The Obelisk is 15 Years Old Today
I must feel ways about The Obelisk turning 15, because I’m having a hard time starting this post. Of course, it’s also five in the morning, so falling asleep is a factor. I’ve spent years at this point nodding off in front of the laptop. You wake up and there’s a string of 10,000 spaces since your last quarter-of-a-sentence. Laying out images and links for news posts. Trying and generally failing to slate a review by the release date, screwing up lineups, release years, cropping press shots, on and on. You’ll know it’s not my favorite part of the experience when I tell you it’s a snoozefest.
The actual writing — what I consider the ‘work’ to which all the other labor is building toward — is why and how you wake up, though you be exhausted of spirit and middle-aged of body. I have said for years now that the simple fact of The Obelisk is I need it, and especially after this recent winter break, I think that’s still the case. I took a couple actual days off around Xmas, including the 26th, which I’ll admit felt brazen, and had a taste of what life would be without this site, but it turns out this site is a lot of my connection to the outside world.
The Obelisk has become a huge piece of my life. Not just dividing 42 by 15 and realizing I’ve spent more than a third of my time on earth doing this by now, and there are times when I don’t know where I end and it starts. I probably feel ways about that too, I guess. But I do need it. I don’t know where to put myself otherwise.
Thank you for your time, your attention at any single and all points in the last decade and a half. Thank you for reading, for being here and for making doing this at all worthwhile. I promise you this site wouldn’t still be going without your support. You are why it exists as it does, so if you like it, good work. And thank you.
Thank you to The Patient Mrs. for respecting what I do here even though it’s ridiculous. Also for staying married to me even though every two weeks I’m asking how much it would be to fly to some other festival. Thanks for driving me into the city to see Elder last week or whatever day that was.
Thank you to Slevin for helping me 15 years ago launch this site, for the year-end poll and for pretending to be impressed with my recent Zelda accomplishments. Thank you to Behrang Alavi for hosting the site. It is a load off my mind to know I can send a message 24 hours a day and any issue that arises as they inevitably do will be addressed quickly and professionally, and most important of all, by someone I trust. I do not take that lightly at all.
Thank you to Dave and crew at Made in Brooklyn Silkscreeners, and because I feel like maybe he’d (rightly) roll his eyes if I didn’t share it, here’s the link to Obelisk merch: https://mibk.bigcartel.com/
You should be aware that I don’t do crap for that. In almost all instances, Dave chases down the art (Steven Yoyoda!), does the printing, the shipping. I get half of the money; the only difference is he earns it. I won’t say I’ve never embezzled to pay a late fee or buy weed, but proceeds from merch for The Obelisk are specifically allocated in my mind as buy-music money. That goes back to the bands because it’s the bands that bring it in. Ain’t nobody sticking around here to see how long I’m gonna make the next sentence. They’re here for music. That’s as it should be, and MiBK Dave makes it easier/possible for me to have merchandise to sell in the first place, and I am eternally grateful for that. He makes the site real, and my mom wears the shirts. That alone. Thanks to my mom (and entire family) for wearing the shirts.
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“He peaked a decade ago.” — Me, on me. Probably said a decade ago.
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I don’t know yet what this year will bring. I have a couple festivals lined up — Freak Valley, Bear Stone — but I’m doing other traveling with my wife and daughter this year as well, to see national parks with my wife’s mother, and to spend a month in Budapest, Hungary, over the summer, so there will be more beyond the normal routine happening around here and I’m curious to see how it goes and how I handle that. Hopefully by then I have a new laptop to replace my recently busted one that was the best ever. I should put “replace” in quotes there.
So that’s it. 15 years and back to work. I had big plans. I wanted to do an all-dayer on the West Coast. I was going to ask Sandrider to headline, see if I could get Grayceon, Snail (yes, again), Brume, and a few others, but it didn’t happen and I only have so much capacity and that’s pretty low in general. So no, no anniversary party except in my head. I couldn’t even manage to get to Vegas this past weekend, and Spaceslug were there.
I know nobody reads blogs anymore. This is an outdated medium. I should be running a substack and begging everyone for a dollar. And you know what? Maybe if I did that, I’d have enough dollars to have booked that flight, or some other one, or maybe I’d have some kind of capitalism-bred feeling of validation that I don’t have now bringing in some kind of salary from this work. Or maybe I’d resent it as a job and stop and have ruined this thing that I’ve apparently now worked for 15 years to build.
