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Hello and welcome back to our ongoing sexification of Staff past and present and hopefully present-and-future by way of deep-diving casual-reading power-lifting interview posi-sharking antics: Sputnik’s very own Meet the Spartans. Steel yourself as impossible questions are posed and the Staffers you wish you’d had the courage or attention span to acknowledge surpass your wildest expectations.

Today we speak to an old hand, a hand so seasoned and so shrewd that I was frankly at a loss as to where to start with him. How do you attempt to grill an entity for whom your imagination can conceive neither beginning nor end. It’s like interviewing God, but not – for he is no God,  just a chill dude who, in his time, has written more reviews than you will ever read and deleted more than you will ever write. His presence still casts a long shadow over the site as we know it today, and so please give a hero’s welcome to: mynameischan! 

Channing Freeman. Settle, baby. What’s up, how are you?

Pretty good, thanks for asking. Going through some health issues that are yet to be diagnosed, but we’re getting there.

Yikes, hope that worked out okay! How was your Christmas?

Very quiet and uneventful. We sold our condo and bought a house this year, so presents were light given the amount of money that we’ve been putting into the new property. 

What’s the best-received present you’ve ever given?

You’re probably talking about Christmas, but I indulged in the cliche of giving an engagement ring on Valentine’s Day last year, and that was well-received. 

Congratulations! Huge tidings! Now, your history of contributions to Sputnik is spread over enough years for a succulent autobiography; I’ll be damned if we don’t give it one! Could you give us a whistle-stop tour of your site tenure from digestible, semi-arbitrary Era to Era?

2006-2008

Sputnik was my life during this period. I was a teenager going through a rough time, and the site provided a sense of community for me when I desperately needed it. In the summer of 2006, the site was constantly down. I and some others (John Hanson, Zach Savage, etc.) would talk on AIM all day and constantly refresh the site. In the few precious moments that it was up, all of the comments would be from us. It really felt like we were keeping Sputnik alive. The forums were also much more active during this time. Now, they’re a ghost town with only a few fascists left to post about the trans scourge or whatever. 

delete this

2009-2012

Definitely a very productive time for me. The infamous Brand New re-write stemmed from this period. The first had about 3,000 comments, which, at the time, was the most on the site. Now the re-write has like 30,000. User morrissey commented on my Titus Andronicus review and said I was a good writer, which seemed like a really big deal to me at the time because she only commented like 3 times after 2006-07 or so. 

This was also, if I’m remembering correctly, when the Staff Blog feature was introduced. I thought it might be cool to have a regular column that I called Chan’s Plans. There are probably still people on the site who think I’m annoying because of some of those pieces. I’ve since deleted all of them. One of them was about Hayley Williams’s leaked nudes. I don’t remember exactly what it said, but let’s just say there’s a reason I deleted them all. 

What To Do When There Is An Emergency Leak In Your House? – Gawin

I was a moderator for a short time around 2012. I remember getting the job basically just by asking for it and saying that I was omnipresent and would do a good job monitoring the site because I always read all the comments. Not too long after the promotion, I started using the site a lot less, unfortunately. So that didn’t last long, but it was fun to post in the ban thread. If the moaropeth tumblr is still alive, you can see some of my posts there.

2013-2015

✓ no basketball icon free vector eps, cdr, ai, svg vector illustration graphic art

The timeline is fuzzy, but MichaelJordan popped up around this time. When he first started using the site, he would praise people like me and John Hanson, but at some point took this turn and became obsessed with following me around and insulting everything I did. I had faced plenty of criticism on the site before, but not like this. I’m ashamed to say that it got to me and basically made me leave the site for several years. It was probably good for me to get away for a while anyway, but I shouldn’t have let it have such an effect on me. 

2016-2018

delete this2

I still visited the site from time to time, but I didn’t write a review for three years (and prior to that, only wrote one during the preceding year). What brought me back was seeing the 2017 year-end Staff list. I realized that I really missed contributing to stuff like that and using it to discover new music. I finally wrote another review in 2018. The plan was to write that review, delete all my comments, and not comment/write anymore. But I realized that I really missed reviewing. I asked to be made staff again and had a really productive few years.

