Punknews.org
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Punknews.org is a website founded by Aubin Paul in 1999. The website publishes music news and album reviews relating to punk rock, hardcore punk, ska, indie rock and heavy metal. Much like the ubiquitous technology news site Slashdot, Punknews.org is user driven, meaning that anyone can submit news and reviews to be published. Also like Slashdot, the news and reviews are filtered and edited by a staff of volunteer editors.
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[edit] News Coverage
Although the name implies it deals only in punk, the website features news on and reviews of many genres of music. The site generally posts between 15 and 20 news articles a day, covering such topics as tour dates, label signings, album releases, new media, band break-ups and member changes. Unlike many rumor-driven music websites, Punknews.org has a policy of refusing to run stories without confirmation from either the labels or bands, which has in turn has gained them greater access to news from both parties.
The site aims for a neutral approach and the editors ostensibly aim to provide all covered acts with even-handed coverage. While Punknews.org does often spotlight relatively obscure bands, the editors cite fan interest as deciding how much coverage an artist warrants, rather than deferring to genre politics (major label / indie label preference or how close a band reflects the traditional punk subculture). [1]
Punknews.org is also credited with helping to launch the careers of Matchbook Romance, Motion City Soundtrack and others. Each of the bands was featured as an unsigned act on the website and brought to the attention of Epitaph Records' Brett Gurewitz. [2]
[edit] Milestones
As of December 2006, the site features more than 5,940 reviews [3], 1270 band profiles [4], and 21,630 stories.
The site has also won the Alternative Press Reader's Poll [5] and had mentions in the New York Times [6], Billboard Magazine [7], East Bay Express [8] and many other publications.
On August 12 2006 at the Warped Tour stop in Barrie, Ontario (servicing the Toronto market) popular punk band NOFX referenced Punknews.org from stage in a verse of the impromptu song "The Heroin Is Better In Canada."
[edit] User Community
After every news article and review there is a comment section where registered and unregistered users can post comments. While the amount of readers who comment is a small percentage of the actual readership, the comment sections on Punknews.org have gained notoriety for the divisive nature of the expressed opinions. [9] Identifiable users filter in and out of the Punknews,org user community over time, with the cohort of recognizable "regulars" changing one year to the next. The community has not been immune to the typical issues facing other large virtual communities, and problems with trolling, spamming, the required strictness of the moderation system, censorship and anonymity crop up from time to time. A form of trolling common on the site is the use of fake user accounts. These are created to express an extremely divisive opinion (as a form of trolling or for comedic purposes) or to misrepresent the user as a member of a band.
The site moderators currently face hurdles created by the prevalence of peer-to-peer file sharing. There is a perception that if members of the community utilize the comment sections to share the locations of leaked music there could be a backlash from the record labels which advertise on the site. Punknews.org has implemented a policy of not publishing reviews of albums before their street date to help sidestep this issue (as well as the fact that pre-release digital copies may not reflect the final product in terms of mixing, track order or artwork). [10]
Many members of bands and employees of record labels have become participants in the Punknews.org user community. Frequently seen on the site are Brandon Cruz of Dr. Know (and who infamously fronted the reunited Dead Kennedys), Gunner McGrath of Much the Same, Jesse Townley of The Frisk and Alternative Tentacles, Tobias Jeg of Fat Wreck Chords and Red Scare Records, Brendan Kelly of The Lawrence Arms The Falcon and Slapstick, and Brett Gurewitz of Bad Religion and founder of Epitaph Records.
[edit] The "I'm Going To Get A Sandwich" Meme
In September 2002, it was announced that Fenix Tx were breaking up. In the original news story, news editor Adam White expressed a lack of interest and empathy by writing the following simple statement:
Our comrade-in-arms Timmy over at PunkBands.com has confirmed with MCA Records that Fenix Tx has broken up... I'm going to get a sandwich. [11]
The joke became popular among readers posting in the comment section, and was initially used and reused to punctuate the insignificance of a generally disliked yet well-known band's break up. Since then the joke has caught on to the point where anytime any band announces their break up, it is inevitable that someone will reference the joke, whether consensus warrants it or not.
[edit] Orgcore
Punknews comment posters have coined a genre for a selection of bands that the seem to get an overall positive response from the community. The label of "Orgcore" is often applied to "rough edged" punk rock bands that carry the influence of groups like Hüsker Dü, Leatherface or Naked Raygun. Bands such as Hot Water Music, The Lawrence Arms, Dillinger Four, Lifetime, Against Me!, Avail and The Bouncing Souls have all unofficially received the title.
In an August 2006 article discussing Grey Area's reunion show at CBGB the editors of the site acknowledged the "genre" while referring to Kid Dynamite. The use of the term by site staff has been fairly tongue-in-cheek, with some editors warning that the term may be a sign of "complacency" [12].
[edit] Versions
Since its inception in 1999, Punknews.org has gone through 4 major versions. These have included visual and backend redesigns. Originally running on off-the-shelf open source projects, the site has been completely rewritten so that it is almost entirely a custom backend program.
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[edit] Punknews Records
On New Years day of 2006 three of the current and past editors (Aubin Paul, Adam White and Scott Heisel) launched the independent record label Punknews Records. [13] The label, distributed by Epitaph Records, has released albums from Somerset and Ryan's Hope.
[edit] Current Editors
- Aubin Paul, Founder
- Adam White, News Editor
- Brian Shultz, Reviews Editor
- Justin August, News Editor
- Meg Reinecker, News Editor
- Chris Moran, News Editor
[edit] Past Editors
- Kip Doyle, News Editor (now a reporter for the Olean Times Herald newspaper in Olean, New York)
- Scott Heisel News/Reviews Editor (now an editor for Alternative Press)
[edit] Current Staff
- Hein Terweduwe, Staff Writer
- Scott Auth (screen name "KirbyPuckett"), Staff Writer
- Jim Balog (screen name "FortyMinutesWest"), Staff Writer
- Jesse Raub (screen name "Jesse"), Staff Writer
- Greg Simpson (screen name "greg0rb"), Staff Writer
- Dan Perrone (screen name "theundergroundscene"), Staff Writer
- Jordan Rogowski (screen name "Anchors"), Staff Writer
- Matt Whelihan, Staff Writer
- Ben Conoley (screen name "Ben_Conoley"), Staff Writer
[edit] Past Staff
- JiveSide, Staff Writer
- CaraK, Staff Writer
- Katie4213, Staff Writer
- Megan, Staff Writer
- Subi, Staff Writer
![[5]](http://aubin.punknews.org/about/altpress-readerpoll.jpg){kind=link}
![[7]](http://aubin.punknews.org/about/billboard.jpg){kind=link}