The question I suppose is - has anyone actually read it?
― Tom, Wednesday, 4 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Marcello Carlin, Wednesday, 4 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
The patronage of Eve by a Cure-loving (for the record, behind the Smith as the 2nd worse band of the 80s for me, and I was only about seven at the time) OLD and BALD Grandad is the most patronisingly reader-chasing and insulting thing NME have ever done in my memory.
NME's crap right now. They're not taking any real risks despite (as always) proclaiming to: if they were to really devour the zeigeist, they'd swap the four page LP section with the half-page dance section.
NME's sad populism-chasing (as opposed to, say Musik and 7's populism facing) is as embarrassing as it can get for a 20 year old pop freak weaned on the UK inkies. Perhaps for some of the older readers of this forum it's different, but for me, it's a stab in the dark with a 1/2 knife.
For people really in tune with "The Kids", NME should cover: Zed Bias, DJ Dee Kline, Stanton Warriors, Life Without Buildings, Timbaland, Swizz Beats, Leaf and Strut Records, and Ty and the whole Big Dada stable in greater depth.
― Izzie, Wednesday, 4 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― DG, Wednesday, 4 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
But that's your problem, not mine.
*ahem*
Sounds like they're just trendchasing to me. I wouldn't worry either way.
― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 4 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
Oh, and btw the recent rap issue was laughable. Isn't this the same magazine that condemned rap for years and years for sexism and homophobia, but now is praising it to the skies because a white rapper has made it palatable? Aside from Missy, when was the last time a black artist was on the cover?
― Nicole, Thursday, 5 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
The NME should front-cover Life Without Buildings and Zed Bias, maybe. But to leap from a Stereophonics diet to that kind of stuff would be too much too soon, and minor artists need a context in which to be understood anyhow. The current trend - to cover exciting, young music and to not assume that said music has to be a) rock, b) unrelated to everything else people do - is a positive one. You still get the feeling that everything's being seen in a rock light - look, look, it's drugs, dance music is hedonistic like rock! But even so it's a step up.
Yes, it's cyclical. But the NME in the mid-80s was good, and it would be nice for the NME in the early-00s to be good too, for however long it lasts. The big danger as Nicole rightly suggests is that it will hardly last at all as people drop it immediately. (Sales of the NME notoriously drop when black artists get on the cover).
The other thing Nicole says which I totally agree with is the writing quality thing. I bought the Missy issue and while it was refreshing to read the interview there didn't seem to be much meat otherwise, Peter Robinson's entertaining singles column aside.
From a personal POV, though obviously FT is nothing to do with any of this it's satisfying to feel like I backed the 'right horse' as it were, though the pro-pop bit is only a bit of what we're about.
― Tom, Thursday, 5 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
I think it's nice that the NME comes out weekly, and so it's got that over american music mags, but the NME (and the rest of the british media) seem only to listen when there's a loud record promoter on the other end of the phone, whereas underground buzz/excitement is enough to get a review into spin or magnet.
― marianna maclean, Thursday, 5 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Geordie Racer, Thursday, 5 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
Mogwai's Stuart Braithwaite has hit out at UK music weekly NME, branding them "pompous, disgusting and patronising".
"No, nothing shocks me anymore and that paper's just got really bad."
― DJ Martian, Thursday, 5 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― jel, Thursday, 5 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Patrick, Thursday, 5 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
Of course, the NME has *always* aimed at students, ever since about 1970 when it very nearly went under after the arrival of new magazines aiming at the pop market which it had covered in the 60s, and oriented itself towards what was then laughingly called "progressive music". Since then it has reflected the narrowest and most up-its-own-arse aspect of university common-room prejudices (all those 70s ELP fans' letters sneering at The Sweet and calling Kraftwerk obscure bollocks were echoed in the anti-dance kneejerkery of some Smiths fans, the anti-intellectualism of the Roses / Mondays worshippers, the smug cawing over the worthlessness of hip-hop integrated into Oasism, and now everything about the whole Starsailor / Alfie / Turin Brakes axis), but sporadically come into its own and run free. The last couple of months have indeed seen a minor revival - the hip-hop issue *was* pathetically "let's get with the trend", but better that than pretending that dying British indie is the only way forward. And the stuff on Missy Elliot and the Miami Dance Conference *has* been refreshing; it's good to see the NME taking a pro-pop line for once. The "state of Britain's youth" issue was mildly alarmist sensation / event-seeking, but had a few good points.
However I share Tom and Marcello's fears that commercial pressures and the vestiges of indie-kid narrow-mindedness will work against these signs of life.
― Robin Carmody, Thursday, 5 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
Anyway, enough moaning.
― Rob M, Thursday, 5 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
The NME feels very pleased with having outlasted Sounds and the Maker, but a gut feeling tells me it will no longer be with us in five years time.
― Pihkalboy, Tuesday, 10 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
Who is 'we' here? A very select group, perhaps. I have most certainly never, ever said that anyone or anything anywhere should have anything to do with 'Popstars', 'Missy Elliot' or 'the Miami Dance Conference'. I have a feeling that all of them are probably atrocious.
― the pinefox, Sunday, 15 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Robin Carmody, Sunday, 15 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― ethan, Sunday, 15 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― the pinefox, Monday, 16 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― mark s, Monday, 16 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Tim, Monday, 16 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
Plus! I was responding to previous threads about the NME which broadly seemed to be concluding - well the NME is crap because all it covers is indie music, where are the hip-hop and dance and indeed pop features? Or that was the - biased - impression I was left with. Clearly there are dissenters, prominently DJ Martian who is no doubt as unhappy with Missy Elliott coverage as he is with more Terris, and the Pinefox, whose vision for the NME, if he has one, eludes me.
Plus plus! It was rhetorical - I could have said "some of you" but it would have got less people involved in the thread I judged.
― Tom, Tuesday, 17 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Robin Carmody, Tuesday, 17 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Omar, Wednesday, 18 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
Editor: Steady 'Steady' Mike Chief Feature Writer: Stevie 'Edna' T Think Pieces: Tom 'It's Elusive' Ewing Roving Reporter: Tim 'Reality' Hopkins Letters Editor: David 'Incredible' Moore
Once every five years, Steady M takes pity on me and commissions a major retrospective on Harriet Wheeler. I dig out the last retrospective and add 200 words based on HW's activities, as known to me, over the previous five years. I struggle to reach 200. No-one notices that I am repeating previous retrospective.
― the pinefox, Wednesday, 18 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― MJ Hibbett, Thursday, 19 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Tim, Thursday, 19 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― tha ill presidente, Friday, 20 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
Next week its Destiny's Child - another useless front cover.
― DJ Martian, Friday, 20 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
Destiny's Child - and the NYC issue for that matter - pretty much confirm my original qn, i.e. the NME is on the right track currently. Themed issues = good. Putting the people making exciting pop records on the cover = good. The records Destiny's Child are making at the moment are terrific - there shouldn't even be a question about them being on the NME front cover.
― Tom, Friday, 20 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
We didn't know where to put ourselves.
― mark s, Friday, 20 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
However the NME should at least have a 1 page feature of Ulver.
and a significant album review - in the old MM circa late 80s- a band released a significant and exceptional album then they would be rewarded with a large review (column inches) regardless of size profile.
I will be surprised if the NME review the Ulver album - as the NME are ignorant bastards when it comes to non US/British bands.
For the curious Ulver - Perdition City
Ulver - Perdition City - is released April 23th on Jester Records through Shellshock/Pinnancle in the UK.
There are also a number of important points on the NME current music coverage - that I want to expand on. Later.
― the pinefox, Thursday, 26 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
x0x0
― norman fay, Thursday, 26 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Marcello Carlin, Friday, 8 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― DG, Friday, 8 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Nicole, Friday, 8 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― DG, Saturday, 9 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― David Raposa, Saturday, 9 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― gareth, Saturday, 9 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― the pinefox, Saturday, 9 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
In what way are Travis the biggest band in Britain? Hear'say? Westlife? Destiny's Child? Atomic Kitten? How many number ones have Travis had? Their definition of "band" seems to still be confined to a) Not manufactured (Whatever that means) b) Play guitars (and only guitars - none of this electronic nonsense) c) Male. It's the equivalent of Fruit and Veg Magazine putting Greengrocer Of The Year on the cover and describing them as "THE GREATEST PERSON WHO EVER LIVED", provided by "person" they mean "greengrocer".
― Graham, Thursday, 21 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Nick, Friday, 22 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
But to get back to the subject...I think NME has changed for the better this year, but basically there just isn't enough to read in it that's interesting.
Maybe it's trying to be all things to all people, when it will always be synonymous with indie/leftfield music. Personally I don't mind reading about Destiny's Child or Outkast as long as it's interesting. But people are going to read Mix Mag, Hip Hop Connection whatever, if they are really into the dance, hip-hop or R'n'B scenes.
What was it that Matt from Sarah Records once said..."if you're a fan of jangley guitars then you're narrow minded. If you're a hip-hop fan then you are a specialist." or something like that.
― GD, Friday, 22 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
to be heavily into hip-hop, understand the push/pull it enacts, you can't be fascistic about it, which is why the holier than thou attitude taken on by much of the uk hip-hop underground (trying to put pop in a cage where it can be looked at but not touched) - and, i suppose, that of our transatlantic counterparts as well - irks so much.
― Izzie, Friday, 22 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Patrick, Friday, 22 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― DG, Monday, 25 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Tom, Tuesday, 26 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
NME freelancers are being told to sign these horrible new agreements. Say, for example, someone gets to do a feature with Destiny's Child. The writer turns in a pretty good interview but has some material left over. The LA Weekly or someone asks for that writer to file a piece on same. Under the terms of the NME's new agreement, they wouldn't be able to because the NME would own, forever, the TAPE of the interview and any other out-takes.
Any freelance who doesn't sign does not get any more work from the paper/website. They are paid something like 15p a word for work they do, which is a lot less than you can get for selling interviews to the American market or a British newspaper, and they have none of the benefits of being on staff, usually no retainer even. It's patently unfair to ask those without job security to agree to such terms, and 20 writers are looking into a potential case against IPC for restraint of trade/intellectual property rights etc. If you want to know more, Tom, ask Angus Batey to fill you in. I think he was the one who went to the Guardian in the first place.
The best part of the story DG's quoting? 'Mr Sutherland was unavailable for comment.' Now there's a great big fuckin' first!
― suzy, Tuesday, 26 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Robin Carmody, Tuesday, 26 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― DG, Tuesday, 26 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
Source Media Guardian Feb 2001
I would think that if the NME dropped below 50,000 a week then questions would be asked about its future.
Sounds closed at around around 39,000 sales in 1991, Melody Maker closed at 32,500 sales in Dec 2000.
However much I dislike NME's music direction in 2001 To lose 20,000 sales from Feb 2001 to the end of the year, is unlikely.
― DJ Martian, Tuesday, 26 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Andrew L, Tuesday, 26 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
When the Guardian went online it sent around a fait accompli letter to anyone submitting freelance work that said The Guardian owned the reprint rights on each piece submitted; notification of this fact equalled an expectation of compliance. A lot of people stopped dealing with them afterward because the freelance rate did not rise one jot. What's going on at the NME is about a million times worse, and might be one reason the thing appears to be written by monkeys and Muppets these days - good writers often have annoying characteristics like principles and the tendency to disagree with the logic of their 'superiors' at work.
I don't think the NME will go down the pan because the site gets a gazillion hits every week. Brand manager is the perfect job for an Oxbridge, sexist skinhead Muppet like Sutherland, the job can do itself.
Do the freelancers laugh at the Travis, Stereophonics, The Strokes and Linkin Park front covers ..like the rest of us?
Who decides on the NME front covers Sutherland or Knowles or 16 year old work experience kids on a focus market research panel? I want to identify blame.
Also I noticed that Mojo are seeking a new editor at the mo Advert
― masonic boom, Tuesday, 26 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
But did you see the piece Keith Cameron wrote on Travis for the Guardian Weekend? I found it frighteningly ambivalent, as though he was just *describing* the situation where they have got so big, and he just didn't seem motivated to speak out against it. Maybe age has hit him where it hurts, but his pro-Oasis rhetoric wasn't what I wanted to read from the NME *at all* in 1995.
Mark Sutherland - a pompey fan - well that is suprising.
Definitely the editor, after feedback in editorial meetings, with pressure from upstairs. Yes, the freelancers do often laugh themselves sick at the choices made by the above. I actually don't think they're focus groupies at the NME (and anyway, no focus group I've ever been privy to asks for specifics about content, more general areas or should the spine be book-bound rather than stapled, yada yada). That's Emap's department: a pal of mine who once edited one of their music mags was rung on Boxing Day by the big cheese to be told if his cover choice didn't pan out, heads would roll.
Also, access is controlled by PR's who grant exclusives based on the promise of A Cover ('my client will not get out of bed for less than 5000 words') and how arsey the paper's tone has been to the other artists they represent. NME will generally be in the same queue for coverage as Mixmag, The Face, Q, Mojo. Dazed and Confused. i-D and Sleazenation choose who to cover based on sneakier means; getting early access to photographs because one of their people, say Wolfgang Tillmans or Juergen Teller or Corinne Day, has done a shoot (photographers have much, much better phone books than most editors). If style mags have the photos, then they have a powerful bargaining tool with the PRs who represent the artiste. No PR company would get angry at a 'cool' photographer for this kind of scoop, as they lend the artiste cred and in many cases get commissions from the record company direct.
Hate to be all insider/media ho' about this, but I think it's my duty, after 10 years' experience of these matters, to put that to use demystifying the media's methods.
That was the eye-opening thing inside books like _Powder_ - not the "Oh my god, rock stars are perverted, and singer/songwriters are ego-ridden gits" bit of it, but the insider (manager) information on how things like "cover articles" get handed out.
Then again, I suppose knowing too much can really leave a distaste in the mouth. If someone chose to do a Popstars style expose on how even the "indie"s are completely mechanised, I think I would move to Alaska with ProTools and never leave the house again.
BTW my first job in London was, you guessed it, NME freelancer. I ran away to join the Riot Grrrls, as any sensible female would.
Anjali
― gareth, Wednesday, 27 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
I would be interested in hearing your experiences of Riot Grrl, and whether you think it and its daughters have accomplished anything, but that's probably another thread.
Funny thing about "The Press" is... most musicians are unable to separate "The Press" (a faceless, corporate entity controlled by Brand Directors in IPC Towers) from the individual, badly paid, often cynical freelancers that are sent to review and/or interview them. Remember that musicians have been as badly burned by the Suits Upstairs as the freelancers have been, they just don't know it. (And vice versa)
― masonic boom, Wednesday, 27 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― mark s, Wednesday, 27 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Tom, Wednesday, 27 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
ht tp://news.independent.co.uk/uk/media/story.jsp?story=80594
Upmarket? Rolling Stone? What the blinkin' 'eck?
― masonic boom, Thursday, 28 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― suzy, Thursday, 28 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
It's all games.
Anyone got anything on David Lister? Name = familiar. Every time I read that Zappa quote (always quoted by eeevil sold-out pea- brains like Simon Hoggart) I find I despise FZ more.
