The end.
Hey everybody:
I received a very polite phone call today from a former band member/label owner whose projects have appeared on Little Hits. I think he was appreciative of what I was trying to do, but he was concerned that other parties were picking up his compositions and distributing them as ringtones.
I realize now, belatedly, that once I put an MP3 on our server, anyone else might use it in any way they wish. I am quite concerned that the next person who finds one of their old tunes being used as a ringtone will not be so cool.
It is probably a good time to stop doing this. I’ve probably been lucky to get away with it as long as I have, and while I always assumed that my motives for doing this blog were fairly pure, I find myself second-guessing now.
To everyone who wrote an entry, or passed along their best wishes, or otherwise dropped a note to say “hi,” I’m very grateful. I’m sorry I wasn’t more responsive.
Best wishes to all,
Jon
Adam P. said,
July 16, 2009 @ 2:24 pm
I’ll be sad to see this blog go. I learned of a lot of great songs and bands from you. Thank you so much!
Fowler said,
July 16, 2009 @ 2:37 pm
Thanks for everything Jon!
Bob Deck said,
July 16, 2009 @ 3:12 pm
Sniff. Sniff. I’m sad to see little hits go, but I understand. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and insights with us for so long Jon (and all the other contributors). Bravo!
Dean said,
July 16, 2009 @ 3:22 pm
I’m sorry to see you go. I have enjoyed all iterations of your blog. I’m going to have to start paying attention to ringtones to see if I’m near a fellow Little Hits reader.
Thanks for the good tunes/times.
zbs said,
July 16, 2009 @ 3:39 pm
Nooooo
Jason Harper said,
July 16, 2009 @ 4:28 pm
Dang, I’m sad to see this go. But you had a remarkable, magical run. Stay in touch, somehow!
Stewart said,
July 16, 2009 @ 5:03 pm
Jon and I discussed this a bit this afternoon, and I think both of us feel that the ringtone issue is more of a spur than specifically the thing that’s causing us to close down the blog. I can’t speak for Jon or Andrew or anyone, but I’m just in a much different place than I was when Little Hits started, and as much fun as it’s been, I simply can’t devote the time to it anymore. But it HAS been fun, and the commenters have always been the main reason why. You guys rock.
Grant said,
July 16, 2009 @ 7:49 pm
Thanks again for everything. I’ll be sorry to see you go, but I understand it can be difficult to sustain energy for a project for as long as you guys have been doing it.
Looking forward to your next thing,
Grant.
dan-onymous said,
July 16, 2009 @ 9:00 pm
Jon, Stewart, and Andrew,
Thanks for sharing all your knowledge and insights over the years. It was always a pleasure to read LH, for the emotionally-engaging writing as well as the songs. I can honestly say that you’ve had a big effect on broadening the spectrum of music I listen to. Best of luck in all that you do, and godspeed! Now go have a drink…you’ve earned it!
-Danny
Nigel said,
July 17, 2009 @ 1:50 am
Just wanted to leave a note saying thanks for alerting me to so much great music. You have done so much to give some visibility to great songs and bands that I would never have known about otherwise. This is going to leave a huge hole.
Scott Wilson said,
July 17, 2009 @ 8:01 am
Thanks for everything. I found a lot of great music reading this blog, but the tone of the posts and the comments may have been the best part. There seem not to be many corners of the Web where erudition exists without vanity, passion without hostility–especially on sites devoted to music. Thanks for the safe haven and the thrill of constant discovery. I say, do Little Hits live–bring a stack of vinyl to a bar and we’ll all sit and listen and take notes.
Best wishes.
Pol Dodu said,
July 17, 2009 @ 9:15 am
Hello there,
All good things do end. I guess yours was one of the very first music blogs I read regularly. Thanks for sharing your passion for music with us all this time.
Livappy!
Pol
Alex said,
July 17, 2009 @ 9:40 am
Thanks so much for the blog. And for pointing us all to so much great music over the years (lots of music I didn’t know and lots of great music I’d forgotten about).
Looking forward to whatever comes next.
