where are you shipping off too?

where are you shipping off too?

when are you writing your first book?

one love for the times

You retiring?

Say it ain't so, Tom.

your forgetting about the time combat jack completely ethered your ass but good luck on your new ventures

Did you previously make an announcement I missed???

how about the diplo post where you threatened to beat a guy in the comments section? and yeah, where are you moving off to?

As a veteran of 5 straight Bonnaroos, a huge Kanye fan, a huge Pearl Jam fan, and someone who was there for the whole convtroversy let me just say this: Kanye's set was fire. It also ruined Bonnaroo-Sunday. But the same people that were booing him and throwing glow sticks before he came out were going effing bananas during his set. I still hope he takes this and the summer jam thing and decides to be the biggest deal in the universe...

I'd put the Biggie eulogy ahead of the James Murphy interview but that's just me. Good luck wherever you go (NY Times?). Oh and if the voice fired you, then fuck the voice.

They were dumb enough to fire Nathan Lee, so I wouldn't be surprised...

They were dumb enough to fire Nathan Lee, so I wouldn't be surprised...

They were dumb enough to fire Nathan Lee, so I wouldn't be surprised...

Hip Hop Is Dead was a very good album! I didn't even listen to El Mariel but I'm sure HHID was better! And no I'm not making fun of your readers, that's what I really think!

Not to sound hyperbolic, but I think your "Music and September 11" post five years on from the attacks was a really beautiful piece of writing. Especially like this part about "A Dream" by Jay-Z:

"Biggie's voice comes in, and it's doing the first verse from "Juicy," the one we all know word for word. Except there's one slight change, and it's on the part where Biggie says "time to get paid, blow up like the World Trade"; the "World Trade" part is gone, and there's only silence in its place. Biggie, of course, was talking about the first World Trade Center bombing, the one that took place not long before he recorded the song, and it must've sounded pretty goddam insensitive then. Jay probably took it out because Jay is a political man and he knew it'd sound even more insensitive in 2002. But the effect is even more powerfully mournful; on a song that's already sad and contemplative, it's a reminder of a greater sadness lurking outside the song's scope. Those words are ghosts."

Keep writing dude, you controversial folk. Yes, folk.

Not to sound hyperbolic, but I think your "Music and September 11" post five years on from the attacks was a really beautiful piece of writing. Especially like this part about "A Dream" by Jay-Z:

"Biggie's voice comes in, and it's doing the first verse from "Juicy," the one we all know word for word. Except there's one slight change, and it's on the part where Biggie says "time to get paid, blow up like the World Trade"; the "World Trade" part is gone, and there's only silence in its place. Biggie, of course, was talking about the first World Trade Center bombing, the one that took place not long before he recorded the song, and it must've sounded pretty goddam insensitive then. Jay probably took it out because Jay is a political man and he knew it'd sound even more insensitive in 2002. But the effect is even more powerfully mournful; on a song that's already sad and contemplative, it's a reminder of a greater sadness lurking outside the song's scope. Those words are ghosts."

Keep writing dude, you controversial folk. Yes, folk.

Damn, you can't just go out like that! Reading this blog was a daily routine for me, so at least tell everybody what's next! Where are you heading to, Tom? Shit.. I miss it already... Good luck though. Keep it up.

yea bro, this blog is like taking a s.h.i.t. for me. It's something I do every day at a certain time. you can't leave!

Good luck wherever you end up. This column has been a must-read for me for a while now, and I'm sorry to think it may be ending.

This is a shame. As others have said, I went to your page every day and really enjoyed it. My personal fav of your entries was the great entry you did on Rancid's new york show. Your high school memories of Rancid/Op Ivy is something I really related to since I was in the exact same phase. Also really enjoyed your piece on Tim Armstrong's solo album for similar reasons.

Good luck with your future endeavors. I hope it isn't long before we find out what is next.

since we're all dropping eulogies for ya, i guess i'll throw some love up in there: your writing is straight bananas, probably only matched by the breadth of your tastes. like seriously, are you one of those neurotics that edits obsessively before you post, or do you just knock it out stream-of-consciousness style? always wondered about that...anyways, i'm guessing you're off to rolling stone, vanity fair, or whatever qualifies as greener pastures in the music journalist biz. good luck with the new jawn, and props on manipulating your readers with this "it's coming to an end but i ain't giving details" tease. clever.

So, was the split amicable? Planned out? Or did they just come to you a week ago and say "Bounce, nucca"?

Or, excuse me: "Bounce, ninja".

Anyway, I legitimately will miss your daily blogs here at the Voice. I think I've been reading your stuff just about since you began a few years back. At first, I really couldn't stand you. It seemed as though you represented everything I despised about both blogs and rock criticism in general: hyperbolic, manipulative headlines, the need to callously tear down the paragons of the past, just to say "This ain't your daddy's criticism", the obnoxious Pitchforkian logorrhea.