― mark s, Thursday, 28 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
http://www.mediaguardian.co.uk/presspublishing/story/ 0,7495,513257,00.html
Circulation is dropping, but the website is increasing... so why the heck don't they take advantage of the nature of the internet to increase it even further beyond just a print version of the reviews, and a live news feed? Oh, I'm going to start ranting again, see remarks on the "what do you want from the press" thread.
― DJ Martian, Friday, 13 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
NME's editor Ben Knowles will be online to answer your questions from 4pm next Thursday. Should be interesting. So if you want to know why Elbow haven't been on the cover yet or why he persists with a bobbed hairdo log on and all will be revealed!
thats Thursday 19h July @ 4pm - if you want to grill Ben Knowles.
― DJ Martian, Saturday, 14 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― DG, Sunday, 15 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Marcello Carlin, Thursday, 17 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
One still gets the feeling that this is the usual stage in the NME cycle when nothing much is happening in whiteboy guitar land and black music and non-music issues get reasonably good cover until the next Roses/Mondays/Oasis comes along. -- Marcello Carlin, Wednesday, 4 April 2001 00:00 (6 years ago) Bookmark Link
This dude knows what's popping
― Dom Passantino, Wednesday, 12 December 2007 11:45 (sixteen years ago) link
I'm still wondering why he persisted with a bobbed hair log on!
― Mark G, Wednesday, 12 December 2007 11:47 (sixteen years ago) link
(Ben Knowles, that is, not Marcello)
If I had 50p for every sneering comment I've had off the recording artists I know re. The Press I'd be very wealthy indeed.
― Noodle Vague, Wednesday, 12 December 2007 11:48 (sixteen years ago) link
Suzy gives good wealthy.
― Dingbod Kesterson, Wednesday, 12 December 2007 11:56 (sixteen years ago) link
I love how Dom is now grinding Suzy's axe six years on.
― Matt DC, Wednesday, 12 December 2007 11:58 (sixteen years ago) link
guys, how do i meet "cougars"?
― Dom Passantino, Wednesday, 12 December 2007 11:58 (sixteen years ago) link
I AM NOT DOM'S SOCK-PUPPET
― Noodle Vague, Wednesday, 12 December 2007 11:59 (sixteen years ago) link
right
― electricsound, Wednesday, 12 December 2007 12:03 (sixteen years ago) link
-- Matt DC, Wednesday, 12 December 2007 11:58 (9 minutes ago) Bookmark Link
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- Dom Passantino, Wednesday, 12 December 2007 11:58 (8 minutes ago) Bookmark Link
^^^this is the funniest ilm post in a while
― Dom Passantino, Wednesday, 12 December 2007 12:07 (sixteen years ago) link
http://images.wikia.com/uncyclopedia/images/thumb/3/32/KennethWilliams.jpg/300px-KennethWilliams.jpg
― DJ Mencap, Wednesday, 12 December 2007 12:07 (sixteen years ago) link
NME doesn't get good until it gives up trying to appeal to the kids and instead starts writing about the same kind of stuff that Mojo does.
― Geir Hongro, Wednesday, 12 December 2007 12:45 (sixteen years ago) link
The Beano doesn't get good until it gives up trying to appeal to the kids and instead starts writing about the same kind of stuff that Angling Times does.
― Dingbod Kesterson, Wednesday, 12 December 2007 12:49 (sixteen years ago) link
http://pics.amres.com/p_thm/w4317.jpg
― That one guy that hit it and quit it, Wednesday, 12 December 2007 12:50 (sixteen years ago) link
Hey, "Dingbod"!
― Pashmina, Wednesday, 12 December 2007 12:57 (sixteen years ago) link
Hey, "Norm"!
This just in from the NME EOY poll compilers: "Kylie doesn't get good until it gives up trying to appeal to the kids and instead starts writing about the same kind of stuff that Biffy Clyro does."
― Dingbod Kesterson, Wednesday, 12 December 2007 13:18 (sixteen years ago) link
^^^Marcy, right?
― Dom Passantino, Wednesday, 12 December 2007 13:20 (sixteen years ago) link
He was a martyr, you know. Gave his life so that Biffy Clyro might live.
― Dingbod Kesterson, Wednesday, 12 December 2007 13:25 (sixteen years ago) link
-- Izzie, Wednesday, 4 April 2001 00:00 (6 years ago) Bookmark Link
Man, it's a shame she doesn't post anymore, she has some awesome taste in music.
― Dom Passantino, Wednesday, 12 December 2007 13:29 (sixteen years ago) link
does this still apply?
― s.rose, Wednesday, 12 December 2007 13:41 (sixteen years ago) link
When I (was) stopped (from) writing for Uncut in 2004 it had gone up to 25p a word and if you didn't sign you didn't necessarily stop getting work - you just didn't get paid for it until you had signed. It isn't necessarily beneficial to IPC since freelancers are naturally encouraged just to write any old hack rubbish rather than give away their best stuff. From scanning of recent issues this appears to have been the preferred path for writers to take. Oh yes, and the first person singular was ruthlessly excluded from any IPC writing but not for socialist reasons.
― Dingbod Kesterson, Wednesday, 12 December 2007 13:57 (sixteen years ago) link
Oh that's something that always hated. "Kele bought the NME a drink", "Beth gave the NME a lift home" all that.
Mind you, it did lead to "the NME wrote this article from an interview by Tim Jonze" etc...
― Mark G, Wednesday, 12 December 2007 14:09 (sixteen years ago) link
Ha ha ha yes.
― Pashmina, Wednesday, 12 December 2007 14:13 (sixteen years ago) link
Don't forget "your reporter" for when you're really writing from the heart
― DJ Mencap, Wednesday, 12 December 2007 14:32 (sixteen years ago) link
So, do NME reporters go on to greater things thesedays?
(Greater being: better paid and/or more prestige within the journalism genre, or media careers in general)
(Thesedays = since 2004)
You know all those who went on to Nationals, Word, Mojo, Wire, TV/Comedy and the like, back in the day, but have any notable NME 'name' writers from circa 2004 ever been seen since?
― Mark G, Wednesday, 12 December 2007 15:22 (sixteen years ago) link
as morrissey said, no.
― That one guy that hit it and quit it, Wednesday, 12 December 2007 15:28 (sixteen years ago) link
<i>does this still apply?</i>
The per-word rate's about half that now, isn't it?
― James Mitchell, Wednesday, 12 December 2007 18:33 (sixteen years ago) link
They had notable writers in 2004?
― Herman G. Neuname, Wednesday, 12 December 2007 18:39 (sixteen years ago) link
it was a random year choice.
― Mark G, Wednesday, 12 December 2007 19:54 (sixteen years ago) link
Oh, the NME has had a redesign.
It's much better, mmm... (shrugs)
― Mark G, Tuesday, 13 April 2010 10:11 (thirteen years ago) link
The design is a vast improvement though not perfect (the typography is all over the place at times). However, the quality of writing is still pretty weak. I hadn't read it in years before the relaunch and was disappointed to see that they still use that "overanalyse one arbitrary line from a song and run run run with it" writing style.
― unpredictable johnny rodz, Tuesday, 13 April 2010 10:23 (thirteen years ago) link
Not judging from this Steve Reid obit (c&p'd because they will presumably change it):
James Brown, Miles Davies drummer Steve Reid diesReid had been battling cancerJames Brown and Miles Davies collaborator Steve Reid has died aged 66.The American drummer, who was battling cancer, passed away in his sleep earlier today (April 13).Davies began playing professionally at the age of 16 and had his first recorded work with Martha And The Vandellas, working in the Apollo Theatre House band, under the direction of Quincy Jones.Also working with the likes of Miles Davies, Fela Kuti, James Brown and Sun Ra, Davies' last studio album came in the form of 2008's 'NYC', where he worked with Kieran Hebden aka Four Tet."Steve was one of my great friends and the most wonderful musician I have ever encountered," Hebden said in a statement. "The music and adventures we shared have been some of the most happy and meaningful experiences I've ever had - a true inspiration."He added: "He lived a great life and gave us incredible music. I'll miss him forever."
Reid had been battling cancer
James Brown and Miles Davies collaborator Steve Reid has died aged 66.
The American drummer, who was battling cancer, passed away in his sleep earlier today (April 13).
Davies began playing professionally at the age of 16 and had his first recorded work with Martha And The Vandellas, working in the Apollo Theatre House band, under the direction of Quincy Jones.
Also working with the likes of Miles Davies, Fela Kuti, James Brown and Sun Ra, Davies' last studio album came in the form of 2008's 'NYC', where he worked with Kieran Hebden aka Four Tet.
"Steve was one of my great friends and the most wonderful musician I have ever encountered," Hebden said in a statement. "The music and adventures we shared have been some of the most happy and meaningful experiences I've ever had - a true inspiration."
He added: "He lived a great life and gave us incredible music. I'll miss him forever."
http://www.nme.com/news/james-brown/50650
― Position Position, Tuesday, 13 April 2010 20:13 (thirteen years ago) link
um, what's wrong with that one?
Over-reliance on someone they had the phone number of, as opposed to friends and close family members who presumably want some quiet time right now?
― Mark G, Tuesday, 13 April 2010 20:33 (thirteen years ago) link
What's wrong with it? Seriously? Well, for starters, they appear to think that Steve Reid's name is "Davies" throughout.
― Position Position, Tuesday, 13 April 2010 20:54 (thirteen years ago) link
There is no one relevant to that story with the surname Davies that I can tell. Not Miles, and certainly not the guy who died.
― Matt DC, Tuesday, 13 April 2010 21:50 (thirteen years ago) link
oh right.
The moral is: Type in haste, proofread at leisure.
― Mark G, Wednesday, 14 April 2010 07:15 (thirteen years ago) link
Steve Davies, victim of terminal snooker loopiness.
― James Mitchell, Wednesday, 14 April 2010 08:09 (thirteen years ago) link
We'll show you what we can do with a load of balls...
― Convenience Fish (snoball), Wednesday, 14 April 2010 09:08 (thirteen years ago) link
"Still, no argument that Eve's "Scorpion" is a knockout masterpiece of an album"
haha
― titchy (titchyschneiderMk2), Wednesday, 14 April 2010 11:03 (thirteen years ago) link
I have most certainly never, ever said that anyone or anything anywhere should have anything to do with 'Popstars', 'Missy Elliot' or 'the Miami Dance Conference'. I have a feeling that all of them are probably atrocious.
― the pinefox, Sunday, 15 April 2001 00:00 (8 years ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
http://newportcommunitytv.org/images/PleaseComeBack.jpg
― neden magnet (DJ Mencap), Wednesday, 14 April 2010 11:22 (thirteen years ago) link
NME magazine has hooked up with Oxfam to urge music fans to donate unwanted albums to the charity.Donors will receive a free copy of the magazine in return."We want to get the mag out to as many people as we can - Oxfam is a great way to do that but it's a great cause as well," editor Krissi Murison said.The music swap marks the first time a major publication has been given away in a charity shop and is expected to bring in more than 12,000 donations.Artists such as Jarvis Cocker and DJ Norman Cook have previously backed Oxfam campaigns and are self confessed lovers of the charity store, discovering rare gems for their own music collections.One treasure recently discovered in an Oxfam shop in Glasgow was a signed Michael Jackson signed record. "Whoever it was haggled with the person at Oxfam and got it for £73," Murison told BBC 6 Music. "I would have put my hand over the signature and passed it off as a normal one."According to Oxfam, around 1.8 million CDs and records are sold every year, all donated by the public with money being used to fund projects across the world.The swap begins on Friday at more than 150 Oxfam stores nationwide.It also coincides with the recent launch of the magazine.Murison, who became editor in September, claims it has been well received so far. She said: "It's really shocked me, the biggest cynics out there have Twittered me to say they really like it." OXFAM'S MOST DONATED ARTISTSBeatlesThe CureNew OrderThe SmithsLed Zeppelin
NME magazine has hooked up with Oxfam to urge music fans to donate unwanted albums to the charity.
Donors will receive a free copy of the magazine in return.
"We want to get the mag out to as many people as we can - Oxfam is a great way to do that but it's a great cause as well," editor Krissi Murison said.
The music swap marks the first time a major publication has been given away in a charity shop and is expected to bring in more than 12,000 donations.
Artists such as Jarvis Cocker and DJ Norman Cook have previously backed Oxfam campaigns and are self confessed lovers of the charity store, discovering rare gems for their own music collections.
One treasure recently discovered in an Oxfam shop in Glasgow was a signed Michael Jackson signed record.
"Whoever it was haggled with the person at Oxfam and got it for £73," Murison told BBC 6 Music. "I would have put my hand over the signature and passed it off as a normal one."
According to Oxfam, around 1.8 million CDs and records are sold every year, all donated by the public with money being used to fund projects across the world.
The swap begins on Friday at more than 150 Oxfam stores nationwide.
It also coincides with the recent launch of the magazine.
Murison, who became editor in September, claims it has been well received so far. She said: "It's really shocked me, the biggest cynics out there have Twittered me to say they really like it."
OXFAM'S MOST DONATED ARTISTSBeatlesThe CureNew OrderThe SmithsLed Zeppelin
― pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Thursday, 15 April 2010 19:56 (thirteen years ago) link
the biggest cynics out there have Twittered me to say they really like it.
God, the modern internet. What happened? D:
― dead flower :( (Pashmina), Thursday, 15 April 2010 20:29 (thirteen years ago) link
NME got fed up with british music?http://i48.tinypic.com/xx841.jpghttp://www.nme.com/images/10524_115720_nmemagpageusindie240510.jpghttp://www.nme.com/images/10524_115650_nmemagpagedrums240510.jpg
wtf are The Drums?
― pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Saturday, 29 May 2010 02:53 (thirteen years ago) link
what, you haven't heard? 10-night stand at the Meadowlands just last month, biggest act since REO
― henceforth we eat truffle fries (underrated aerosmith albums I have loved), Saturday, 29 May 2010 03:17 (thirteen years ago) link
From the looks of them I would only listen if they were called the Murds.
― dud rock (crüt), Saturday, 29 May 2010 03:19 (thirteen years ago) link
if you go to their show & provide me with visual evidence that you spent at least some of the time down front yelling "the murds! the murrrrrrrrrds!" between songs, I'll reimburse you for your ticket
― henceforth we eat truffle fries (underrated aerosmith albums I have loved), Saturday, 29 May 2010 03:21 (thirteen years ago) link
MUSE + JACK WHITE: HOW TWILIGHT SCORED THE COOLEST SOUNDTRACK EVER
― dud rock (crüt), Saturday, 29 May 2010 03:26 (thirteen years ago) link
I love that even in 2010 the NME cover still features both the Stone Roses and Liam Gallagher
― dud rock (crüt), Saturday, 29 May 2010 03:27 (thirteen years ago) link
they have to cover themselves incase this new american invasion doesnt work out obviously.
― pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Saturday, 29 May 2010 10:25 (thirteen years ago) link
The Drums are an American band from Brooklyn, New York,[1] with members stemming from the shortlived band Elkland (formerly Goat Explosion)
Now there's a name.