2019-present

Eventually, I started to feel like I had plateaued with my writing, at least when it came to music reviews. That’s not to say that my last several reviews are amazing or something like that; I just mean that I felt I had reached the limit of my ability to do something new or interesting with an album review. 

delete this

We’ve heard a bit from other old-timers about the past and present of Sputnik as a community site, so let’s flip the script a little for you: have you witnessed any notable shifts in the Staff team since you signed up to it, in any sense worth mentioning?

The biggest difference that comes to mind is that everyone is much nicer than they were when I first became Staff. There was a lot of enmity toward new staff members back when I was first promoted, or maybe there was just enmity toward me because guys like pixiesfanyo and DFelon hated me. Regardless, the current staff/emeritus pool is super friendly and welcoming. 

As far as tastes go, I think the lists have just become a lot more diverse than they were back in the late 2000s/early 2010s. Even though Sputnik has always been viewed as a metal-centric site, that wasn’t necessarily reflected in the staff writing. Now it is, but instead of the lists being overwhelmed with metal picks, there’s a nice balance. 

Would you recommend becoming an Emeritus? Was it worth 15 years of cybersweat?

I have been labeled as Emeritus a few times, and it is definitely worth it. It’s great to still have access to Olympus and to be allowed to participate in year-end list-making. On the review side, I do miss being able to feature users’ lists since I like reading them so much, but I also know that I could simply ask to be made Staff again if I ever wanted it. 

When you joined the site, who did you see yourself as writing for, and how did that change over time?

That’s a great question. I can distinctly remember trying to write reviews that would “please everyone” and not generate any negative comments. Basically, that meant that I would try to do what everyone else was doing on Sputnik in 2006. I was really young and wanted people to think I was cool and knowledgeable. Most of those reviews are gone now, which is why the Godspeed F# review is the first one you can find on my profile. After a while, I started writing for myself instead. Writing became a personal project, as it must be. And because Sputnik had been such a pillar in my life, had really saved me in many ways, some of my reviews became very personal, very confessional, and I thought that was okay because I saw the Sputnik community as a family. 

delete this2I know I already talked about this, but the best illustration of this transition was when I had my original Brand New review deleted. It was very long and descriptive, probably mentioning every single song on the album. People really liked it, but after some time passed, I felt like it didn’t really represent how the record made me feel, so I wrote something that summed it up, at least at the time. Some loved it, many others hated it. As recently as last week, commenters (including this interviewer) were making fun of it in the comments. But I’m just glad that people are still reading it. I feel like it’s rare for a review on this website to still be frequently read after 10 years. Even if people are just reading it to post quotes they think are silly, that’s okay. Reading is a personal project, too.

Touché. Final question of the history chapter, and perhaps the most important: do you feel like this site has taught you anything you’d never have learned otherwise?

I don’t know if I can say I wouldn’t have learned it, but Sputnik absolutely taught me how to deal with online criticism/hate. It was a hard lesson to learn, and I had to step away for a few years before I really got it. Other than that, I grew so much as a writer because of this site, and I’ll always be grateful for that. 

I think perhaps my favourite piece you’ve written here is still your review for Laura Stevenson’s The Big Freeze. Ever since Sit Resist, Laura Stevenson’s hype and traction have always been things I associate strongly with Sputnik specifically, and yours is always the first name to jump out when I think of them. Setting modesty aside for a moment, do you feel like you “pioneered” her within and beyond our smelly online pocket, or like you were just one of many on the ball over a good thing? To what degree do you think her traction here really is/was site-specific?

Laura Stevenson: The Big Freeze Album Review | PitchforkWhen I signed up for her Patreon, Laura told me that my reviews, especially the Sit Resist review, had meant a lot to her during a time when she felt like nobody cared about her. So I suppose I did “pioneer” her in a way, but only because I’m the one who ended up writing a popular review before anyone else got to it. I have to give credit to Adam Thomas (redskyformiles) who introduced me to her Holy Ghost! EP and to theacademy (real name unknown) because he posted the “Master of Art” music video on Tumblr at some point, which is when I became obsessed with her. And he wrote such an amazing piece for The Big Freeze when it was our album of the year.

And I do think this is site-specific because I don’t know of any other online communities where she is as well-known. The Big Freeze winning the Staff album of the year was a shock even for me. She has been so highly regarded on Sputnik for so long that there is now a big anti-hype machine every time she releases an album. That’s usually reserved for much bigger artists. 

