A Tom Waits reference demanded finding time to be read .. it, and the Wired piece (are they still called essays ?), were both well worth it.  Still processing a jumble of my own thoughts... but one phrase is stuck in my mind.
".. burns away the chaff .." 

Or as you said, KC ..<i>"the stuff I skipped wasn’t worth publishing".</i>  
Of the many talents that are needed to create and maintain a blog of this caliber, having a curator's eye for what is valuable may be the one that is the most difficult to master - and the most important for keeping readers coming back.
 
I don't know if GPN etewaf is necessary if, as you point out, it's even possible going forward - maybe that's the band's call.   But having a repository of the highlights, the special moments/events that chronicle and define GPN's evolving history is important.  And that's what TIS ultimately is - a GPN resource library - a fun, sometimes funky, place to learn about a great band.   

I'm not dismissing the value of the fan forum .. but for me an analogy would be the board is the playground .. TIS is "home".

KC, I don't envy you the job of sifting through the deluge of information showing up now .. much less as the band continues to attract attention.  Maybe you'll have to consider having interns. :D 

Now I'm going to set up a playlist with Tom Waits, the Pixies and Dawes (abyss gazing/staring), keep an eye out for Balrogs, and decide if I really need to know what anime tentacle porn is while I inhale a little more caffeine and prep for a meeting.