― atoms breaking heart (a passing spacecadet), Saturday, 29 May 2010 12:07 (thirteen years ago) link
OH MY GOD NME HAS AN AMERICAN BAND ON THE COVER
I GUESS IT MUST BE FED UP WITH BRITISH MUSIC
― English: The Money Woman (history mayne), Saturday, 29 May 2010 12:11 (thirteen years ago) link
The Drums are seriously fucking terrible
― Michael B, Saturday, 29 May 2010 12:46 (thirteen years ago) link
The issue still on the stands at Borders is a Joy Division tribute. How long ago did it shrink in size and get a glossy cover? I haven't paid much attention in a long time. Flipping through it reminded me of late 70s Creem. If they would offer an actually affordable subscription in the U.S. I would read it.
― Fastnbulbous, Saturday, 29 May 2010 15:09 (thirteen years ago) link
The most recent issue with all the American stuff was done by a stand-in editor while KM was on holiday. The others are markedly different in the sort of music they cover. I think it's improved massively since the redesign, but I would say that I guess.
― Duran (Doran), Saturday, 29 May 2010 15:34 (thirteen years ago) link
It doesn't make me cringe quite so much when I see it in Sainsburys.
― djh, Saturday, 29 May 2010 19:55 (thirteen years ago) link
The Strange Boys are dope though real talk
― ᵒ always toasted, never fried (crüt), Monday, 31 May 2010 19:52 (thirteen years ago) link
I do wonder if "young people" really do want an Ian Curtis tribute issue, though?
― djh, Monday, 31 May 2010 21:10 (thirteen years ago) link
Lots of "young people" listen to Joy Division.
― billstevejim, Monday, 31 May 2010 21:20 (thirteen years ago) link
Ian Curtis' 'stock' is probably as high now as it was in the early 80s. Just count the number of people you see wearing JD T-shirts at gigs.
― Duran (Doran), Tuesday, 1 June 2010 11:01 (thirteen years ago) link
didn't they run a cover not even 18 months ago with vampire weekend on the cover that was all AMERICA IS COOL AGAIN & then listed 20 american bands
― J0rdan S., Tuesday, 1 June 2010 11:16 (thirteen years ago) link
I think Hermann still thinks it's 1995.
― The Men Who Stare At Goatse (Matt DC), Tuesday, 1 June 2010 11:17 (thirteen years ago) link
lolling at animal collective being buried there in b/w avi buffalo & the dum dum girls
cover is kinda cool visually tho -- whole redesign has gone a long way towards making the magazine look less like a music tabloid & instead like an actual journalistic endeavor
― J0rdan S., Tuesday, 1 June 2010 11:19 (thirteen years ago) link
ok so it was about 18 mons ago - lol @ lil wayne
http://cdn.stereogum.com/files/2008/08/nme-top_25_bands_making_america_cool.jpg
― J0rdan S., Tuesday, 1 June 2010 11:21 (thirteen years ago) link
Yeah that old cover style was appalling, I think a lot of the recent covers have been a lot better.
― The Men Who Stare At Goatse (Matt DC), Tuesday, 1 June 2010 11:22 (thirteen years ago) link
'how twilight scored the coolest soundtrack ever' is a bold claim!
but it does seem (from the covers n e way) to be better than under conor mack.
― transient truff (history mayne), Tuesday, 1 June 2010 11:24 (thirteen years ago) link
has nme forgot that someone made a famous movie about ian curtis
― J0rdan S., Tuesday, 1 June 2010 11:26 (thirteen years ago) link
'Joe Lean - Why I canned my debut album'
A nation holds it's breath while we await it's appearance.
― State Attorney Foxhart Cubycheck (Billy Dods), Tuesday, 1 June 2010 11:36 (thirteen years ago) link
― djh, Monday, May 31, 2010 9:10 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
― billstevejim, Monday, May 31, 2010 9:20 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
― Duran (Doran), Tuesday, June 1, 2010 11:01 AM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
^^^ truth
the thing about young people is that Joy Division is still a novel thing to them
― ᵒ always toasted, never fried (crüt), Tuesday, 1 June 2010 12:48 (thirteen years ago) link
the Miami Dance Conference
is this still a thing?
― transient truff (history mayne), Tuesday, 1 June 2010 12:50 (thirteen years ago) link
http://www.nme.com/images/10524_115720_nmemagpageusindie240510.jpg
^^ I like that they picked Colorado to fill in the west
― ᵒ always toasted, never fried (crüt), Tuesday, 1 June 2010 12:55 (thirteen years ago) link
I can't read what any of those are (except possible The National in New York?). Is there a link?
― kkvgz, Tuesday, 1 June 2010 13:05 (thirteen years ago) link
IN FACTS WE TRUST
― tart w/ a heart (a hoy hoy), Tuesday, 1 June 2010 13:13 (thirteen years ago) link
NME is logical positivists now, u c.
You've changed, Pacific Northwest. You used to be cool.
― Hippocrates or wat!! (Merdeyeux), Tuesday, 1 June 2010 13:27 (thirteen years ago) link
http://altreport.hipsterrunoff.com/2010/06/avey-tare-escalates-personal-brand-named-alt-american-icon-by-nme.html
I guess those ass holes across the ocean are trying to ‘take over’ the indie brand. Guess they can have it since it is irrelevant/dead n e ways. USA is rlly conceptcore/chillwave/bleep bloopy these days, so I am not sure if we are into ‘ghey bands’ like The Muse of The Kings of Leon [via the Lion Kings]. h8 u NME for trying to act like the USA doesn’t produce the best music in the world. AnCo is gonna take yall down in the World Cup of post-indie bands.
― truff sqwad (history mayne), Thursday, 3 June 2010 13:07 (thirteen years ago) link
WORST WORLD CUP EVER.
― Matt DC, Thursday, 3 June 2010 13:08 (thirteen years ago) link
Don't forget the Beatles!
― I just wish he hadn't adopted the "ilxor" moniker (ilxor), Thursday, 3 June 2010 13:15 (thirteen years ago) link
Geir will never let you forget, don't worry ilxor!
― pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Thursday, 3 June 2010 13:26 (thirteen years ago) link
Was going to be snarky and post this in the worst NME cover ever, but I'm feeling charitable and think that on balance it's a good thing that NME are looking at acts that try to push the envelope rather than the usual Oasis/Pete Doherty/Arctic Monkeys stuff.
http://www.nme.com/images/1068_105439_kelenmecover070610.jpg
― State Attorney Foxhart Cubycheck (Billy Dods), Tuesday, 8 June 2010 20:07 (thirteen years ago) link
KELE
BOLDLY GOING WHERE BLOC PARTY NEVER DARED
― I just wish he hadn't adopted the "ilxor" moniker (ilxor), Tuesday, 8 June 2010 20:07 (thirteen years ago) link
Cover still features Oasis = yep, it's still the NME.
― I just wish he hadn't adopted the "ilxor" moniker (ilxor), Tuesday, 8 June 2010 20:08 (thirteen years ago) link
Baby steps.
― State Attorney Foxhart Cubycheck (Billy Dods), Tuesday, 8 June 2010 20:12 (thirteen years ago) link
On first glance, I thought that the cover above listing the American bands said "Warrant" instead of "Warpaint."
― X-Wing fighter in hand, "Godzilla" cranked on the stereo (J3ff T.), Tuesday, 8 June 2010 20:14 (thirteen years ago) link
I dunno if it's a good thing or not that a 50+ Paul Weller is making more risky and interesting music than most NME approved "indie bands" have been doing in recent years. Hopefully things will improve in UK indie though. I did think his days of NME coverage was gone though.
― pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Tuesday, 8 June 2010 20:19 (thirteen years ago) link
j3ff I thought the exact same as you when I first saw it!
― pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Tuesday, 8 June 2010 20:20 (thirteen years ago) link
what a weird cover
― gonjasufi smacker (J0rdan S.), Tuesday, 8 June 2010 20:28 (thirteen years ago) link
BEATING BLOC PARTY AT A GAME THEY WEREN'T EVEN BOLD ENOUGH TO PLAY
― on some kinda serial killer ish (sic), Tuesday, 8 June 2010 23:41 (thirteen years ago) link
lol
― doop snobby snobb (history mayne), Tuesday, 8 June 2010 23:45 (thirteen years ago) link
it looks terrific, which is a huge step up from the past couple years. all they need to do now is... cover decent acts?
― tart w/ a heart (a hoy hoy), Wednesday, 9 June 2010 01:31 (thirteen years ago) link
terrific is not etc.
― Mark G, Wednesday, 9 June 2010 07:08 (thirteen years ago) link
That Kele single would be pretty good if it wasn't for his direction-free vocal.
― Matt DC, Wednesday, 9 June 2010 09:34 (thirteen years ago) link
for a second i thought it was Lethal Bizzle on the cover
― mdskltr (blueski), Wednesday, 9 June 2010 11:19 (thirteen years ago) link
Grindie Revival
― mdskltr (blueski), Wednesday, 9 June 2010 11:20 (thirteen years ago) link
oh for the halcyon days of grindie
― Neil S, Wednesday, 9 June 2010 11:34 (thirteen years ago) link
Today I saw the NME with a whole issue on THE 100 BEST ALBUMS YOU'VE NEVER HEARD.
I looked through it. I had heard some of them, heard of others, didn't want to hear of some.
But the whole exercise seems to be admirable. Yes, I really think that the NME has improved. In a virtually impossible media climate, they are trying, in their way, to be more serious about pop and its history, than they have been in the past decade, even though probably none of what's left of their demographic cares much about it.
They even had a para on The Bodines and 'Therese'!
― the pinefox, Friday, 31 December 2010 15:31 (thirteen years ago) link
NME aiming for the "not old enough to read Mojo, not rockist enough to read Q" demographic?
― Les centimètres énigmatiques (snoball), Friday, 31 December 2010 15:38 (thirteen years ago) link
xpost I agree. For the first time since 2002, I have found the NME to be worth reading again, if only from time to time. Broader scope, sharper reviews, noticeably higher number of female writers (perhaps not surprisingly), more sincere in its enthusiasms, less desperate in its flogging of worthless dead horses, and generally more trustworthy. Although I'm not in its intended demographic, I no longer feel alienated by its ethos.
― mike t-diva, Friday, 31 December 2010 15:53 (thirteen years ago) link
I've not picked up a physical copy yet since the new editor took over, but everything I've seen suggests I will agree with Mike when I eventually do.
― Captain Ostensible (Scik Mouthy), Friday, 31 December 2010 15:58 (thirteen years ago) link
some discussion of that nme list on this thread — I agree that it's p.cool (reminds me of the sort of weird eclectic lists pitchfork used to do, like, a decade ago), but maybe a bit too... easy? hard to explain exactly what I mean, but it sorta feels like tokenism stretched out over an entire list — like, yeah okay, you guys are professional music critics, I certainly hope there are 2 or 3 obscure cool jazz/psychrock/country/whatever albums that you know and love! but that doesn't mean you should slap them all on a list and pretend it means something!!(related concern: who exactly is the audience for this piece?)
― Egyptian Raps Crew (bernard snowy), Friday, 31 December 2010 16:13 (thirteen years ago) link
(I am basing this assessment totally on that one piece — and not even the actual writing, just the list of albums — so grain of salt, of course)
― Egyptian Raps Crew (bernard snowy), Friday, 31 December 2010 16:15 (thirteen years ago) link
I actually bought this issue today. I bought the Albums Of Year issue (the only one I buy each year)and I was disappointed with it. But I figured this issue looked interesting enough to pick up and read. I just hope it is worth reading.
― Shakey Moe Szyslak (Algerian Goalkeeper), Friday, 31 December 2010 16:29 (thirteen years ago) link
Most of the list was chosen by 'celebs', Mark Ronson chose 5 hiphop albums, Friendly Fires picked some electronica, James Dean Bradfield picked Thomas Dolby and ABC! Hence the rather ramshackle nature of it, but in spite of that it looked more interesting than I expected.
― State Attorney Foxhart Cubycheck (Billy Dods), Friday, 31 December 2010 16:48 (thirteen years ago) link
I bet paul weller chose the zombies. He's been banging on about it for a good few years now every chance he gets.
― Shakey Moe Szyslak (Algerian Goalkeeper), Friday, 31 December 2010 17:01 (thirteen years ago) link
Yes he did. And even I heard most of that LP 10 years ago.
My take on this list etc would be: yes it's daft, flawed, shallow etc from all kinds of angles. But attacking a worthy NME piece for that would be breaking a butterfly on a wheel. It's just remarkable that they've done it at all - for the kids, not seasoned pop listeners like ILM; after the drastic, radical decline of the magazine; and in a world where it must be nigh impossible to make a quality print magazine, or maybe any print magazine, anymore. It's in that very limited context that I find it such an admirable swim against the tide.
― the pinefox, Friday, 31 December 2010 18:20 (thirteen years ago) link
NME doesn't need to write about pop as long as its demographic isn't interested. Or, if it does, it should write about pop that its demographic may be interested in hearing about. That is, male guitar pop from the UK.
― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Friday, 31 December 2010 18:23 (thirteen years ago) link
No geir, the NME should write about good music.
― Shakey Moe Szyslak (Algerian Goalkeeper), Friday, 31 December 2010 18:25 (thirteen years ago) link
Which it did not do under connor mac.
I'd really like to know who picked the Corea then: Jamie Callum?
― sonofstan, Friday, 31 December 2010 18:31 (thirteen years ago) link
Someone called Joe Mount of Metronomy
― Shakey Moe Szyslak (Algerian Goalkeeper), Friday, 31 December 2010 18:40 (thirteen years ago) link
The NME should help their readers discover some new stuff that they may like.
And, you know, they don't need to discover mainstream pop. They already know it, regardless of whether they like or not. Everyone knows mainstream pop.
― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Friday, 31 December 2010 20:47 (thirteen years ago) link
I don't.
― Shakey Moe Szyslak (Algerian Goalkeeper), Friday, 31 December 2010 21:18 (thirteen years ago) link
I don't know contemporary mainstream pop. I know a lot of old mainstream pop.
But pop is a big little word, and the NME is a pop music magazine and I am a pop music fan.
― the pinefox, Saturday, 1 January 2011 00:48 (thirteen years ago) link
You know, some people think it isn't pop if it's by a band, if that band plays guitars, if they are all male, and if their skin colour appears to be white.
― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Saturday, 1 January 2011 04:07 (thirteen years ago) link
"appears"
geir you give bands the while paper bag test?
― in my world of Hmong ppl (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Saturday, 1 January 2011 04:09 (thirteen years ago) link
er white paper bag test
― in my world of Hmong ppl (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Saturday, 1 January 2011 04:10 (thirteen years ago) link
What does it matter anyway? If they are white, they are white, if they are black, they are black. What matters is what the music sound like. And if it sounds anything like Beatles or Beach Boys, then pop it is.
― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Saturday, 1 January 2011 11:43 (thirteen years ago) link
I looked at the cover, since I can get NME at home now (I don't feel like going downtown to get it)...looking at an NME would be just a nostalgia thing for me. Until their covers are more appealing, I'm not actually going to buy it.
In any case, I'm wondering what the 100 albums are?
― Christina and the Fags (u s steel), Saturday, 1 January 2011 12:07 (thirteen years ago) link
Sorry, I missed the link to the list that was posted upthread. It is interesting, could still be more global. I mean, I understand young consumers' need to catch up. But do they really need the Electric Prunes?