You stated in your Big Freeze review that the future once seemed to belong to Laura Stevenson, even if the public wound up handing it to a different batch of artists. Who would you say the future belongs to now?

無題I wish this wasn’t the answer, but Phoebe Bridgers. Once you become the only woman with a full-verse feature on a Taylor Swift song, you’re clearly the future. I don’t have high hopes for her next record, though. If I went back and reviewed Punisher again, I’d give it a 2.5.

delete thisLet’s go back to the time of your 3.2-scored Taylor Swift – Folklore review and subsequent hatemobbing. I can’t recall if anyone on Sput had previously received this kind of treatment from defenders of a major artist, but this was certainly the first occasion that stuck with me. 

How much of a surprise was this to you, how seriously do you think we should treat these kinds of militarised fandoms, and do you think this is something that will spread down the ladder to big name artists of large but slightly lower popularity than Swift or Lana del Rey?

It was definitely a surprise to me and was my first personal experience with stan culture. I really love Taylor Swift’s music and complimented her highly even in reviews with middling scores, so to receive death threats from her fans was very surreal. Actually, let me clarify: I never personally got any death threats. I don’t have any social media, so there were just a lot of people on Twitter saying they wished they could find me so that they could kill me. My partner did a lot of tweet-reporting, and I understand that most of them were banned. 

I’ve spent enough time online to know not to take most of that stuff seriously, but I’m not naive enough to think that we shouldn’t still worry about it. You never know what someone is willing to do, and the increasing prevalence of parasocial relationships is only going to make things worse because they think you’re insulting their best friend. That said, I don’t see it spreading beyond the really big-name artists like Taylor, Ariana, Beyoncé, etc. 

As used to be remarked on a monthly-ish basis, your music taste is enjoyably diverse. This leads me to make colourful assumptions about the push and pull of its many constituent microorganisms – do you tend to go through distinct day/week-long “phases” for particular styles, or are you in a constant state of anything-goes? What external factor would you say has the most bearing on what you want from music at whichever point?

The blessing and curse of being a part of an online music community is always feeling like you haven’t heard enough music, and that has always been my primary motivator. Especially in the beginning of the year, I spend a lot of time making lists of albums that I either haven’t heard or ones that I heard once or halfway a long time ago and never went back to. Right now, my Spotify library is full of albums from Chelsea Wolfe, Owen, PJ Harvey, Nick Cave, Enslaved, Alcest, and Propagandhi. These are well-known artists, but they all have albums that I never got around to hearing, or I have Sputnik ratings from 10 years ago that weren’t fair and need to be adjusted. Like everything else in my life, I see music as an opportunity to be a better, more well-rounded person, and I know I’ll never be finished with that. 

Are you much of a playlist guy? Tell us how you build a mix if so!

I try to use playlists to discover new music. So I will make a giant playlist called, like, “Death Metal” and fill it with a bunch of death metal albums I haven’t heard yet. Other than that, I have one really big playlist called “In the Car” that I will edit with various descriptors each time I make major changes. Right now, it’s “In the Car Reloaded”. I also make a new playlist every year for my partner with new songs from that year. 

What was the last concert you attended, and what will be the next? Check Out Photos from Decibel Metal & Beer Fest 2021 | Features | No Echo

I was able to go to the Decibel Metal & Beer Fest earlier this year thanks to Alex Robertson. Converge, Pig Destroyer, Immolation, etc. That’s the only COVID-era concert I’ve been to. I don’t know what the next one will be – maybe Pinegrove later this year? Honestly, live concerts are probably going to stop being a thing since COVID is never going away and the next pandemic is probably only a few years away.

Which were the first and most recent pieces of music to move you to tears?

This used to happen to me all the time, but it’s probably been years since the last one, so I’m not sure about the most recent. The first time I heard Thrice’s “Night Diving” transition into “The Whaler”, I teared up. I can also remember tearing up while listening to Summoning’s “Land of the Dead”. 

Do you have a dream roadtrip (and have you already taken it)? Where are you going, what are you drinking, who are you listening to?

This is such a bland answer coming from an American, but I’ve only been as far west as Texas, so I’d love to take a summer off and drive across the country once in my life with a giant playlist of singalong songs. I’ll drink whatever’s put in front of me.

