BY JASON GROSS
In 2004, the only thing worse than being a Democrat was being a journalist. The battered profession had to contend with crises of confidence (not just Jayson Blair, but Dan Rather), newspaper circulation scandals, biting from bloggers, slowed ad revenue growth for publications, ever shrinking word counts and sections (review columns cover on average only 10 releases a week), and increasing consolidation of media outlets (something the record industry knows all too well). To top it off, an annual Gallup poll recently revealed that scribes get low marks for “integrity” and “honesty.”
Just to ice the cake here, an October 3rd Los Angeles Times article brought it home for the members of the entertainment media, with a headline that said it all: “Newspapers Snub the Arts.” And that was on top of current news that the Washington Post‘s new editor was looking for shorter articles with more pictures and that the New York Times was scrapping its Arts and Leisure Guide. No less an authority than the Chronicle of Higher Education concluded recently that cultural criticism is all but dead now, buried under a wave of snark. If you need another barometric reading to say how bad things have gotten, how about the reports of year-end company parties that have been severely scaled back at many publications? All of this would lead you to believe that there would barely be any kind of music journalism worth speaking about this year. There’s only one problem with that conclusion though: it’s totally false.
Despite all this gloom, you’ll find about 130 wonderful articles cited below (not including dozens or hundreds of others that I missed), which leads you to wonder why or how this could still happen. I have a theory that’s not totally bonkers, if only because I’ve seen it in practice many times: like the musicians that are the subject of these articles, the writers themselves are so obsessed with the subjects, the artists, the songs, and the albums that they have to write about them and spread the word. OK, that’s pretty corny and romantic but don’t discount it–I can attest that it’s happened to me sometimes as well. Don’t forget that the editors also make sure these prime nuggets get out and will almost never get credit for a great story finding its way into their section. With less space to express yourself and more competition for the smaller columns (not just other writers and non-arts sections, but ads), there has to be some kind of rabid commitment at play here. This is something we should all be grateful for because, in the end, we’re all richer for having these great pieces of writing at our disposal.
And what about the online factor? A popular theory is that blogs are going to wipe out traditional journalism and render it useless and old-fashioned. It’s a cute mantra but it ignores the fact that blogs rarely give you news and almost always serve up opinion. Even leaving it at that, this would seem to imply that blogs are still going to be strong competition for record reviewers. Maybe so, but think about this weird symbiotic relationship that’s been going on recently: many bloggers hit the big-time when they cross over into other media like print, while many frustrated print writers use blogs to more fully express themselves in ways that they can’t otherwise. Basically, what this means is that each side is always jealous of the other. I have to say that I’m still a little disappointed in the amount of quality discourse that comes out of music blogs in general but that’s going to change, especially with MP3 blogs becoming yet another and more direct source for learning about new or unknown music. As for online publications themselves, the most successful ones (Slate, Salon) still don’t have models that any sane mogul could follow.
I still think that the online world has only begun to have an effect on journalism though. Other than opening up the process to opinion-makers who would never have had a forum otherwise (through blogs or ‘zines), the Net holds much more promise for this profession. The web was made for interactive communication and its potential has barely been realized in many arts and news sites; some great examples of where it has been used well are the reader forums and comments that New Music Box and the Guardian add at the end of many of their articles. I also believe that the Net’s spread of communication means that we’ll see an end to the domination of America and Britain as the sole arbiters of art. I’ve worked with a number of brilliant, inspired writers from South America, Africa, Asia, and mainland Europe, and know that their perspective is much needed by all of us in the West and is inevitably coming. I’m sure that many of the ‘liberal elite’ won’t like hearing this but the decentralization of media sources will also inevitably mean that more conservative music criticism is coming our way. Instead of a knee-jerk disgust with such an idea, I think it would be much healthier to actually welcome this (as long as it has some quality to it) because journalism should thrive on healthy debate and different perspectives. Truth be known, I’m not even convinced that the web is going to be main online mode of communication five or ten years from now–as connection speeds keep increasing and other portable devices are used more and more for communication, there’ll inevitably be faster, easier ways that we’ll all converse and transfer information. I’d like to say that any entrepreneur out there would do well to steal this idea and run with it but I guarantee you it’s already in the works.
In terms of content itself, it’s worth noting how conflict plays out in so many of these pieces. This isn’t just the obvious red state and blue state wars but also fights about the FCC, censorship, ill-advised police crackdowns, record companies vs. downloaders, highbrow vs. lowbrow, U.S. vs. Europe, cynics vs. true believers, rockism vs. teen pop, online music services vs. jazz history, bombs vs. good-will ambassadors, editors vs. political-minded writers, etc. These are all aesthetic (and political) discussions that are worth having in the public realm and should continue to be debated. Since the American government has turned beet red, the fourth estate remains ne of the few checks and balances that we have left. As bad a rap as the mainstream political media’s taken for being White House stenographers, I think the issues tackled in the articles below mean there’s still a healthy skepticism in many publications, which isn’t about to ease up any time soon. That’s something we should all be grateful for.
I have enough faith in all of these ideas that I’m actually optimistic about the prospect for music/arts journalism. As I said, writers are a strange breed; they’ll go through a variety of publications, editors, and mediums to get their story out one way or another. The best we can do is compliment their work, tell others about it, and let the publication that released it know how much we appreciate what they’ve done, so that, hopefully, we’ll see more of it. So try this little trick: when you find a great music article, contact the writer and the editor and say how much it meant to you. If they hear enough of that, maybe you’ll get your ultimate reward of not just being a good Samaritan but also the selfish satisfaction of getting more great work thrown at your feet. Hopefully, I’ve done my part below, but why should I have all the fun?
Thanks to Andy Flynn, Kandia Crazy Horse and Carl Zimring for their help in gathering material, and to all of the writers below for their wonderful, inspiring work (except for most of the IgNoble winners).
SUPER-SCRIBING AWARDS: Best Writing of the Year
- Chris Anderson: “The Long Tail” (Wired, October 2004)
The online music revolution is going to change the business, not only in the way that music is bought and sold but in regards to what’s available too. The good news for collectors is that they’ll have a lot more choices thanks to low overhead. The good news for the record companies is that the amount of collectors out there will keep them afloat for years to come. - Bob Arnold: “Patti Smith: The Art of Trampin” (Longhouse, April 24, 2004)
A very poignant and thoughtful reading of Ms. Smith: why her being a feminist (and a punk) is a misnomer, and why her last few albums are as meaningful to her art as her beloved early records. - Michael Azerrad: “Punk’s Earnest New Mission” (New York Times, January 4, 2004)
Important for a number of reasons, including the revelation that there’s no research done on the positive effects of rock/punk music. “…Therapy rock claims to report from the front lines of suburbia. In other words, it’s cool to be bummed out. And it sure sells records.” - James Best: “You Failed Hip-Hop” (East Bay Express, February 25, 2004)
Hip-hop has been around for almost thirty years now, so it would be pretty amazing if it didn’t go through some cycles and lulls and such. Also, Jay-Z and André 3000 are two of its best-selling stars (who both said they want out), but they’re still just two people in the biz–that doesn’t mean it’s a rapid exodus. André has been talking about all kinds of plans like going back to school and starting a jazz group, which probably means that he’s still figuring out what he really wants to do with his life after making it big. That doesn’t mean that he’ll necessarily follow through with these things–he might just do a non-split Outkast record next time. - Bill Borrows: “Just The Teeniest Brit Of Jealousy” (The Daily Mirror, September 25 2004)
For all of us who’re wondering why Britney has lasted long after her appointed 15 minutes of fame. “Every man of a certain age…remembers where he was and what he was doing the first time he saw the video for ‘Baby One More Time.’ He might be more reticent when you ask him what he was doing the second time he watched it.” - Todd Boyd: “Hip-hop Till You Drop” (Los Angeles Times, March 14, 2004)
In the wake of Jay-Z’s announced retirement, it’s comforting to know that rap does have the potential to grow old gracefully. I don’t know if we’re ready yet for “Biggie Smalls With Strings,” though. - Dan Brown: “What Will the Music of the Future Sound Like?” (CBC News Online, March 11, 2004)
Here’s a side of the download issue that doesn’t get discussed: the music itself and what’s going to be the effect of the latest technology. - R. L. Burkhead: “The Short Stories and Lyrics of Two Contemporary Writers: Steve Earle & Rosanne Cash, Part One” (Pop Matters, Autumn 2004)
Though it plays up the romantic notion of Earle and Cash as commercial outsiders, this does a brilliant job of delving into their worldviews, via songs. - Jeff Chang: “This Ain’t No Party” (Alternet, June 25, 2004)
Even more than his righteous story that picks apart Da Capo’s Best Music Writing 2003 book (“Return of the White Noise Supremacists”—The Guardian, January 8, 2004), this is what really makes Chang a hero. I could give a f-ck whether this is non-objective journalism or not as he’s so involved in the subject he’s reporting on. He still does a great job detailing the highs and lows of the Hip-hop convention and provides inspiration to anyone who’s lost faith in the American political system in the face of Dubya’s autocratic rule. - Ta-Nehisi Coates: “Crouching Stanley, Hidden Gangsta” (July 24, 2004, Village Voice)
Tracking Stanley Crouch’s hypocritical stance of crying about gangsta thugs and then administering his own beat-downs of other writers. Actions do indeed speak louder than words. - Richard Dyer: “Sometimes A Crossover Attempt Can Make A Good Voice Go Bad” (Boston Globe, January 25, 2004)