― Christina and the Fags (u s steel), Saturday, 1 January 2011 12:13 (thirteen years ago) link
http://sickmouthy.wordpress.com/2011/01/01/top-ten-records-you’ve-never-heard-if-you’re-a-15-year-old-boy-who-reads-nme/
― Captain Ostensible (Scik Mouthy), Saturday, 1 January 2011 12:19 (thirteen years ago) link
Milton Nascimento / Lo Borges – Club De Esquina Vol. 1Brazil isn’t just about samba and Tropicalia; it can be about awesome, awesome, classic pop too. The melodies, tunes, and arrangements here are something else – even if the words are Brazilian Portuguese.
this is great yeah
― /\/\/\Y/\ Amchill Rothschild (nakhchivan), Saturday, 1 January 2011 12:33 (thirteen years ago) link
the hiphop picks are what finally make me hate mark ronson. seriously, this guy needs to die. mecca and the soul brother! smif n wesson! etc. sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo obscure you guys.
― irish xmas caek, get that marzipan inta ya (a hoy hoy), Monday, 3 January 2011 00:35 (thirteen years ago) link
infamous!!! lmao
― ich bin ein ilxor (deej), Monday, 3 January 2011 00:43 (thirteen years ago) link
Isn't the idea to recommend some records that yr average 17yr old NME reader hasn't heard? perfectly possible that someone of that age wouldn't have heard records recorded at about the time they were born.
― Neil S, Monday, 3 January 2011 00:46 (thirteen years ago) link
not sure if a hoy hoy is being a sarcastic dick or not. smif n wessun are, to most people, pretty obscure. and as neil says, to nme readers, so is a mobb deep album from 15 years ago.
― moholy-nagl (history mayne), Monday, 3 January 2011 00:57 (thirteen years ago) link
yeah but whatever bullshit is on the typical nme list is, to most people, 'pretty obscure'
― ich bin ein ilxor (deej), Monday, 3 January 2011 01:02 (thirteen years ago) link
i dunno seems silly to me to play dumb w/ your audience about given subgenres
nme isn't typically read by rap nerds, so even to nme readers, those are obscure acts -- but i mean, they have xtc on the list, so it isn't meant to be the most obscure records of all time, just stuff that college-age kids won't know about
― moholy-nagl (history mayne), Monday, 3 January 2011 01:05 (thirteen years ago) link
also the go-betweens, felt and, um, black rebel motorcycle club...
― moholy-nagl (history mayne), Monday, 3 January 2011 01:06 (thirteen years ago) link
Wot no Terris
― Morcheeba, simply happening. (PaulTMA), Monday, 3 January 2011 01:11 (thirteen years ago) link
I suppose the 100 albums you've never heard also means that you are supposed to like them, i.e. that they are not too unlike the stuff you already like.
― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Monday, 3 January 2011 11:35 (thirteen years ago) link
No, you take your pick.
― Mark G, Monday, 3 January 2011 11:45 (thirteen years ago) link
These were all recommended by (mostly) artists that NME readers probably already appreciate, as well as a few choices by NME journalists. The 5 Kurt Cobain choices were made nearly 20 years ago.
Feels more like one of the 'Originals' run than an actual issue. Still, features more good records than the NME normally would in a month or two.
― Craigo Boingo, Monday, 3 January 2011 12:16 (thirteen years ago) link
These were all recommended by (mostly) artists that NME readers probably already appreciate, as well as a few choices by NME journalists
Artist are known to be much, much, much more openminded towards other genres than their fans are though.
Btw. I think this is the big mistake that Mojo are doing regarding present music too. They seem to try to open their readership's eyes towards new music but instead of finding new stuff that is stylistically related to what their readers already love, they tend to recommend stuff from completely different genres. Putting John Grant at the top of their list this year was an exception though - obviously if Mojo readers are likely to get into new, young acts, they are much more likely to get into John Grant than some hip-hop or R&B act. Because John Grant is much closer to the kind of music they have already known and loved for 40 years.
― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Monday, 3 January 2011 12:23 (thirteen years ago) link
dunno why the fuck you'd wanna introduce the youth to XTC via White Music tho - it might tick the post-Strokes spiky guitars box but it's pretty fucken weak.
― Shanty! Shanti! Shanté! (Noodle Vague), Monday, 3 January 2011 12:26 (thirteen years ago) link
That is true. But if the youth are into rather tough sounding rock'n'roll, XTC's best work may feel too pastoral for them.
― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Monday, 3 January 2011 12:26 (thirteen years ago) link
Psychological projection or projection bias is a psychological defense mechanism where a person unconsciously denies their own attributes, thoughts, and emotions, which are then ascribed to the outside world, such as to the weather, or to other people. Thus, it involves imagining or projecting that others have those feelings.[1]
― moholy-nagl (history mayne), Monday, 3 January 2011 12:26 (thirteen years ago) link
i wd have gone drums n wires but ehh
― moholy-nagl (history mayne), Monday, 3 January 2011 12:27 (thirteen years ago) link
Geir with all respect even the god-knows-whats that read Mojo have a bit broader range of interests than "all shit that sounds like the Kinks, all the time".
― Shanty! Shanti! Shanté! (Noodle Vague), Monday, 3 January 2011 12:28 (thirteen years ago) link
the c...the cu...the oh forget it, in 2k11 that term will have to be rationed
― max bro'd (nakhchivan), Monday, 3 January 2011 12:35 (thirteen years ago) link
sort of admirable that the nme are giving this list to 15yr old proto-ilx types for whom it will only hasten the end of their nme buying days
― max bro'd (nakhchivan), Monday, 3 January 2011 12:37 (thirteen years ago) link
The proto-ILX types have never started buying NME in the first place. They are content with hit magazines and hitlists.
― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Monday, 3 January 2011 12:46 (thirteen years ago) link
how did you get into proper music?
― max bro'd (nakhchivan), Monday, 3 January 2011 12:47 (thirteen years ago) link
if that story doesn't involve some kind of traumatic brain injury then I don't wanna hear it
― Shanty! Shanti! Shanté! (Noodle Vague), Monday, 3 January 2011 12:52 (thirteen years ago) link
Having never read the NME - why would they have a "non-music" issue as mentioned in the OP? They're a music magazine, right? What kind of content would a "non-music" NME have?
― jodeci & oracle (kkvgz), Monday, 3 January 2011 12:54 (thirteen years ago) link
They are content with hit magazines and hitlists.
― max bro'd (nakhchivan), Monday, 3 January 2011 12:55 (thirteen years ago) link
xpost
dunno what issue the OP was refering to but in the 80s the NME wd run occasional non-music cover stories about Youth Issues like drugs or suicide or voting for Neil Kinnock. any sense of this being a bold move was mitigated by yr suspicion that they couldn't face putting the Smiths on the cover because J. Marr hadn't farted in public that week.
― Shanty! Shanti! Shanté! (Noodle Vague), Monday, 3 January 2011 12:58 (thirteen years ago) link
aye, it'd have music shit in there too
at one point there was a big internal war over "that sort of thing" (cf. covering hip-hop) but the main player's name escapes me. stuart something, perhaps, who was styled "media editor" maybe.
― moholy-nagl (history mayne), Monday, 3 January 2011 14:26 (thirteen years ago) link
Stuart Cosgrove. Ian Pye was the editor at the time IIRC
― ban this sick stunt (anagram), Monday, 3 January 2011 14:27 (thirteen years ago) link
xxp I always thought those non-musical cover stories were a serious engagement with key issues. they didn't strike me as being tokenistic or whatever. nevertheless I remember reading somewhere (may even have been ILM) that the youth suicide issue was the lowest selling ever.
― ban this sick stunt (anagram), Monday, 3 January 2011 14:29 (thirteen years ago) link
In reply, fuck that shit. When I was 17 me and my friends all read the NME and didn't have the awesome broadband every 17 year old has now. We all knew and loved TROY and Shook Ones Pt. 2. I remember getting drunk with a couple other friends jamming to Black Moon (about as close to Smif N Wesson as a group can get). Kids know how to download things, they aren't fucking ignorant of these super obscure records. No-one would have a problem with him putting in Da Dirty 30 or Bl_ck B_st_rds
― irish xmas caek, get that marzipan inta ya (a hoy hoy), Monday, 3 January 2011 14:30 (thirteen years ago) link
The indie equiv of The Infamous is what, a Weezer record or Dookie or something? NME wouldn't dare stick something like that in this list but instead they and Mark Ronson are fucking stupid and ignorant.
― irish xmas caek, get that marzipan inta ya (a hoy hoy), Monday, 3 January 2011 14:32 (thirteen years ago) link
When I was 17 me and my friends all read the NME and didn't have the awesome broadband every 17 year old has now. We all knew and loved TROY and Shook Ones Pt. 2. I remember getting drunk with a couple other friends jamming to Black Moon (about as close to Smif N Wesson as a group can get).
well you're an exceptional individual, clearly. i was a 17-y-o nme reader, Before The Internet, and knew plenty. and in my world of young nme readers, very, very few were familiar with hip-hop beyond stuff that got in the charts.
The indie equiv of The Infamous is what, a Weezer record or Dookie or something? NME wouldn't dare stick something like that in this list but instead they and Mark Ronson are fucking stupid and ignorant.― irish xmas caek, get that marzipan inta ya (a hoy hoy), Monday, January 3, 2011 2:32 PM (34 seconds ago) Bookmark
― irish xmas caek, get that marzipan inta ya (a hoy hoy), Monday, January 3, 2011 2:32 PM (34 seconds ago) Bookmark
that's because the nme is an indie mag not a rap mag derp
― moholy-nagl (history mayne), Monday, 3 January 2011 14:33 (thirteen years ago) link
nah smif n wesson is a good pick for this sort of thing. black moon wld be too. the infamous and pete rock debut are too close to canon picks even for a teen rock mag tho
― zvookster, Monday, 3 January 2011 14:36 (thirteen years ago) link
though as it goes mid-late 90s nme wasn't that big on weezer. from what i can tell neither the debut nor 'pinkerton' made its EOY so, yeah, brilliant example.
― moholy-nagl (history mayne), Monday, 3 January 2011 14:36 (thirteen years ago) link
Kids know how to download things, they aren't fucking ignorant of these super obscure records. No-one would have a problem with him putting in Da Dirty 30 or Bl_ck B_st_rds
― irish xmas caek, get that marzipan inta ya (a hoy hoy), Monday, 3 January 2011 14:30 (55 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
you realise this post makes you look insane, right?
― Scilk Mahouthy (DJ Mencap), Monday, 3 January 2011 15:29 (thirteen years ago) link
like if you can look over that entire list and the one thing you conclude is "Smif N Wessun are way to well known to be in this"... I don't know how to finish that sentence tbh
― Scilk Mahouthy (DJ Mencap), Monday, 3 January 2011 15:32 (thirteen years ago) link
fwiw the Mobb Deep was one of I think three things in there I thought were maybe a bit 'canon' even for this readership, the other two being Love and The Zombies, but (a) I don't actually own any of those myself and (b) the fuck does it matter *really*
― Scilk Mahouthy (DJ Mencap), Monday, 3 January 2011 15:35 (thirteen years ago) link
― irish xmas caek, get that marzipan inta ya (a hoy hoy), Monday, 3 January 2011 14:30 (59 minutes ago)
every1 had dsl when i was 17 and i'm older than u iirc
and every1 has access to internet music journalism but some still buy nme, not just about 'access' to records/content, ppl like familiarity/recommendations
― max bro'd (nakhchivan), Monday, 3 January 2011 15:35 (thirteen years ago) link
Maybe the problem is some people just cannot cope with the fact that many are actually still into white guys with guitars because they happen to like that kind of music best?
― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Monday, 3 January 2011 15:38 (thirteen years ago) link
The perspective on US Hip Hop from the UK has always been weird and getting weirder I think. Most of the kids I know - who are admittedly not in the NME's demographic really - don't know about any of the 90s acts that were a huge fucking deal at the time. Broadband is one thing but having a map of the musical universe is another - most of the teenagers I talk to that give a shit about Hip Hop don't have much interest in history.
― Shanty! Shanti! Shanté! (Noodle Vague), Monday, 3 January 2011 15:40 (thirteen years ago) link
u still haven't told us how u got into music geir
― max bro'd (nakhchivan), Monday, 3 January 2011 15:40 (thirteen years ago) link
Geir please give it a rest with white guys with guitars.
― Shakey Moe Szyslak (Algerian Goalkeeper), Monday, 3 January 2011 15:41 (thirteen years ago) link
― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Monday, 3 January 2011 15:38 (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
lol is this even a response to anyone's actual post
― Scilk Mahouthy (DJ Mencap), Monday, 3 January 2011 15:42 (thirteen years ago) link
most of the teenagers I talk to that give a shit about Hip Hop don't have much interest in history.
― Shanty! Shanti! Shanté! (Noodle Vague), Monday, 3 January 2011 15:40 (13 seconds ago)
don't necessarily think this is a problem, i mean i'm not sure if the east riding ukhh scene is going to be the atlanta of the 2k10s, but a little less record-collector piety might be worth a try
like i'd guess those odd future etc reets are only selectively schooled in the lore -- a partial, misinformed history is maybe better than encyclopedism or ~eclecticism~
― max bro'd (nakhchivan), Monday, 3 January 2011 15:44 (thirteen years ago) link
his ownxp
― Shakey Moe Szyslak (Algerian Goalkeeper), Monday, 3 January 2011 15:45 (thirteen years ago) link
xp
oh nakh yeah I wasn't saying this was in any way a problem, just that I wouldn't be in the slightest bit surprised at kids not having heard of The Infamous. Plus reiterating the stuff about it being a list for NME readers i.e. who gives a fuck about them anyway?
― Shanty! Shanti! Shanté! (Noodle Vague), Monday, 3 January 2011 15:47 (thirteen years ago) link
if anything the scene kids are a bawhair away from being corny undie mfers anyway, the mainstream guys just seem to randomly dig whatever's vaguely crossed over plus odd stuff from god knows where. any yes Hull is high on the list of Least Urban cities in the Yoo Kay too.
― Shanty! Shanti! Shanté! (Noodle Vague), Monday, 3 January 2011 15:50 (thirteen years ago) link
yeah i wouldn't be surprised xp....i mean some of these names don't mean a lot to me
a hoy hoy is clearly through the looking glass itt
― max bro'd (nakhchivan), Monday, 3 January 2011 15:51 (thirteen years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOkeYyrwB6g
― max bro'd (nakhchivan), Monday, 3 January 2011 15:53 (thirteen years ago) link
lol I think we've got an EP of theirs lying somewhere round the house
― Shanty! Shanti! Shanté! (Noodle Vague), Monday, 3 January 2011 16:02 (thirteen years ago) link
these are like standard "100 best hip hop records ever" records btw, so let's not act like ahoy is totally crazy. nme kids prob haven't heard any queensbridge hip hop but u still don't put illmatic in the issue u present as secret sounds.
