I decided to start up the “get to know your blogger” feature once again, and nobody better to start things off than Ryan from Good Hodgkins. Ryan is one of the newer bloggers on the block, but he’s quickly established himself and his blog as one of my favorites.
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Let’s get some general background on you. Where do you live, how long, etc.
I live in Mayfield Heights, OH — a suburb on the east side of Cleveland — in an apartment that’s less than 500 feet from the hospital where I was born. I’ve spent my entire life living in Dayton, OH, though, and am a December graduate of Miami University in Oxford, OH. I moved to Cleveland because I didn’t have a job offer and couldn’t afford Chicago. But most importantly, I moved to Cleveland because it wasn’t Dayton.
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?
In first or second grade I bought three cassettes that I vividly remember:
Kris Kross (that’s right), a Queen Best-of, and the Shaquille O’Neil album
Diesel. Thankfully I stopped listening to music for a very
long time after that, until the late 90s when I got into Weezer in a big way. Then came Radiohead, then came Wilco.
How about some of the more recent CD’s you’ve purchased?
The other day I went into Music Saves (the local independent record store here) and was flustered: I hadn’t received anything worthwhile in the mail all week and I had nothing to write about for the next morning. The owner had me listen to the new Mystery Jets EP at their listening station, and that’s what I ended up writing about. Before that was probably Skeleton by Figurines, and before that I purchased Enon’s High Society and Mates of State’s Bring It Back on vinyl.
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?
Music Saves is hands down the independent record store in Ohio. They have all the new releases, usually on the Friday before they’re actually out, and their pricing is completely reasonable, to boot. Plus you get a free CD or record after every tenth purchase. They’re open until midnight on weekends and stay open late after shows next door at The Beachland Ballroom and Tavern. I’ve stopped buying CDs online as a result of Music Saves. They’re really the first record store I’ve truly felt compelled to support.
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?
Radiohead definitely did the most as far as broadening my horizons. Once I was able to get into
Kid A — it took a solid six months of hard work — I was able to find the accessible qualities in most works after that.
The Fiery Furnaces have played a similar role — I’m probably the only person on earth who would list
Rehearsing My Choir as one of my favorite albums of all time.
What are some of your favorite records of all time?
The Wrens – The Meadowlands
The Fiery Furnaces – Blueberry BoatThose are my top one and two. After that I’d list albums like
The Joshua Tree,
Magical Mystery Tour,
Rehearsing My Choir,
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, and
OK Computer in no particular order.
Any idea how many albums are in your collection?
A few hundred. I don’t buy albums as often as I should, but I feel like I do my part to support musicians by going to shows constantly, buying t-shirts, and promoting them through my blog.
If you could spend time with 3 musicians, who would you choose?
Matthew Friedberger is one of the most fascinating musicians of our time. I’d really like to just observe him as he makes music. Beyond that, probably
Charles Bissell. I can’t think of a third.
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?
I didn’t go to shows before I was in college. The first was a
Ben Kweller show that had
Centro-Matic opening. The best shows I’ve ever been to, in order are:The Wrens (June, 2005)
Intonation Music Festival (July, 2005)
Edan (April, 2006)
Wilco (February, 2006)
What are some bands that you haven’t gotten the chance to see live, but would really like to?
I’d like to see Final Fantasy and
Figurines live, and I’ll get the chance to later this month. I’ve been fortunate enough to have seen most of my favorite bands in the last few years since I started going to concerts.
How did you choose the name of your blog?
“Good Hodgkins” is a reference to
Curb Your Enthusiasm. In one episode, Larry learns that his friend’s father has Hodgkins disease. Throughout the episode he’s under the assumption that there is a Good Hodgkins and a Bad Hodgkins, because he used to watch the show
Party of Five and Charlie (the dude from the show Lost) had Hodgkins and lived. As it turns out, there is no Good Hodgkins. There’s Hodgkins and then there’s Hodgkins Lymphoma — a
better Hodgkins.
Can you tell me what got you into blogging, and are you surprised by the popularity your blog has attained?
I got into blogging as a means to motivate myself. I lack the ability to stay motivated if I’m working on a project with a large number of people — I need to be the sole reason for the success or failure of something. The support for my blog thus far has been completely humbling and overwhelming. Before its second month is finished, my blog will have surpassed the 100,000 readers milestone and will have appeared on a number of large websites (
music and
non music) and two newspapers. To say that I expected any of this to come so quickly would be a lie. This is a dream come true. I knew that if I worked hard and focused on my writing the readership would come. And it has — far quicker than I could have possibly anticipated.
What are some of your favorite blogs? Music or otherwise.
Largehearted Boy – There are two types of bloggers: editors and writers. Dave is that first type — the type of person with the skill to sort through music and links every day and provide only whats of utmost relevance. His site is an invaluable resource in that regard. Additionally, he’s also been a true champion for my site since it was launched and I have him to thank, in large part, for the success I’ve experienced thus far.
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The Rich Girls Are Weeping – Cindy is my twin sister from another mother. Aside from the fact that she likes the same exact music I do, her ability to express my opinion to a T with such grace and humor is something that leaves me in a creeped-out awe-inspired amazement. Her site is the reason I don’t outwardly express strong opinions on my blog. She’s doing it for me already, and far better than I possibly could.
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Marathonpacks – Eric is the strongest writer in the entire music blogosphere, in a league with Sean Michaels from Said The Gramophone and Matthew Perpetua from Fluxblog. That’s something that I look for in a blog — strong writing. I’m not really a fan of blogs that simply post MP3s for download and say very little or otherwise just copy and paste the one-sheets sent out with promo copies. I could write a program that does that. That’s hardly blogging. Eric not only writes, but he writes incredibly well and with a ridiculously sharp sense of humor.
How important do you think music blogs are in general? Do you think they will continue to be as popular as they are today?
There will always be room for new blogs so long as they are written by passionate individuals who have something unique to offer. I have a feeling that music blogs are here to stay.
Let’s get away from music for a bit. What are some of your favorite movies and television shows?
Movies:Punchdrunk Love
Casino
Pulp FictionTV Shows:The Office (UK)
Extras
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Outside of music do you have any other interests or projects?
Other than my job as a software engineer and my music-related pursuits (writing and going to shows) the only other thing I do with my day is exercise. I have become heavy into cycling in the last year. I’m currently riding around 200 miles a week on my bike (a Specialized Alliez Elite road bike) and I swim a mile and a mile and a half a few times a week as well.
A lot of people have a favorite concert t-shirt, do you have one?
A black and white Wilco shirt that has rainbow colored fabric on the shoulders.
In your opinion, what’s the best place to eat on your city?
I’ve only lived here for five months now, so there are still lots of places to explore. There’s a restaurant called Tommy’s down the street from The Grog Shop (one of the places I see shows) that serves everything from vegetarian dishes to burritos to burgers to amazing milkshakes. There’s a similar place that I went to on the west side with my friend Genna in the winter, but I’m at a loss as far as what it’s called.
June 2nd, 2006 at 11:13 am
the wilco show was feb 2005, actually. and the name of the restaurant, i’m told, is johnny mango.
June 3rd, 2006 at 11:47 am
Good Hodgkins is definitely one of the best sites out there right now. It’s incredible how good it is, and how quickly it got there.
Great interview!
June 4th, 2006 at 11:21 am
Yeah, strong writing! I like GoodHodgkins, and this interview, a lot.
Thanks for starting this series back up, Ryan.