Blogger To Blogger Interview With Nik Thakkar of KARLISMYUNKLE

Photo by David Hart

Nik Thakkar is many things.  Publicist, part-time model and occasional compere of EQ Live and he geniunely is one of the people that EVERYONE seems to know that EVERYONE should know.  Most importantly he's a lovely guy - one of the good ones.

His AMAZING pop culture blog KARLISMYUNKLE is one of my daily reads and it's an essential tour de force news source on all things fabulous, smart and intelligent.  I caught up with Nik recently to talk about life as a blogger, what's it like being so multi-faceted, the celebrity versus stigma of blogging and just why exactly he has a massive obsession with Nicki Minaj and Karl Lagerfield - oh and he's a briefs wearing kinda guy too ;)

Hello Nik Thakkar.  How are you sir?
Hello EQ! I am well thank you and very excited to be talking to you tonight!

So - blogger to blogger here we are. So for those who don't know that you're like a totally awesome pop culture blogger by now, why don't you tell us a little bit about KARLISMYUNKLE.
KARLISMYUNKLE started off as somewhat of a pet project, that has been growing exponentially over the last couple of years. It's a different type of pop culture blog, specialising in what I like to call "haute pop culture collaborations", essentially when two or more pop culture elements come together to create a beautiful piece of art, image, film, pop song etc... There is no celebrity gossip and it is all about celebrating creativity. 

Is Karl Lagerfeld a bit of an icon to you?  What is it about him?  It's the sunglasses and attitude isn't it?
A bit of an icon would be an understatement! Karl Lagerfeld is a living legend and creative genius. From his fashion designing to photography, short film directing and style icon status - oh and of course the sunglasses and attitude, who doesn't love that? I was fortunate enough to party with him at the Vogue Bar during Paris Fashion Week last year and am currently working on the strategy for the next Diet Coke by Karl Lagerfeld collaboration - so it is VERY exciting to be involved with a project for someone that I regard so highly.  

Why did you start your blog?
I felt that there was a bit of a void in the blogosphere. I wanted to read something that was where a guilty pleasure meets intellectual social commentary. There are hundreds of gossip blogs out there, and a good few dozen (but very dry) marketing and media blogs. KARLISMYUNKLE sits between the two. It offers commentary and (when I am up to it) intellectual insight into the world of pop culture from the perspective of someone who works within that industry and pioneers some of those collaborations. I have such a close proximity to celebrity life and pop culture collaborations through my work, so my perspective is somewhat unique. 

Blogger To Blogger: EQ Audio Interview With Miss Tila On Her Recent Trip To London

You guys know that I LOVE Miss Tila.  Ever since I met her in New York a few months ago - right before she launched her new celebrity gossip blog www.misstilaomg.com - I've kinda become fascinated with her and her drive to become the world's next big blogger in the world of celebrity.  What I like about Miss Tila's blog is that she just tells it how it is from her perspective and she keeps it real - with a bit of saucy thrown in for fun.  While other celebrity bloggers are quite transparent and at the mercy of their advertisers, Miss Tila's content is fresh and fun and she's been quite good at getting the scoop way before her competitors.  She definitely is becoming a force to be reckoned with in the world of celebrity gossip. 

Miss Tila recently visited London for a little media tour and she got to meet with all the big publications who were just dying to get some sort of scandalous scoop on her.  EQ was excited to get invited down for a second chat with her on a rooftop garden in West Kensington to talk about her life so far as a celebrity blogger, her new EP "Welcome To The Darkside" and how important it is to use your celebrity status to help out up-and-coming musicians and artists.  Hope you enjoy this little chat.  I sure did and I just want to thank Miss Tila for being such a supporter of EQ as well.  I got nothing but love for the tiny, yet mighty little powerhouse.

Make sure to check out the Miss Tila EQ shout-out after the jump! 

Blogger To Blogger With Arjan Writes

 

www.ArjanWrites.com is one of the best music blogs on the planet.  When I first stared reading music blogs, Arjan's blog was and still is my bible that I read everyday for it's quality music musings and the occasional free download.  Unlike other blogs that post illegal mp3s to generate traffic, the quality of the content is really what captivated me and was a huge inspiration to me when I had the idea of starting up EQ. 

Just as the music and musicans are important to EQ, Arjan's blog is equally as important.  I've had the opportunity to meet Arjan in London and not only is he an awesome music blogger, he's a really cool guy to hang out with.  So enjoy this little blogger to blogger interview with Arjan and myself and if you get a chance too, make sure you vote for Arjan Writes for best blog at the Stereogum Gummy Awards!

Well hello Arjan - how are you today?
Doing great, Raj! Thanks for asking.

So first off - how do you pronounce your name? I know that I got it wrong until I heard Annie Lennox say you're name on a podcast.
Annie got it right. I'm used to the fact that people pronounce in different ways so if people don't get it right, I'm not bothered by it at all. Most people end up saying "Argen," and that's fine with me.

You've been blogging for years now. I know when I first starting reading blogs, Arjan Writes was one of the ones that came up and since then I was hooked. How did you get into the fun world of music blogging?
It all started in September of 2003. I can't believe it has been so many years actually... Time flies when you are having fun! I wrote music reviews and articles for some newspapers here in the States, and I was editor for GENRE, a national gay monthly. At a certain point when online publishing systems emerged to create blogs I was like "wow, I can publish myself whenever I want.' I no longer had to wait around for next week's edition to submit my column. Also, I really found blogging a great way to share my passion for music with others. This remains the #1 reason for me to blog - to share my passion for music with like-minded people.