Acapulco Presents... Delightful Missives from the World of Music "Criticism"

[Sukebe GG]

https://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2018/01/12/577063077/the-grunge-gold-rush

Decent NPR article, with Termbro Larry Hardy popping up (5,000 bucks to just hep someone to a band!)...No mention of Inger Lorre of the Nymphs pissing on Tom Zutaut's desk in the Geffen offices though...The Phoenix Sun Times article about the Meat Puppet bros. is quite a read also. So glad Cris survived all that...

http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/shooting-star-6421612

[Whet Bull]

http://thequietus.com/articles/14291-warpaint-review

Gross.  To think the reviewer didn't even get paid to write like this.  I saw Warpaint open for Depeche Mode last year.  They had some nice textures but no songs to speak of.  A mystery (except not).

[JudgeHarsh]

most aren't but some of the Baker's Dozen features are exceptional, like Mika Vainio

http://thequietus.com/articles/16131-mika-vainio-favourite-albums-pan-sonic-pansonic?page=1

Keiji Haino - A Challenge to Fate

Keiji Haino is a big blues fan. Some years ago, when I was in Tokyo, he invited me to his home, and it's filled with records. I've never seen someone have so many records like he has. He is a really fanatical collector. The walls are covered with record sleeves. He has a massive collection of blues. It's all over the place. He listens to a lot of classical and a lot of ethnic, traditional music from around the world, all kinds of stuff. This was the first album I heard from him, A Challenge To Fate. On the first track, he's only clunking his walking stick and screaming. I used to live in Barcelona, and I was listening to this track very loudly one night, and the neighbors called the police because they thought someone was getting killed in my apartment. Since I bought this album, I've been collecting his releases. I have about 70 at the moment. There's a couple of them I still don't have; he has released a lot. I like many things that he does. He has been doing stuff with only some tone generators, very minimal...

... There's something in his approach where he can often make the simplest things work. He has one whole album where the only thing he plays is a snare drum and nothing else. It's about one hour of playing with the snare, but it works for me.

[rutabowa]

I reckon the Quietus has my favourite music writing at the moment. Obv there is some shit, but really the standard of writing is amazingly high on the whole; and they tread the line between intelligence and pretention very well.

[NelsonBorges]

read this the other week and came across the bookmark, thought i'd share. Classic May 1986 New York Magazine article that broke NYHC to normies (way more entertaining read than you might think, especially if you're aware of but aren't keen on the players in the NYHC scene)

Also can be filed under: tales of a doggystyle groupie.

or

Natalie Jacobson lore

https://books.google.com/books?id=4eYCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA38&dq=vine+walks+onto+the+dance+floor&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiSosXEvqzUAhXMRSYKHRm0BuQQ6AEIJjAA#v=onepage&q=vine%20walks%20onto%20the%20dance%20floor&f=false

they don't make humans like this anymore



EDIT: also can be filed under, first tier punk explotation at its finest and most judgemental and titillating.

"I wasn't doing much," she admits. "Just crying a lot and listening to Agnostic Front records."

Classic line, thanks for sharing.

[Whet Bull]

The Quietus publishes some very good writing -- I always enjoy Ned Raggett's work, for instance -- but their reviews are strictly garbage, and the example above is not only tone-deaf and dumbass in its attempts to discuss "sexiness" apropos of this nondescript band, but it reads like the author is a ringer paid for by Rough Trade or whomever (which isn't true, of course.)

[nick_]

The Quietus publishes some very good writing -- I always enjoy Ned Raggett's work, for instance -- but their reviews are strictly garbage, and the example above is not only tone-deaf and dumbass in its attempts to discuss "sexiness" apropos of this nondescript band, but it reads like the author is a ringer paid for by Rough Trade or whomever (which isn't true, of course.)

"Mof Gimmers" is an A+ nom de guerre, almost exceeding a FIGHTING BASEBALL level of brilliance

[rutabowa]

The Quietus publishes some very good writing -- I always enjoy Ned Raggett's work, for instance -- but their reviews are strictly garbage, and the example above is not only tone-deaf and dumbass in its attempts to discuss "sexiness" apropos of this nondescript band, but it reads like the author is a ringer paid for by Rough Trade or whomever (which isn't true, of course.)

Yes that's probably fair, it is the articles rather than the reviews that are usually strongest.

Im just defending the website as a whole, because its probably the best music writing we've got at the moment! And an ethically run organisation, done for the right reasons. And, inevitably, they are currently struggling finacially, and I'd be sad to see it go

[nuggetsvolume1]

read this the other week and came across the bookmark, thought i'd share. Classic May 1986 New York Magazine article that broke NYHC to normies (way more entertaining read than you might think, especially if you're aware of but aren't keen on the players in the NYHC scene)

Also can be filed under: tales of a doggystyle groupie.

or

Natalie Jacobson lore

https://books.google.com/books?id=4eYCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA38&dq=vine+walks+onto+the+dance+floor&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiSosXEvqzUAhXMRSYKHRm0BuQQ6AEIJjAA#v=onepage&q=vine%20walks%20onto%20the%20dance%20floor&f=false

they don't make humans like this anymore



EDIT: also can be filed under, first tier punk explotation at its finest and most judgemental and titillating.

"I wasn't doing much," she admits. "Just crying a lot and listening to Agnostic Front records."

Classic line, thanks for sharing.

She's so pretty. Does anybody know what happened to her? My guess would be a big switch from dating guys who bought her a "cheeseburger".

[Smithsix]

most aren't but some of the Baker's Dozen features are exceptional, like Mika Vainio

Wish they would just put 'em all on a single page though - having to click through each entry means I pass on most of them.

Do page clicks even matter anymore.

[vedicardi]

to websites that are still trying to make money off of ad rev, yes

[Whet Bull]

That is somewhat the vibe, sure.  Maybe it's the fonts?  Still beats The Wire.  Ppl forget that the best approach to music crit is to let the peen, cooch, or butt do the writing while the "mind" goes on vacation.  Record-dude mind is paste anyhow.  Just look at Sasha Frere-Jones, or David Keenan!  (Chicken or egg, I s'pose, with them two.)  If only Sprague Dawley would leave the Bermuda triangle for once and try his hand at it. 

[Sukebe GG]

I strive to build a world where the Velvet Underground would be more popular than the Rolling Stones. Or where Ariel Pink is as popular as Ed Sheeran.

Outside of the Black Crowes, what was the last band to ape the Stones? VUs: The band that launched a thousand and all that...including his crappy band.

[Whet Bull]

That interview's amazing.  He's completely right about everything!   Bowie: underground in the '70s!  Ariel Pink: the new Bowie!  NYC Cops: a protest song for Amadou Diallo! 

Dude's lived in a wealth bubble his whole life so it should come as no surprise he's this smart and insightful.

[Sukebe GG]

https://g.co/kgs/7VVqjL