Here’s What’s Wrong With A Lot of Music Blogs and Podcasts
The Grey Estates is giving female and non-binary artists the space they deserve.
Welcome to PodFodder, where I talk to the people behind podcasts about why they created their podcasts. Yeah. Cool. Let’s get into it.
Today I’m talking with Lauren Rearick, who’s making great music media happen as part of her project called The Grey Estates, which includes a podcast and a blog. What makes the project particularly important is that Lauren and her podcasting partner Noah Jacobs specifically interview female and non-binary artists, who are often overlooked in the male-dominated industry.
You can check out The Grey Estate here, subscribe to their podcast here, give ’em a like on Facebook here, and follow them on Twitter here.
Below, Lauren and I talk about interviewing people who sound like they’re in a goddamn wind tunnel, asking bands for recipes, and building up an influential indie music blog.
The Queue: I know with the Grey Estates that the podcast is just one part of this blog you do. Can you talk a little bit about how your blog (and your site in general) got started?
Lauren Rearick: I would say I was in a really similar situation to why you started The Queue. I wanted to write about music and do music reviews, and I had done it for other sites, but I felt like there was more I wanted to do and I wanted to highlight more female and non-binary acts. I wanted it to be less about getting traffic and highlighting news and more about being able to highlight artists that you might not always hear about. So I kind of started it with that purpose in mind, and it was just something I always wanted to do, so I was like, “I should just do this and see how it goes.” It’s been really fun and it’s turned out really well, so I’ve kept at it.
TQ: Why start a podcast?
LR: It was something I always wanted to do, and I thought there were a lot of music podcasts, but again, I felt a lot of the voices were men, or I felt traditional interviews just weren’t fun. I asked my friend Noah, because he had done podcasting in the past, if he would want to do it with me, and we just went in with this idea of talking to our heroes about music and serious stuff, but then also really fun stuff, and getting to know them as both a person and an artist.
TQ: I feel like there’s a difference between a good band and one [who] gives a good interview. How do you select who you work with?
LR: A lot of them are artists that we find that we love. Some of them are artists that we were both like, “I’ve always wanted to interview this person; let’s just see if they’ll let us.” We’ve had some interviews where people are just not into it, or it just wasn’t what we expected, and those ones you kind of have to just [soldier] on anyway and try to get it to be what it was. Mainly it’s just finding the bands that we love, or some people have approached us about being on it, which is always cool.
TQ: What are some of the challenges that come with podcasting? If you want, you can talk more specifically about music podcasting.
LR: One of the biggest challenges that we have is — well, first it’s scheduling, because bands are on the road, or they have these really limited time frames, so for us it’s being able to set aside a time to really have a good interview so that it’s not rushed. We also have had ones in the past where the audio doesn’t turn out, or once we accidentally lost one, and you can’t do anything about that.
Probably the biggest challenge is bands don’t have the same schedule as other people. They have to work at night, and they’re sleeping during the day when we’re ready to interview, so it’s just being able to find people that are open to it and have the time. But we haven’t had much trouble with that so far.
TQ: Are there any more logistical challenges or fun nightmare stories?
LR: We did one interview, and I was really excited because it was this artist that I just really wanted to interview a lot, and we did it and throughout the interview it sounded like they were in a tornado. It was just really windy where they were, and you can’t tell them, like, “Hey, the weather’s kind of…we can’t really hear you,” because there wasn’t much they could do.
We still haven’t aired the interview because it’s just really bad. We joke about it all the time, but we were both so disappointed because it was like, “Aw, I think they’re outside.”
TQ: It’s always fun when people forget that audio quality matters for things. On the flip side of challenges, what do you think makes a great music podcast?
LR: Even now that I have a podcast, I am very particular about the podcasts I listen to because I think I have a really short attention span. When I listen, there are some podcasts where I don’t even know what they’re saying; they’re just talking and it’s boring.
So for me, I wanted to make this something that I would want to listen to. Obviously it isn’t going to be like Serial, or like we’re solving a mystery, but I wanted it to be like if I was going to be sitting down with somebody who I really admire and my friends could listen and feel like they were part of the conversation. So just something that’s fun and you look forward to listening to it, as opposed to, I don’t know, some podcasts I can’t get through, or it’s boring. So making a podcast that I myself would really love and want to be into.
TQ: I was interested in what you were talking about earlier with what the music journalism industry looks like. Other than being very male-centric in terms of both writers and acts that are covered, what do you see being some of the issues of that industry?
LR: When I first started, and it’s something that I still think is a problem, there are music sites that are driven by advertisements. Of course, you have to make money, but I think there are reviews that are like, “Because this band is advertising on our site, we have to write about them and it has to be a good review.” So it’s not really highlighting artists that you genuinely love or that you stand behind.
I do think the male-centric thing is an issue because a lot of people have a lot of interesting things to say, and people that may not even think they’re a writer or that their voice matters should have the opportunity to at least have a platform they can share on and engage with.
I also think a lot of sites are so big and their reviews can be so negative that you read and you’re like, “This isn’t fun for anyone.” [They bash] on a band or [make it feel] like it’s a bigger thing than what you can even be a part of. So I think having a site that’s relatable and open and one that anyone, even if you’re not a writer, can contribute to and like and listen to [is important].
TQ: That was something I really like when I was going through the Grey Estates; it’s a very positive site. I think that’s an ongoing struggle, that criticism can be good, that it doesn’t have to be such a drag. What’s your band recommendation of the moment? Doesn’t have to be your favorite, just something you’ve listened to recently and loved.
LR: I’m really into this band called Mommy Long Legs from Seattle. They make this really fun, sort of bratty punk that’s not serious at all but it’s perfect for summer.
TQ: What are you hoping to do with the Grey Estates in the future?
LR: Ideally I’d love to see it continue to grow. I think it’s been a really good thing in a similar sense to what you’re doing with your site, where I have an idea and it doesn’t seem to fit anywhere and I don’t know where to go with this, so I’m just gonna try it out. We just started getting recipes from bands, because I love Chopped, so I was like, let’s just try this. I’d love to see it continue to grow as a place for my ideas and others to have a voice. I take it day by day.
Transcription provided by Shea Fitzpatrick.
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