Readers:
We want to tell you about music that we love.
Some of that music is fresh out of the creative birth canal, warbling it's first tender cries into the ether. Some of that music has been sitting in the bins at your local record store for some time now, waiting for you to open your ears and soul to it. New and emerging music is not an easy thing to find these days. Typing the word "indie" into Google prompts thousands of blogs, review engines, advertisements, and, in general, tiresomely thick muck.
Additionally, the three of us have grown frustrated with pretension. It's not a secret that rock critics know their juice. Listen, we're all friends here. We're all in search of the same thing, and that's the fun of being ahead of the curve and enjoying new music. Further, critically, we're not trying to impress you. We don't smoke clove cigarettes and we own un-ironic t-shirts. We'd like it if you think we're cool, but we'll be happier if you think we have decent taste. Citizendick.org is here to cut out much of the middle-man confusion of pretentious rock reviews and tricky searching. If you see something on our site, it means we like it. Plain and simple. All of this music will come with our stamp of approval. Consider us your personal shopper for music that rocks.
Our ears are good. We are three guys with extremely different backgrounds, interests, and tastes. We are two teachers and a marketing director. One is a musician, two are avid readers and all of us have trekked across northern Canada in search of walrus pelts. We don't like the same things, and, in fact, disagree often on the merits of emerging music and artists. Through our reviews, you will see our differing styles, and this internal struggle will be a boon for you; we're all over the map, so you're likely to agree with at least one of us most of the time. Each of us will be maintaining this site regularly, in our own particular way.
In addition to thorough monthly album reviews of emerging music, we will also review live shows we attend, as well as a provide a unique look into concert venues. Whether it's the pristine, church-like atmosphere of Asbury Hall in Buffalo, NY, or the grungy and retro Beachland Ballroom in Cleveland, we will review places where music is happening all around the country. Each month, our posts will be well-thought out, well-researched, and cutting edge; we do, of course, reserve the right to define what "well thought-out" means. Also, sometimes we'll be butter-knife edge; while we'll focus on bands that are new to us and the world, we won't leave bands out of our thoughts just because they're successful (we're looking right at you, My Morning Jacket). We will spare you the pretentious hype and the annoyingly pompous slams of new albums. We stick to raves here at citizendick, and we will be your filter for all things cool in the music world.
Another unique side to our site is our "Vault." This will be a work in progress to keep an eye on. We will review our old favorites as we have the time. Our primary goal will be to focus on keeping you up to speed with what is happening, but our vault section will be completely fair game. Any music we enjoy is subject to review. Never got to listen to Junkyard's debut album? Well, we have you covered.
We will tell you about music that will make you a better person. Likewise, we will tell you about music that will make you a worse person, but in a good way (Sometimes you need music for planting flowers, sometimes you need music for punching faces. We get it.) We like guitars. We like bluesy hooks and dark and dreary sludge. We appreciate smaller, independent labels and the freshness they bring to the music scene. We will clue you in on what labels are working and what new bands are coming. We'll stay five feet ahead of everyone so that you can come to our site for your goods. We will give you what you need.
This is our pledge.