― zvookster, Monday, 3 January 2011 16:05 (thirteen years ago) link
they didn't put illmatic in iirc
also (i've said this elsewhere) the list has 'the marble index' and xtc and the go-betweens and felt so it isn't *that* obscure
― moholy-nagl (history mayne), Monday, 3 January 2011 16:07 (thirteen years ago) link
the argument "nme kids haven't hear this" mayne
― zvookster, Monday, 3 January 2011 16:07 (thirteen years ago) link
nah that's quibbling. "secret sounds" to their readership is a different thing. moaning about the NME's choice of music coverage is like getting radge cos X Factor doesn't have enough chillwave acts on it.
― Shanty! Shanti! Shanté! (Noodle Vague), Monday, 3 January 2011 16:08 (thirteen years ago) link
and yeah it's uk-centric and honestly in the mid-90s queensbridge rap, it wasn't a thing a whole lot of nme readers or writers read or wrote about
― moholy-nagl (history mayne), Monday, 3 January 2011 16:08 (thirteen years ago) link
the problem itt appears to be that it's an nme list full of music ilx people actually like
― max bro'd (nakhchivan), Monday, 3 January 2011 16:09 (thirteen years ago) link
nas has had chart hits in the uk, mobb deep didn't. that's just how it was.
― moholy-nagl (history mayne), Monday, 3 January 2011 16:10 (thirteen years ago) link
also they'd purged all the journos that gave a shit about Hip Hop by '91
― Shanty! Shanti! Shanté! (Noodle Vague), Monday, 3 January 2011 16:10 (thirteen years ago) link
these are like standard "100 best hip hop records ever" records btw
apart from all the 00s lost-in-the-landfill indie on there a majority of the list is pretty standard "100 best [genre] records ever" records - doesn't mean most of the world knows or cares about them
― Scilk Mahouthy (DJ Mencap), Monday, 3 January 2011 16:13 (thirteen years ago) link
Is this list linked anywhere so that I don't have to buy the NME to know what you're talking about?
― Matt DC, Monday, 3 January 2011 16:31 (thirteen years ago) link
01.Clor <Clor>200502.Performance <(we are) Performance>200703.Jenny Wilson <love and youth >200504.Leadbelly <last session>194805.the shaggs <philosophy of the world > 196906.the wipers < is this real > 198007.young marble giants <colossal youth>198008.shonen knife <burning farm > 198309.jad fair <great expectations >198910.Felt <forever breathes the lonely word >198611.john phillips<john , the wolfking of LA >197012.bad brains <roir >198213.atlas strategic <that's familiar >200214.jonathan richman and the modern lovers <modern lovers 88> 198815.the electric prunes <underground >196716.the television personalities <they could have been bigger than the beatles >198217.the red crayola <the parable of arable land > 196718.love <da capo>196719.euphoria <a gift from euphoria > 196920.the field mice < skywriting >199021.satisfact <the unwanted sounds of satisfact >199622.eliane radigue <adnos 1-3>1975-198323.the zombies <odessey and oracle >196824.the associates <sulk >198225.magazine <real life > 197826.pop levi <the return to form black majick party > 200727.jay farrar / benjamin gibbard <one fast move or im gone :kerouac's big sur >200928.floraline <floraline > 199929.arthur russell <calling out of context > 200430.mccarthy <i am a wallet >198731.cluster < zuckerzeit >197432.the prisoners < thewisermiserdemelza>198333.the cardigans <long gone before daylight >200334.60ft dolls <the big 3>199635.thomas dolby <the flat earth >198436.jeffrey lee pierce <wildweed >198537.simple minds <reel to real cacophony >197938.ABC<beauty stab >198339.the bodines <played >198740.john cale <fear >197441.cocteau twins < heaven or las vegas>199042.crass <the feeding of the 5000>197843.eater <the album >197744.the dancing did <and did those feet >198245.organisation < tone float >197046.LFO <frequencies>199147.boards of canada < twoism>199548.motorbass <pansoul >199649.position normal <goodly time >200050.freestyle fellowship < innercity griots >199351. all night radio < spirit stereo frequency >200452.chick corea <my spanish heart >197653.nico < the marble index>196954.queen <queen >debut album55.the kossoy sisters <bowling green >195656.the germs < GI >197957.orphan boy < shop local >200858.the pretty things < sf sorrow >196859.cardinal < cardinal >199460.the red devils < king king >199261.michael hurley< have moicy > 197662.jens lekman < night falls over kortedala >200763.curtis mayfield < curtis live !>197164.lizzy mercier descloux< mambo nassau >200365.XTC <white music >197866.serge gainsbourg < you're under arrest >198767.the for carnation <the for carnation >200068.jarcrew <jarcrew >200369.studio < west coast >200770.huggy bear < our troubled youth >199271.this heat <deceit >198172.superstar <palm tree>199773.skinnyman <council estate of mind >200474.jeffrey foucault <ghost repeater>200675.mclusky < mclusky do dallas >200276.suicide 197777.suicide 198078.the prids < chronosynclastic >201079.moebius and plank <rastakraut pasta >198080.fleetwood mac < mirage >198281.howlin' wolf < this howling wolf's new ablum , he doesn's like it . he didn'g lke his electric guitar at first either >196982.edgar 'jones' jones < soothing music for stray cats >200583.smif -n-wessun <dah shinin ' >199584.PETE ROCK AND CL SMOOTH < MECCA AND THE SOUL BROTHER >199285.DIAMOND D <STUNTS BLUNTS AND HIP HOP>199286.MOBB DEEP <THE INFAMOUS >199587.BRAND NUBIAN < ONE FOR ALL >199088.SHIT AND SHINE< JEALOUS OF SHIT AND SHINE >200689.90 DAY MEN < CRITICAL BAND >200090.SANDY DENNY AND THE STRAWBS < ALL OUR OWN WORK>197391.FANNY <MOTHER 'S PRIDE >197392.THE GO-BETWEENS <16 LOVERS LANE >198893.THE WALKMEN <YOU AND ME >200894.JUNIOR BOYS < SO THIS IS GOODBYE >200695.FIGHT CLUB < CAT FARM FABOO >198496.BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB < HOWL >200597.SUN RA < THE HELIOCENTRIC WORLDS OF SUN DA >196598.JACKIE MCLEAN AND MACHAEL CARVIN < ANTIQUITY >197499.morrissey < bona drag >1990100. the buff medways < steady the buff >2002
― BIG HOOTY aka the Sapperticker (electricsound),
― Shakey Moe Szyslak (Algerian Goalkeeper), Monday, 3 January 2011 16:35 (thirteen years ago) link
Oh for god's sake. Anyone seriously arguing that this list is too obvious or not obscure enough is an idiot.
― Matt DC, Monday, 3 January 2011 16:40 (thirteen years ago) link
The Clor record at #1 is, Love & Pain aside, pretty awful though.
― Matt DC, Monday, 3 January 2011 16:41 (thirteen years ago) link
I might actually go and buy the NME this week to reward them for putting West Coast in there though.
― Matt DC, Monday, 3 January 2011 16:43 (thirteen years ago) link
you'd have to be a beast not to like The Shaggs but I rilly don't think we need any more shmindie bands being influenced by them.
Anyway fuck polling this but I think the Black Rebel Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club made me laugh longest and hardest.
― Shanty! Shanti! Shanté! (Noodle Vague), Monday, 3 January 2011 16:44 (thirteen years ago) link
Don't think the list was really ranked- when I flicked through, it was presented as "Mark Ronson's hip hop 5", "MGMT are a bit psychedelic, so here's their 10" sort of idea.
― Neil S, Monday, 3 January 2011 16:47 (thirteen years ago) link
Why should the NME readers need to check out some of the weakest albums by XTC, ABC and Queen?
― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Tuesday, 4 January 2011 00:05 (thirteen years ago) link
"Odessey & Oracle" is the only classic in that list btw, with "The Flat Earth" probably the closest otherwise (Thomas Dolby's classic was his debut album though).
what don't you like about young marble giants?
― max bro'd (nakhchivan), Tuesday, 4 January 2011 00:06 (thirteen years ago) link
Worst album by Simple Minds up there too. This is really pointless, really. Why couldn't they have recommended "The Lexicon Of Love" and "New Gold Dream Instead". Or "Alphabet City", for that matter, which is a much better album than "Beauty Stab" and yet not at all in the "canon"?
― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Tuesday, 4 January 2011 00:07 (thirteen years ago) link
lexicon of love was given away as a free .flac download to suicidegirls subscribers so most nme readers have already heard it
― max bro'd (nakhchivan), Tuesday, 4 January 2011 00:09 (thirteen years ago) link
Then, "Alphabet City" would be the one. Or "How To Be a Zillionaire". Both really good and underrated pop albums, unlike the horrible "Beaty Stab", on which "SOS" was the only decent song.
― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Tuesday, 4 January 2011 00:15 (thirteen years ago) link
Geir, why do you care what NME does? It's not like it will influence anyone in Norway.
― Shakey Moe Szyslak (Algerian Goalkeeper), Tuesday, 4 January 2011 00:34 (thirteen years ago) link
Actually a lot of Norwegians read NME. We hardly have music mags here at all (market for rock specialist mags just not big enough) so we are stuck with the English and American ones. And NME/Q/Mojo/Select sell considerably better here than Rolling Stone/Spin.
― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Tuesday, 4 January 2011 01:28 (thirteen years ago) link
Was giving a lift in my car to a couple of 22-year-old students from Manchester over Christmas, both of whom were pretty cool, highly web-literate ect. One asked "is this the Smiths?" when Bigmouth came on the stereo and the other thought the intro to It's My Life heralded a Gwen Stefanu tune. I guess the romantic in me loves the potential effect this list could have on them, especially given that it can be accessed without needing to risk precious ££ as would have been the case when I was a nipper.
― Madchen, Tuesday, 4 January 2011 08:07 (thirteen years ago) link
the intro to It's My Life heralded a Gwen Stefanu tune
i only realised the no doubt version of this wasn't the original a few months ago! (i have never heard the original.)
― lex diamonds (lex pretend), Tuesday, 4 January 2011 08:08 (thirteen years ago) link
it's funny, in this thread, seeing how people are still holding a candle for the nme (or their idea of what the nme should be)
― lex diamonds (lex pretend), Tuesday, 4 January 2011 08:09 (thirteen years ago) link
i think it ties into a need that some fans have for a canonical "paper of record", plus nostalgia for being 17? bollocks to it all tho.
― Shanty! Shanti! Shanté! (Noodle Vague), Tuesday, 4 January 2011 08:15 (thirteen years ago) link
yeah both that need and that nostalgia are basically super lol to me
― lex diamonds (lex pretend), Tuesday, 4 January 2011 08:17 (thirteen years ago) link
Having the Prisoners on there almost redeems the rest of the list.
― Stockhausen's Ekranoplan Quartet (Elvis Telecom), Tuesday, 4 January 2011 08:19 (thirteen years ago) link
btw 17 year olds have seen 8 Mile, they know what fucking Shook Ones is.
― irish xmas caek, get that marzipan inta ya (a hoy hoy), Tuesday, 4 January 2011 09:39 (thirteen years ago) link
― Scilk Mahouthy (DJ Mencap), Monday, January 3, 2011 4:13 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark
so why even fucking bother?
― irish xmas caek, get that marzipan inta ya (a hoy hoy), Tuesday, 4 January 2011 09:40 (thirteen years ago) link
yeah, everyone who saw that movie from 2002 looked up the names of the songs
― moholy-nagl (history mayne), Tuesday, 4 January 2011 09:41 (thirteen years ago) link
i think it ties into a need that some fans have for a canonical "paper of record", plus nostalgia for being 17? bollocks to it all tho.― Shanty! Shanti! Shanté! (Noodle Vague), Tuesday, January 4, 2011 8:15 AM (1 hour ago) Bookmark
― Shanty! Shanti! Shanté! (Noodle Vague), Tuesday, January 4, 2011 8:15 AM (1 hour ago) Bookmark
idk some people want to read informed opinion about pop music? that's the idea. same way that people still read newspapers when they could just read "citizen journalists". or when their boiler's broken they call in a plumber. otherwise you're left with, well, uninformed opinion.
― moholy-nagl (history mayne), Tuesday, 4 January 2011 09:44 (thirteen years ago) link
and bought the soundtrack iirc
― irish xmas caek, get that marzipan inta ya (a hoy hoy), Tuesday, 4 January 2011 09:44 (thirteen years ago) link
It's not that 'lol', they are virtually identical.
― Mark G, Tuesday, 4 January 2011 09:50 (thirteen years ago) link
think she meant "they thought the song was by gwen stefani"
― moholy-nagl (history mayne), Tuesday, 4 January 2011 09:53 (thirteen years ago) link
Poor Dr Alban.
― O Permaban (NickB), Tuesday, 4 January 2011 09:57 (thirteen years ago) link
some people want to read informed opinion about pop music?
yeah sure but was talking more about why people care about the NME as a "we cover everything equally well" icon rather than letting a thousand specialist comics bloom. valuing the NME in 2010 is a bit like thinking it's still 1975 in terms of how pop works and is consumed? obv the Free Market is evil but if there was that much call for well-written analysis of all strands of contemporary pop in one digestible weekly then there'd be a paper full of brilliant professional journos supplying that need?
― Shanty! Shanti! Shanté! (Noodle Vague), Tuesday, 4 January 2011 10:02 (thirteen years ago) link
can't claim to know everything on that list, but these are impeccable:
04. leadbelly < last session> 194805. the shaggs < philosophy of the world > 196906. the wipers < is this real > 198007. young marble giants < colossal youth > 198008. shonen knife < burning farm > 198312. bad brains < bad brains (roir cassette) > 198217. the red crayola < the parable of arable land > 196718. love < da capo > 196723. the zombies < odessey and oracle > 196829. arthur russell < calling out of context > 200431. cluster < zuckerzeit > 197435. thomas dolby < the flat earth > 198440. john cale < fear > 197442. crass < the feeding of the 5000 > 197845. organisation < tone float > 197053. nico < the marble index > 196954. queen < queen > 197356. the germs < GI > 197958. the pretty things < sf sorrow > 196861. michael hurley < have moicy > 197663. curtis mayfield < curtis live! > 197164. lizzy mercier descloux < mambo nassau > 200365. XTC < white music > 197866. serge gainsbourg < you're under arrest > 198769. studio < west coast > 200771. this heat < deceit > 198175. mclusky < mclusky do dallas > 200276. suicide < suicide > 197779. moebius and plank < rastakraut pasta > 198080. fleetwood mac < mirage > 198281. howlin' wolf < this howling wolf's new album, he doesn't like it. he didn't like his electric guitar at first either. > 196986. mobb deep < the infamous > 199588. shit and shine < jealous of shit and shine > 200697. sun ra < the heliocentric worlds of sun ra > 1965
good list
― carles marx (contenderizer), Tuesday, 4 January 2011 10:04 (thirteen years ago) link
i.e. in terms of "paper of record" I'm not playing the "bloggers can do everything paid journos can do" game but I am suggesting that somebody dropped the canon down the stairs and now it's all in bits and the NME in the Tweenties represents a slightly Quixotic effort at sellotaping all those bits back together.
― Shanty! Shanti! Shanté! (Noodle Vague), Tuesday, 4 January 2011 10:04 (thirteen years ago) link
better than nothing imo. sorry i mean 'better than pitchfork'.
