Indie Rock Blogs Giveth, and Immediately Taketh Away

Even the Washington Post has noticed the whole "music blogs make band overnight, then mercilessly break band overnight" trend that's been happening over the last few years. And in an article about the phenomenon, they focus on the most recent and notorious blog-star-cum-blog-travesty of them all: Nathan Williams of Wavves. Using Williams's story as an example of how the whole thing works, the article documents his super fast rise (thanks largely to a few glowing words from Pitchfork) to stardom and subsequent, much publicized (thanks largely to a few harsh words from Pitchfork) meldown onstage. The question at the heart of it all? In the aftermath of similar crash and burns by bands like Black Kids, is the music blogosphere making indie and hip-hop heroes out of undeserving, underformed newcomers? (The answer is: Duh). As we collectively ponder the actual validity of over-hyped outfits, music fans continue to clamor for The New Thing, Williams continues to rebuild and tour, and indie rock continues to eat itself. [Washington Post]