Alex
Andrew said,
July 17, 2009 @ 11:19 am
Rats. And I still had some more stuff to post about!
stijn houwer said,
July 17, 2009 @ 11:47 am
ringtones? that’s a damn lame excuse.
Alan said,
July 17, 2009 @ 12:33 pm
Who was the person who complained, so I know never to purchase anything even remotely related to their petty asses? Seriously, ringtones? That is the most absurd excuse I’ve ever heard.
frankenslade said,
July 17, 2009 @ 12:48 pm
Tremendous job, all! You’ve inspired us, supported us, turned us on, kept the flame alive. Don’t be a stranger.
Stewart said,
July 17, 2009 @ 12:55 pm
Andrew: I know! The irony of it all is that literally about an hour after Jon posted that the blog was shutting down, my friend Paul Harsha sent me a zip file of a single his band The Form released on Twin/Tone back in ‘85. I’d had no idea he’d even been in a band, but it turns out this song is like the exact midpoint between the Suburbs and Husker Du.
Here’s a YouTube fan video, at least:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWzmWSUKRFQ
Scott: if Jon, Andrew and I are ever in the same town at the same time, we will do Little Hits Live.
BigSteve said,
July 17, 2009 @ 12:57 pm
What’s a ringtone?
Mark H said,
July 17, 2009 @ 3:30 pm
Thanks for doing this site, guys. It was deep sea treasure amongst the ocean of music blogs.
John said,
July 17, 2009 @ 6:33 pm
I was there at the beginning for Little Hits on day two, and, at the end, I find out it’s gone the day after. I’m always a day behind! Out of all the music blogs out there, this was one of the best. Always interesting writing to go along with the selections. Its presence will be missed.
AG said,
July 17, 2009 @ 7:40 pm
Thanks for all of the great music!
Billy said,
July 18, 2009 @ 7:05 am
Whoah whoah whoah…
Like everyone else here, I’m sad to say goodbye to the blog that introduced me to The Nightblooms, The Primitives and plenty more amazing bands. I think I’ll go and play Thru The Flowers at full volume as a tribute.
T’ra
Pete said,
July 18, 2009 @ 11:34 am
Jon, sorry to see you go. I really appreciate the stuff you’ve put up here, especially the Feelies-related material. Sites like yours are essential, especially when labels let great music go out of print and make it no longer available to hardcore fans. If the labels are complaining about what you’ve been doing, I’d ignore them, but if the artists have issues then I can totally see why you’ve shut this down. Ultimately, the music belongs to the artists, and it’s important to respect their wishes. Thanks for everything.
Peter Collins said,
July 18, 2009 @ 3:32 pm
Guys, you’ve been brilliant. I can safely say there’s only been one or two songs I didn’t like, and there’s been a fair few I can safely say are right up there in my all-time favourites list. Thanks for all the hard work doing this, though I accept the ‘run out of energy/time/passion’ reasoning far better than the ringtones rubbish (not rubbish from your viewpoint but from whoever complained). It seems to me this site was actually doing things in the right spirit, which is bringing a lot of great music, loved by the bloggers, to an audience that might not otherwise get to hear it. In essence, it was probably doing a lot of the bands on here a big favour, rather than doing them out of royalties. What a big fat shame. I’ll certainly miss logging on. All the best.
mike a said,
July 18, 2009 @ 9:55 pm
Aw, sorry to hear it. Thanks for all the great music these past few years.
Eric Malitz said,
July 18, 2009 @ 10:01 pm
best music blog ever.
I think Children of Nuggets copied your site.
rebusch said,
July 19, 2009 @ 3:08 am
Thanks for the sweet, sad, sentimental memories from olden times…!
Compliments from W-Germany
Lil Mike said,
July 19, 2009 @ 10:29 pm
thanx for the mammaries…and keep on keep on rawkin’ in the free whirled…and wherever you may roam…keep it real
Umbriel said,
July 19, 2009 @ 11:29 pm
My thanks as well. I’ve been following you avidly for a couple of years now. You’ve really rejuvenated my interest in popular music, and all the things I’ve missed over the years. Best wishes, and if anyone’s still really interested in that video of Fuzzbox on the Fox Late Show, drop me a line.