However, over time, it seems as though you really found your critical voice, and you became a writer whose work I not only enjoyed reading, but also respected. There aren't many writers who are willing to approach pop music with such an earnest and unapologetic lack of pretension. You always seem willing to judge music on it's own merits, without an underlying agenda or the need to score "scene points" with the hipster bloggerati. You're artfully blunt, stylishly unbiased.

Plus, I simply enjoy the fact that you take time and thought in crafting your words. That's not to say that I don't shake my head when you write a 3000 word essay deifying a Young Jeezy song, but what you write is always honest to your own bizarre, oft-engaging, other times mystifying view of popular music.

So, as others have said, this is hopefully a sign of you moving on to bigger and better things, but whatever the situation may be, I wish you luck.

Hi Tom,

Thanks a lot for the sheer quality of the writing, you'll be missed indeed. It's weird that both my favorite bloggers are moving on to other things these days... very weird... Best of luck anyway.

Peace

Tom,

I've been following Status Ain't Hood off and on for little over a year now, and it is by far one of the best music blogs on the net. Thank you for all of the great posts and insight, and make sure to let us know what you'll be up to next.

Best wishes,
Mike

Ohhh man, this is weird, but this post totally had me remincin'. I remember reading almost all of these posts, totally weird to think how long it's been. Loved all those posts, keep it coming.

tom bryan,

the internet needs you. seriously. you are the one true master.

a fan.

Google led me to your post about Bloc Party's "I Still Remember", which expressed almost exactly how I felt about their music. And I just continued reading. Thanks for all the great stuff you've written.

Holy shit. I am gonna miss this blog, Tom. It's the first thing I click on when I open my browser. Much love.

Hey Tom,

just one of many who read your blog daily.
i found myself reading your posts about musicians i didn't really care for, and often checking out stuff that you would casually mention.

i hope wherever you're moving to, your prolificness won't be stiffled. the only shitty thing about weekends used to be the lack of a SAH post.

all the best,
ST.

oh fuck.

Nice that everyone is jockin' Toms' nutz, but a little explanation would be nice. If you got fired or some sheet, maybe you could phrase it a different way.
Otherwise, what you should have done is explain what's up and then close the comments section.

Oh I know.... American Idol is over.

Combat Jack "ethered" Breihan?

i mean maybe in the real hip-hop corner of the Internet (ie, pretty much all blogs except this one) that's completely detached from reality. otherwise, no.

while we're on the subject, Jay-Z won. believe it

but yeah...later? thought you had certain out-there opinions but you justified them way better than said canon dogmatists

I say this bit as a dude who routinely spit out his morning coffee while working through Breihan's sallies. Combat Jack's post was pretty stupid, even by the standards of the internet. A classic gatekeeper screed beefed up by nonsequitur references to his dubious industry bona fides, some silly ad hominem, and a demonstration that even people who are in "the business" buy into its ridiculous coupling of consumer demography to the production of authenticity. Combat Jack is a certified moron, his rant irrelevant and juvenile.

I have been a big Breihan haterfan for going on three years now, and I've got to say I'll look forward to shaking my head in disgust when he's writing for Rolling Stone or NYT, where he's almost certainly been hired. I may disagree with most things Mr. Breihan says, but I have a lot of fun disagreeing with them.

Brandon Soderberg'll pick up the slack until then. Although I disagree with him far less often.

Yeah, this was always a hugely entertaining read. I was unfailingly surprised at how much shit such an affable-seeming dude was able to stir up just by shooting from the hip, albeit with some of the most obviously-unedited prose in the history of the Internets. I kid sometimes, and even make fun occasionally, but I've been reading this blog, or at least checking it, pretty much every day. So, yea, I'm actually fairly bummed about this. Good luck with the next step.

Breihan,

Thanks for the respect that you show hip hop as a genre with each fully-coceived and articlulate post. You and a few others (SF-J, Soderberg, etc) have consistently avoided the rockism, tokenism, and minstrelsy rife on most blogs. Congrats on whatever you are doing next and let the comment section know where we can find you.

Dammit, I was just going to show you this...

http://www.beaucoupkevin.com/blog/im-not-having-hip-hop-at-glastonbury-its-wrong/2008/06/29/

"if the voice fired you, then fuck the voice."

Yo, I just read the Ghostface interview, man, no wonder he cut out, Tom was just asking Wu questions. I'm sure they are sick of being asked about the Wu and whether or not they are going to get back together. Also, I'm sick of reading answers by them on the subject, the situation is what it is.

It would have been cool if you managed to ask him about the "backpack producers" and sheet like that...
Well, at least you got him to talk about Supreme.