The vocal box trips up ambitious and hungry folks who try to jump from classical to pop and back. The Three Tenors, Bing Crosby, and Al Jolson have all been vexed by their gifts as such. - Mary Eberstadt “Eminem Is Right” (Policy Review, December 2004)
Silly title for an article that should be called “The Kids Aren’t Alright,” examining the popular theme of the dysfunctional family in recent rock and rap music. Great decade-old quote that still hits home, from Eddie Vedder: “Any generation that would pick Kurt or me as its spokesman–that must be a pretty f-ed up generation, don’t you think?” To which Eberstadt adds, “As it turned out, Cobain and Vedder were only the beginning.” A shame that she spends so much time vilifying rappers while using kid-gloves on all the rockers she notes. Also, have we forgotten the ’70s sensitive folkies who played up the father/son split, i.e., Harry Chapin and Cat Stevens? - Laila El-Haddad: “Music Amid the Din of War” (Al Jazeera, January 7, 2004)
In the middle of one of the most vicious civil wars in recent history (in the Gaza strip), a music teacher perseveres with music instruction, even though most of his people find it insulting for him to so in such circumstances. His response? “We hope for music to have a large role in society because it is the language of communication between societies and is the most expressive of all languages.” - Robert Everett-Green: “Don’t Composers Know It’s Christmas?” (Globe & Mail, December 21, 2004)
You thought Brother Ray was blasphemous? He just followed in a long tradition of dragging religious music out of the church and into the realm of us heathens. Also, it turns out that Christmas wasn’t such a big idea in history until recently. In many parts of the world, it still isn’t. - Andrew Ferguson: “Radio Silence” (Weekly Standard, June 14, 2004)
A.K.A. “How NPR purged classical music from its airwaves.” Fascinating that such a conservative publication would question the wisdom of the Gipper and the commercialization of public radio and the changing role of ‘public service.’ Consultant David Giovannoni makes the perfect villain here and he’s totally unrepentant: “A lot of these people are living in the past. They see themselves as educators. They go back to that early tradition of educational radio, when the object was to teach people something about the music…That’s not the way public radio understands public service today.” - Richard Florida: “Creative Class War” (Washington Monthly, January 15, 2004)
If the GOP was really concerned about economic growth, they’d drop their cultural war façade and heed this unfairly-reviled report which shows the importance of the artisan class they ignorantly fear. - Patrick Goldstein: “The Zipping Point” (Los Angeles Times, March 28, 2004)
How is media consolidation related to the uproar over media indecency? Big conglomerates are less responsive to outcries, local needs, and concerns. - Gloria Goodall: “Expect More ‘Oops’ on Live TV” (Christian Science Monitor, February 5, 2004)
Why the Janet/Justin incident wasn’t just an accident but a sign of the times and a calculated move, orchestrated more by the network(s) than by the performers themselves. Not to mention those guardians of the American way, the FCC, who (as Moses Avalon pointed out) are going to help the U.S. government spend more on investigating the incident than the intelligence failures in the Middle East that have cost thousands of lives. Also see Kay McFadden’s sharp article “CBS Fine Fires up Desires for Strict Federal Nanny” (Seattle Times, Sept 27, 2004), where we learn how politicians and pollsters are shamelessly exploiting “Nipplegate.” - Richard Harrington: “The Soul of a Genius” (Washington Post, June 11, 2004)
Probably the most touching, righteous tribute to Brother Ray. Close contenders include Mark Anthony Neal’s “A Pillar of Soul” (Africana, June 15, 2004) and the Jon Pareles obit in the Times (“Ray Charles, Who Reshaped American Music, Dies at 73” (June 10, 2004): “Even in his early years he sounded like a voice of experience, someone who had seen all the hopes and follies of humanity. Leaping into falsetto, stretching a word and then breaking it off with a laugh or a sob, slipping into an intimate whisper and then letting loose a whoop, Mr. Charles could sound suave or raw, brash or hesitant, joyful or desolate, insouciant or tearful, earthy or devout.” - Robert Hilburn: “Rock’s Enigmatic Poet Opens a Long-Private Door” (Los Angeles Times, April 4, 2004)
Surprisingly revealing (and lengthy) Dylan interview about his songwriting craft, and much better than his sit-down with 60 Minutes. “Blowin’ in the Wind” was only written in 10 minutes? One of the most influential and covered songwriters of the last century also claims, “My songs are either based on old Protestant hymns or Carter family songs or variations of the blues form”? Well, at least he has good source material… - Earl Ofari Hutchinson: “Rapper 50 Cent’s Gay Problem” (AlterNet, March 18, 2004)
A stinging indictment of gangsta rap’s homophobia and what might be at the root of it. - Mark Jenkins: “Unhooked on the Classics” (Washington City Paper, August 6, 2004)
“Technical issues aside, the most provocative thing about the post-copyright era is how it will affect the rock canon. Yes, there is one, but now it’s governed mostly by the performers themselves. Once control of the music slips to scholars, enthusiasts, and hucksters, things will change. Forgettable songs may vanish, concept albums could be cannibalized, and the legacies of lesser acts might be reduced to a single song. Then someday, a daring revisionist could reintroduce songs, forms, or performers that have been entirely forgotten, the way the ‘early music’ movement challenged the classical establishment’s fixation on 18th and 19th-century symphonic and chamber music. And sometime around 2015, perhaps in Slovenia, a prankster will be able to compile legally a Sonny & Cher compilation and not pay a cent to Bono’s heirs.” - Jeff Johnson: “The Hometown Blues” (Chicago Sun Times, April 6, 2004)
Fascinating portrait of the state of Chicago Blues today and how its appeal to white audiences has both nurtured and hurt it. It’s a shame that there’s too little information about how blues was always an impure form and too much information about the Blues Brothers revival, though. - Jim Kappes: “Boosters Are for Rocket Ships, Have No Place in Critics’ World” (Cleveland Plain Dealer, January 2, 2004)
Knocking the myth that ‘small town’ papers do local arts a disservice by being critical of them and expecting certain standards. Also see Laurence A. Johnson’s “Music Criticism Should Be Sharp, Not Flat” (Sun-Sentinel, July 25, 2004). - Julia Keller: “The Great Divide” (Chicago Tribune, January 25, 2004)
Harold Bloom squares off against Stephen King in the dying gasp of elitist snobs everywhere, ready to man the barracks against the uncouth hoards. As Pogo once warned, “We have met the enemy and it is ourselves.” - Philip Kennicott: “Divided They Stand” (Washington Post, September 12, 2004)
Brilliant piece outlining the perils of old art (trying to please as many as possible but having no distinct form) and new art (drawing lines in the sand and threatening to alienate potential audiences) in politically fraught times, like now. - Patrick J. Kiger: “The Golden Age of Mediocrity” (Los Angeles Times, March 7, 2004)
The word ‘genius’ is so overused today it’s become meaningless. So what actually is a ‘genius’? Britney? Eminem? Tarantino? Cobain? None of the above? - Greg Kot: “Clubs and the City” (Chicago Tribune, February 15, 2004)
The fallout from the E2 club fire/tragedy is that the rest of Chicago’s clubs are getting clamped down by the city and its cultural nightlife is being slowly, painfully choked. Windy City residents shouldn’t be the only ones who are alarmed because Chicago exports a lot of good music, and in the end, we all lose out. Excellent, detailed reporting about this problem from a writer who obviously cares deeply about his city’s music scene. - Kenneth LaFave “Will the Next Mozart Please Stand Up?” (The Arizona Republic, December 3, 2004)
Pondering the next big idea in classical music, LaFave asks, “Isn’t it strangely irrelevant to wonder about what direction new classical music is going, when living composers are given so little attention?” Ultimately, he concludes that the next big idea will be no idea and that we are heading into a post-styles world that banishes barriers. Wishful thinking perhaps, but still intriguing. And where does he find the most articulate spokesman for his theory? Philip Glass? John Rockwell? Nope, it’s movie star and martial arts legend Bruce Lee. - Mark Lawson: “Has Swearing Lost Its Power to Shock?” (Guardian Unlimited, February 5, 2004)
Since Alfred Jarry’s “Ubu Roi” back in the 1890s, it’s been harder and harder to rile an audience with a naughty word. It isn’t just that we’re more tolerant, but also that we understand context better, as Lawson argues. A great bit of investigative semantics. - Norman Lebrecht: “A Critical Gap” (La Scena Musicale, March 31, 2004)
As much as I love this article, I have to partially defer to Kyle Gann here: “Lebrecht’s making a point that has been a frequent topic at Music Critic’s Association panels, and made many, many times by American critics, including myself: that the one-newspaper-per-city system robs arts discourse of liveliness and grants too much power to the critic, who is then afraid to use it. And I’m sure Lebrecht has never read an American alternative newspaper from any city, and has no idea what role they play.” - Bob Lefsetz: “Led Zeppelin II” (Musicthoughts Mailing List, March 24, 2004)
Any editor probably would have tightened this up a lot (even people on the list complain about this), but the enthusiasm and detail in this entry are strong and persuasive enough to make you dig out the record and hear it again. Isn’t that what great music scribing is supposed to do? Runners up include Lefsetz’s lowdown on early Joni Mitchell and CSN, “Lay Me Down” (Musicthoughts, July 13, 2004) where he comes up with this extraordinary connection: “The first Crosby, Stills and Nash record was the Appetite For Destruction of its day. A snapshot of the life of twentysomethings in Los Angeles” (wonder if Axl would agree?). Also, “My Favorite Who Track” (Musicthoughts, November 16, 2004) where he goes on an extended tease about what it might be, leading us through a journey of wonderful, obscure Who tracks until we learn what a Quadrophenia fan he is. - Lawrence Lessig: “Some Like it Hot” (Wired, March 2004)
Subtitle: “OK, P2P is ‘piracy.’ But so was the birth of Hollywood, radio, cable TV, and (yes) the music industry.” Edison didn’t ‘invent’ the phonograph or motion pictures–he just got rights to it after they had been developed by others. In essence, he pirated these inventions for himself and got the rights, credit, fame, and money. Also see Wallace Wang’s modest proposal, “Let’s Sue Everybody” (SC Magazine, December 1, 2004) and David Page’s review of Lessig’s new book (“Free Culture Vs. Big Media” (Reason, November 2004)). - Catharine Lumby: “Pop Goes the Culture” (The Age, January 20, 2004)
Why popular culture isn’t as crass as we’ve been led to believe, and why it’s not necessarily bad for us. - Mac Net V2 Staff: “The Music Man – King Of The Pirates Has A Goal: Own It All!” (Mac Net V2, November 11, 2004)
