It's been a long time coming...

Why on earth does the kitsch-ily named blogosphere need another wanna-be critic?  Yet another 'opinionated' couch-dwelling 'pundit' that leeches onto name-dropping scenesters' playlists?  Why'd I use that god-awful pun as the title?

What I mean by moving "beyond what's 'in' in fringe":

1. I want to focus on *music* and do so with breadth, depth, and honesty.
   
2. I'll try not to ONLY talk about what everyone else is talking about.  (Only is the operative word here).  I hope to discover lots of random music, learn a lot from it, and share what I learn with my readers.
   
3. Musicians aren't always music lovers and music lovers often aren't musicians.  I hope to bridge the two and exploit the fact that I'm both.
   
4. The meaning of 'indie' and 'independent' music has been changing as the industry evolves.  The label 'indie' is ineffable to me, and ultimately not that important.  I'm only drawn to what the word has the potential to signify: originality, grit, heart, etc...

My goal is to mainly evaluate live music and smaller acts.  Not necessarily the bands that are all over the blogosphere already.  Not necessarily the band magazines are lauding ad nauseum.  Not necessarily the band you love to name drop but have never actually listened to.  (It's okay, I admit that I do it too sometimes).  Not ALWAYS those bands, but your sister's band.  The band who's album I picked up by accident for a buck.  (Being cheap is practical!)  The random concert I went to last night.  All of those hidden gems juxtaposed with artists we ALL already know or have already seen live.

In the future, I'd like to sponsor special recordings of songs by artists featured on the blog.  Think: a "daytrotter session" mixed with a "le blogotheque" edge.  Instead of recording the song the way we know it already, I'd pick a special way of recording: as if you're Mic Jagger (an unfortunate recording, undoubtedly), as if it were a hair metal ballad, a capella, with an extended chorus, freestyling lyrics, slower, faster, etc...

It's been a long time coming, but I'm finally here.  Don't get it twisted, this is MY blog, but I'd love your comments and corrections.  Be my maven!  I can learn a lot from you all, and hopefully you can get something from OUTdependent.  If not a new band to love and cherish (or hate and despise), a new way of thinking about and listening to music.

NOW THAT FORMAL INTRODUCTIONS ARE OVER LET'S GET THIS STARTED ALREADY...