― moholy-nagl (history mayne), Tuesday, 4 January 2011 10:09 (thirteen years ago) link
It is a good list, and the fact that they would even approach this sort of thing means that the Conor Mc era is well over and thank god. (It's clearly an issue made up at their leisure to be produced during the office closure over christmas)
A couple years ago, they asked for 'readers' to make up a 'focus group', I couldn't go but I do have to say they've done all the things I would have suggested.
To be fair though, there was a long period where loads of Music mags closed, so even managing to keep the paper existing is something that gives credit to McNic, but if the product is lame it's not worth saving.
Now, the product is not lame. OK, I don't need a Pulp retrospective, but someone does. And they had better have a wonderful Beefheart tribute issue now, they've had plenty of time (due to the guy dying just after the christmas issue went to press)
― Mark G, Tuesday, 4 January 2011 10:22 (thirteen years ago) link
― irish xmas caek, get that marzipan inta ya (a hoy hoy), Tuesday, 4 January 2011 09:40 (42 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
because most of the world doesn't know or care about them, but they should, because they are good. I'm not sure if I can break down the basic premise of this feature any more than that
― Scilk Mahouthy (DJ Mencap), Tuesday, 4 January 2011 10:27 (thirteen years ago) link
i agree with that and i am enjoying flicking through new nme while bored on my work break. my problem was always with mark ronson than the nme btw. i remember him back when he'd go on about kool g rap records, now he seems to be almost shunning his hiphop background as if its beneath him. even his blurbs were just like 'couldn't you ask a black person, i cover smiths songs now fyi'.
― irish xmas caek, get that marzipan inta ya (a hoy hoy), Tuesday, 4 January 2011 10:33 (thirteen years ago) link
Mark Ronson OTM on that last bit to be fair.
― Matt DC, Tuesday, 4 January 2011 10:42 (thirteen years ago) link
Oh, it's like anyone asked about "specialist" genres being cautious, ending up on a "you think XXXXX was Groundbreaking? YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT..." snob journo's lance.
― Mark G, Tuesday, 4 January 2011 10:44 (thirteen years ago) link
lol. props on having diamond d tho, that record is my jam.
― irish xmas caek, get that marzipan inta ya (a hoy hoy), Tuesday, 4 January 2011 10:47 (thirteen years ago) link
Actually I'd say that in many of the ways that matter (y'know, like, the writing) the NME is still pretty poor. The fact that they're now repping for the Red Krayola is neither here nor there really. In those terms, NME is usually "better" in fallow periods for guitar music, and we're certainly in one now.
On Conor McNicholas, I'd say he was a very very good brand-builder and a not very good magazine editor, and he was lucky that his tenure coincided with a huge commercial boom for guitar music. Now, no one seemingly knows what to rep for to keep the kids interested, and a result they're deserting the mag even more than they were in the past.
― Matt DC, Tuesday, 4 January 2011 10:53 (thirteen years ago) link
Most quibbling about the list misses the point that it's selected by musicians, not critics, and you have to give musicians a little leeway if you want them in your mag, hence not going back to Weller to ask him to choose something other than O&O, and not having a go at Ronson for including Mobb Deep. It doesn't even make sense to discuss this as a list when it's just a precis of a long feature, and there's no objective way of deciding which albums should or should not be on there, unless NME keeps a test-case 17-year-old in a broom cupboard and every now and again they pop their heads in and say, "Have you heard of Pete Rock & CL Smooth?"
― The baby boomers have defined everything once and for all (Dorianlynskey), Tuesday, 4 January 2011 11:03 (thirteen years ago) link
Well, those kids do need to check out "Odessey & Oracle", but the rest of the list may be put to rest (unless they have the rest of Queen's catalogue and are Queen completists)
― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Tuesday, 4 January 2011 12:46 (thirteen years ago) link
surely you've got time for McCarthy's jingly jangly melodicness G?
― Shanty! Shanti! Shanté! (Noodle Vague), Tuesday, 4 January 2011 12:47 (thirteen years ago) link
Geir in not liking BUCKTOWN shockah
― irish xmas caek, get that marzipan inta ya (a hoy hoy), Tuesday, 4 January 2011 12:48 (thirteen years ago) link
Ugh, that typo coming back to haunt me in your quotes :(
― Madchen, Tuesday, 4 January 2011 12:52 (thirteen years ago) link
lol i've never heard 'odessey & oracle', but then i've never a paul weller album either
(not really sure why he got the call tbqh)
― moholy-nagl (history mayne), Tuesday, 4 January 2011 14:06 (thirteen years ago) link
revered by dudes revered by dudes who are current NME faves
― Shanty! Shanti! Shanté! (Noodle Vague), Tuesday, 4 January 2011 14:11 (thirteen years ago) link
yeah i was going to say, i doubt twenty-something musicians spend a lot of time on weller... unless the style council's house phase is 'in' again i suppose
― moholy-nagl (history mayne), Tuesday, 4 January 2011 14:13 (thirteen years ago) link
Not that they have much in common, mind you. The former were an absolutely classy psych pop band, the latter is an old guy who used to be brilliant with his original 60s pop influenced band in the late 70s/early 80s, then discvoered R&B and has never quite managed to return to former glories.
― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Tuesday, 4 January 2011 14:13 (thirteen years ago) link
always sad to see a successful act lose its way thru hackneyed repetition
― Shanty! Shanti! Shanté! (Noodle Vague), Tuesday, 4 January 2011 14:18 (thirteen years ago) link
Geir was successful?
― Mark G, Tuesday, 4 January 2011 14:19 (thirteen years ago) link
Hey toots, Weller has always liked R&B. Isn't he like a mod or something? I mean, there's a cover of 'In the Midnight Hour' on This Is The Modern World from 1977 right?
― O Permaban (NickB), Tuesday, 4 January 2011 14:20 (thirteen years ago) link
Yes, he has liked R&B, but it didn't completely dominate his style until the Style Council years. There's a huge amount of Beatles/Kinks/Small Faces in The Jam that didn't follow him through to Style Council and his solo work.
― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Tuesday, 4 January 2011 14:36 (thirteen years ago) link
And, I mean, basically the songwriting style and vocal style on his solo work is the same as on the Style Council work, even though there are less synths and the drums and bass are less funky. There was a certain Beatles-factor to his songwriting that was lost somewhere around "The Gift" and he has never really found it back.
― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Tuesday, 4 January 2011 14:56 (thirteen years ago) link
okay, i think i finally need to killfile geir now
― this guy ☜ (stevie), Tuesday, 4 January 2011 14:57 (thirteen years ago) link
He moved on. progressed His latest 2 albums are the best things he's done in the past 20 odd years, after being in a dadrock rut in the mid-late 90s. And all credit to him for that, even if his vox aren't that great.
― Shakey Moe Szyslak (Algerian Goalkeeper), Tuesday, 4 January 2011 14:58 (thirteen years ago) link
Discussing the merits or lack of them of Paul Weller is a bit like discussing the merits of a table. He's just there, just a bit dull.
― Matt DC, Tuesday, 4 January 2011 15:05 (thirteen years ago) link
96.BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB < HOWL >2005
loooooooooooool
― slouching, unshaven, thick-necked, unstylish, pig-eyed (ilxor), Tuesday, 4 January 2011 15:06 (thirteen years ago) link
His latest 2 albums may have been more interesting in a way, but he is still standing still in terms of songwriting. Plus I cannot stand the overcompressed sound he seems to like these days. The songs may be better on the last two albums, but the production was much better on "Stanley Road" with its clear sound and extreme Ocean Colour Scene-like stereo separatation.
― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Tuesday, 4 January 2011 15:08 (thirteen years ago) link
the further ocean colour scene are separated from my stereo the better
― we could play games, idk (ledge), Tuesday, 4 January 2011 15:11 (thirteen years ago) link
damn right, so glad he moved away from that shite
― Shakey Moe Szyslak (Algerian Goalkeeper), Tuesday, 4 January 2011 15:12 (thirteen years ago) link
Ledge, I am totally putting a pint in the post for you right now.
― O Permaban (NickB), Tuesday, 4 January 2011 15:15 (thirteen years ago) link
Well, the best thing about OCS is their production, although they too have become more compressed and less stereo-friendly lately.
― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Tuesday, 4 January 2011 15:16 (thirteen years ago) link
Can I get a coke?xp
― Shakey Moe Szyslak (Algerian Goalkeeper), Tuesday, 4 January 2011 15:16 (thirteen years ago) link
I'm not buying a fucking round here.
― O Permaban (NickB), Tuesday, 4 January 2011 15:17 (thirteen years ago) link
http://www.photosight.org/up/2007/06/06/60633.jpg
― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Tuesday, 4 January 2011 15:30 (thirteen years ago) link
Can a mod maybe linkify that picture please? Don't think anybody at work wants to see a bottle of Coke being pissed on.
― Shanty! Shanti! Shanté! (Noodle Vague), Tuesday, 4 January 2011 15:37 (thirteen years ago) link
I thought it was an erect penis made of ice but fair do's.
― Matt DC, Tuesday, 4 January 2011 16:10 (thirteen years ago) link
Don't think anybody at work wants to see a bottle of Coke being pissed on.
If they work for Pepsi, they do. :)
― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Tuesday, 4 January 2011 16:24 (thirteen years ago) link
LOL
― slouching, unshaven, thick-necked, unstylish, pig-eyed (ilxor), Tuesday, 4 January 2011 17:40 (thirteen years ago) link
Compare the "100 albums you never heard" with Q Mag's "100 albums voted for by our readers, i.e. 100 albums you have heard"...
― Mark G, Wednesday, 5 January 2011 09:47 (thirteen years ago) link
ronsons page was good. yeah mobb deep isnt exactly non canonical but its not exactly talked about much in the nme is it? and though i do get that hes trying to 'move on' past his hip hop background, its not like hes ever totally abandoned it. hes just playing the media/industry game. plus him selecting hip hop is more likely to get nme readers (whoever they may be these days) to check brand nubian, smif n wessun etc out than say, dizzee or someone (though dizzee would never have picked those groups).
weller for my money started getting really dull and worthy in the early/mid 90s. when he started getting treated like an elder statesmen/national treasure, that just made it worse. that aside, i like hearing what he has to say, esp in that julian temple documentary last year, even if it is a bit 'we need a revolution maaaan' though at least that has a bit of optimism to it, whereas a lot of modern musicians are too cynical to say something like that.
― titchy (titchyschneiderMk2), Wednesday, 5 January 2011 10:05 (thirteen years ago) link
Is The Blueprint, Life After Death, All Eyez On Me or Raising Hell talked about more in NME? NO BECAUSE THEY DON'T COVER ANY HIP-HOP.
I can't even remember what I was really pissed off about anymore. Everything I guess.
17 year olds are more interested in Tinie Tempah than Mumford & Sons. Cover some black people, yo.
― irish xmas caek, get that marzipan inta ya (a hoy hoy), Wednesday, 5 January 2011 10:09 (thirteen years ago) link
life and times of shawn carter, ready to die, and me against the world are all better though. :P
they shouldnt cover tinie tempah, but they should cover tempa t. cover some black people is a good policy, just not crap ones.
― titchy (titchyschneiderMk2), Wednesday, 5 January 2011 10:13 (thirteen years ago) link
ok yes but you know what i mean
― "jobs" (a hoy hoy), Wednesday, 5 January 2011 10:17 (thirteen years ago) link
Has The NME Got Game?
― Mark G, Wednesday, 5 January 2011 10:20 (thirteen years ago) link
17 year olds are more interested in Tinie Tempah than Mumford & Sons.
Maybe in London.
― Shakey Moe Szyslak (Algerian Goalkeeper), Wednesday, 5 January 2011 12:24 (thirteen years ago) link
Anyway, we now have something to say NO!! to the thread question but will warm the norwegian cockles of Geir's heart.http://www.magazinesdirect.com/NME-magazine-subscription?utm_content=Magazine+Page+Mag+Image
There must be 10 different covers as the one I saw in the supermarket had a different cover.
― Shakey Moe Szyslak (Algerian Goalkeeper), Wednesday, 5 January 2011 12:26 (thirteen years ago) link
http://www.nme.com/layout/magImage.php
― Shakey Moe Szyslak (Algerian Goalkeeper), Wednesday, 5 January 2011 12:27 (thirteen years ago) link
Only Two different.
― Mark G, Wednesday, 5 January 2011 12:27 (thirteen years ago) link
2 covers I mean
We’re beginning 2011 in style with our legendary New Music Issue, the essential guide to the 10 brightest and best bands to get on before anyone else this year. One of the big stories already developing is, The Welcome Return of British Guitar Bands, and as such we’ve got two different covers featuring the two leading lights of that: The Vaccines and Brother.
― Shakey Moe Szyslak (Algerian Goalkeeper), Wednesday, 5 January 2011 12:28 (thirteen years ago) link
The Welcome Return of British Guitar Bands
did they have a weekend off?
― nanoflymo (ledge), Wednesday, 5 January 2011 12:30 (thirteen years ago) link
was going to use the other thread but this one will do.
DIE.
― fndgo, Wednesday, 5 January 2011 12:34 (thirteen years ago) link
the other cover is a lot worse. The most punchable band I've seen in a long long time. And i bet the music is just as shit.
― Shakey Moe Szyslak (Algerian Goalkeeper), Wednesday, 5 January 2011 12:36 (thirteen years ago) link
oh wtf, when did this section start?http://www.nme.com/metal
Do they have a metal section in the actual mag now?
― Shakey Moe Szyslak (Algerian Goalkeeper), Wednesday, 5 January 2011 12:38 (thirteen years ago) link
got a strong 'second coming of Northern Uproar' vibe from the NME's interview with that Brother band a few weeks back (not heard their music) which I'm down w/ for amusement value as long as it doesn't actually involve them being successful
― Scilk Mahouthy (DJ Mencap), Wednesday, 5 January 2011 12:38 (thirteen years ago) link
http://akamai-static.nme.com/images/article/BrotherRS050111.jpgBrother
― Shakey Moe Szyslak (Algerian Goalkeeper), Wednesday, 5 January 2011 12:40 (thirteen years ago) link
Oh good grief, Brother look like the worst band ever. "Brother! You know what else had brothers... Oasis. Do you see????"
― Matt DC, Wednesday, 5 January 2011 12:41 (thirteen years ago) link
The lead singer is called Lee um
― Mark G, Wednesday, 5 January 2011 12:43 (thirteen years ago) link
Gig U Missed:
Meanwhile, the Slough-based newcomers are playing the This Feeling club night at the Vibe Bar in London tonight (December 31).Also on the bill are Life In Film, former Seahorses frontman Chris Helme and a string quartet playing songs by the likes of Oasis, Kasabian and The Verve.
Also on the bill are Life In Film, former Seahorses frontman Chris Helme and a string quartet playing songs by the likes of Oasis, Kasabian and The Verve.
― Mark G, Wednesday, 5 January 2011 12:44 (thirteen years ago) link
Haha if those guys showed up at your party you'd be like *sigh*
― progressive cuts (Tracer Hand), Wednesday, 5 January 2011 12:45 (thirteen years ago) link
oh my god they're REAL?
hahahahahahahahaha I somehow stumbled across them already but thought it was parody, may have been festively merry...
