One of my new favorite blogs is Ear Farm. It’s run by a nice guy named Matt. His Top 15 albums of 2005, were really strong, and I was very pleased to see the Light Footwork make it as his 6th favorite album of the year! If you haven’t had a chance to check out the Ear Farm, head there now. You can also be his friend on MySpace. Enjoy the interview, and thanks to Matt for doing this!

Matt and Joe.

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Let’s get some general background on you. Where do you live, how long, etc.

I’ve been living in New York City since July of 2001 and I grew up in Raleigh, NC. Well, to be honest I was born in Alabama then moved to Georgia then upstate NY then Connecticut then to Raleigh where I spent my ‘formative’ years.

I want get an idea of your musical taste evolution if you will. What were some of the first albums/tapes/CD’s you bought?

The first vinyl LP I bought was…well I didn’t buy it, but I forced my mom to get me Quiet Riot’s Metal Health in 1984 at a Wegman’s in Syracuse. Yes, a Quiet Riot record purchased by my mom for me at a grocery store. I also remember getting a 7″ of “Jack and Diane” for Christmas around the same time and my friends were all jealous of it. My first tape I remember getting was Run DMC’s Raising Hell and the first CD I got was another Christmas gift – Wham Make it Big.

How about some of the more recent CD’s you’ve purchased?

Yesterday I just bought the new albums from We Are Scientists and Morningwood as well as Richard Hawley’s Coles Corner and that Johnny Cash Box Set The Legend. Thanks go out to my work for getting me a gift certificate to Virgin for my birthday.

Where do you buy the majority of your records? Do you support a particular record store in your area, buy online, and if so, where?

I shop at various record stores here in NY for records/cds: Kim’s, Other Music, Rebel Rebel, Rocks in Your Head, Generations, Rockit Scientist, Virgin, etc. Kim’s is close to where I live so I go there more often I guess…oh wait, there’s iTunes too. iTunes gets me a lot because that store’s location IS where I live. In fact, I’d like to start a movement whereas all iTunes purchases made when drunk are voided after 6 hours. Thanks to iTunes I own more Huey Lewis, Genesis, and 80’s hair metal than anyone really should.

When I started listening to music, there were certain musicians that led me in the path of a lot of other bands. Did you have any similar experiences with bands growing up?

For sure: first it was Jane’s Addiction, Violent Femmes and the Velvet Underground in 1990 and then The Smiths in 1991. I dated a girl who was completely in love with The Smiths (since then The Smiths have been my favorite band for 14+ years) and that really opened my eyes and led me away from Rush and Guns ‘n Roses and, one way or another, into the land of everything that I’ve listened to since.

What are some of your favorite records of all time?

The Smiths Meat is Murder, The Beatles Abbey Road, PJ Harvey To Bring You My Love, Joy Division Unknown Pleasures, Love and Rockets Earth Sun Moon, Unicorns Who will cut our hair when we’re gone, British Sea Power The Decline of British Sea Power, Pulp This is Hardcore, The Cure Seventeen Seconds, Nine Inch Nails Broken, Suede Dog Man Star, Squirrel Nut Zippers The Inevitable. I could go on and on but each of those albums changed the way I thought about music and each really stands the test of time as something I’ll listen to first song to last, over and over.

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Any idea how many albums are in your collection?

A bunch. Roughly 1200+ cds, over 180 records, and many more on my computer.

If you could spend time with 3 musicians, who would you choose?

I’m not sure, I think most of my musical ‘heroes’ would be jerks. I’ll choose the three guys from Mancino.

I’m sure you’ve seen some great concerts. Can you tell me what the first concert you saw was and when? To follow that up, are there any particular shows that stand out in terms of being favorites?

My first concert was Poison, with Tesla opening for them, at the Dean Dome in Chapel Hill in 1989. Some of my favorites have been: Oasis at the Cat’s Cradle in 1994, NIN at Woodstock ‘94 (everyone at Woodstock really), Pink Floyd in 1994, every Morrissey concert I’ve seen (but especially the Friday night one at the Apollo in 2004 when I had dead center front row seats), Suede at the Royal Albert Hall in 1995, Squirrel Nut Zippers New Year’s show in 1995 at the Cat’s Cradle, Blur at Bowery Ballroom in 2003, and each time I see British Sea Power. Wait, also I was blown away the first time I saw The Faint, Arcade Fire, PJ Harvey, My Morning Jacket, and Radiohead.

What are some bands that you haven’t gotten the chance to see live, but would really like to?

Both Bauhaus and Love and Rockets, The Cure, Sonic Youth…tons more that aren’t together anymore but I’ve done pretty well with seeing bands that interest me. Three current ones I’ll be seeing for the first time very soon are Deerhoof, Silver Jews, and Animal Collective. Can’t wait.

How did you choose the name of your blog?

It was something like the 9th name I tried before I found a name that wasn’t already taken.

Can you tell me what got you into blogging, and are you surprised by the popularity your blog has attained?

I was reading music blogs everyday, looking for new artists to check out, seeing a few good live shows a week sometimes – it just made sense to start documenting it all. Plus it seemed like I could maybe bring a little bit of historical perspective to the whole thing. I mean bloggers know a bunch about the here and now bands, always looking forward. Not me, I travel in reverse. Popularity? Well, EAR FARM’s not really all that popular yet but when it is I will totally be surprised.

What are some of your favorite blogs? Music or otherwise.

Some of the first I visit each day are: Brooklyn Vegan, Fluxblog, My Old Kentucky Blog, Largehearted Boy, Gorilla vs. Bear, Clever Titles Are So Last Summer, Muzzle of Bees, The Camera As Pen, The Perm & The Skullet…but then most of the sites listed in my links I visit daily.

How important do you think music blogs are in general? Do you think they will continue to be as popular as they are today?

As a free scouting service to music publications / big unpaid group of A&R folks for record labels, music blogs are pretty important. Wait, can I just give thesame answer that Frank from Chromewaves gave? That was right on.

Let’s get away from music for a bit. What are some of your favorite movies and television shows?

Oh man, the list for movies could go on and on and the one for TV is really short. How about one of each: The Goonies and Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Outside of music do you have any other interests or projects?

Sometimes I read nerdy books about math or astrophysics, sometimes novels. I like to write fiction and essays, I love comic books, photography…art of all kinds really, and even though it’s what I do for a living I also enjoy doing film production of my own on the side. And I do really like spectating sports in person and on the television. I live and die by NC State basketball (and football, but basketball is really my thing) and I’ve been a lifelong Yankees fan.

A lot of people have a favorite concert t-shirt, do you have one?

Yes a couple of them but my overall favorite is this New Order shirt that’s all black with nothing but a red sound wave on the front. I like it because it’s not all New Order up in your face, and yet it is. It’s a very sneaky shirt.

In your opinion, what’s the best place to eat in your city?

No way I can answer that for all of NYC. In my hood I like Shima, Dok Suni, Mermaid Inn, Frank, Dumpling Man, Resto Leon.

Animals dressed as humans. Funny or not?

Have you seen the look on the face of a dog the first time they’re forced to wear clothing? They don’t like it one bit and neither do I…unless we’re talking something of extraordinary comic value like putting a wool sportcoat on a freshly shaved sheep. That can’t be beat.