phero!

garas
03.02.22
> FIRST i am hearing about this
Liar! Btw, thanks everyone making this possible. Also I barely did anything, just had an idea and here we are~

garas
03.02.22
And the many-many layers of "also" and the captions made me chuckle, hahaha!

Pheromone
03.02.22
love u garas, love this all

SteakByrnes
03.02.22
when is the user squaretable

Pheromone
03.02.22
where is the emeritus justjoe

Demon of the Fall
03.03.22
neeka and garas with the bad 2021 takes, those two are both easy top 5 releases :-(

the rest were pretty accurate

Good read overall though, cheers!

Demon of the Fall
03.03.22
and far too many people picked Rush, lol

Trifolium
03.03.22
I
Love
This!!!

Demon of the Fall
03.03.22
…like put some respect on King Crimson’s name contribs

Kompys2000
03.03.22
Oh hey this is up! Was a lot of fun, thank u fellow contribabes

Uzumaki
03.04.22
Fun little read here, nice stuff.

neekafat
03.12.22
"runt" credentials?? >:(

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