“Doug” (as he’s called) is on a mission to collect all of the digital music out there. He’s up to 900,000 songs so far and he’s got a house full of connections and servers to aide him. Seems like a human interest story, but this virtual librarian has some complex, interesting, and noteworthy opinions on piracy and the industry. To start with, out of moral compulsion, he refuses to share his collection with anyone. Even his kids. - Michaelangelo Matos “Restless Hello” (Seattle Weekly, November 17, 2004)
A sharp take not just on the recent flood of Dylan material in print and CD but the ever-growing cult that grows up around an elusive figure that intriguingly peels back the curtain of his life and work in ways that Madonna or Britney should take note of. - Melinda Mattos and Nicole Cohen: “Your Voice in Print” (Toronto Star, June 15, 2004)
The editors of the fine publication Shameless (“for girls who get it”) lay out the ways and means for any committed journalistic nut to do their own ‘zine. In a time when so many national magazines are struggling, cutting back, and closing, Mattos and Cohen make it seem to easy to go the DIY route. Try this at home, kids… - Edward Morris: “Rednecks On the Rebound–Gretchen Wilson Tapping Into Popular Stereotype” (CMT, June 25, 2004)
A very smart piece not only on the appeal of Wilson’s hit but on the history and etymology of the ‘redneck.’ When you think about it, that word has a twisted history that almost rivals other abused phrases that are sometimes used as a badge of pride: ‘nigger’ or ‘faggot’ or ‘dyke’ for instance. - William Osborne: “Marketplace of Ideas: But First, The Bill” (Arts Journal, March 11, 2004)
Some eye-opening differences between how the U.S. government and European governments see the arts and how they effect the rest of society. Many of the conclusions deserve an ovation. But some of it definitely doesn’t, hence its inclusion also in the “Ignobles” section below. - Jon Pareles: “A Scrappy Underdog Challenges MTV” (New York Times, October 29, 2004)
An insightful look at how Fuse is trying to take on MTV on its own turf. Either network would be wise to take notes here. While it’s implied that Fuse’s problem is smaller resources (dough), you have to wonder what it would do if the playing field was more level. - James Poniewozik: “The Age of iPod Politics” (Time, September 27, 2004)
It’s a shame that American’s varied and (mostly) laissez-faire listening habits don’t match its not-so-varied and far-from laissez faire politics. - Devon Powers: “Black Like Me” (Pop Matters, April 14 2004)
Not only why the band TV on the Radio is confusing some scribes by virtue of being a black alternative rock band but also why the field of music scribedom is skewed to misunderstand such niceties. - Lucy Raven: “Death Wish Soundtrack” (Sound Collector Audio Review, No. 5, Spring/Summer 2004)
Reviews done as illustrations isn’t exactly an original idea (the Savage Pencil has been doing the same for years) but writer/artist Raven ties Herbie Hancock’s soundtrack well into the plot of the movie. This is made especially compelling by the drawings themselves, especially the final scene with Bronson’s finger gun. You still might not dig Hancock’s work here but just the fact that Raven could send you racing back to reconsider it speaks to the power of this piece. - Daniel Rubin: “The Walkman Turns 25” (Philadelphia Inquirer, July 10, 2004)
How a little tape recorder changed our lives in many ways. We would never hear music the same and the MP3 player probably wouldn’t have existed otherwise. Marshall McLuhan would definitely approve. For a kind of stuffy but poignant rebuttal, see “Sony Walkman–Music to Whose Ears?” by Norman Lebrecht (July 26, 2004, La Scena Musicale). - Greg Sandow: “View from the East: How We Can Save the World” (NewMusicBox, February 2004)
One of the few people who works as an active print advocate for change in the classical world. Maybe it’s a little too obvious that the folks who support the old European classics are trying to make a snobbish statement about how superior and refined they are. Still, I give Sandow a lot of credit for imagining and suggesting a better world where 20th and 21st century composers get their due in the concert hall. - Beth Scalet: “Writing Protest Songs” (MusicThoughts, July 30, 2004)
Nothing short of a full-length book would do justice to the subject, but it’s definitely useful and instructive to hear a perspective from a singer/songwriter, especially one who’s willing to not just toast the style but also bring up some of its short-comings. - David Segal: “Requiem for the Record Store” (Washington Post, February 7, 2004)
Downloading isn’t the only thing killing off the mom-and-pop stores; you can thank Walmart and Best Buy for that honor as well. - Dan Strachota: “Three Dirty Letters” (East Bay Express, July 7, 2004)
A neat explanation about how any speech might now be prosecuted thanks to the FCC’s newest rules on radio. Also see Stephen Labaton’s “Indecency on the Air, Evolution Atop the FCC” (New York Times, December 23, 2004) which picks apart all of the recent FCC flip-flops and self-righteous totalitarianism. - Daniel Turek: “iPod vs. The Cassette” (No Name No Slogan, August 2004)
A very funny, poignant photo essay about the limits of music technology. - Scott Timberg: “Middle Management” (Los Angeles Times, September 12, 2004)
“Take it to the bridge”? Not if the bridge is out, as it is in a lot of pop music today. Here’s a celebration of this little-acknowledged section of great songs. - Jim Walsh: “Ooh La La” (City Pages, May 26, 2004)
The touching tale of Soul Asylum’s Karl Mueller and his losing battle with throat cancer. With a tracheotomy tube sticking out of his throat, he’s only able to communicate with a note pad. After being helped onstage, he’s able to join his bandmates for a few songs. He scribbles down some people to thank later and then insists, “Can we make those Thank You’s not look like album credits?” - Nicole White And Evelyn McDonnell: “Police Secretly Watching Hip-hop Artists” (Miami Herald, March 9, 2004)
Excellent gum-shoe work about a despicable subject. Since the feds are tracking rap stars, does that mean Will Smith, Queen Latifah, De La Soul, and MC Hammer are in their crosshairs? - Carl Wilson: “The Prince of Hip-hop Rolls His Eyes at Hip Pop” (Globe and Mail, January 15, 2004)
Prince Paul purposely flubs his latest concept album, and why that’s good and bad news for the hip-hop nation. Great internal monologue here, too. Another contender would be Wilson’s “Political Music Beyond the Protest Song” (Globe and Mail, July 15, 2004), where he wonders aloud about what makes a song truly political and when is or isn’t a performer’s ego overpowering the message.
SUPERIOR SCRIBING AWARDS: Other Great Pieces of Music Journalism
- Alec Hanley Bemis: “A Small New Future” (LA Weekly, September 24, 2004)
Not enough dot-connecting, too much space devoted to the All Tomorrow’s Parties festival, and it’s pretty shallow to divide the industry into Cynics and True Believers when the truth is that most fall in between that. But give Bemis credit for linking Napster and underground festivals with the swift decline of multi-platinum acts. Also included is a great Jon Hassell quote about how he approaches the creative process: “I prefer to shoot the arrow, then paint the target around it.” - Stefan Braidwood: “How Hip-Hop Music Is Slowly Transcending Its Circular Culture” (Popmatters, July 28, 2004)
The beginning and end of this article are brilliant and heartfelt. You only wish that in the rest of the article, the message (hip-hop must grow and evolve but also remember its roots) was carried out in as straightforward a manner as this: “I will mix records together with no respect for their discrete heritage or creators; set your anthems as backing vocals for the rhymes I’ve spent my fruitless hours of drudgery whetting with pent-up bitterness; paint your greyly hideous constructions wildly, vibrantly beautiful; and funnel the electricity from your streetlights into my decks and speakers, to dance with my peers in new and explosive ways that pay homage to our frantic, cooped-up energy.” That doesn’t make a statement like this true: “No black artist has become truly successful without a ‘ghetto pass.'” Hammer and the Fresh Prince would have never sold any records if that was so. - Andy Borowitz: “Osama: Piracy Threatens Terror-Tape Industry” (Borowitz Report, April 16, 2004)
“In the past, I have been able to hire the best writers, directors, and cave designers to make my terror tapes truly chilling,” said a sterner-than-usual bin Laden on his latest tape. “But if illegal piracy of these scary tapes persists, the time will come when making new scary tapes will no longer be economically feasible.” - Lee Ballinger: “Cold Sweat” (Counterpunch, January 10/11, 2004)
How P. Diddy and Jay-Z got rich off Third World sweatshops. - Wayne Bremser: “The Digital Threat to Jazz” (Newsday, September 26, 2004)
The problem with online services isn’t just that they have piss-poor selections for jazz but also that they don’t have any details about the music they carry. For a style that’s as thorough about details and history as jazz is, this is a major flaw–and one that affects other types of music found online too. - Tim Cavanaugh: “Artists For Censorship: An Argument For the Uselessness of Culture” (Reason, April 27, 2004)
Interesting conceit, though you wish the analysis of all the examples went deeper. Why are some artists actually scared of art? How do they resolve a paradox like that? What about time period and social climate of these works? Answers would definitely help us understand the climate of self-censorship that’s happening now. - Rupert Christiansen: “Classical Music Is Not Just for Nerds” (The Telegraph, February 11, 2004)
I really wish he wouldn’t make the argument that classical music isn’t unhip just because it’s complex (what would Terry Riley or La Monte Young say?) but this is a good corrective, especially after the lumps given from School of Rock. - William Jelani Cobb: “Past Imperfect: The Hoodrat Theory” (Heritage, April 26, 2004)
Rapper Nelly chooses to avoid his problem with women and how they’re seen in his videos. Speaking of protesters at his own campus, the author notes, “They were highlighting a truth that is almost forgotten in hip-hop these days–a truth so basic that I wish I did not have to state it: anything that harms black women harms black people.” - Jim DeRogatis: “Idle Worship, or Revisiting the Classics” (Chicago Sun-Times, July 4, 2004)
For the sake of indemnity, let me say that I contributed to the book covered in this piece (which DeRogatis edited). Nevertheless, this is an enjoyable article because even if you don’t agree that Sgt Pepper’s deserves a kick in the teeth (as an old Beatles fan, I have a soft spot for it, though it’s not my favorite), this audacious piece will at least get you thinking about it again. Contrary? Over the top? Maybe, but I’d take it easily over the 300,000th article praising the same record. - Stephen M. Deusner: “Thinking Inside the Box” (Alternet, December 21, 2004)
While Rhino’s Left of the Dial box set celebrates the ’80s rock underground well, its diversity is both a strength and weakness. Not to mention that its history is coming around to teach us something today. - Elizabeth DiNovella: “Rock in a Hard Place” (The Progressive, January 21, 2004)
