You’re the Inspiration: Paying Tribute to the Northumbrian Countdown Blog
I haven’t blogged in several months. Life’s been crazy as of late with starting a new job earlier this year, working on my podcast Rock in Retrospect and trying to travel in the little bit of free time I have. Writing is one of my passions and I feel so sad that I don’t have as much time to devote to it. I hope to publish more, but I can’t make any promises.
This post pays special tribute to a blog that has had a profound influence on me for many years – The Northumbrian Countdown. Sadly, the Northumbrian Countdown is no more and that makes me sad. Mark, aka Alex Voltaire, and I became friends through his blog many years ago and his ideas on the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame helped evolve my thoughts on the institution. I was so nervous to start this blog over 5 years ago and you know who was the first person I talked to about its creation…Mark. He couldn’t have been more supportive and thought it would be a great asset to the ongoing writings on the Rock Hall. We communicated often and he always gave wonderful advice about not only being a better writer, but also a more profound thinker. Mark challenged me, in a good way, to ponder my biases and blind spots as a music fan. I cherished our conversations, and he helped make me a better person.
Some readers might not know this but Mark’s Top 100 Rock Hall Prospects project from 2015/16 inspired a similar project of my own. It’s hard to believe that I started publishing those installments almost three years ago and Mark’s is going on 8. Crazy how time flies. I remember when I told Mark in the spring of 2020 about my project, and he was so elated and supportive of its process. I ran a lot of ideas by him if I wasn’t confident with my work. It remains some of the best articles and entries I’ve ever written and that’s partly because of Mark. He helped boost me when I was feeling my lowest when writing those entries for my own Prospects Project (which ended up being 55,000+ words in total). Mark and a handful of others (including myself) elevated the writings and conversations on the Rock Hall. It goes beyond those who follow our blogs and podcasts, we have interreacted and interviewed those who are close to the institution. We have done well for ourselves and always remained supportive in each other’s endeavors.
The friendship we built over the years is one that I will forever cherish and it's one of the best things that has happened to me in the Rock Hall watching community. I had the good fortune of meeting Mark once in-person in Cleveland during the 2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony weekend. Although he had to leave before the ceremony started (due to a family emergency), I was grateful to spend time with him and I hope to do that again soon. He is one of the most intelligent and thoughtful people I know. We have many things in common, most notably we both work at academic institutions and our continued fascination with 20th century American political and social history. Well, at least he has a Ph.D. and is considered an expert in his field.
Social media can sometimes be a toxic environment. When Elon Musk bought Twitter last year, a lot of my friends left the platform as a sign of protest. One of them was Mark. I missed seeing his presence on the platform but completely understand why he and others sailed on. Granted, I still see him on Facebook but it’s just not the same. I do agree with him that there seems to be a lack of engagement and productivity in the Rock Hall watching community as of late, but don’t really know how that can be fixed. I think a lot of this is due to us all have far less free time (especially in a post-covid world) and I get it. I just miss seeing others’ writings on the Rock Hall nowadays.
There’s so much more I can say but I am forever grateful for Mark and his Northumbrian Countdown blog. There are so many great articles and lists on his site; please check it out if you haven’t already. It’s some of the best writings on the Rock Hall and presidential politics you’ll read on the internet. I’m not just saying this because Mark is a friend but because it’s the truth. I understand why you are giving your blog up, but it still makes me incredibly sad to see it go. But all good things must come to an end. Thank you for all the great blogs you have written over the years and thank you for the special shout-out in your final post. But most importantly, thank you for always being a friend.
And in case you’re wondering, this article’s title is an homage to his beloved Chicago!
