1. Posted on 13 December, 2012

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    There’s no membership card required for enjoying any strain of music imaginable, so don’t be afraid to approach knowledgeable enthusiasts — bloggers you like, fan communities, social-media resources, et al — and go in belly-up. ‘I barely know anything about [jazz, hip-hop, goa trance, crabcore, whatever], but I really want to learn more and discover music I’d love. Tips on getting started?’ What’s the worst that’s going to happen, really? ‘He’s expressing an interest in stuff we like! GET HIM!’

    — Stephen Thompson on learning to love music you don’t know

  2. Posted on 14 November, 2012

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    But the idea of ‘music snobbery’ is right up there with ‘guilty pleasures’ in the realm of premises that ought to be rejected out of hand. The best way to avoid alienating others with music snobbery is to reject snobbery in all its forms, just as the best way to avoid feeling embarrassed about the things you like is to embrace them, publicly and proudly; to reject the notion of embarrassment itself.

    — We have a relatively new “mail” feature and Stephen Thompson let loose this pop-bomb