From: owner-seven-seas@smoe.org (seven-seas-digest) To: seven-seas-digest@smoe.org Subject: seven-seas-digest V3 #241 Reply-To: seven-seas@smoe.org Sender: owner-seven-seas@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-seven-seas@smoe.org Precedence: bulk seven-seas-digest Friday, July 23 2004 Volume 03 : Number 241 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 23 Jul 2004 13:07:55 -0700 (PDT) From: chris adams Subject: RE: seven-seas NME review of Curvature of the Earth Thanks Stu, I remember being 16 in 1985, and taking the train in from my hometown to Harvard Square in Cambridge every Saturday morning so I could pick up MM, Sounds, NME, etc. I did this faithfully every week. I'd have just enough cash to buy 1-2 records a week, a mag or two, trainfare, and some fast food. (I have the distinct memory of reading about the Buns' Glasto performance while eating a "personal-sized" pizza at some long-since-defunct joint, my freshly purchased vinyl copies of the first Velvets and Joy Division albums in a plastic bag at my side.) But, I digress... The NME's always been notorious for the "build-em-up/knock-em-down" thing, and they recognize it, so...ultimately, though, I agree the UK rock press is in a pretty bad state now. Which is a shame, as UK music writers are far better than their US counterparts, in general. The only UK rag worth its salt anymore, in my estimation, is Uncut, although Mojo has its moments. Having reviewd records and live shows for the past twenty years, I can say with authority that rock criticism is a bullshit gig. I don't even care what I think about a record, ya know? If I don't dig it after a few spins, I just sell it or give it away or something. Why anyone would place credence on someone else's opinion is beyond me. No one can listen with your ears/mind/taste or lack thereof, ya know? If I'm talking about music with someone and they say something like "I don't think Dylan wrote good lyrics" or "Lou Reed sucks" or something, I just think "Hey man, I don't come to you with MY problems" and leave it at that. But yeah, in the view of the labels, the attitude is "the only bad review is no review." (Hence PR agencies and reps who send hacks tons of free crap.) You could write a fukkin book called "THE LIBERTINES ARE SHITE"--the shite part doesn't matter. What matters is that the Libertines are on people's minds. That's what "shifts" "units." Example: Will Hung, the gloriously untalented kid who was on American Idol. He was so fukkin terrible that he was written about. So he got a record contract. And it's the number one selling record on Koch Entertainment right now. The whole game is money. No ifs ands or buts. The bottom line is the bottom line. If you're U2 and your record stiffs, then it doesn't matter. You are product X and your record stiffed. That's all the label sees. Feed the machine or yr yesterday's papers. Literally. - --Chris Stu Bird wrote: Good post Chris.. Unfortunately, the state of the UK music media is at it's lowest. When I was a schoolboy, I used to be able to buy Melody Maker, Sounds, or NME on a Wednesday morning. Now each had their particular slant, but reading 2, or even all 3 publications gave a great all round information base. Gradually, Sounds and MM have disappeared leaving the NME the sole weekly music "newspaper". The magazine side of things has got just as bad if not worse.. They aren't really considered to be at the cutting edge of new music. Yes we have the likes of Kerrang, but that's purely big-hair so it's a niche mag, along with all the others.. Mixmag, Rocksound, Psychedelic Plectrum ( okay, I made that up ) etc. So, back to the NME... They have the monopoly on indroducing music to the masses via newsprint, and all it then needs is some of their hacks infiltrating the national radio offering review slots on air and you can see just how bad things are. Listening to Radio 1, you can trace direct plugs for bands which then appear in print in the NME the following week. They try to build their credability from each other. It's self -perpetuating. Tell people enough times and eventually they will believe it.. The Strokes, The White Stripes, The Vines, The Libertines, Coldplay, Keane are all classic examples of this.. Some are justified IMO, others sound like a bag of spanners IMO. The only answer is for more weekly national music papers.. It ain't gonna happen due to costs etc.. I used to love writing reviews, and I can tell you now that from experience, the record companies and artist's management don't give a crap if they get good or bad reviews, so long as they get a review. I've lost the mail now, but I had that written to me from Depeche Mode's management when I nearly missed a deadline on Exciter. How many times have you read a live/album/single review and thought "why didn't they give this to someone who actually likes this music" ? BINGO !! Okay, I guess I've ranted enough... Peace all, Stu chris adams wrote: That "Curvature" piece is an extremely bad review. It's poorly written, obviously tossed together within fifteen minutes after reading the press release, and offers no particular insight into the music at all. It's also spiteful for no apparent reason. A pedestrian effort. The NME needs some people who know their shit and can fukkin string a word or two together, not these nosepickin' little twerps who lend themselves some sort of authority that is grossly absent from their written product. One out of 5 stars. Noose Boy wrote: It's weird their writers seem to be a particular breed. I know other writers that don't have their heads half way up you know where. In fact Chris, my best friend, has just been doing a Killing Joke piece for Record Collector. Tells me Youth has been working on the new Embrace LP which Chris Martin has written a song for - -----Original Message----- From: owner-seven-seas@smoe.org [mailto:owner-seven-seas@smoe.org] On Behalf Of shaz Sent: 23 July 2004 12:23 To: seven-seas@smoe.org Subject: Re: seven-seas NME review of Curvature of the Earth yeah, we don't buy it anymore for same reason but had this copy given to us....I'll use it to wrap the rubbish in!! - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Noose Boy" To: Sent: Friday, July 23, 2004 11:35 AM Subject: RE: seven-seas NME review of Curvature of the Earth > Kinda thing I'd expect from the NME which is why I don't read it > > -----Original Message----- > From: owner-seven-seas@smoe.org [mailto:owner-seven-seas@smoe.org] On > Behalf Of Shaz > Sent: 22 July 2004 22:40 > To: Seven-seas; villiers-terrace@yahoogroups.com > Subject: seven-seas NME review of Curvature of the Earth > > 2 out of 10 > > Apparently, Glide - or Will Sergeant to his mum - was once the most > celebrated > guitarist of his generation in one of the > most important bands of the last 25 years, Jive Bunny and > the Echomen or something. Not that you'd be able to tell from 'Cof the > E', > right enough. The pictures on the inside sleeve betray a one time axe > god > reduced to the likeness of a bus-station bum panhandling for 50p. Worse > still, the music is the most superfluous sonic wallpaper you'll come > across > this side of 'Essential Chill Out vol 673'. Largely instrumental, > partially > indedbited to Air and Daft Punk (see the sole highlight ' I have seen > the > sunlight' and wholly boring, NME only managed to stay awake throughout > these > 11 crushingly pedestrian tracks by necking Vim'n'tonic and plucking out > public > hairs every 30 seconds. Not even Ian McCulloch could reduce us to that. > > Barry Nicolson > > - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > ----- > ------- > > funny guy (NOT)........... owes something to Air and Daft > Punk!!!!!!!!!???? I > think not..... > > please excuse the typing - did it quick didn't check it... > > oh dear......they gave Polymoronic Spree 8 out of 10 ;-) > > Shaz > > > > ====================================== > http://www.bunnymenlist.com > > ====================================== ====================================== http://www.bunnymenlist.com ====================================== ====================================== http://www.bunnymenlist.com ====================================== Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com ====================================== http://www.bunnymenlist.com ====================================== - --------------------------------- ALL-NEW Yahoo! Messenger - all new features - even more fun! ====================================== http://www.bunnymenlist.com ====================================== Yahoo! Mail - Helps protect you from nasty viruses. ====================================== http://www.bunnymenlist.com ====================================== ------------------------------ End of seven-seas-digest V3 #241 ********************************