Comments on: Loch Lomond – Live Review & Interview From Pickathon

By: nic

nic — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:36:18 +0000

Typically, long articles about things that interested me get flagged and read at some point on the weekend when I can actually sit still and focus for 15 minutes. Short articles are easier to read whilst having a coffee break or otherwise slacking off at work.

This approach is of course completely undermined if I then go on to read the 48 comments following the short post.

By: Matthew

Matthew — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 13:38:19 +0000

That must have been a long time ago…

By: Euan

Euan — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 13:28:22 +0000

I wouldn’t read this site if it was purely banter. i started reading it cause somebody said it was a really good music blog.

By: Matthew

Matthew — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 12:50:18 +0000

Well they tend to burn less brightly but burn longer, if you know what I mean. So they may never garner the number of hits or comments that other ones do, but over the long run they probably hold their own.

I’ve talked to Kate about this and we pretty much agree on how to approach it: these things are really important to have on the site because the effort and the occasional seriousness helps to counterbalance a lot of the pissing about that happens elsewhere and keeps everything at a certain level. I wouldn’t like the site nearly as much if there wasn’t a little bit of an attempt at quality here somewhere, and I guess others might feel the same.

The other thing is of course the question of what to say on a post like this. Anything this long doesn’t really leave much room for comments apart from ‘oh, that was interesting’, whereas it’s a lot easier to participate in the threads that are a little more open-ended, and a little more based on banter and being a smart arse.

So, there we go. I think they’re important and I think they are needed to help make the site what it is, but I just have to accept that people are going to have a lot less to say about them, but that’s just in their nature. Sound about right?

By: fred

fred — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 10:30:25 +0000

I do enjoy this kind of articles as long as it’s interesting, and you are good at keeping people (me) interested. What are statistics saying about the longer ones – Are they getting read?

By: Euan

Euan — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 07:50:03 +0000

I think it’s worthwhile. I like reading about music and I like listening to new music I don’t know about. So big thumbs up from me for the time and effort put into this review. And I like the tunes here as well. I can’t quite put my finger on what it is that particularly appeals to me. It sounds old – like American civil war campfire songs or irish folk ditties or something. Or maybe that’s just in my head!

By: Dustin

Dustin — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 04:13:16 +0000

Wonderful, so good to have you in Oregon!

By: Campfires & Battlefields

Campfires & Battlefields — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 17:26:30 +0000

Well it’s certainly worthwhile to me, but I can see why you’d be reluctant to put in so much work if you think people are tuning out. Do it if you enjoy it; if it becomes a pain, stop. There you have it. Fucking Buddha, that’s me.

By: Matthew

Matthew — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 23:13:09 +0000

Cheers pal. Without wanting to sound like a moaner, these longer things never seem to get much resonse. Worthwhile or not, what d’you reckon?

By: Campfires & Battlefields

Campfires & Battlefields — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 21:34:20 +0000

Didn’t seem that long. I really hope they succeed. Touring with the Decemberists will certainly get them exposure, and from what I understand the Decemberists are very kind to their supporting bands, so they should have every opportunity to be seen in their best light. Also, the crews working their shows will have a lot of experience at helping folky types to get a sound that can fill larger venues. All bodes well.