So we’re throwing a party.
TL;DR NO BELLS 5 YEAR PARTY THIS WEDNESDAY IN NEW YORK. NIGHTCLUB 101. TICKETS HERE.
The plan initially wasn’t to do anything for the No Bells five-year anniversary, as we’ve been slower with the blog of late. It’s hard to do something for the love when everybody involved now has a Real Job. But two years into editing Pitchfork, I still get hit with the “No Bells, right?” from strangers in the wild. It’s surreal to think about massive metrics all day for work then, after signing off, still see IRL the impact of a blog that feels so tiny by comparison.
It goes without saying that No Bells changed my life. What makes me proudest is how many of you found a home here for your writing, photography, editing, design, and video. In the last few years, “blogs” have become personality-driven Instagram pages and influencers hawking songs for $200 label payouts. All love to the folks doing good work on new platforms, but we still need Real Blogs to give young/new writers the chance to grow, mess up, experiment with voice and style.
So we’re gonna keep it going—major shoutout to Kieran, Srikar, Tyler, Millan, Gustavo, and a small but mighty crop of new writers for holding it down—and we’re gonna celebrate five years of rare interviews, raw thoughts, radio shows, making a magazine, and Yeat saying we’re “not viral.” Five years since I got depressed about media during the pandemic and learned how to use WordPress.
The show is this Wednesday, 8/12, at Nightclub 101. It’s the hardest rap lineup of the year. Happy Dranker, Lunchbox, Nira J the Hoodangel, Trini Viv, chinapoet come on!!! My favorite Instagram Reels guy D Money is doing standup. Swaya and DJ Crazy will keep the party going behind the decks. And we’ve got some special surprises for y’all too.