Good Tom Morello interview where he has the nerve to suggest that musicians should form a union and have benefits, just like many other minimum wage workers. Such audacity… - Guy Dixon: “Band-Aid: Musician, Heal Thyself” (Globe and Mail, April 24, 2004)
As musicians look for psychiatric help for their rough-hewn lifestyle, Dixon ponders the dilemma of the effect it will have on their art. Doesn’t pain and suffering breed great music? Will therapy put an end to that? Also see Lola Ogunnaike’s “The Shrinking of the American Band” (New York Times, July 11, 2004). - Peter Dreier and Dick Flacks: “Give Us Back Our Damn Flag” (L.A. Weekly, July 2-8, 2004)
‘We progressives are patriotic too and we’ve got the songs to prove it! Including ‘America the Beautiful’…” - Ted Drozdowski: “Spin doctor” (Boston Phoenix, October 15, 2004)
For an artist like Tom Waits who has spread his unique style over a smaller and smaller area for decades now, it’d take a scientist to properly dissect his work. Drozdowski must have a PhD, not only delving into Waits’s political side but also noticing new nuances in his music. - David Eggers: “School of Rock” (The Guardian/Spin, November 19, 2004)
McSweeney’s mastermind and well-regarded author Eggers is often better in concept than execution but this fine article traces threads of how music fans learn about high art through shout-outs in songs. Admittedly, like the people he notes in the piece, I got to know about Edith Head and Mildred Pierce through They Might Be Giants and Sonic Youth. - Robert Everett-Green: “Firing up the Classical Zappa” (Globe and Mail, February 21, 2004)
Notable not just for examining Zappa’s love of high and low-brow culture but also for chronicling how he does and doesn’t fit into the classical world (for the wrong reasons as far as some fans are concerned). - Matthew Garth: “Stop the Press Box!” (Slate, April 22, 2004)
Commenting on Donald Rumsfeld: “Need for publicity subjects himself to ridicule by swaths of the intellectual classes on the one hand and the bizarre confirmatory hagiographic MASH-note writing of female neoconservatives on the other. In the right cultural matrix, is capable of pop-hip-hop stardom; in the wrong one, a potential hillbilly heroin addict with a talk radio dynasty.” - Jason Gay: “Bush: The Missing Years” (GQ, September 2004)
The real story about George W. that Dan Rather was never allowed to report on, including Bush’s time as an undercover CIA agent, posing as a Rolling Stones roadie. Reporting back to his superiors, Bush passes on important information such as, “Jagger shaves legs.” And yes, some readers actually wondered why this bombshell story wasn’t reported more widely. - Josh Getlin: “The New SOS: Save of Songs” (Chicago Tribune, December 27, 2004)
Anyone crying about how pop music is turning into trash today should be more concerned that the classic pop music that was supposed to represent a golden age in modern American history is actually finding its way into the trash. Literally. Just be thankful that Michael Feinstein is trying to salvage it. - Malcolm Gladwell: “Something Borrowed” (New Yorker, November 22, 2004)
Mixed feelings about what work should be protected by law–the writer has a good perspective as an admitted victim and perpetrator. “Under copyright law, what matters is not that you copied someone else’s work. What matters is what you copied, and how much you copied. Intellectual-property doctrine isn’t a straightforward application of the ethical principle ‘Thou shalt not steal.’ At its core is the notion that there are certain situations where you can steal.” - Maria Golia: “Meditations On the Navel Ban” (Nth Position, July 4, 2004)
You thought the FCC was harsh on Janet? How about the Muslim nations that diss belly dancers? - Renee Graham: “Anti-gay Lyrics Become a Black-and-White Issue” (Boston Globe, October 5, 2004)
As disgusting as some of the recent homophobic reggae lyrics are, Graham rightfully questions why some dancehall artists are targeted while such un-PC artists like Eminem get a pass. - Dave Hoekstra: “The Night Anti-Disco Fans Went Batty at Sox Park” (Chicago Sun-Times, July 9, 2004)
Some context and personal reminiscing about a music riot, the likes of which we hopefully won’t see again any time soon. - David Holwerk: “Poet of the People” (Sacremento Bee, December 19, 2004)
An immodest proposal that Merle Haggard should be named the Poet Laureate of California, backed up with some prime lyrics to prove the point–and yes, they do read like good prose. The fact of the matter is, Hag has been a laureate for a while now, official recognition notwithstanding. - Molly Ivins: “Happy Birthday, America” (Alternet, July 1, 2004)
“Here’s to all the musicians from country to hip-hop to rock to classical to jazz to folk to be-bop to norteno to polka to reggae, and to all the fusion forms thereof. Here’s to all the artists who get no respect–the washboard players and lute strummers, harmonica blowers and banjo pickers. Here’s to their endless generosity in playing special benefits for retired musicians who are ill and have no health insurance, all over America, every night. And here’s to the great Ray Charles, bless his heart. May we all hear his version of ‘America the Beautiful’ this holiday.” - Mark Jenkins: “Regrouping: The Rules” (Washington City Paper, September 17, 2004)
“Do your reunion shows in locations you previously either seldom or never played” and “Regroup temporarily (at first, at least) for a prestigious, non-commercial event at the instigation of a ‘curator’ or other quasi-scholarly observer.” - Chris Jones: “Power to the People” (Chicago Tribune, February 1, 2004)
How technology is making consumers demand flexible art choices. The pace of change is dizzying (think Moore’s Law on crack) but the public isn’t getting any less pique or complacent. - David Kamp: “American Communion” (Vanity Fair, October 2004)
Chronicling the end of Johnny Cash’s career where his religious faith was one of the only things that kept him going through his drug addictions, failing health, and the death of his wife. Even Rick Rubin gets the spirit here. - Julia Keller: “What’s So Great ’bout Peace, Love and Understanding?” (Chicago Tribune, November 14, 2004)
As she notes in the sub-title, “Division is sometimes necessary for a culture to progress,” meaning that we need conflict in our culture to produce great art (citing Elvis P, Ellen DeGeneres, Gary Trudeau)–also, note the qualifier “sometimes.” Too bad that the RNC doesn’t believe in peace ‘n’ love. There sure will be plenty of conflict, and not just outside their own ranks. - John Lahr: “King Cole” (New Yorker, July 12, 2004)
A much better tribute to Cole Porter than the recent bio-pic. He led double and triple lives in public and private and in his songs, full of sly multi-leveled meanings. All of which means that he was much more modern than he ever imagined. - Steve Lamacq: “The Enemy Within” (The Guardian, March 19, 2004)
“Since the Strokes’ success, U.S. labels have used the UK as a testing ground for indie bands. It’s the kiss of death for homegrown talent, says Radio 1 DJ, Steve Lamacq.” - Dale Lawrence: “Busting Berry’s Music” (nuvo.net, July 21, 2004)
The not-so-surprising revelation that the RIAA is shooting itself in the feet again, this time targeting the same mixtapes that top-selling rappers use to promote themselves. Their answer to this ‘problem’? Shut down a small record store because they don’t include address and contact information on the back of the CDs. No, I’m not going to try to suss out the (lack of) logic here… - Last Plane To Jakarta: “101 Things To Which You Can Compare Interpol Besides Joy Division” (LPTJ, September 12, 2004)
“…every one of them, with just a little elbow grease on your part, is guaranteed to increase the yield of crisp prose and insightful observation in your reviews. Hey, you’re welcome!” - Bob Lefsetz: “Hits Sales Chart-Week Ending 11/15/04” (Musicthoughts mailing list, November 16, 2004)
His typical mix of humor, wisdom, old-fogey-dom and pop-star-hata bullshit. Britney? “Done.” Eminem? Done after Xmas (though sales now prove otherwise). Also Done or DOA: Vanessa Carlton, Destiny’s Child, Korn. Question for Shania: “WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU?” Advice for Shania: Stop bathing and smiling. Thoughts on Shawn ‘Napster’ Fanning’s latest venture into blocking illegal downloads: “Snocap is kind of like passing out condoms to the people with money, and telling the poor people that they’re on their own.” - Robert Lloyd: “Time of the Session” (LA Weekly, April 9, 2004)
Any article that salutes and gives due to the studio musicians that made the ’50s and ’60s move and groove is definitely commendable. - John Nova Lomax: “Amazing, Graceful–RIP, Brother Ray” (East Bay Express, June 17, 2004)
Yet another moving tribute–if anything good came of Charles’s passing, it’s that it inspired a wave of wonderful articles. - Dorian Lynskey: “Can One Live on Free CDs Alone?” (The Guardian, September 1, 2004)
Forget about online music killing the music industry–magazines and newspapers may make record stores obsolete first. - Tyler Mackenzie: “Found in Translation” (Wall Street Journal, September 24, 2004)
How America might be able to make friends in the Middle East with pop song contests instead of bombing raids. - Mike McGonigal: “Hiding in Plain Sight” (Seattle Weekly, April 14, 2004)
After dozens of albums and relative obscurity only rivaled by Jandek, the curtain is slowly lifted on the Sun City Girls, the most truly punk indie-band in many ways. - Bob Mehr: “Wilco: Are We Out of the Woods Yet?” (Chicago Reader, June 11, 2004)
A grueling portrait of Jeff Tweedy’s demons, which didn’t begin or end with unauthorized medications. - Fred Mills: “The Merda Files” (Metro Times, December 1, 2004)
After Chuck Berry and Jimi Hendrix, the words ‘black rock’ were mostly an anomaly before the coalition that bears its name emerged in the mid-1980s. In the meantime, there was this Motor City combo who only had two albums to their name and didn’t play the music game the right way (not that the industry or public was going to warm up to black rock then). Mills lovingly details the tale of Black Merda, who would be vindicated by the hip-hop generation and finally see that the world might be ready for them. - Shawn Moynihan: “Newspaper Rock Critics Face the Music on Ageism” (Editor & Publisher, April 12, 2004)
If we’re questioning Sir Mick or Sir Paul for staying in the game, should we let graying scribes off the hook if they keep writing after they’ve become irrelevant too? - Rachel Neumann: “The Best Prince of My Life” (AlterNet, July 2, 2004)
“He is exactly like I remembered–short, pan-sexual, and multitalented. It’s me who is different. Instead of helping me escape, as he did when I was a teenager, Prince helped me celebrate who I am now, the real eighties long behind me and never, ever to return.” - Andrew Orlowski: “Why Wireless Will End ‘Piracy’ and Doom DRM and TCPA” (The Register, February 11, 2004)
A truly modest proposal for a musical flat fee. Great analogies, seeing how car insurance, teenage fucking, and Steve Jobs’ lies are all related. - Tim Page: “The Art of Being an Original Original” (Washington Post, January 2, 2004)
You wish he had a place in his heart for any pop music (Beefheart, anyone?) but he makes his point nicely with Joyce, Beethoven, and other highbrow choices that aren’t necessarily automatic favorites, all without appearing snobbish. His Alain Resnais entry helped me finally figure out the no wave band DNA. - Alex Petridis: “Will the Creator of Modern Music Please Stand Up?” (The Guardian, April 16, 2004)