Dirk said,
July 20, 2009 @ 4:59 am
Bugger!! I’ll miss you, Jon: although I (have to) appreciate your decision not to carry on, I feel sorry for it! Thanks for the great tunes posted over the years!
All the very best,
Dirk from Sexyloser
Logan said,
July 20, 2009 @ 2:34 pm
Thanks for introducing me (or, as often as not, reintroducing me) to some great music. I’ll miss the high-quality writing as much as the songs.
If I loved a song you posted on the blog, I always put some effort into trying to buy it before just downloading the MP3. Still, I totally understand and support your decision to stop. Best of luck in the future.
Dom said,
July 22, 2009 @ 2:42 am
Thanks for the memories.
The music is great, but it is the writing, giving every song a context, which gives this site it’s edge. The trouble is that writing like that is not the light breezy task you make it appear, it all takes time.
Its been great getting to know all of you - thanks again.
Pete H said,
July 22, 2009 @ 10:33 pm
Say it ain’t so …
A visit here has always put a nice perk in the day.
Best regards.
Jon B. said,
July 23, 2009 @ 12:14 pm
Sorry to see this come to an end.
Stewart — That Form 45 is great! We played it a bunch on WMBR back in ‘85. It’s too bad more people won’t get to hear it.
Pete said,
July 23, 2009 @ 1:38 pm
Sorry to see you go. I also run a music blog, and sometimes second guess myself as well, so I understand where you are coming from. I’ve yet to receive a single complaint from an artist or label, but I’d probably react in a similar way if I did.
I think it is very obvious to anyone who has read this blog that your purpose has been to shed light on under-exposed acts. I appreciate that you focused on otherwise unavailable music, and stuck more or less to single tracks.
Good luck in any future endeavors.
Dan said,
July 25, 2009 @ 8:19 am
I’ve followed this blog for a few years and heard lots of great music that I never would have heard otherwise, so THANK YOU!!! Especially for introducing me to the Feelies.
The cartoon at this link sums up what I think about ringtones:
http://xkcd.com/479/
Vincent said,
July 25, 2009 @ 3:33 pm
Of all the music blogs I’ve visited this was my favorite. Thanks.
David said,
July 25, 2009 @ 7:02 pm
This blog was great. The music was great. And I really liked it. Thank you.
Ace K. said,
July 26, 2009 @ 1:30 pm
This is a great site. It was here that I finally heard a song by some “legendary” bands from the “R.E.M.-era” as I call it. I am pretty sure this is where I finally got to hear what Fools Face was all about and the Libertines (not the UK junkies, the great Ohio band).
There were many other great posts here, and I am now feeling sorry that I did not give more feedback.
Don’t doubt your motives. But you are probably best to get out if you have the inclination. Eventually some arse will come down hard on you.
If good deeds are rewarded, you have a lot coming to you.
Ace K.
Tim said,
August 2, 2009 @ 3:54 am
I’d just like to echo what others have said. Hearing unfamiliar music on the site was great, being reminded of stuff I’d long forgotten was even better… and all with a wealth of information provided. Thanks guys!
milo said,
August 2, 2009 @ 3:22 pm
this has been an amazing blog! where will i get my ringtones from now!!!?!?!
holy moly, the ringtones things, i’m sure some obscure dude googled his band name and saw some bot-generated spam baloney about his songs on a ringtone. i doubt any band lost any revenue due to this blog, though a few artist’s current projects probably made some from it.
seriously though, i hope this breakup is more like Squeeze’s “breakup” in 1982 than say, oh, the Smiths.
little hits is dead. long live little hits.
TF said,
August 6, 2009 @ 8:59 am
I love this site and it is still a wealth of info even with out the key ingredient, the sound. Several years ago you put up single by a Tulsa based group called the Jacks. Wonderful single that I really wanted. So I looked for the single but could not find it. So I said heck he was local in the 70’s so I cracked open the phone book and found a relative, who was kinda enough to give me his number in California. I gave him a call and he was the nicest person. Talked to me for some time, and in the end gave me the only copy of the single he had (said his manger somewhere in Texas has a crate full if he really ever wanted it again.) He was just super appreciative that people were still enjoying his music. He said he had not really played much for years, but was thinking about playing again. Well thanks for listening to my story, I just wanted to a share a more positive light to what Little Hits has done.
