Tuesday, December 11, 2007

A Clarification Regarding This Blog's Purpose

On the recent Flying Burrito Brothers post, commenter Linda (Sama) remarked:

I don't get it. Why is Chris Hillman circled? Gram Parsons -- upper left -- was the "leader" of the FBB.

Thank you for your question, which I will be happy to answer.

Some people think this blog's purpose is as a quiz, where visitors first suggest who they think is in charge, and then when voting is over I will reveal the true leader.

This assumption is incorrect. Truthfully, I don't care who is in charge in actuality -- who makes all the decisions, who writes the most songs, who gets the good seat on the tour bus, etc.

My concern is focused squarely on the picture that I post. I'm more interested in who appears to be the leader in the photograph, which may differ from the real leader (if there is a clearcut leader).

Sometimes it's not a perfect system. My Wilco post had readers casting votes for Jeff Tweedy, I'm assuming in part because they knew he was the leader and knew what he looked like.

However, usually I'll post a lesser-known band, (hopefully) forcing the people who vote to really consider the dynamics of the photograph. For me, it's a really fascinating process.

When voting has ended and everything is tallied, whoever wins the most votes is, in the eyes of this blog, in charge.

13 comments:

Linda-Sama said...

thanks, now I get it!

but I still think Gram Parsons looks like the leader....:)

Freida Bee said...

But, I am confused. Who is in charge HERE?

Splotchy said...

You, dear reader.

You are in charge.

Randal Graves said...

Wow, in 2006, I was Time's Person of the Year, and now I'm in charge of this blog! Can life get any better?

dguzman said...

Whoa, misinformation... I get it.

BeckEye said...

It would be great if the results of this blog actually affected these bands. I can hear them backstage now...

"Splotchy said I'M in charge now!"

Anonymous said...

Very interesting blog, I love the idea of choosing the 'leader' based on who has the most commanding presence in the photo. Most of the time the chosen leader winds up being the actual leader, but not always, I've noticed.

. said...

I feel like this is a psychology test... all for your entertainment. Cool.

DURANGO said...

Very interesting. Being in a band myself and (unfortunately) being the leader, the group dynamic in a photograph has always been important to some extent. Image is everything.

jalenypr said...

as one previously said, a very good phsycology test

chubbylemons said...

I think you need to put up Electric Six. Actually, I lied. You need to put up Electric Six.

William Wren said...

great concept

delight said...

i love it!