― fndgo, Wednesday, 5 January 2011 12:45 (thirteen years ago) link
omg chris helme? the worst singer in the history of music LOLOLOLOL
― Shakey Moe Szyslak (Algerian Goalkeeper), Wednesday, 5 January 2011 12:46 (thirteen years ago) link
Yes Brother seem unusually dire from what I somewhere read on them, somewhere that took them and the Vaccines seriously - I know, it was the Friday Guardian! I was a bit shocked.
― the pinefox, Wednesday, 5 January 2011 12:47 (thirteen years ago) link
not shocked (now)
― fndgo, Wednesday, 5 January 2011 12:47 (thirteen years ago) link
Chris Helme basically turns up on the top floors of various London pubs to busk for money now doesn't he?
― Matt DC, Wednesday, 5 January 2011 12:48 (thirteen years ago) link
that brother photo is used (bigger version) on the other NME cover btw. Hopefully someone will find the actual cover so you can all see it in its full horror
― Shakey Moe Szyslak (Algerian Goalkeeper), Wednesday, 5 January 2011 12:48 (thirteen years ago) link
Anyway it seems pretty obvious that the NME are hoping that 2011=2001 and The Vaccines are the new Strokes that will usher in a new era of stuff that might actually sell magazines, but the general climate doesn't feel right for that just now.
― Matt DC, Wednesday, 5 January 2011 12:52 (thirteen years ago) link
The NME and Q readership is not strictly the same. Q readers are probably more familiar with older stuff from the 60s-80s whereas, on the other hand, they are considerably more sceptical towards whatever NME tout as the "next big thing" (and also more faithful to it if they like it, i.e. not hating the "next big thing" half a year later when it has actually become big).
― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Wednesday, 5 January 2011 13:10 (thirteen years ago) link
No, but upthread the point was made that NME's list was fulfilling a similar need for people too young for Q. I dispute that point, Q is just doing the comfortable "yes, we all like these records don't we?"
― Mark G, Wednesday, 5 January 2011 13:15 (thirteen years ago) link
h8 the vaccines just because their name makes me think of the vaselines who i love and i dunno that makes me hold them to an even higher standard of contempt than the one i am already holding them to.
don't think i'm ever going to actively listen to another new british indie band again in my life.*
*most probably a lie, unfortunately. or the scene decides that the cocteau twins are the only influence worth having and i go :D
― "jobs" (a hoy hoy), Wednesday, 5 January 2011 13:27 (thirteen years ago) link
xpost The Friday Guardian piece didn't take Brother seriously, but did the Vaccines.
― Alan Partridge Project (ithappens), Wednesday, 5 January 2011 13:43 (thirteen years ago) link
No, but upthread the point was made that NME's list was fulfilling a similar need for people too young for Q
I'd say it partly does. Not least because it contains hardly no recent albums at all. But sure, rebellious youngsters may not want to have a lot of Beatles albums recommended to them. Not now.
― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Wednesday, 5 January 2011 13:45 (thirteen years ago) link
Um, does the Q list have loads of Beatles albums in it?
Actually I can answer that: The list is only of albums issued since Q first started...
― Mark G, Wednesday, 5 January 2011 13:51 (thirteen years ago) link
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/27/38450127_5b10ff1006.jpg
― Shanty! Shanti! Shanté! (Noodle Vague), Wednesday, 5 January 2011 13:53 (thirteen years ago) link
just popping in to lol at butthurt rap nerds itt
― dayo, Wednesday, 5 January 2011 14:32 (thirteen years ago) link
NME staying classy in their metal blog section
http://www.nme.com/blog/index.php?blog=149&title=homophobia_in_metal_shamefully_it_still_&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1
― Shakey Moe Szyslak (Algerian Goalkeeper), Wednesday, 5 January 2011 18:30 (thirteen years ago) link
and the anti-metal posts by nme readers are predictable and lazy too
Bolshie [Visitor] //December 20 2010 at 19:06Metal is all about the macho and the ignorant. BNP supporters and Mel Gibson fans. Is it really a surprise that they have a problem with homosexuality, as well? Jordan [Visitor] //December 20 2010 at 16:54It's not just the terrible grunts and ridiculous unlistenable noise that gives Metal the name "Caveman music" Jack [Visitor] //December 20 2010 at 19:25well think about it mate. Liking metal in itself is such an inhertently childish thing that what do you expect? If the way you like to spend your time is listening to the fucking nasty noise that is metal, then having stupid views on other things isn't a big leap is it? When a significant scene of the genre is 'white-power' or 'church bombing' then saying a band is gay is not the biggest issue about. Also, in a lot of cases, when people say something is gay, or an american says something is faggy, they don't always mean it's homosexual, just that it's lame, and why that isn't right, at least it isn't homophobic.
Jordan [Visitor] //December 20 2010 at 16:54It's not just the terrible grunts and ridiculous unlistenable noise that gives Metal the name "Caveman music"
Jack [Visitor] //December 20 2010 at 19:25well think about it mate. Liking metal in itself is such an inhertently childish thing that what do you expect? If the way you like to spend your time is listening to the fucking nasty noise that is metal, then having stupid views on other things isn't a big leap is it? When a significant scene of the genre is 'white-power' or 'church bombing' then saying a band is gay is not the biggest issue about. Also, in a lot of cases, when people say something is gay, or an american says something is faggy, they don't always mean it's homosexual, just that it's lame, and why that isn't right, at least it isn't homophobic.
Who said metal was hip in indie circles? It certainly isn't in the UK
― Shakey Moe Szyslak (Algerian Goalkeeper), Wednesday, 5 January 2011 18:41 (thirteen years ago) link
TBF, literally everything on NME.com attracts both vicious and stupid commentary.
― Cosby You! Black Emperor (Doran), Wednesday, 5 January 2011 19:05 (thirteen years ago) link
yeah I think they're 'NME readers' like the libertarian swivelheads on CiF are 'Guardian readers' (ie they might be, but it's such a nutbar magnet it's impossible to tell)
― Scilk Mahouthy (DJ Mencap), Wednesday, 5 January 2011 19:09 (thirteen years ago) link
I cant see metal fans being any worse than fans of other genres or people in general tbh. Im sure metal has come a long way since the days of sebastian bach & axl rose. That sort of behaviour wouldn't be tolerated anymore. Over on forever doomed, if anyone says something is "gay" or is "a fag" they get angry responses and a ban if they continue. Not every metal messageboard is like a pantera or ozzy/zakk wyle board. Those type of boards are always mocked by a lot of metal boards. I doubt lairy indie gigs are a great place to go to. Oasis concerts aren't exactly full of enlightened punters. I used to go see oasis in the 90s and by the time of loch lomond every beer monster in scotland was into them, and with all the bottle fights etc it was certainly no fun. I doubt Knebworth was much better. Since Britpop, Indie has attracted a lot of assholes. NME should be dealing with that before having a go at metal or hip hop etc
― Shakey Moe Szyslak (Algerian Goalkeeper), Wednesday, 5 January 2011 19:18 (thirteen years ago) link
And your kerrang reader might like a lot of shite bands, but i dont think they could be accused of homophobia now.
― Shakey Moe Szyslak (Algerian Goalkeeper), Wednesday, 5 January 2011 19:20 (thirteen years ago) link
I dunno who is worse - the NME or the readers of NME on the message board.
― Shakey Moe Szyslak (Algerian Goalkeeper), Wednesday, 5 January 2011 22:45 (thirteen years ago) link
Even Pitchfork gets metal more than the NME does.
NME writes about metal and hip-hop much more often than Kerrang or The Source write about indie though.
― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Wednesday, 5 January 2011 23:01 (thirteen years ago) link
I'll wager that's untrue.
― Mark G, Wednesday, 5 January 2011 23:13 (thirteen years ago) link
In the 90s Kerrang covered a lot of alt-rock and they covered white stripes and the hives etc too in the 00s. So Geir, you're wrong.
― Shakey Moe Szyslak (Algerian Goalkeeper), Wednesday, 5 January 2011 23:45 (thirteen years ago) link
lol metal is shit
― moholy-nagl (history mayne), Wednesday, 5 January 2011 23:49 (thirteen years ago) link
I thought metal had lots of gay or bisexual fans. I mean "metal" as opposed to "I just like to rock the fuck out" dinosaur types. Go to a metal show and you see leather and tattoos and piercings, not the kind of people to judge someone else's lifestyle.
Mass market "indie" has, IME, loads of straight people who just don't feel "comfortable" with homosexuality, not that they are prejudiced or anything because that would be illiberal and bad.
― Cubby Wubby Nubby Hubby Dubby (u s steel), Wednesday, 5 January 2011 23:51 (thirteen years ago) link
Metal has a lot of gay and bisexual fans. Not as much as like, industrial, but... well, I know a lot of metal dudes who like them some cock.
― no pop, no style -- all simply (Viceroy), Thursday, 6 January 2011 00:05 (thirteen years ago) link
Go to a metal show and you see leather and tattoos and piercings, not the kind of people to judge someone else's lifestyle.
haven't really found that the first thing is that likely to preclude the second thing, tbh, but maybe my experience isn't the norm
― Scilk Mahouthy (DJ Mencap), Thursday, 6 January 2011 00:38 (thirteen years ago) link
Grunge = metal. I am speaking of proper indie, you know, Britpop!
― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Thursday, 6 January 2011 02:03 (thirteen years ago) link
I mean, stuff that doesn't "rock" at all in any possible way.
geir has never heard of indie rock?
― Shakey Moe Szyslak (Algerian Goalkeeper), Thursday, 6 January 2011 02:15 (thirteen years ago) link
Well, yep, indie rock exists. But if seems so important for some of you to open indie pop fans' ears to hip-hop and metal, why wouldn't it be equally important to open hip-hop-fans and metal-fans to highly melodic classic and smooth POP?
― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Thursday, 6 January 2011 02:18 (thirteen years ago) link
My point here. At least NME (although Q are probably better at it) review a lot of metal and hip-hop. Yes, maybe just the biggest acts, but at least they review them.
How many reviews of Crowded House or Blur were there in Kerrang or Source or Mixmag?
― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Thursday, 6 January 2011 02:20 (thirteen years ago) link
Oh, and NME review mainstream chart pop too. Do Kerrang review mainstream chart pop (and I am not speaking of typical albums acts like AC/DC or Iron Maiden here=?
― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Thursday, 6 January 2011 02:21 (thirteen years ago) link
Kerrang in the 80s covered U2, Prince, Kate Bush, Bryan Adams, Michael Bolton. + a whole bunch of crappy glam pop-metal acts. It's always covered pop metal bands.
― Shakey Moe Szyslak (Algerian Goalkeeper), Thursday, 6 January 2011 02:25 (thirteen years ago) link
Anyway Geir, NME, Q are general music magazines, they are supposed to cover all kinds of music. Mixmag, Source,Kerrang are specialist magazines.
― Shakey Moe Szyslak (Algerian Goalkeeper), Thursday, 6 January 2011 02:29 (thirteen years ago) link
Pop metal=metal.
But sure, Kerrang is probably a bit more openminded than specialist mags for harder metal genres, whose fans don't even consider Iron Maiden or Guns'n'Roses to be hard rock, but rather just "rock".
Not to mention magazines like The Source or Mixmag, who would never even dream of covering something that doesn't contain rap/does not work on the dancefloors of the clubs.
NME and Q cover the biggest names from metal, hard rock, hip-hop and techno/dance. Surely, it is probably a waste of space, just like it would be if Mixmag had done a powerpop special. But at least they do, and then I think it's a bit unfair to claim that NME and Q need to be more openminded when actually they are more openminded towards hip-hop, dance and metal than hip-hop, dance or metal mags will ever be towards indie rock/indie pop.
― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Thursday, 6 January 2011 02:29 (thirteen years ago) link
NME and Q's readers are into indie and various kinds of (non metal) "rock". And that is really what they want to read about too.
― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Thursday, 6 January 2011 02:30 (thirteen years ago) link
And if you are speaking of the fans I think they are on an equal level.
Rock/pop fans are not openminded towards anything else than rock and perhaps classic popHip-hip fans are not openminded towards anything else than hip-hop and perhaps R&BDance fans are not openminded towards anything else than dance and maybe a bit of R&B or hip-hop as long as they can dance to itMetal fans are not openminded towards anything else than metal and maybe some of the hardest non-metal rock.
― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Thursday, 6 January 2011 02:33 (thirteen years ago) link
Geir, I know ilx metal fans aren't atypical metal fans, but even outside of ilx i know loads who like many forms of dance music but especially IDM. Neurosis fans especially tend to be Aphex Twin fans. Many love hip hop. Many love indie rock esp 80s & 90s stuff. On metal boards ive discussed pfunk (surprise surprise) ,krautrock,classic pop & rock of the kind you love, avant garde,prog rock, the list is endless.Possibly if you are talking about the fans of the most mainstream acts in those genres you might be right, but then, a lot of people do like basically anything that gets in the charts, whether its indie pop, pop rap, pop dance, pop rnb,popmetal etc.
― Shakey Moe Szyslak (Algerian Goalkeeper), Thursday, 6 January 2011 02:42 (thirteen years ago) link
Now, ILX posters are mostly openminded towards anything except for traditionally structure melodic songs written and performed by white guys with guitars after 1990.
― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Thursday, 6 January 2011 03:39 (thirteen years ago) link
― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Wednesday, January 5, 2011 7:18 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark
For the record, some of my favorite bands include Electric Wizard, Judas Priest, Black Sabbath AND The New Pornographers, Mates of State, Yo La Tengo, and The Eels... so its quite possible to be a fan of both metal and indie pop.
Also, I know a few dudes who listen to only hip-hop, r&b, and stoner rock/metal.
So, this dichotomy of pop vs. metal, I believe, is a false one.
― no pop, no style -- all simply (Viceroy), Thursday, 6 January 2011 04:18 (thirteen years ago) link
And I love a lot of indie pop too. Plus my favourite album ever is Forever Changes. A lot of the 60s pop geir likes, I do too.
― Shakey Moe Szyslak (Algerian Goalkeeper), Thursday, 6 January 2011 04:21 (thirteen years ago) link
Does Geir like Forever Changes?
― Urban Coochie Collective (sic), Thursday, 6 January 2011 05:18 (thirteen years ago) link
Algerian Goalkeeper: I agree with a lot of what you're saying but generally speaking NME is an indie magazine not a general magazine and has been since I've been reading it. (i.e. Since the early 80s.)
― Cosby You! Black Emperor (Doran), Thursday, 6 January 2011 09:57 (thirteen years ago) link
How many reviews of Crowded House were there in Kerrang or Source or Mixmag?― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Thursday, 6 January 2011 02:20 (7 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Thursday, 6 January 2011 02:20 (7 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
Same number as in NME over the past 10.
― Mark G, Thursday, 6 January 2011 10:01 (thirteen years ago) link
Yeah but the thing is that the NME pretends to be a generalist music magazine. Kerrang or Mixmag or Classic Rock magazine don't.
― Matt DC, Thursday, 6 January 2011 10:17 (thirteen years ago) link
I'm not sure that it does really but as I'm not going to start arguing devil's advocate for NME, I'll leave this here.