Sorry folks, no clear answer yet about who actually made the first rock record, but more fun in searching for the answer. Plus this astute observation from DJ Tony Thorpe: “I often wonder if people who are into all the information side actually lose what rock’n’roll is all about. They’re more interested in who was making the coffee in the studio than the actual music, the feeling. You can enjoy a record even if you don’t know or care who it’s by.” Also see “Rock Celebrates 50 Years–Or Does It?” (CNN, July 1, 2004) and Steve Morse’s “Can’t Get the Date Straight for Rock’s Birthday” (Chicago Tribune, July 8, 2004). - Dave Queen: anything in the Village Voice or Seattle Weekly
Specializing in covering old farts you never thought you’d need to hear about again (Yes, Fleetwood Mac, Alice Cooper), Queen spews out mind-boggling sentences that demand repeated readings (if only to comprehend them), kind of like trying to communicate with an Attention Deficit Disorder adolescent. Once you get past all that, he’s a damn bright guy and funny as hell. Any one of his stories gives you a good idea about his M.O. and you can sample them in full at his fan page, or dine on tasty tidbits like this: “Thirty-six true summers ago, Jon Anderson tired of being a milkman, so he decided to combine the Mars Volta with the Outfield.” I can’t wait for his anthology. - Ben Rayner: “Music Biz Should Admit Live Pop Shows are Dead” (Toronto Star, October 31, 2004)
Putting Ashlee Simpson’s not-so-live performance on Saturday Night Live in perspective. “Most of the people attending a Madonna or Britney Spears show are there because they expect a performance, not Ella Fitzgerald at Carnegie Hall.” And “…if you’re looking to Ashlee Simpson to uphold some sacred ideal of musical worth and veracity, you’ve got far bigger problems than a little lip-synching.” Rayner also did a good piece about how the indie rock culture has changed enough so that it can’t support one of its best-known creations: “Time Licked Lollapalooza” (Toronto Star, July 27, 2004) - Howard Reich: “The New House of Swing” (Chicago Tribune, October 24, 2004)
Wynton Marsalis’s house of jazz might be a noble attempt to elevate the stature of the music or may just become a moldy old fossil house. Only time will tell. Also see Thor Christensen’s “New York City’s Hall Devoted to Jazz Has Fans and Critics” (Dallas Morning News, October 22, 2004). - Monica Roos: “James Roos: Loving Father and Tough Music Critic” (Miami Herald, March 14, 2004)
Saluting her tough-old-bird dad, Roos pays tribute to a writer who made enemies with his principled opinions, all in the hope of creating a worthy artistic community in Miami. On a similar tip, see Marc Shulgold’s “Cheerleading Critics Won’t Save Classical Music” (Rocky Mountain News, October 30, 2004). - Jay Rosen: “Tom Fiedler’s Rock Concert Credibility Blues” (PressThink, September 11, 2004)
As an editor warns his staff about giving up their objective halo by attending politicized rock concerts, an NYU professor wonders if rock critics (and other newspaper staff) are allowed to have opinions and be seen as possibly supporting certain causes (you know, like the fair-and-balanced folks on Fox News). - Alex Ross: “Listen to This” (New York, February 9, 2004)
A bit of a fogey (at the age of 36) and a little too sentimental over his classical youth, this is nevertheless a wonderful exploration of how a cultured music fan embraced pop without giving up his roots. Another fine article by Ross covered some up-and-coming classical talent and their lack of present day heroes and role models: “Ignore the Conductor” (New Yorker, May 17, 2004). And this is a guy who said to a roomful of critics at a conference, “There is nothing shameful in unchecked enthusiasm. If I walk out dancing on air, I say it in the review, even if my colleagues smirk.” - Edward Rothstein: “If Music is the Architect…” (New York Times, May 22, 2004)
Certainly not the first person to think of the idea that the place where music is heard will effect the type of music heard there but a fascinating inquiry into this phenomenon. It’s too bad that he wouldn’t have extended this outside the realm of classical. Surely there’s a book in there. Someone call Christopher Small! - Kelefa Sanneh: “The Rap Against Rockism” (New York Times, October 31, 2004)
One of the most talked about articles this year but what few people are saying is that a lot of this has been said before, say, back when ‘rockism’ was used as an argument in the ’80s against people who didn’t like synth bands. Also, Jeff Chang talked about this in his Da Capo piece (see the super-scribing section), as well if not better. Still, Sanneh deserves credit at least for doing a non-sensationalistic article that’s causing a lot of conversation and debate–you don’t see enough of that nowadays. For semi-skeptics (like yours truly), there was Matthew Wilder’s “The Anti-Rockist Protests Too Much” (City Pages, November 17, 2004). - Danny Schechter: “One Year On, Big Media More Willing To Cover Up Than Change” (News Dissector-MediaChannel.org, June 2, 2004)
How Janet’s boob managed to overshadow media consolidation. - David Segal: “No Girls Allowed” (Washington Post, August 20, 2004)
I’m at least gratified that someone addressed the question, “Why aren’t there more women guitar heroes?” Or, more specifically, “Why aren’t there more distinctive women guitarists?” Saul Davis points out a number of examples like Nina Gordan, Liz Phair, Fanny, Barbara Lynn, Suzi Quatro, Courtney Love, Ani diFranco, Maybelle Carter, Big Mama Thornton, Lottie Beaman, JoAnn Kelly, Kathy Valentine, Carla Olson, Rosie Flores, Kris Wiley, and Melissa Etheridge, but again, I wonder how unique they really are in their style of playing (which means that the article’s right). But why does Segal (or anyone) still take Camille Paglia seriously anymore? - Tom Shales: “Michael Powell Exposed! The FCC Chairman has No Clothes” (Washington Post, November 21, 2004)
You think I’m too tough on Powell? There’s plenty to hate, unless you happen to be in the industry he’s supposed to regulate. Then, you’ll have the honor of him suckling you at the expense of the public (which he’s supposed to serve, right?). - Derek Sivers: “Programming is Like Songwriting” (O’Reilly Network, May 31, 2004)
Admittedly, it helps to be a tech geek to really appreciate this, but even if you only have an inkling about what he’s talking about, it’s still very enjoyable. - Ethan Smith: “Downloading Music Gets More Expensive” (Wall Street Journal, April 7, 2004)
Just as RIAA-approved downloads catch on, the majors are already gearing up to raise prices again, even though that might nip the burgeoning trend in the bud. Nice to see that they still don’t get it… - Sam Smith: “22 Questions With Jamie Hoover” (Lullaby Pit, July 11, 2004)
Worth it just for the offbeat questions asked near the end, and one of them that has a worthy answer to it. SS: “What’s your favorite reality TV show?” JH: “The Evening News with Dan Rather” (mind you, this was before the Memo gaffe about Bush). - Colin Snowsell: “’80s Nostalgia And The Vicious Circle” (Popmatters, September 9, 2004)
A very thoughtful zeitgeist piece, wondering aloud why sui generis ’80s pop stars (Prince, Beastie Boys, Morrissey) are able now to thrive again. The ending–where he thinks this will wake up the pop public to fresh, original talent today–is a little too pollyanna-ish, but the connection Snowsell finds between the artists and the fans is interesting. Though the fact that these artists are unique certainly helps them hold on to an audience, I wonder what more specifically appeals to their fans, i.e. seeing themselves in or envying these artists, admiring not just the music but their whole aura, etc. - Franklin Soults: “Paying the Rent” (Boston Phoenix, December 17, 2004)
A worthwhile analysis of how De La, Mos Def, and Talib Kweli are still finding out who they are and what this portends for underground rap. - Adam Sternbergh: “Britney Spears: The Pop Tart in Winter” (Slate, October 28, 2004)
Getting ‘real’ isn’t so easy for everyone’s favorite tabloid diva, especially when she’s having an identity crisis. - David Patrick Stearns: “Should New Music be Chased From Concert Halls?” (Philadelphia Inquirer, December 19, 2004)
Q: Where is the ideal listening experience, your home or the concert hall? A: neither, and both… - Bill Thompson: “Don’t Sue Me, I’m Only the Piano Player” (BBC, January 16, 2004)
Be very careful if you sing “Happy Birthday” at the next kiddie party. - Scott Timberg: “In An Insular State of Mind” (Los Angeles Times, February 29, 2004)
How the U.S. government’s xenophobia is choking American culture. On a similar tip, the Guardian‘s “Mr Ferrer Can’t Be With us Tonight” (February 18, 2004) documents the disgraceful cases where even Grammy winning artists are kept out of the States thanks to its pathetic immigration and visa laws. Also see Timberg’s touching tribute to the folks who help and don’t help us at the record stores: “The Music Clerks Who Can Spin Your World” (Los Angeles Times, December 9, 2004) - Michael Ventura: “Dancing in the Dark” (Austin Chronicle, November 11, 2004)
Post-election analysis to rally the progressive troops, including this insightful information about matrimony: “You may measure the unhappiness of heterosexual marriage by the ferocity of the opposition to gay marriage. Listen to the country music that rural red counties listen to: the hits are about the failure of males and females to get together. In trailer park or penthouse, half the marriages end in divorce and many that don’t are shameful compromises. Marriage, in America, is in a state of unbridled panic.” - Walter Wasacz: “Losing Your Mind In Berlin” (Metro Times, November 11, 2004)
How techno legend Richie Hawtin embraced the German capital and how it embraced him back. Also, why they’re such a perfect match for each other and stand to be better for the pairing. - Edward Wasserman: “Resurrect Local Radio” (Miami Herald, Nov. 15, 2004)
As if we needed more proof that Clear Channel isn’t acting in the best interest of local communities, we have this challenge issued to stir small broadcasters out of their slumber and onto the airwaves. Local news is part of what defines a community and without it, we’re truly lost, wherever we live… - Carl Wilson: “Horrified Observations of Horrified Observers” (The Globe and Mail, November 20, 2004)
Snobbish rockers who hate teen pop are no better than the disco hatas back in the day. Arthur Russell was there to show us the light, but we almost totally ignored him. - Unknown Author/General Reponses: “What Compels a Musician to Busk?” (BBC News, August 19, 2004)
Nell from London: “What a life! Play the music you want to play, when you want to play it. Wear whatever clothing you like and take breaks whenever you are tired, bored or need to be somewhere else. People love you because music brings joy to their lives.” Gemma from London: “I was on the tube last summer, having just been dumped by my long-time boyfriend. A busker got on the train and started to sing. He came over to me (I was clearly upset) and did the ‘cheer up, it might never happen’ bit. I told him it already had and that I’d just been dumped and would he go away and leave me alone. Instead, he started singing ‘Isn’t She Lovely’–which made me cry for all the right reasons! And he wouldn’t take a penny from me–he restored my faith in the male of the species!”