Okay. So here’s my last chance to say something about The Obelisk turning 15. I’m glad people get something from this site. If that’s you, please know you have my entire heart’s appreciation. Every now and then, somebody on the internet says something very nice either to me or about me or about what I do here and it’s incredible. For a sphere that can be so incredibly terrible (i.e. the internet/social media), that I should feel so much a part of anything and so supported in this is astonishing and a better outcome than I could have hoped for in that 33-plus percent of my to-date lifetime.
Thank you. The Obelisk will not last forever. Nothing does. I might decide it’s too much or it’s been too long, drop the whole thing and never write another word, or I might get hit by a bus. One of these years I’m gonna pull the plug on this whole thing and go write like three reviews a year for Lee at The Sleeping Shaman. I tell him sometimes he’s my retirement plan. Honestly I’d be lucky if he’d have me.
Lucky if anyone would, which is kind of the hazard when you get as dug into a thing as I seemingly am here. But I’ve seen outlets come and go in the time that I’ve been writing The Obelisk, and I’m still here and I still stand by everything I write in this space — notwithstanding the plentiful typos, lineup screwups, etc. — and if I died tomorrow, I would just want you to know that to my very, very core, I value your support to a degree I can only call existential. Thank you.
15 more years? That would be absolutely insane. So maybe.
Thanks for reading,
JJ Koczan
…And yeah, it’s Monday, but here’s FRM anyhow:
The Obelisk Collective on Facebook
Said it many times before commenting on other posts, but thanks for all you do for the scene JJ. I have discovered countless bands through The Obelisk and I hope to continue to do so.
Cheers on 15 years!
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15 horns up!
Thanks, JJ. You’re an inspiration even if you don’t like hearing it.
JJ, you are amazing and the music community can never properly thank you for what you do for us.. … I have not smartphone so I still read blogs and probably about 1/4 all you write and you write a lot!!!! Glad to have you still doing this as there is no one who could step up and replace you.. All the best my friend…
I read this site everyday and have being doing so since around 2012. I particularly enjoy reading articles posted before I knew about this place, checking out the music I missed. I think I found it when looking for more info on Graveyard who I had just seen at a festival. From there, to reiterate what was posted above, I have also found out about countless bands and massively expanded my record collection. So thanks for all that you do here, I hope you continue for a long time yet!
Daaamn, 15 years at the pace you’re publishing articles is a f*cking mountain worth of Fuzz, hats off, hands down, and all the respect in the world for managing to stay so dedicated to this and keeping on keeping on, JJ!
As a fuzzhead, your blog is the absolute graal for discovering killer bands and albums, and even years after starting reading and following (some) of your work, I keep being amazed about how much on point you are every goddamn time, and how well you manage to express it in a way that seems so obvious and clear… (I don’t even have enough time to read all you write, and still am clueless about how you find the time to write it…)
As a fellow writer of reviews and that kind of stuff, all those points above count even double, I keep being astonished by your work and it’s as much a (endless) source of inspiration as it might be of self doubt and discouragement to ever hope to come close to a 1/10 of what you achieve (and if Lee or anyone else doesn’t want to have your retired you, you’ll always be welcome, but I’m guessing our humble blog will disappear long before yours aha).
As a small label owner, I can’t ever thank you enough for the attention you gave to our releases, and how you always managed to get it. I’m sure any band or label or festival feel the same.
What you’re bringing to our scene, doing for the scene, giving to the scene, is priceless, and if there’s ever to be a Fuzz hall of fame, it won’t be complete without a huge obelisk.
Thanks for your love and support for the scene and know it’s always a beacon of light in the darkness of this forsaken world to see a new Obelisk article pop up in my feed.
Much love, respect, and appreciation, can’t wait to see what you’ll throw at us in the next 15 years =)
15 years – that’s half my lifetime. Though I can’t say I’ve been on board for that long, I check this blog every day, because there is always some cool shit to discover. And fuck substack, there are ever fewer true blogs and the less there are, the more valubale the remaining ones become. So here’s to 15 insane years more!
Congratulations JJ!! Still remember about 12 years ago when I got to see theobelisk for the first time, and since that moment, it’s been a daily check for me. For 15 more, cheers!!
The Obelisk is literally a part of my daily morning routine, still my #1 source for new music – JJ you have my utmost appreciation, even if you never write another line. Thanks for the last 15 years, and Cheers!
JJ – thanks for continuing to do this! I’m an everyday reader and I can’t count how many new and old bands/albums you’ve turned me on to over the years. Your thoughts are always worth reading.
