Get Off The Algorithms And Into Your Local Record Store

"The internet's busiest music nerd" Anthony Fantano seems to be plotting menacing retribution on Australia as indicated by the title of his imminent Anthony Fantano Vs. The Internet - The Australian Revenge Tour.

Speaking at Melbourne's contemporary music summit Face The Music, along with Sydney and Brisbane dates, Fantano feels good about coming to hang with his tribe. "These shows are the only place I can get up on stage and drop a Smash Mouth joke and get wall-to-wall laughs, and that's a cool thing," he says. "When I'm in that space, that's where life is the least awkward, and I'm sure that's why everyone else is there too."

"Drake is an example of guy who's been redeemed through memes. The fact he was a constant object of ridicule helped him."

Along with a break from the awkwardness, Fantano will offer insights gained courtesy of his seven years talking shit about music online. First discussion point: 'Memes in the music industry and how they intersect'. "In the internet age, promotion and PR aren't what they used to be," explain Fantano. Exhibit A, Canadian rapper Drake. "Drake is an example of guy who's been redeemed through memes. The fact he was a constant object of ridicule helped him. With pop music, even if you hear a song and you hate it, once you hear it a few times it gets stuck in your head. The constant exposure turned a lot of haters into fans."

'The destruction of music discovery through streaming' is also high on the agenda. Despite all the great songs to be found on Spotify and Soundcloud, Fantano wants everyone to keep their options open. "We need to come out and acknowledge that what's being handed to us as a 'recommendation' is just an algorithm," he states. "Personal recommendations from DJs or record store owners or friends have always been an essential part of music culture. And music culture is human culture, not algorithm culture." Humans, Fantano poses the following idea for you to ponder: "There's so many conversations streaming services can't have with you. Do you like it? Do you hate it? What does it sound like, who does it remind you of? There's so many avenues to go down. That conversation doesn't happen when you write an artist's name in Spotify." Fair call Fantano, true dat. Urging people to look for other avenues to find tunes, Fantano champions the good old-fashioned ways like "talk to people, walk into a record store or read online music writing".

As well as posing thought-provoking reflections on the state of human culture, Fantano hopes to give everyone the shits early - courtesy of his alter-ego opening 'act' Cal Chuchesta. "Cal will open up with a short musical performance that I hope people say is 'cringe-y'", says Fantano, setting the bar high. "I'm hoping it just sours the tone of everything afterwards."