SPB anniversary
by Cheryl
Can you believe SPB is 21? Can I believe that I’ve been here for 13 years? Do I know what to write here? All of these answers are a resounding no. It feels like no time has passed since I joined the site and yet I’ve done so many cool things here that only time can account for it. When I look back at everything I’ve written for SPB, I am both proud and confused. Some of them I have no memory of and some I cannot forget.
I knew about SPB since the early days of the site as Matt was active in a community I was also a member of — shout outs to the old school Despair Faction — yet writing about something I enjoyed was not really on my radar until around 2010/11. One fateful day in April 2011, Bleak Metal was born and the rest is history. Soon a fellow DF friend, Aaron, asked if I would like to join SPB and from then on I have been here. I also joined several other popular webzines around the same time and probably burned out much earlier than I should have due to the amount of work I was doing with very little in terms of reward.
My output has dropped significantly in recent years. I wrote for many webzines, a physical magazine and my own blog and over time the excitement and willingness to commit to so many things definitely disappeared. Now I have two outside online spaces, plus my own, to call home and each offer something a little different. I’m not as active in writing, especially since I realised that I can say no to requests and not feel bad about it – therapy is amazing, guys.
Having the Only Death Is Real column certainly helped to maintain a presence in less obvious ways as the shorter review style suits my brain quite a lot more for the moment. Plus, I can cover several records at once and feel way more productive overall. No longer do I feel like I have to be the first to cover something or have a particular artist on my list. I am relaxed and it’s lovely.
Looking back through my reviews, I see how much my own style has changed and how I approach music in general. Now I don’t listen to absolutely everything I get sent. I do if it seems interesting or a friend recommends it. I don’t write about absolutely everything I get sent. Now I am more comfortable taking on what I want to do, rather than what others want me to do. That was a revelation for me and over the last two years it’s something I have tried to stick to. Now when I write, I don’t feel the pressure or expectations that I used to and that’s so freeing.
SPB played a large role in that as there is so much freedom here to do the things that you love. Want to write about some weirdo album only ten people will like? Do it! Want to write about a cool, popular release that everyone will like? Do that, too!
SPB has given a lot and will continue to do so with the people we have and the people that will join us in the future.
