I logged onto my Myspace account the other day. I was talking to my sister recently about how Myspace used to be the best way for connecting with artists. It was how I discovered bands like “Marianas Trench”, “The Pink Spiders”, “Faber Drive” and “Elliot Minor”. As a sixteen year old nothing was cooler than spending time after school on Myspace tracking down new and upcoming bands. And NOTHING was more exciting than when said band commented or messaged you back. It was like Facebook for talent. Instead of waking up to your aunt leaving a comment on your wall, it was “The Trews” or “The Used”. There was something really thrilling about having this page where you could show off your conversations to the public (AND I’M GUTTED WE CAN’T REQUEST OUR OLD COMMENT WALL AND MESSAGES). And I was thinking about how much more beneficial Myspace was for new bands.
I tweeted about “Attica Riots” a couple weeks ago (I’ll post a separate blog about them) and they replied to my comment with something obviously witty, because it’s “Attica Riots”. I was thinking about how few people would actually see that reply, because you’d have to actively track it down. There is no wall shrine for bands to post on. Yeah, I get messages all the time on Twitter from bands wanting me to check out their music, but it’s not as exciting when you can’t visit a friend’s page and see, right in front of you, all their favourite artists. Maybe it’s just because I’m such a big music fan and associate the music a person listens to as part of their identity, but that doesn’t make me any less bitter about it. I’m so much less likely to use Twitter as a means for discovering new music. Something about visiting a band’s page and having to click on an external link that takes you out of Twitter entirely is obnoxious to me.
On Myspace I’d visit a friend’s page and scan their top friends list for bands I’d never heard of. Or I’d quickly scroll through their comments to find band banners or responses. Click. Listen to the music on that band’s page and then click on another band from their page. It was this never-ending music euphoria. And there are new websites and new apps for discovering music, but they seem so much more impersonal. I started attending local gigs in my late teens. Well, mainly just “Crisis Jane” (RIP) shows, but there were always a ton of other bands playing at those gigs. Like “Maximum Sixty” (RIP) or “Take Me to the Pilot” (RIP) or “The All Night” (RIP)… I’m seeing a sad trend here. And my favourite part about discovering an up and coming band was to connect with them. To say hello, discuss some of the music and to be a part of their success. I love/loved promoting my favourite bands. I’d slap banners on my page or telephone poles (once. It was a really hot day and my friend and I decided rollerblading around the neighbourhood would be fun. We. Were. Wrong.) And it was this mutual connection and community building exercise. People would form street teams via Myspace to plan meet-ups and spread the word. Like the holy gospel according to emo. (Side note: You know you’re old when you start ranting about how things used to be).
People often say Twitter is one of the best inventions for artists/actors/athletes to contact their fans but I disagree. I think Twitter is people talking AT each other. Not WITH each other. Myspace was the ‘talking with’ pioneer. Before I got to meet “Simple Plan” in person I got to message Pierre Bouvier on Myspace (you couldn’t stop me from smiling for weeks). Before anyone knew who “Marianas Trench” was I got an email from one of the band members asking me what I thought of their music (I’m a dork who actually responded to that spam email, but it did start a genuine conversation with them). I emailed bands to get permission to use their music in projects, I joined forums and met new people around the world (shout out to the cute guy named Andy on Myspace. I don’t think you were actually Australian, but my friends and I liked to giggle that you were).
I don’t think there was a real purpose for this rant. Just wanted to say I logged onto Myspace today feeling nostalgic and was infuriated that they backed up pictures, profile songs and blogs but not messages or comments. I thankfully screen-capped a lot of my favourite messages a decade ago, but RIP to the ones that I didn’t save and are now lost to the black hole that is the internet.