THE JOHN’S MUSIC BLOG ONE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

A VERY SPECIAL BLOG POST

Quick Note: My “Underdog Pop” project RUSTBELT put out a new single today. It’s called “Running Thru The Rave” and it’s about, roughly speaking, my time as a kid touring the “bloghouse” circuit. I wrote it over four years ago, and it’s finally out. Listen here. 

It’s hard to believe that I have done two posts a week for an entire year. It’s even harder to understand why. Here I am—John, of John’s Music Blog—one year older, no wiser, but still blogging. Welcome to The John’s Music Blog One-Year Anniversary Celebration. 

I plan on keeping the blog and its archives free for the foreseeable future. Since we’ve hit the one-year point, though, I figured I would do a very special one-off crowdfunding drive, just in case any of you have been rocking with the blog hard enough that you want to show some monetary support. My goal is to make enough dough to take my girl out to Ruth’s Chris.  

$5+ Fan Of The Blog

Five bucks is not nothing. That’s hot coffee and a donut. That’s what’s up. As a thank you, I’ll send over a pretty arbitrary list of 20 of my favorite songs.

$20+ Friend Of The Blog

If you’ve really enjoyed what I’ve been blogging, why not step up to tier two? I’ll send you that list and then a single song I think you might enjoy. Simply hit me with an email and tell me a little bit about yourself.

$50+ You Are Out Of Your Goddamn Mind And That’s Sick

All you big dog pitbulls out there will be rewarded with two lists: I’ll also make a custom 20-song one based on, again, you telling me a little bit about yourself and the kind of music you like. I will aim to surprise, delight, and infuriate. It will be an unforgettable journey, and you will have paid for most of my sides at Ruth’s Chris.

If you want to throw me a bone and get a prize, reply to this or hit jchiaverina at gmail dot com, and we can take it from there. For anyone who has ever replied to the blog over the past year, I’m sorry—I rarely check the attached account. That changes today. 

Now, a look back at the first year of John’s Music Blog…

Outside of just trying to write the kind of stuff I would be excited to read, one of my main goals with John’s Music Blog has been to, in my own small way, both zoom in and out on whatever music means in 2023. That has meant doing hyper-detailed interviews with rave DJs, but also going to Dunkin’ Donuts and writing about whatever is coming out of the speakers. It’s meant talking about fucked-up streaming playlists, old YouTube videos, jam bands, and Bruce Springsteen. My interests are confusing.

The interview archive has gotten pretty deep. I’ve chatted with people from my hometown of Milwaukee, notably some of the most exciting rappers to ever come out of the city (AyooLii, Certified Trapper); DJ Shawna, the in-house DJ for the Milwaukee Bucks; and Graham Hunt, who wrote the best pop rock song of the year. Outside of that, I’ve spoken with punks (Blu Anxxiety, Judy And The Jerks) and hardcore rave DJs—both legends (Doormouse) and new school (Lexxy Jax, Kilbourne)—and I’ve spoken with a band that blends those two worlds (Machine Girl). I’ve chopped it up with Fat Tony about his tour supporting Wheatus and Kid Cut Up about his many tours supporting P!nk. I talked to the African country duo Dusty & Stones. I did an early interview with The Dare. I feel like I’m just scratching the surface here. Again, if I found this archive, I would be siked to dive in.

Then there’s the other recurring features. There’s Public Listening, where I go to retail spaces (H&M, Walmart, Chili’s) and pay a lot of attention to music that was not meant to be paid attention to. There’s Streaming Madness, where I “try to make sense of the algorithm” (just kidding). There’s Jam Band Chronicles, where I try to make sense of jam bands (not kidding). For John’s Guide, I’ve tackled bloghouse and Baltimore club; for John’s Concert Collection—these names are really stupid—I’ve touched on 2000s American noise music and a punk festival from over 20 years ago. Then, of course, every week I throw five songs and a DJ mix into the world.

There is nothing definitive about John’s Music Blog. I’m just one aging millennial hipster stumbling through the chaos and wreckage that is music on the internet, occasionally making contact with something great. I’m too old to be entrenched in a music community, but I’m still interested in a lot of them. Though I’m embarrassed to say it, I still care about new music—the landscape feels ecstatic and absurd in equal measure, and I want to document it in good faith. Thank you for reading John’s Music Blog.