NON-MUSIC STORIES: Great Writing About the Other Arts
- Sven Birkets: “Critical Condition” (Bookforum, Spring 2004)
A literary reminiscence about the art of the Snark, “seemingly gratuitous negativity,” examining where this came about. - Ty Burr: “The Promise and Peril of Movie Ratings” (Boston Globe, January 4, 2004)
This applies just as well to the star-rating system for albums. There are perils involved for writers and readers both that are overlooked because it’s so widely used. Burr realizes this and explains the traps here. Also see some interesting reader responses to a Guardian column (February 3, 2004) arguing the same topic: “Stars in Your Eyes”. - David Edgar: “Where’s the Challenge?” (The Guardian, May 22, 2004) and James Fenton “Down With This Access Pottiness” (The Guardian, May 29, 2004)
The British government comes to grips with the idea that great art doesn’t necessarily have to presage social change; it’s possible to have art for art’s sake, as they say. Edgar in particular is pretty snobbish about pop culture but the general sentiment and points are well-taken. Luckily, the American government doesn’t have to worry about such a lofty debate–their idea of promoting the arts nowadays (via the NEA) is sending Shakespeare around to the great unwashed. - Patrick Goldstein: “Controversy is Like Manna From Heaven” (The Star, July 17, 2004)
What media consolidation does to creativity and why controversy in the arts is shunned even though it pays off sometimes. - Nate Lippins “Shit or Get Out of My Face” (The Stranger, November 18, 2004)
Not much smarter or shocking than the title but this bit of prognosticating about the upcoming cultural wars does include some sage advice near the end. “I think it’s time to cast around for big ideas without easy answers, to avoid the most sophomoric impulses, or if you are going to indulge them, to really indulge them–take them to their illogical conclusions, pushing the mediums and messages in different directions to their respective breaking points…Artists, like everyone else, are about to endure a very hard time, but they have an opportunity to explore the immediacy between art and politics and, at their finest, use art to reflect the world in ways exclusive to itself, without resolution.” - Frank Rich: “Bono’s New Casualty: Private Ryan” (New York Times, November 21, 2004) and Alessandra Stanley “Apologies for Everything Except Network Timidity” (New York Times, November 18, 2004)
Since ‘moral values’ (whatever that means) played such a role in the recent U.S. election, we’re bound to get this issue fought about as in the days of PRMC, even if we still don’t know what the boundaries are supposed to be. That’s just the way that moral conservatives and the FCC want it– broadcasters will cower in fear over anything they think might be offensive and yank it off the air. Forget that certain commercials crossed the lines for years and the rules are never applied consistently–this is still war. Rich’s “The Great Indecency Hoax” (New York Times, November 28, 2004) also covers this hypocrisy well. And if you think it’s confined to America, see Rupert Christiansen’s “Censorship–Yes, But Whose” (The Guardian, November 17, 2004). - Scott Robson: “You Can’t Do That on Television!” (New York Times, July 18, 2004)
Understanding entertainment companies’ uneven censorship standards based on “election-year grandstanding.” - Robin Sloan and Matt Thompson: “Epic 2014” (robinsloan.com, December 2004)
A peak into the media future, 10 years from now–some of it plausible, some of it not (the Times is a lot more savvy than he thinks), some of it already happening. Also, a curious cautionary tale. - Rex Smith: “Good Work Has Its Own Rewards” (Albany Times Union, February 2, 2004)
Meant to praise newspaper columns that don’t get cited for Pulitzers: obits, weather, community calendars. The same thought occurred to me about music columns that give out important info about artists, releases and labels without flair. We–not just writers but readers–need these badly, too, though it isn’t often recognized or praised. - James Sullivan: “A Work of Art or a Harbinger of Violence?” (San Francisco Chronicle, March 25, 2004)
Rock, rap, and metal are popular scapegoats to explain troubled teens but what happens when literature becomes a potentially dangerous weapon? The questions it raises are about what constitutes reasonable concern and what’s over-protective censorship, all of which is very tied to the related music debates. Carl Horowitz’s “Teenage Wasteland” (Reason Magazine, February 2004) also deals deftly with this subject. - Renee Tawa: “Everyone’s A Critic” (Los Angeles Times, March 24, 2004)
While predictions of rock critics losing their gatekeeper status abound, the real wall crumbling is happening on the book front. Considering that Amazon moves a lot of CDs, too, how long before this happens with music? - Tom Walker: “How to Predict the Next Great Novel” (Denver Post Books, April 26, 2004)
Basically, a lot of great classics didn’t sell well in their time but were seen to sum up universal themes that transcended the moment and were later hailed by critics and studied by academics. A lot of similar criteria has been used to debate what a great album is: Pet Sounds, Forever Changes, Trout Mask Replica, etc.
Even though these articles aren’t directly about music per se, their perspective thoughts have a lot of bearing for any music fan nevertheless.
AMAZING STORIES IN AND OF THEMSELVES
- Susan Hogan Albach: “Music Pirates Copy Christian Tunes, Too” (The Dallas Morning News, April 20, 2004)
Should religious musicians turn the other cheek against downloaders? Will downloaders remember, “Thou Shalt Not Steal”? - Frank Athrens: “Fox Calls For Court Review of Standards” (Washington Post, December 4, 2004)
Granted that the headline alone is howl-worthy, but pity the poor Congress who has to balance their love affairs with both the media giants and the conservative moral guardians, standing in opposition to each other about fining broadcasters for indecency. - Ellen Barry: “Bluesman’s Son Gets His Due” (Los Angeles Times, June 2, 2004)
Robert Johnson’s son is found and actually paid royalties! - John Borland: “Music Rebels Seek to Tame P2P” (CNET, November 16, 2004)
After setting the music industry on its ear with Napster, Shawn Fanning now looks to control the monster he created. What an entrepreneur. - Suw Charman: “Listen to the Flip Side” (The Guardian, July 22, 2004)
Yet more proof that the RIAA has purposefully flubbed data to prove that downloading is killing music. Not that such revelations would stop them from continuing to perpetrate their line, mind you. - Rupert Christiansen: “Farewell to the Era of the Perfect Opera” (Telegraph, November 3, 2004)
Sad, and perhaps appropriate, that classical operas won’t grace the studios anymore. It’s interesting to think that the idea of opera hasn’t lost its luster with the pop world though: cf. Drive-By Truckers, Green Day, etc. - Michael Coren: “Simple Download, Complex Change” (CNN, August 23, 2004)
“An example (of failed music marketing) in the Wall Street Journal described a $2.2 million marketing campaign for an Irish singer whose album sold 378 copies in its first few months.” Rumors are that the singer in question was MCA’s Carly Hennessy, who, according to John Wu at Blue Audio, “was supposed to be the next Britney.” - Hugh Davies: “Hey Mr. Lingerie Man” (Telegraph, April 7, 2004)
Suggestions that Dylan’s lingerie ad may be explained by a 40 year old joke. “Asked in 1965 what might tempt him to sell out, Dylan replied: ‘Ladies undergarments.'” - Jonathan Duffy: “The Right To Be Downright Offensive” (BBC, December 21, 2004)
Just in case you thought that only America has problems and issues with free speech and the right to artistic expression. Should we now have a “right to offend”? - Jennifer Frey: “Politicians and Celebrities, Making Sweet Music Together” (Washington Post, December 6, 2004)
Bush and Cheney boogeying to Kid Rock? Well, they’re all Republicans. Also, glad to see them honor a nice bleeding heart like Warren Beatty. - Robert Gore-Langton: “I Know What Made Mozart Tic” (The Telegraph, October 13, 2004)
The great Amadeus was long rumored to have Tourette’s but who knew that his farting obsession helped to manifest so many of classical music’s greatest hits? Does that make him so far removed from 2 Live Crew? Are any ensembles planning to add “Lick Out My Arsehole” to their repertoire? - Ryan Grim: “Who’s Got the Acid?” (Slate, April 1, 2004)