Please put together a group of 3-4 current Staffers who must not under any circumstances go on a roadtrip together on compassionate grounds (you decide which ones).

I don’t have the best grasp of everyone’s personalities these days, but from what I’ve seen, Johnny and Jom should maybe not be in an enclosed space together. Speaking of Johnny, I get him and Jots confused, but I don’t know if that means they should or shouldn’t go on a trip together. And Sowing shouldn’t go with anyone because then they would know his real name and what he looks like, and he’s very protective of his personal life. 

Ouch – roadtrip with Jom is going straight on my bucket list, even if it can only end with me unwittingly vexing him into ejecting me from the vehicle. 

Anyway, what’s an overlooked piece of advice that everyone should follow?

10 FACEBOOK Things That Make The Baby Jesus Cry | Mark SandlinIf we’re talking about reviews, you don’t have to mention specific songs. I think everyone should try to write at least one review without mentioning a song title. 

If we’re not talking about reviews, then I’m going to be a scold and say that everyone should delete all their social media apps. 

What’s an over-circulated piece of advice that no-one should follow?

“Save your money.” I mean, you should save some if you can. But come on, none of us is retiring, so you might as well spend what you can on things you enjoy.

Set your brain on the following:

Elden Ring

Without exaggeration, I have never been so excited for something in my life.

Belvedere

Their 2021 album didn’t make my list, but I enjoyed it.

DJ Sabrina the Teenage DJ

Maybe I’ll check her out now that I know she exists. 

(500) Days Of Summer

It’s weird that Avi Arad watched this movie and thought that Marc Webb should direct the next era of Spider-Man films. That said, (500) Days of Summer did meet me where I was in my life at the time, and it spoke to me. I haven’t seen it since, but I remember it fondly for helping me realize that I, like JGL’s character, was romanticizing and idealizing a relationship that was not working.

Foie gras

I assume it’s delicious?

Brexit

There is a genuine leftist argument for leaving the neoliberal EU, so it’s a shame that Brexit was instead initiated and carried out by reactionary right-wing forces.

Tom MacDonald

Is this referring to the Canadian rapper that I just googled? If he’s happy, I’m happy.

Mistletoe 

Never a part of any Christmas decorations I’ve been around, unfortunately. 

Did you have a New Year’s resolution?

delete this2My partner and I made a spreadsheet of about 250 movies to watch, so we’ve been working through that. We rate each movie after viewing, so it’s a decidedly Sputnik-like endeavor. Yes, folks, I’ve finally seen Citizen Kane, and it’s a 9/10. I also, after years of ogling them at Barnes and Noble, finally started my Criterion collection (Criterion Collection collection?), so I’ll continue to build that up throughout the year. 

Anything else you’d like to add?

First, I can’t imagine how time-consuming it is to come up with unique and detailed questions for each individual you interview, so thank you for putting in so much effort. Otherwise, I just want to say that although “my” era of Sputnik is gone, it’s still a really fun site to visit. And even if I never commented again or wrote another review, I’d still use the site for its ultimate purpose: to find new music. I hope the site lives forever. 

Amen to that! Thank you so much for your time.

…and thank you for your readership! Please stay tuned for our next instalment.

 

Previously on Staff Wars:

DewingedDrGonzoTreborXenophanesSowingWinesburgohioPonBlushfulHippocreneNoctemynameischan

 





JohnnyoftheWell
02.01.22
Sorry this took forever to get up, will try to be faster on these this month!!

Dewinged
02.01.22
This was a pleasure to read. Chan is a legend. You also carried the interview nicely Johnny, so props to both!

Trifolium
02.01.22
What a nice read! Thanks to the both of you, this was a good accompaniment to my breakfast.

granitenotebook
02.01.22
good interview, very interesting throughout

BlushfulHippocrene
02.01.22
This is massive and easily one of my favourites so far.

MiloRuggles
02.01.22
Yo, this is awesome (particularly for somebody who's a little shady on site history!). I remember linking that TDAG rereview to a bunch of mates when I first read it.
>“Save your money.” I mean, you should save some if you can. But come on, none of us is retiring, so you might as well spend what you can on things you enjoy.
yesyesyes

garas
02.01.22
Good read! Thank you.

Winsomniac
02.01.22
Oh Chan does stuff here again, cool.

