(Or FAQ if you wish.) Everything I imagine you might want to know about this site.
I asked myself that question before creating Saucer.cc and here’s what I came up with:
I must love a record for it be listed here, and must know it well enough to fully expect to still love it in a year, or two, or five. It must strike me as exciting, exceptional, and essential. (To say more could easily get pompous… or are we already there?… and would probably be bullshit.)
Nothing, really. Take a look at my picks and see if they’re interesting, and see if you like the absence of distraction.
But to not dodge the question entirely, which sounds sort of stupid because I wrote the question, but anyway, here’s the trajectory that got me to Saucer.cc:
I’ve been obsessed with seeking out exceptional music since I was a kid in the 1960s, a habit that feels like it has given me some helpful perspective. I’ve always sought mentors who know more about music than I do, and whose tastes are more evolved than mine. (So grateful to them.)
I’ve DJ’d on WCBN, KFAI, WMUC, and KZSU, and served as KZSU Music Director for two years. I’ve worked as a live sound engineer for bands in Ann Arbor, Minneapolis, Washington, DC, and San Francisco. I ran a music news/reviews site called rockbites.org from 1997 through 2003.
The more music I learn about, the less I feel I know about music (one might say it’s bigger on the inside). I’m suspicious of self-described experts.
I find this stuff primarily by reading new release info in the following places, among others:
Also, I spend time in record shops and chat with the staff whenever I have the opportunity.
I do not accept free stuff from music public relations agents or companies.
Tough one because I’m making this up as I go. I pigeonhole every entry, e.g. Dada Pop, or Punk/Hip-hop, so scanning the 2014 list can give you an idea. Here’s an abbreviated glimpse of stuff I tend to like and include on Saucer.cc:
Stuff I don’t (or rarely) cover, mostly because I know next to nothing about it, includes… and, apologies for these overly-broad genre names:
Lossless audio, as an electronic file, is my music medium of choice for a few reasons:
Every selection listed on a Saucer.cc year page (such as Music 2014) is a solid candidate for my best-of-year list. So every selection would be rated 5/5 or 10/10, or whatever, so there’s no point in saying that over and over again with each item.
In other words, there’s no pretty-good stuff here. Only exceptional stuff.
On a best-of-year page (such as Best Music of 2013) I list entries by format (album, EP, etc.) and then alphabetically (notably, not in a ranked order) because the gloriousness I’d assign to a piece of music at a given moment varies with my mood and with what I was previously listening to. So this site categorizes and has exactly one category. Ratings are fun but ultimately they’re not for me.
So there’s no real or perceived conflict of interest. Saucer.cc does not accept review copies of music from music public relations (PR) companies. I purchase all the music listed on the site.
Yup. I designed it to be sustainable with zero income. It’s a labor of love and meant to stay that way.
I don’t have time to mediate/maintain a good comment system. Feel free to send me "@" messages at the saucerdotcc Twitter account or to email me at m u r r a y . a t . s a u c e r . d o t . c c
Yes. Please send them to m u r r a y . a t . s a u c e r . d o t . c c or send an "@" message to the saucerdotcc Twitter account.
C o n t a c t : m u r r a y . a t . s a u c e r . d o t . c c
Saucer.cc WTF by @saucer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at http://saucer.cc/music/about.html.