Answer: “These days, almost nobody.” Ever think that only stupid old farts thought there was a direct connection between drugs and rock? How about a study that says that acid consumption has declined in America thanks to the Dead and Phish calling it quits? - Alan Hubbard: Why Mozart is ‘Better Than Drugs’ for Sport” (The Independent, April 11, 2004)
“Before every workout there should be 10 to 15 minutes of classical music at a slow, easy pace, so that exercise begins at a low pulse-rate to aid the blood flow to the muscles.” - Emmanuel Legrand and Nigel Hunter: “European Copyright Clock Ticking on Elvis Hits” (Reuters, July 16, 2004)
Oh my god, quick, somebody pass a Sonny Bono/Disney copyright law in Europe before Elvis’s back catalog becomes public domain!!! - Gail Mitchell: “Vibe Vows Award Show Return in 2005″ (Billboard, November 29, 2004)
In the aftermath of the music awards show where a fist-fight and stabbing broke out, Vibe magazine president Kenard Gibbs had some sage words: “Taking street mentality to resolve conflict and bringing it into entertainment and sports has gone unchecked. All of us within the culture have to look at this and develop some means of accountability.” Later, he vows, “We still have faith in the (urban music) culture. We will rise above and endure.” Amen. - Jennifer Ordoñez: “Rock Til You Drop” (Newsweek, August 9, 2004)
It’s funny and weird, though probably not surprising, to hear that graying rockers now need bland diets, trainers, and health insurance to keep up with their active lifestyle. - Hilary Rosen: “How I Learned to Love Larry” (Wired, November 2004)
If this pompous, self-deluded industry hatchet-woman can see the light in copyrights, maybe there’s hope for the rest of the music biz. Rest assured, however, that her love is less than platonic and more practical; she knows that her old hard line stance is doomed. - Ian Sample “Great Composers Scored on Language” (The Guardian, November 20, 2004)
Music doesn’t just have a national identity because of subject matter: it’s also borne out of language, its rhythm, cadences, and unique peculiarities. - Ethan Smith: “Concert Biz Still Ill With Summer Flu” (Wall Street Journal/Journal Gazzette, November 21, 2004)
Who’s to blame for overpriced concert tickets? Artists who are getting less CD revenues and have to pay off alimony, that’s who. - Emily Sogn: “The Stamp of Approval” (Alternet, November 29, 2004)
The Postal Service (the band) is sued by the Postal Service (the government agency) but instead of the usual capitulation in the face of lawsuits, they all play nice to promote each other. A touching tale that should be a model for other bands and businesses. Would the same happen to the bands United States of America, or Chicago, or Boston? - Bruce Springsteen: “Chords of Change” (New York Times, August 5, 2004)
Not exactly a mystery that he’s a lefty but it’s surprising to hear him come out so directly. - Caroline Sullivan: “News For Rock Critics: No One Is Listening To You” (Guardian, December 1, 2004)
Comparing the tradition of critics’ year-end top ten lists with what’s hot on the charts. Once again, the twain doth not meet and we’re shown to be elitist snobs. When will the great unwashed learn? - John Sutherland: “What’s Wrong With Teaching Rap in Schools?” (The Guardian, July 5, 2004)
Academics argue about studying Tupac as literature. It was surely the same way when Dylan and the Beatles started making their way into syllabi. Too bad the author here tries to have it both ways on the debate too often. “Why is it there? Principally, the authorities argue, because it gets kids reading–and, just like marijuana, it leads on to the hard stuff, like Shakespeare.” Chris Rock joked that kids never said, “I’m gonna get my read on,” but could this actually change things? Not just getting rap fans to read but also getting students who didn’t appreciate rap to see it as literature ain’t a bad thing. - Peter Svensson: “CDs, DVDs Not So Immortal” (USA Today/AP, May 6, 2004)
CDs rot after a while? So much for the original claim that these little discs would provide “perfect sound forever.” Contrast that with news that scientists have found a way to preserve the music on old vinyl records. - Bob Thompson: Parents Group Fights Indecency 1 Bleep at a Time (Washington Post, December 27, 2004)
Self-annointed guardians of decency, the Parents Television Council, finds itself in a bind as their agenda to promote what they see as “moral values” is being trumped by the economic agenda of the Republicans who were supposed to be their breathren. Bottom line: money beats values. - Dominic Timms: “‘Nipplegate’ Fails to Rouse U.S. Parents” (The Guardian, September 24, 2004)
Nice to see that even Janet Jackson and Howard Stern know what a diversion this is from more important things. - Unknown: “Ashlee Simpson’s Fans Can Trade In CD” (Yahoo News/AP, November 15, 2004)
Don’t like Ashlee anymore just because your worst fears about her being a plastic pop star made you and your hero a laughing stock? Now, you can trade her in for some “quality” music! That would include Elvis Costello, The Ramones, X, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, The Grateful Dead, Joni Mitchell or Brian Wilson. But who will give us trade-ins for Plant’s solo albums, Costello’s Goodbye Cruel World, or most of the Dead’s ’70s studio albums? - Unknown: “Company Sells MP3 Gun” (Avanova, March 2004)
Wonder if that’s what the RIAA will now use to persecute those pesky downloaders… - Unknown: “Hip-Hop Generation Agenda: More Than Music and Style” (The Black Commentator, July 1, 2004)
Jeff Chang’s coverage of the Hip-Hop Convention (see super-scribing) was more impressive but this is notable if only for this claim: “In one of the great ironies of African-American cultural history, Black radio finally embraced hip-hop in the early Nineties–precisely when the huge corporate record labels shifted to gangsta rap…A&R executives put great pressure on rap acts to become more ‘real’–a word that became a euphemism for egregiously profane and abusive language.” Can anyone out there confirm that last sentence? - Unknown: “Net File-Sharing Doesn’t Hurt Most Artists–Survey” (Reuters, December 5, 2004)
As you read this, you can almost hear the rumbling of the RIAA press machine, rushing to dispute such heresy. - Unknown: “Paid By the Note? Don’t Be Ridiculous” (The Guardian March 25, 2004)
“A group of German violinists are demanding more money–because they do more work than the brass.” Will Tower of Power, Blood Sweat & Tears, and Chicago have to implement retroactive pay cuts now? Happily, in May 2004, the fiddle players decided to wise up and drop the lawsuit. - Unknown: “Radio 3 Plays ‘Silent Symphony'” (BBC, January 19, 2004)
Chris Cutler: “What is amazing about the whole thing is that half a century later there is the same incomprehension and confusion surrounding it, as if this were some kind of wild and weird thing. Doesn’t say much about the place of art in mainstream life.” - Unknown: “Scientists: Humpback Whales Sing at Supper” (CNN, May 6, 2004)
They have an eight-octave range, can improvise–and gracefully–easily playing music to attract mates. If there isn’t such a thing as species envy, there should be, and we should have it (note also that they don’t hunt us or threaten our atmosphere). - Unknown: “Scott Weiland Threatens Magazine Writer Over CD Review” (Blabbermouth.net, April 29, 2004)
As Will Hermes notes, “Jon Caramanica’s in better shape getting into trouble with rock stars rather than the rappers he usually writes about; they have a tendency to follow through on their threats.” - Unknown: “Scott Weiland Slams MTV” (Riftrock, August 1, 2004)
Some of Scott’s best writing, even better than his rant above. Hope he’ll put this to music. “MTV News, now fodder for hungry maggot offspring of the fat executives who don’t give a fuck that my wife and children are embarrassed and shamed by your continuous lies and lack of journalistic integrity. Are you so bored with my personal happiness that you hover like carrion lying in wait, meditating and concocting a headline that you only hope will happen? Feed off of your own fat fuckers!!! This goes for all media whores!!!” - Unknown: “Simpson Opts for Extra Help Because of Acid Reflux” (MSNBC, October 26, 2004)
Poor Ashlee. Just when everyone thought her sister was the pathetic one…After she blamed her band and her throat problems, I was dismayed that she didn’t follow the RIAA and blame the consumers (or better yet, sue them). - David Ward: “Ragtime Banned as Council Cuts Out the Noise” (The Guardian, April 20, 2004)
Can you imagine what they’d do to a hip-hop crew?
