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Cover StoryPLUG Awards present a dilemma for indie-music lovers Date published: 1/18/2007
By RYAN BROSMER YOUTH CORRESPONDENT PLUG is about the independent music community coming together to recognize our own. --plugawards.com I'm struggling with this story. I'm supposed to be writing about the PLUG Independent Music Awards, basically a glorified Internet poll found at plugawards.com. The stated purpose of the awards is to recognize artists on independent labels, in genres including punk, hip-hop, electronic and Americana. They also include categories such as Zine of the Year, Podcast of the Year and Music Festival of the Year. Voting ends Jan. 31, and it all will culminate in an awards ceremony Feb. 11 at New York's Irving Plaza. Previous years' participants including Matisyahu and Sufjan Stevens have lent the ceremony just enough indie cachet to demand notice. Among this year's nominees are familiar names to any indie fan, such as Neko Case, Rilo Kiley's Jenny Lewis and Radiohead's Thom Yorke. Yet many of the acts remain decidedly (and perhaps deliberately) obscure, even to the scene's most astute followers. On one hand, the organizers of the PLUG Awards seem determined to help these independents gain exposure. Ironic, yes--but they're just trying to spread the word, right? Then there are nominees such as Brian Rafferty, whose Idolator.com is up for Music Blog of the Year. He sees the PLUG Awards as part of the decadence of the independent music world. "The indie-music culture has now become as self-congratulatory and narcissistic as the rest of the music biz," said Rafferty. This brings another problem. Rafferty points out that Idolator might have an unfair advantage: "We're backed by Gawker Media, a large company. That means we can post more frequently, employ the occasional freelancer and not worry about advertisers dictating content." It sounds like maybe the PLUG Awards picked the wrong cause for their charity. While nobody involved in the inner workings of the shindig would return my multiple attempts to contact them, not all of the nominees shared Rafferty's sentiments. Matthew Jordan, who runs YouAintNoPicasso.com, is another nominee for Music Blog of the Year, and that's fine by him.
1. Be respectful. No personal attacks.
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