How Did You Discover Freaky Trigger?

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Or NYLPM or Blue Lines or whatever it was you first found....? Apologies for the self-indulgence but I'm in a curious mood tonight.

― Tom, Monday, 18 December 2000 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

When I was casually browsing in alt.music.alternative one day almost two years ago, I saw a reference to Tom's History of UK Alternative Music, and mailed him requesting a copy. That was about the time the web version of Freaky Trigger was starting (and alt.music.alternative was yet to suffer a slow and painful death) and so I've followed it religiously ever since.

― Tim, Monday, 18 December 2000 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Addy forwarded to me by partner-in-crime Sterling Clover re: the I Hate Music blurb devoted to dissecting the whole of Elvis Costello's catalogue.

― Jimmy Mod, Monday, 18 December 2000 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Via ama. I was never quite a regular, but I read it frequently and occasionally contributed between 95 and 97. On coming back to it after a substantial break in 98/99 I found that all the best posters had buggered off to Freaky Trigger, so I thought I'd better follow them.

― Richard Tunnicliffe, Tuesday, 19 December 2000 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Err.. a Google search for ["simon reynolds" morrissey]. A discussion about late 80s/ early 90s Melody Maker vs. NME (ha!) came up on the Belle & Sebastian mailing list, Sinister. I was in the NME camp. MM's penchant for Mission covers and an unhealthy respect for the Cure and the Young Gods had put me off it, but I remembered being impressed by some of the writing. I was trying to remember who did a brainy 2-part interview with Morrissey in 1988, hence the Google search. It returned Tom's history of alternative music, a link to which I then included on a post to Sinister.

― Nick Dastoor, Tuesday, 19 December 2000 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

... and it was a combination of Nick D's Sinister reference and Stevie T's enthusiasm that brought me here.

Ok, I'm lying - it was a vain search for P*kemon p*rn.

― Michael Jones, Tuesday, 19 December 2000 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Mr Carmody via Widespread World. (Y'know what I'm talking about Mr Carmody).

― Phil Paterson, Tuesday, 19 December 2000 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I blame Fred Solinger. An all too obvious scapegoat, yes, but it was on his blog earlier in the year that I found the link to NYLPM, and in turn, discovered FT.

― larmey, Tuesday, 19 December 2000 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I think in my case we'd have to do a deja.com search through the Usenet archives. ;-)

― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 19 December 2000 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I did a google search for "tim hopkins web log" and NYLPM was about the fourth thing on the list.

Don't ask me why i was searching for that....

― carsmilesteve, Tuesday, 19 December 2000 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Back when I was calling myself deX!, I encountered a newsgroup called alt.music.alternative. The writings of one Tom Ewing caught my eye, and I deceide it should be my holy mission to follow him around wherever he went. This was the beginning of fruitful career stalking of Tom, which I pursue to this day. (Yes Tom, that _is_ me standing naked outside your window. Wave hello!)

Actually, I think you told me about the site, but that's a sinfully boring answer.

― Dan Perry, Tuesday, 19 December 2000 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Widespread World, Phil? I assume you mean my website itself, which IIRC has never had that name, which is how you discovered the site after I linked to it.

Oh, and I chanced upon it after someone on alt.fan.momus linked to Ned's "Little Red Songbook" review 14 months ago. I'd read the entire site, such as it existed then, within a few weeks.

― Lutra Lutra, Tuesday, 19 December 2000 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Well, Robin, I only visited the site in the beginning for it's Start Up Music chart - and Widespread World is No.1 on there.....

― Phil Paterson, Wednesday, 20 December 2000 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I think someone 'recommended' the site from my old discussion board 'Dangerous Talk'. I have been an intermitent reader for the last year or so....

― Trev, Wednesday, 20 December 2000 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Found the link on alt.music.pulp around this time last year after someone mentioned that "Common People" was chosen as the best single of the 90s. Have been reading FT/lurking here ever since.

-Julia

― Julia, Wednesday, 20 December 2000 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Yo, Tom, you emailed me asking me to write for you when you first started it. How'd you think I found it? ;)

― Ally, Thursday, 21 December 2000 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Phil, I guess you went from the startup music piece to the front page and to the links page, and hence to FT ... what an enjoyable roundabout route.

― The World of Science, Thursday, 21 December 2000 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Indeed. But with a quick stop at the picture of the British Rail signage.

― Phil Paterson, Thursday, 21 December 2000 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

My favourite of the "cultural artefacts" pieces. Peter Mandelson would sneer. Martin Parr would weep.

― Kensington Olympia, 1965, Friday, 22 December 2000 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I came up with a great name for a fanzine on top of a bus on a wet December day in Edinburgh. Some years later it blossomed into a beautiful web-thing. All the best for its future.

― alex thomson, Friday, 22 December 2000 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

And yet it's only a station car park.....

― Jimmy Clark, World Champion 1965, Friday, 22 December 2000 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

That's the point, really. The beauty is in the optimism that hid behind the mundane.

― Fresh Start, Saturday, 23 December 2000 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

You don't have to explain. I'm not as big an idiot as I make out to be.

― Phil Paterson, Saturday, 23 December 2000 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Phil, I'd always suspected that you had your tongue in your cheek, I just wanted to make sure ...

― Lutra Lutra, Sunday, 24 December 2000 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

You're right. I just do that because I don't want to sounds like an anorak or anything. Despite blasting Midlands Montage through my new headphones!

― Phil Paterson, Sunday, 24 December 2000 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Yo, get a room, you two.

― Josh, Sunday, 24 December 2000 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

'ey, Fun Boy! No way, I got three chicks waitin' in a room up da stairs for me! You can have the damn room with him.

― Phil Paterson, Monday, 25 December 2000 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Erm, Josh, Phil and I normally have our own room. It's a world you would probably be bored stiff in :).

But sometimes it spills off to this forum, so to speak, and it just follows on from there ...

― Thomas the Rhymer, Monday, 25 December 2000 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I discovered Freaky Trigger from Rock Critics.com. There was a question about the early days of MM/NME.

― Michael Bourke, Wednesday, 27 December 2000 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

two weeks pass...

I don't know. I'm just here. Hi.

― Kim, Monday, 15 January 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I'm another a.m.a regular who intends to come here more often than I do.

― Nick, Friday, 19 January 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

one month passes...

I typed in '[Stephen Troussé Sundays]' on a typewriter.

I got nowhere.

I came here.

Copies of that review remain hard to track down.

― the pinefox, Thursday, 15 March 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Through a link on Dancing About Architecture. That was in the early days of FT, if I'm not mistaken.

― Patrick, Thursday, 15 March 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

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