THE IGNOBLE PRIZES: Worst Music Writing of the Year
- Joseph Carducci: “Chubby’s Importance is Inflated” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, December 3, 2004)
Granted that it might be unfair to pick on a letter to the editor, but this one’s a howler. The argument is that Chubby Checker shouldn’t be honored because he used drugs. And the same goes with the Beatles and other bands who did the same. Which leaves us to ponder, which entertainment figures of the 20th century could we continue to admire under this criteria? Not to mention which conservative talk-show hosts or major league baseball players or presidents of the United States… As far as I know, this is only the name-sake of the guy who wrote Rock and the Pop Narcotic, and not the man himself. - Nick Crowe: “Rap’s Last Tape?” (Prospect, March 2004)
It’s amazing how much is left out and forgotten here, but that just means that the writer doesn’t know crap about rap, including rap’s thriving underground, how hip-hop iconography has infiltrated other cultures, and how not all modern rappers are about bling-bling and violence. And not a word about Jay-Z. Also, popularity has killed rap? Did it kill rock? And not a word about the Streets or Dizzee Rascal? How about his potshot that rappers as multi-millionaires is a concept irreconcilable with rap itself? Didn’t rap boast about money and women back in the day? Does he actually think that it would be better if all rappers did actually live in ghettos? I’d ask Harry Allen to consider an article-length response/rebuttal, but it wouldn’t be worth his time. - A.J. Daulerio: “Rock And a Hard Place: Seth Mnookin, Media Reporter” (The Black Table, March 4, 2004)
Nice to know that having sex with Robert Christgau and Chuck Cloisterman is taboo for some journalists. - Brent DiCrescenzo: Beastie Boys To the 5 Boroughs review (Pitchfork Media, June 15, 2004)
The Beasties are hardly the only platinum band that don’t offer easy access to every publication out there. If you’ve been around for a little while like Pitchfork, you should be able to figure that out pretty quickly. Documenting the frustrating dances with their gatekeepers seemed pretty heroic to some people but I just found it sad and shabby: every writer deals with this annoying part of the business at some time but most think to spare the readers all the details (which might be one of the few reasons to be thankful for the print magazine’s ever-shrinking word count). If this is really why DiCrescenzo decided to pack it in as a music writer, then he actually did the right thing–he was tired and it shows. Even the retraction that Pitchfork had to print after this was better than this article. - Jeffrey A. Dvorkin: “Hip, But Inscrutable: Music Reviews on NPR” (NPR, June 30, 2004)
NPR’s own ombudsman complains that their music critics are too esoteric. The problem is, the examples that he quotes are pretty smart and insightful and seem like they’d only be inscrutable to someone who didn’t know anything about music, much less the average fan. Does NPR really think it’s in its best interest to dumb down its journalism? Let’s hope not. - Jim Fusilli: “She Doesn’t Need Michael Moore as Backup” (Wall Street Journal, July 22, 2004)
Maybe it’s easy to pick on the Journal because it’s not known to be a haven of quality popular culture coverage (which conservative publications are?) but ridiculous howlers like this deserve mention. Linda Ronstadt noted that Michael Moore was “someone who cares about this country deeply and is trying to help” at a casino show. How un-American is that? The end result is that, “a few unruly members threw drinks, ripped up Ronstadt posters and demanded their money back”–quite a riot, eh? And for all that, Ronstadt is reprimanded for speaking her mind during a concert. Fusilli’s prescription? Shut up and sing. I wonder if he’d be as unsympathetic if Linda cheered the NRA or pro-lifers? Even Sunday morning demagogue John McLaughlin–himself far from a liberal patsy–said that Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon had a right to speak out at the Oscars a few years ago. My prescription for Fusilli? Shut up and don’t write. - John Harris: “The Bland Plays On” (The Guardian, May 8, 2004)
Not exactly news that U.S. culture is trying to gobble up the world and pity the poor, well-meaning superstar who tries to buck the system they’re a part of. All of which doesn’t explain that there is actually some good and great music being made in the States or that acts in other parts of the world almost always want nothing more than the money and perks that American superstars get. - Daniel Henninger: “F-Word Fight Isn’t Over Fee, Fi, Fo or Fum” (Wall Street Journal, April 23, 2004)
Seeing fit to dismiss everything that the FCC clamps down on as lowbrow trash that deserves to be censored, he conveniently forgets that bad taste is (or should be) protected by the constitution. If they’d apply the ‘deceny’ rules to filter out some of the highbrow art he loves, would he be just as much a cheerleader? If he’s right that the decency police are a myth, does that mean we can disband the FCC? - Brad Hirn: “Rock’s Endangered Species” (Sick Among the Pure, July 2004)
Seems pretty heartfelt and sincere but also pretty confused–a lot of points seem to meander and aren’t thought through enough. Michael Azzerad: “It’s funny how naive that guy is–most of that piece could have been (and pretty much was) written twenty years ago. Also, someone should tell him that Siamese Dream was released by a major label.” - William Hogeland: “Emulating the Real and Vital Guthrie, Not St. Woody” (New York Times, March 14, 2004)
As Carl Wilson points out (regarding how Billy Bragg doesn’t ‘get’ Woody Guthrie’s true essence), “This is an almost comically inverse thing to say about Bragg. I couldn’t count the number of times he’s said Woody wasn’t a saint (like, in those words) or emphasized things like his flying saucer interest or his wanting to get down with Ingrid Bergman…Not to slight the Rockets, tho’ I’m not much of a fan of Blue Sky. But Hogeland sounds like he’s ignorant of the very existence of the Mermaid Ave discs.” By the way, a much better article that goes in search of Woody was David Hadju’s New Yorker review of Ed Cray’s Guthrie biography (March 29, 2004). - Bernard Holland: “The Sound of Passing Time” (New York Times, September 19, 2004)
Even if you can parse the prose, good luck figuring out what he’s trying to say because Holland himself can’t tie together his own loose threads. CDs don’t have the clarity of vinyl, granted, but why do we need to hear this twenty years after the fact? Yes, a lot of reissues are coming out and that’s more confusing than helpful to some, but again, why do we need to pause and reflect about it at this particular moment? And what do these two things have to do with each other? Should we go back to cylinders or 78s so we can be truly happy? - Nick Hornby: “Rock of Ages” (New York Times, May 21, 2004)
Admittedly, enough writers have already picked apart this soppy ode to ye good ol’ days and thoughts about how music ain’t got that swing now. You’d be amazed how many first time writers begin essays with the same premise. Shouldn’t this guy know better by now or does he want to show off how out of touch he really is? Sad to see that being a best-selling author makes any of your opinions newsworthy. Also, it’s depressing that such an essay is going to help harden the attitudes of his (and maybe even a younger) generation towards new music, as if this blather is indeed the truth. - Graham Kibble-White: “If I Ruled the World” (Scotsman, June 30, 2004)
Just in case you needed some evidence or ammunition that rock critics are the effete insider bullshit artists that many people think they are, former Q editor Andrew Collins is there to provide it. - Devin McKinney: “Can’t Get Fooled Again” (The American Prospect, July 28, 2004)
A very cynical piece of defeatism: Every rock star sells out now (which, by the way, is not even true), so stop complaining. This does mine some pearls of wisdom, but if McKinney thinks it doesn’t matter that Pete Townshend still needs to grub for money for his songs and then give them up to allergy medicine commercials, the boy’s got a hole in his soul. Also, slapping around Paul McCartney and Carole King because they have political causes and aren’t anarchists is totally ridiculous. Not to mention that for all his crying about the apolitical rock landscape nowadays, this completely ignores all the online anti-war songs that came out in the last year. Plus, if McKinney thinks that politics and political ideology are a coherent set of beliefs, he hasn’t been reading the papers lately (for starters, ever wonder why many anti-abortionists still want to make the death penalty into nationwide law?). - William Osborne: “Marketplace of Ideas: But First, The Bill: A Personal Commentary On American and European Cultural Funding” (Arts Journal, March 11, 2004)
Yes, this is listed as one of the best pieces of writing as well, but that doesn’t excuse all of its lapses. Pop music is conservative today? (As opposed to when?) New York’s outer boroughs are culturally deprived? (Poor Brooklyn.) Jazz at Lincoln Center is the fault of white hipsters and not just Wynton? Eminem is a racist who feeds into stereotypes? Oh, and Europe is thrown in America’s face as a perfect model, without any problems at all–good to know. - Michael Powell: “It’s All About The Content” (FMBQ, July 6, 2004)
The FCC Chief is obviously lost and wandering after the courts beat back his blessings of Clear Channel’s monopoly. Good luck trying to follow his ‘logic’ here. A good runner up would be “Don’t Expect the Government to Be A V-Chip” (New York Times, December 3, 2004) where he defends all of his right to find indecency while refusing to define what it means. - Devon Powers: “It’s the End of the World As We Know It, and I (Don’t) Feel Fine” (Popmaters, June 23, 2004)
It’s really painful to list this here since (like Calvin Wilson below) Powers is a very smart, thoughtful writer otherwise. Though she earnestly struggles with why music and/or journalism about it have lost their way, this sad, confused kiss-off basically revolves around lamenting how political extremism is lost in music today, which is why it’s not supposed to matter anymore. That’s a very heartfelt sentiment that’s held by many people but it’s also a huge fallacy because it doesn’t explain all the great pop music that wasn’t directly connected to any political agenda, or why there have been a spate of anti-war and anti-Bush songs in the last year or so. - Bruce Boyd Raeburn: “Louis and Women” (Best of New Orleans, September 7, 2004)
Hateful as it was to turn down funding for a conference just because of a paper that questioned Satchmo’s relationships with women, the object of contention itself is basically an academic version of VH1’s Behind the Music. Even then, Gary Giddins contends that Raeburn is misreading a quote from his book–in this election season when the truth gets twisted constantly out of shape, this is probably par for the course. And how about this quote that’s given credence here: “(Armstrong) establishing phallic authority with that most piercing of instruments, the trumpet.” I don’t often agree with Stanley Crouch nowadays but this is indeed “psychobabble.” - Tom Strini: “Classical Musical World Being Pushed to Periphery” (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Sept 11, 2004)
Serialism and multi-culturalism as villains, plus assertions that rap has no melody (tell that to Outkast) and doesn’t use live instruments (tell that to the Roots), plus totally ignoring the surging convergence of modern classical music and rock (Sonic Youth, Tortoise, Radiohead). Could somebody buy this guy a subscription to (insert name of almost any pop music magazine here) before he writes another column? - Neil Turkewitz: “Copyright, Fair Use and the Public Interest” (Cultural Comment, December 2004)
Not surprising that a head suit from the RIAA would tell the industry what’s in the public interest without including the public in the equation at all. At least when Hilary Rosen wrote mindless editorials like this, she was so wrong-headed that she was funny. - Various Writers “Don’t Believe the Hype” (The Guardian, December 4, 2004)
Oh those cheeky Brits…Snarking on the cherished heroes of rock! How bold. Not that Jim DeRogatis didn’t do it better and more thoroughly (see superior scribing) or that a self-involved say-nothing like Dale Peck doesn’t do this better, but even if most of the writers here actually believed what they wrote (debatable), their ‘arguments’ are even less convincing than your average TV soundbite. They do manage to get off a few good jokes here and there but the targets are so easy and obvious by now (bashing the Beatles/Elvis/Stones was maybe cool back in the punk days) you’ll be excused if you can’t read the whole article. Not surprisingly, they don’t have the chutzpah to go after any current favorites (say, Franz Ferdinand), or any rappers. - Calvin Wilson: “Marketers Have Made the Concept of Cool For Sale” (St. Louis Post Dispatch, March 15, 2004)
The avant-garde is dead? Rap didn’t have cool in the ’90s? Dylan’s been doing the same thing for the last 40 years? Did this guy just tune out the last decade or what? Hopefully, this was just a bad day for Wilson as he’s usually capable of much smarter and insightful writing, like “What Art Says About 9-11” (Post Dispatch, February 14, 2004).
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