Happy Birthday to the Obelisk. In this crazy changing world its still my daily go to. I was quite surprised when I checked back on some releases Orchid and Dawnbringer to work out how long I have been kicking around the site its about 12 years, you were HP Taskmaster then. Nothing lasts forever but hopefully there are a few more years left yet.
Thank you, JJ.
I’m 40. I am seeing more concerts now than I ever have. I work, I’m tired, my head hair can’t headbang anymore because my neck hurts (and my hair is short). I saw Clamfight about 48 hours ago. The reason I went to see them live is, ultimately, because you introduced them to me. Without your having introduced me to (…an endless stream of riff dealers…) I’d not have gone out Saturday night, after work, 45 minutes away, to a gig. Gigs are an addictive escape from reality for me; but instead of being a negative, I’m transported to the most present sense of self I am capable – I am meditative as fuck as time stands still and passes in an instant at once – and my smiling ears reach to the to tips of my lips, and I smile iniside, and am whole. You’re emphatically a portion of the reason I enjoy living my life. Thank you for showing all the cherished bands to us all these years. Congratsulations on this milestone and for sure, here’s to 15 more.
Wow. 15 years. At (at least) 10-20 bands a year I would have never listened to of it wasn’t for your infectious writing, that makes about 250 bands!? That’s 500 albums on my shelves and/or playlist and at least as many evenings spent being bloen away at a gig!
What I’m trying to say is just THANKS! Thanks for all the music you guided into our homes! Your work makes a big difference in our lives, and don’t you ever forget it!
Here’s to another 15, or however log you are willing to keep this up! I’ll be a long for the whole ride!
The world would be a poorer place without The Obelisk. Thank you.
Happy 15th Anniversary and as always a big „Thank You!“ for all the work you have done throughout these years. I love The Obelisk and I hope it continues to stand tall for at least another 15 years. ;)
All the best to you JJ and your family. Cheers.
JJ you are the best !!! Long live The Obelisk
Thank you JJ!
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A daily read for at least 14 years…
Thanks so much JJ
Been with ya for most of em’. My favorite music site. Let’s go for 15 more \../
Congrats on 15 years!
Near-daily reader here, and I am very grateful for all the bands you’ve introduced me to. So many bands.
Also, thanks for sharing the things behind the curtain of riffs, the “real life” stuff.
15 years is impressive, thanks for the work you do!!
Congratulations on the big 15 JJ K!!!
As a loyal reader since the beginning… I really appreciate all you have done for the Heavy Music art form and community.
Stay Heavy,
Leo
Doom Lab
Cheers man, Thank you for doing this. You’re a really great person
Gonna buy a shirt to celebrate 15 years. I had an Obelisk shirt (a cool black one with some stars and an astronaut or something), but my son stole it. He’s spreading the word among the 11th graders.
Life wouldn’t be the same had it not been for the Obelisk. Thank you!
Fifteen years of reading your writing and being able to hear music through your words that sit there silently on the page.
You are a true artist and I thank you for sharing your talents with the world and hope you continue to love doing it.
Happy Birthday The Obelisk!
Thanks for all the work mate, i can’t thank you enough for all the awesome bands this site has brought to my attention. And being on the other side of the planet, The Obelisk is the first thing I check every morning to get my news on the music I love.
Thanks JJ.
This site has been part of my routine for almost the entirety of the 15…I’d miss it if it were gone, and no other site would/could fill that void.
Congrats, JJ! Love The Obelisk and I really appreciate not only the great new bands I come across but also the real personality and honesty from your writing. It’s perseverance, love and an amazing affinity to live music. To many more years!
hbd thanks for all you do
Congrats man, it’s lasted that long because it’s damn good!
Appreciate you, and the work you put into this site., Been coming here for over a decade, and will continue to do so in the future. Also thanks for turning me onto all the music I wouldnt have discovered, if I was left to my own devices.
Appreciate you and the work you put into this site.
Been coming here for over a decade, and will continue to do so in the future
Thanks for turning me onto, all the great music I would never have found, if I were left to my own devices.
What everybody else said, like thank you so much for doing this, and one more thing:
Your reviews (and friday album discussions) are awesome! You are just so good at writing about albums. I honestly don’t know another place where you get such a good impression of an album, its mood, its musical direction, its making etc., before even listening to it.
Guess you can feel it when somebody puts that much love into what they’re doing.
Bonus points for the little jokes and hilarious monologs you so often manage to squeeze in there which make reading fun.