Costas Peh said,
August 11, 2009 @ 5:12 am
Hello Jon
I would like your help even if you don’t know me but I found a courage to try to contact with you.
It would be great to email me in order to give me your help
I’m looking forward to hearing you as soon as possible
Regards
Costas
Tom Harmon said,
August 11, 2009 @ 8:00 am
Most of the music blogs in this world exist so hipster assholes who didn’t care about music until they realized that it could get them laid climb all over each other trying to come up with the most pretentious glowing praise about the Decemberists and post annoying pictures of Of Montreal shows. This blog would have been incredible even without the mp3s - the best part has been your writers, people who have been passionate about music for so long, who always seem to have a good personal story to go with the songs, who actually did this at a time when finding interesting new music required more than a broadband connection, an actual hunger and patience for something new . I’m extremely sad to see this one go. Thanks, guys.
JubilationTCornpone said,
August 11, 2009 @ 1:42 pm
What a mixture of emotions to read this. Truly a great site. I mean a GREAT website of any kind, not just music or blogs. On a post maybe a year ago, I listed all the favorite songs I have that I learned specifically through this site, so Little Hits was so often turning people on to great stuff they would never have heard otherwise. What more could artists from most of these bands hope for? And then the combined taste of the guys was so similar to my own, it was incredible some of the things I found on here that I thought only I had known/cared about.
So, great sadness. A bit of anger at whoever turned on the lights and killed the party, even though I know that was just a part of things. Little Hits was an important website. As noted by others, it was an extremely well-written site, and I can only hope not the last of its kind.
Thanks for everything, guys.
Chris said,
August 13, 2009 @ 11:31 am
Hi, Just wanted to say thanks for everything, been a while since i looked here, but really.
I had stopped buying records or even caring about music for a long time till I came across this blog many years ago. I can’t name all the bands and crazy trips that I have gone down searching for more information since. Thanks for showing me the way, getting me back into collecting and enjoying music again, I had no idea, so many great songs, and memories, showed me how good music can be, so many songs you posted were songs I always wanted to hear but did not know existed. You guys should really write a book. I really Appreciate everything!
Nesher said,
August 15, 2009 @ 5:47 am
Sorry to see you go - I just found you recently, and really enjoyed the write-ups as much as, maybe more so than the songs themselves. Thanks to you, I’ve bought some stuff by the Bats. So don’t feel bad, you’ve helped put some money in the pockets of some good artists. You’ve also educated me, and broadened my (musical) world. Could you all just keep writing, and not post the mp3’s? We can do our own physical/computer searching. Just a thought.
mzamar said,
September 4, 2009 @ 9:57 am
I certainly understand being tired of doing it, but still I will really miss checking in on this blog. You really did great work. I was unaware that anyone you’ve posted a song by was big enough that you’d be depriving them of making money off a ringtone. Like, did I miss something? The work you’ve done resurrecting forgotten artists is so amazing. I hope you’ll keep us all on a mailing list when you’re on to your next thing. Thanks so much for all you’ve done!
Sam Butler said,
October 12, 2009 @ 7:43 pm
Wish I’d found this site sooner. Just dicovered it today after googling Rhino’s The Girls Can’t Help It trying to find some more info on the bands after digitizing the lp.
Josh said,
November 22, 2009 @ 10:07 pm
Thanks for introducing us all to some great music! All best wishes to you in future projects.
Zach said,
December 5, 2009 @ 2:42 am
I haven’t been to the site in almost a year and just hopped on after re-stumbling upon France Gall’s ‘Nous Ne Somme Pas Des Anges’ and The Status Cymbal’s ‘Jody’ in my 60’s-70’s folder. Now you are gone…
I’m officially bummed.
A.G. said,
February 21, 2010 @ 11:51 am
I miss this blog!
Charlie Maxton said,
March 2, 2010 @ 5:33 pm
I miss this blog too.