About theFIRSTCUT.net About theFIRSTCUT.net |
theFIRSTCUT.net is actually the fourth iteration of an online resource dedicated to synthpop music. The first incarnation
was started in 1991, as a local Bulletin Board System. The BBS was called "Illusions" and ran on RemoteAccess
(RA/Pro) software. Many of you may not have been "wired" back then, as the concept of the internet really hadn't yet taken off, but
going online meant something completely different in those days. If someone wanted to share information with another person, they didn't
design a web site, they started a BBS (this was a time when 9600 baud modems were considered lighting fast!). I won't go into great
detail about how a BBS works, but it was essentially a one-line system that people dialed directly into. This limited most of the users
to people in your own area code (and maybe the occassinal long distance caller). Illusions started out as a project to teach myself
some networking skills, but turned into a relatively popular BBS that hosted .MOD files (a music file format LONG before MP3), as well
as message bases dedicated to synthpop music, and even some downloadable band photos. At it's peak, the BBS got about 60 calls a day (doesn't sound like a lot when compared to
the number of hits the web site now receives, but trust me, it was a big number back then!). I shut Illusions down in the Summer of 1993.
Skip forward to March of 1997. After taking a four year break from hosting anything online (but still staying active in the online community), I decided to start my own web site. Again, more as an excercise in learning HTML than anything else. I decided to continue with the musical theme, as that was my biggest passion at the time (and still is, to a certain extent). Thus, Blake's Synthpop Page was born. At first, the site wasn't much to look at, as my HTML skills were severely lacking (and even now, I'm no virtuoso). However, the main feature of the page was the CD catalog. I had scanned in the covers to all my CDs, entered all the track listings, timing details, plus catalog & label information. At the time (if I remember correctly), there were just over 900 CDs in the database. Why did I do this (I sometimes ask myself the same question)? Mainly because I felt there was a serious lack of release information when it came to synthpop music. Aside from resources like Lazlo's Discogaphy Machine, you couldn't really find sites that gave you details about out-of-print releases -- and to actually find scans of what the releases looked like was nearly impossible. I found this frustrating, as much of the music I bought was purchased through mail order vendors. Most of the time all I had was an artist and title (hardly ever a track listing). I really never knew what I was getting until it came in the mail. So, I decided that I would do what I could to host a site that would help other collectors get as much information about synthpop releases as they could. The online catalog has grown from 900 records to over 3,500. I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has supported the site over the past 5 years. Running the web site has ben an extremely rewarding undertaking for me. I've met a lot of great people who share the same love for music as I do. I would have never been introduced to as much music as I have been in the past five years if it hadn't been for the ongoing email exchanges I have with other synthpop fans. It has truly been a joy. Sincerely, 
Blake Webmaster, theFIRSTCUT.net February 10, 2002 |
