Welcome to FTWELVE Music, a new music blog by Records on Main.
Here's the lore around FTWELVE that, I know, you are dying to find out. A long (very long) time ago, as proven true by this list found on Reddit posted 12 years ago, my music career actually didn't start by owning a record store. In 2014, I founded a small music blog called FTWELVE in Boston, Massachusetts.
It was a blast. I photographed & covered music festivals such as Boston Calling and Newport Folk Festival, I went to 2-3 shows a week, and I was loving it. We were growing steadily and gaining traction when after ~1.5 years of hard work, the site got hacked.
Now this was 12 years ago, which to some may seem like a lot and some very little, regardless, technology isn't what it is today. I was told by many I couldn't get my site or my domain name back. I was devastated but I turned my back on my burgeoning music career to focus on digital marketing ...for the next 11 years… until in February 2025 when my dad called and said let's open a record store.
Don't get me wrong. I never faltered in my love for music. I continued to go to shows, discover new artists, explore new genres and eras, etc.
But yes, it's been a while since I took pen to paper. I've always considered myself a writer, even when I'm not actively writing. It's something that has come naturally to me (or if you hate this thus far, you might disagree).
The same can be said for my thoughts & beliefs - I've always considered myself a pretty (for lack of a better word) opinionated person. Some might call it judgemental, and admittedly sometimes it is (I am originally from New Jersey after all), but often it's because as a neurodivergent woman, I've always thought of myself as leaning correct ....in all aspects of my life.
Well, now I've gotten completely off topic, but I promise, this tangent has a point.
Fundamentally, it's taken 35 years (gasp) to realize that I am not correct about everything. And if I'm being honest with myself, music is probably the place I've held onto being "right" the hardest. Not politics, not food, not even relationship advice I definitely don't have — music. My taste, my rankings, my very strong feelings about which era of a genre actually mattered, which album was overrated, which "classic" I secretly think is fine. I've built a decent chunk of my identity around having good taste, and having good taste quietly implies there's a wrong taste out there too. That's an uncomfortable thing to type out loud, let alone admit to a store full of customers whose taste I'm not always going to agree with.
So this space felt like the right place to actually test that out — in public, in writing, where I can't quietly revise my opinion later and pretend I always thought that. That said, while FTWELVE will operate as a "normal" music blog with reviews, features, interviews, etc, I'm also going to be using it as a way to challenge my musical beliefs.
I want you to get to know me as not just the owner & buyer at Records on Main, but as a music fan so you can better understand why I buy what I buy for the store, why we are organized the way we are (GO A TO Z!!!) and what my thoughts are for the future of music.
I write like I talk, so this might be a little verbose, but I'm serious. I love a think piece, an op-ed, a little bit of writing that makes you really question your own thoughts & beliefs with the author.
So, welcome to FTWELVE. I hope you're as excited as we are to get started.