Winesburgohio
02.01.22
wonderful!

Pheromone
02.01.22
This was great! Like many, Chan's TDAG review got me onto the site - miss that weakerthans review though bleh bleh



Rowan5215
02.01.22
"It’s weird that Avi Arad watched this movie and thought that Marc Webb should direct the next era of Spider-Man films"

I will never not be convinced dude was chosen because of the web pun that is his last name, and not literally any qualification that might make someone suitable to direct a spiderman movie. lord that was a dark era

oh and great read

Pheromone
02.01.22
is rowan next is rowan next

JohnnyoftheWell
02.01.22
rowan r u next?

dedex
02.01.22
Once again, a splendid read. Thanks gang woo woo!

Gnocchi
02.01.22
rowan r u next? [2]

Pangea
02.01.22
great read!

Voivod
02.01.22
Great read, the review of Far from Regina Spektor was the first thing I read when I came here.

Sowing
02.01.22
This is my favorite interview yet (aside from learning about the health issues which are hopefully not too serious). Chan may or may not already know that he's the reason I joined this site, and I craved his approval especially early on. I knew he was arguably the best writer on the website and he also had a way of levying criticism that was fair and humorous but also potentially humiliating; I wouldn't say I feared his feedback but I took notice when I'd see his name pop up on one of my threads. I'd definitely say he made me a better writer. Nowadays I still regard him as one of my favorite reviewers and also as an invaluable source of information regarding the site's history. Congrats on the engagement, by the way, that's awesome.

Uzumaki
02.01.22
Delightful read, all around. Does Chan Letterboxd?

NOTINTHEFACE
02.01.22
Back in the day I would skim most of what was going on here, but I would always make a point to read most of chan's reviews. They were always so fun to read even if I wasn't interested in ever hearing the music they were about. Usually it did make me want to hear it, and so I guess you could say that Mr. Freeman has had an outsized influence on my taste. Speaking for your clade of lurker-simps (there are dozens of us!), it's awesome that you're still around these parts chan!

Also I totally forgot about the MichaelJordan debacle. Good lord.

SteakByrnes
02.01.22
Hey I'm in this ! Chan is good and cool

Pheromone
02.01.22
interview steak next

robertsona
02.01.22
this is GAWJEOUS and appreciate the shoutout

Sunnyvale
02.01.22
Nice, another good one!

Atari
02.01.22
Chan is a beautiful soul



brainmelter
02.01.22
nice read
interview steak next[2]

mynameischan
02.02.22
This was a real pleasure. Thank you Johnny. And thanks to everyone for the nice remarks :)

ArsMoriendi
02.02.22
nice read

More formal than others?

Ryus
02.02.22
"Is this referring to the Canadian rapper that I just googled? If he’s happy, I’m happy."

chan is cancelled

plane
02.02.22
This is the one. The legend.

WatchItExplode
02.02.22
Absolute legend

Transient
02.03.22
I still remember those AIM days fondly.

Willie
02.03.22
Excellent interview. They just keep getting better and better.

joshuatree
02.03.22
This was a great read. Hope you’re doing well Chan

toxin.
02.03.22
This is the first time I've thought about Laura Stevenson since I quit using Sputnik, lol. I don't think I realized she wasn't actually popular outside Sputnik until now

SitarHero
02.03.22
Chan is a legend [2]

Crazy that he was getting actual death threats over the TSwift review.

AsleepInTheBack
02.03.22
Thank you both, great read.

Don't believe we've ever spoken/interacted, but Chan (like Sow) was one of the reasons I started writing music reviews in the first place. Excellent, eclectic inspirational writer and part of the heart and soul and history of the site, obvs.

Klekticist
02.06.22
hi chan i rmb u from back when caleb hung out on here

dunno if we rly ever chatted tho

glad ur still around

Emim
02.06.22
Favorite chan-related memory is Haley Williams leaked photo with chan's face shopped over the relevant protuberances

neekafat
02.06.22
relevant protuberances lmaooo

klap
02.06.22
truly blessed

JWT155
02.07.22
Cool segment, glad to see a lot of the old guard still around and their successes outside of the site.

hxciluvatarhxc
02.11.22
i love chan more than 95% of thing tbh

Slex
02.11.22
[2]

He's the best of us, bless him

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