― Cosby You! Black Emperor (Doran), Thursday, 6 January 2011 10:24 (thirteen years ago) link
Yeah but the thing is that the NME pretends to be a generalist music magazine
only in the sense that pitchfork does. this is what's long irked me, it's trying to have your cake and eat it - they lay claim to generalism, but as soon as anyone criticises either for not actually being very generalist at all, it's all "we're an indie publication! we have to cater to our readers!"
― lex diamonds (lex pretend), Thursday, 6 January 2011 10:31 (thirteen years ago) link
I don't think that the NME has ever explicitly laid claim to being either "indie" or "generalist". It's never hemmed itself in with definitions, has it?
― mike t-diva, Thursday, 6 January 2011 10:36 (thirteen years ago) link
Pitchfork is about as generalist as a generalist music magazine can get btw. Stylus and Plan B were maybe better but rip.
When I used to read it btw the Source used to cover indie. It was at the rise of lol pharrell is wearing skinny jeans and holding a skateboard tho.
― "jobs" (a hoy hoy), Thursday, 6 January 2011 10:38 (thirteen years ago) link
well yeah that's the having cake/eating it thing isn't it?
"we are ~beyond categorisation~ but it just happens that 90% of what we cover is indie"
― lex diamonds (lex pretend), Thursday, 6 January 2011 10:38 (thirteen years ago) link
i mean no one ever explicitly states that generalism is their raison d'être - it's more implied through, yes, not specifically categorising oneself
― lex diamonds (lex pretend), Thursday, 6 January 2011 10:40 (thirteen years ago) link
The NME certainly laid claim to generalism in the 90s, "we cover what we consider to be good regardless of genre" was its line. And while they did cover most things they were still heavily weighted towards indie.
― Matt DC, Thursday, 6 January 2011 10:45 (thirteen years ago) link
The NME exists to make money, so it's whatever kind of publications the editors think will do that.
― Madchen, Thursday, 6 January 2011 12:36 (thirteen years ago) link
Editors/owners, I mean.
Reinvention as a softcore porn and gadgets weekly coming up in 2 weeks then
― Shanty! Shanti! Shanté! (Noodle Vague), Thursday, 6 January 2011 12:37 (thirteen years ago) link
Don't be stupid. No one pays for porn any more.
― Matt DC, Thursday, 6 January 2011 12:47 (thirteen years ago) link
haha ot but I love how geir's example of extreme stereo "separatation" is Ocean Colour Scene. never change, man
― missingNO, Thursday, 6 January 2011 13:48 (thirteen years ago) link
Geir discovers audiophilia is sure to be a goldmine in the future.
― Matt DC, Thursday, 6 January 2011 13:55 (thirteen years ago) link
When I started reading NME in the very early 90s they insisted they were a pop magazine (and in one of those bands review songs things Thom Yorke claimed Radiohead were a pop band).They definitely liked to give the impression that they were a general music magazine not just indie.
― Shakey Moe Szyslak (Algerian Goalkeeper), Thursday, 6 January 2011 14:19 (thirteen years ago) link
Did NME cover a lot of hip-hop in the late 80s?
― Shakey Moe Szyslak (Algerian Goalkeeper), Thursday, 6 January 2011 17:37 (thirteen years ago) link
Rap makes the front cover, 1988
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3375/3336337928_67f8263f29.jpg
― onimo, Thursday, 6 January 2011 18:07 (thirteen years ago) link
I think the Beasties made the cover a couple of times in the 80s, maybe Public Enemy (I remember them on cover of Melody Maker, not sure about NME). Then not much else until Wu-Tang about 5 years later.
They always had a couple of non indie record reviews and the occasional feature but it was never really a as broad a publication as it professed to be imo (I read MM and NME from around 84-90).
― onimo, Thursday, 6 January 2011 18:14 (thirteen years ago) link
NME May 30 1981.
― Madchen, Thursday, 6 January 2011 18:33 (thirteen years ago) link
http://hiphop.sh/files/rundmc_nme86%20cover.jpg
― Stevie T, Thursday, 6 January 2011 18:35 (thirteen years ago) link
'Hip-hop' covers, 85-90 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_NME_covers. Definitely was a change in coverage around 89/90 and by 92 it was pretty much entirely indie. * 09/03/85 Run-D.M.C. * 15/03/86 Mantronix * 19/07/86 Run-D.M.C. * 13/09/86 The Yo Boys (article about hip hop by Paolo Hewitt) * 27/09/86 Trouble Funk * 17/01/87 Beastie Boys * 04/04/87 Salt-n-Pepa * 09/05/87 Def Jam * 27/06/87 Trouble Funk * 10/10/87 Chuck D and Eric B * 23/01/88 Sweet Tee * 07/05/88 Derek B * 08/10/88 Public Enemy * 24/06/89 Tone Loc * 21/10/89 De La Soul * 03/11/90 Public Enemy
― State Attorney Foxhart Cubycheck (Billy Dods), Thursday, 6 January 2011 18:41 (thirteen years ago) link
Mid-80s there was plenty of non-indie, because it had a big soul boy contingent - Cosgrove, Simon Witter, Danny Kelly, Don Watson (I think) - who also wanted to get plenty of hip-hop in. There wasn't all that much hip-hop in the actual mag, but there wasn't all that much hip-hop around and accessible in the UK in those days. They went big on acid house, with writers like Jack Barron and Helen Mead, but once that phase passed, the indie supremacy - which had been coming through from the rise of the Smiths, and expanded with C86 - was all but complete.
Certainly, as an indie teenager reading NME in the mid-80s, I used to get up with issues where there were no features, or just small ones, on indie guitar bands (even if they dominated the reviews). Those issues weren't infrequent.
― Alan Partridge Project (ithappens), Thursday, 6 January 2011 18:45 (thirteen years ago) link
"get fed up" not "get up"
― Alan Partridge Project (ithappens), Thursday, 6 January 2011 18:46 (thirteen years ago) link
There was also a notable jazz/avant clique at the time (Richard Cook/Biba Kopf/Don Watson/Mr Sinker late of this parish) who mostly decamped to the Wire later, this was ditched even faster than the coverage of hip-hop/r&b.
― State Attorney Foxhart Cubycheck (Billy Dods), Thursday, 6 January 2011 18:59 (thirteen years ago) link
Mind you, UK indie was largely nonexistant in the late 80s/early 90s. OK, so it existed, but it was very much underground and would only occasionally produce a chart hit. The indie charts, by the late 80s, were dominated by the likes of Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan, who were both on the independent PWL label.
― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Thursday, 6 January 2011 20:51 (thirteen years ago) link
Mind you, UK indie was largely nonexistant in the late 80s/early 90s.
― henri grenouille (Frogman Henry), Thursday, 6 January 2011 21:02 (thirteen years ago) link
Mind you, funk was largely nonexistant in the late 60s/early 70s
― henri grenouille (Frogman Henry), Thursday, 6 January 2011 21:03 (thirteen years ago) link
Pitchfork is about as generalist as a generalist music magazine can get btw
Pardon me while I laugh till I spit up a lung.
― that's not funny. (unperson), Thursday, 6 January 2011 21:04 (thirteen years ago) link
Mind you, UK indie was largely nonexistant in the late 80s/early 90s. OK, so it existed, but it was very much underground
I think you might be forgetting the Stone Roses, the Charlatans, Primal Scream, Ride, My Bloody Valentine...
― O Permaban (NickB), Thursday, 6 January 2011 21:06 (thirteen years ago) link
xpost Geir, who knows where to start with that statement? First, indie really started hitting the charts properly from 1988/89, which was when the majors really started looking to sign previously indie bands, or band who sounded indie, on a widespread basis. Second, the NME wasn't a chart publication. It didn't matter if the bands it covered weren't in the charts. That what Smash Hits was for.
― Alan Partridge Project (ithappens), Thursday, 6 January 2011 21:15 (thirteen years ago) link
Yes, but they were still not as huge as the new wave bands were in the late 70s/early 80s or the Britpop bands would be in the mid 90s. Even Stone Roses or The Smiths never had anything close to a number one single. The Smiths didn't even hit top 10 with any of their singles.
― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Thursday, 6 January 2011 21:15 (thirteen years ago) link
Even Stone Roses or The Smiths never had anything close to a number one single
True, 'One Love' only got to number 2.
― O Permaban (NickB), Thursday, 6 January 2011 21:18 (thirteen years ago) link
Whoops no, I'm thinking of 'Love Spreads'. 'One Love' got to number four.
― O Permaban (NickB), Thursday, 6 January 2011 21:19 (thirteen years ago) link
Also the Smiths had two number one albums and five number two's in the UK.
― O Permaban (NickB), Thursday, 6 January 2011 21:24 (thirteen years ago) link
Geir, you didn't say "Indie bands weren't reaching No 1 in the singles charts". You said "UK indie was largely nonexistent." And that's rubbish. The edition of Top of the Pops in November 1989 which featured the Stone Roses and the Happy Mondays was one of the defining moments for UK indie - the point at which indie bands had finally seemed to make it among all the Michael Bolton and Richrd Marx.
― Alan Partridge Project (ithappens), Thursday, 6 January 2011 21:24 (thirteen years ago) link
thanks for the link Billy Dods - 16 hip-hop covers in 6 years really isn't a lot is it (especially considering those were peak years for NWA & Public Enemy)? They had 5 Jesus and Mary Chain covers in the same period.
Just did a ctrl-f "oasis" and got 55 hits on that page.
― onimo, Thursday, 6 January 2011 21:25 (thirteen years ago) link
The Smiths didn't even hit top 10 with any of their singles.
Three top ten ten singles, toots:
10 Smiths Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now Jun 198410 Smiths Sheila Take A Bow Apr 19878 Smiths This Charming Man (re-issue) Aug 1992
― O Permaban (NickB), Thursday, 6 January 2011 21:29 (thirteen years ago) link
70s/early 80s new wave number one's:The Boomtown Rats: Rat TrapIan Dury: Hit Me With Your Rhythm StickThe Boomtown Rats: I Don't Like MondaysThe Police: Message In a BottleThe Police: Walking On The MoonThe Specials: The Special AKA LiveThe Jam: Going Underground/Dreams Of ChildrenThe Jam: StartThe Police: Don't Stand So Close To MeThe Specials: Ghost TownThe Police: Every Little Thing She Does Is MagicThe Jam: A Town Called MaliceMadness: House Of FunThe Jam: Beat SurrenderThe Police: Every Breath You Take
Then, unless you count Housemartins, The Beautiful South and a novelty one-off from Vic Reeves and The Wonderstuff (and even the last couple from The Police are arguable), it would take twelve years until the next number one that might pass as indie, starting another rush of indie #1s in the 90s and 00s:
Oasis: Some Might SayBlur: Country HouseOasis: Don't Look Back In AngerBlur: BeetlebumOasis: D'You Know What I MeanThe Verve: The Drugs Don't WorkOasis: All Around The WorldManic Street Preachers: If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be NextManic Street Preachers: The Masses Against The ClassesOasis: Go Let It Out
The point being: Indie type music was not close to as commercially huge in the UK in the late 80s/early 90s as it was in the new wave era or during the Britpop era.
― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Thursday, 6 January 2011 21:31 (thirteen years ago) link
The list of hip-hop covers is a bit misleading, cos it suggests every other cover was indie. Look instead at how few covers were indie during 1986, the year indie became associated with jangling guitars and the highwatermark year of the definitive NME indie band, the Smiths:
* 04/01/86 The Cramps * 11/01/86 Andy Warhol and Debbie Harry * 18/01/86 Billy Bragg and Junior (Red Wedge issue) * 25/01/86 Easterhouse * 01/02/86 Punk - Ten Years On * 08/02/86 John Lydon * 15/02/86 Big Audio Dynamite * 22/02/86 Keith Richards * 01/03/86 Comics * 08/03/86 Sigue Sigue Sputnik * 15/03/86 Mantronix * 22/03/86 Absolute Beginners * 29/03/86 The Shop Assistants * 05/04/86 Hipsway * 12/04/86 Samantha Fox * 19/04/86 Test Dept * 26/04/86 Prince (blurred image) * 03/05/86 Sade * 10/05/86 Barry McGuigan * 17/05/86 Boy George * 24/05/86 Janet Jackson * 31/05/86 The Mighty Lemon Drops * 07/06/86 Morrissey * 14/06/86 Why British black music has no chance - polemical piece by Paolo Hewitt * 21/06/86 Sonic Youth * 28/06/86 George Michael * 05/07/86 The Jesus and Mary Chain * 12/07/86 Matt Johnson of The The * 19/07/86 Run-D.M.C. * 26/07/86 Zodiac Mindwarp * 02/08/86 Jam and Lewis * 09/08/86 Chicago house * 16/08/86 Mick Hucknall of Simply Red * 23/08/86 David Sylvian * 30/08/86 Daley Thompson * 06/09/86 Dwight Yoakam * 13/09/86 The Yo Boys (article about hip hop by Paolo Hewitt) * 20/09/86 Sex (themed issue), also a free EP - Phil Oakey of The Human League * 27/09/86 Trouble Funk * 04/10/86 Blackie Lawless of W.A.S.P. * 11/10/86 Big Audio Dynamite * 18/10/86 Courtney Pine * 25/10/86 Voting (themed issue) * 01/11/86 Shinehead * 08/11/86 Youth suicide (almost all-black cover, later voted the worst cover in its history by the NME itself) * 15/11/86 Cilla Black * 22/11/86 Swing Out Sister * 29/11/86 Sly and Robbie * 06/12/86 Elvis Presley (though the cover story in this issue, written by Stuart Cosgrove, was actually a criticism of the US military presence in Britain using Presley's image as symbolic, not an article about Presley himself) * 13/12/86 Madonna * 20/12/86 Pet Shop Boys
― Alan Partridge Project (ithappens), Thursday, 6 January 2011 21:31 (thirteen years ago) link
"One Love" is the biggest here, as re-released Smiths singles and Stone Roses' comeback singles from a time when indie was starting to become more commercially popular again doesn't really count. The Smiths didn't become really huge as a singles act until the bad had long since broken up and bands like Suede caused new generations to become interested in their influences.
― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Thursday, 6 January 2011 21:32 (thirteen years ago) link
X-Post: They certainly got a lot of shit from their readers after that Sam Fox cover though. :)
― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Thursday, 6 January 2011 21:33 (thirteen years ago) link
Geir. none of those "new wave" No 1s can be compared to the indie bands of the mid 80s. You've got a mod band, a pub rocker, some R&B chancers from Dublin who got on the back of punk, a ska band and a corporate behemoth of a band. It's like listing a load of apples and then saying orange trees didn't produce any apples like that.
― Alan Partridge Project (ithappens), Thursday, 6 January 2011 21:34 (thirteen years ago) link
Btw. upthread I am using a rather narrow definition of new wave. Using the US definition would mean most early 80s number ones were new wave, but it would also make it meaningless to see new wave as a forerunner of indie.
― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Thursday, 6 January 2011 21:35 (thirteen years ago) link
Those were all bands that became popular on the back of punk, which is surely where "indie" started.
― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Thursday, 6 January 2011 21:36 (thirteen years ago) link
Yes, cos the Police were definitely forerunners of the Mary Chain, eh?
And every Smiths single from This Charming Man went into the proper charts Geir, with repeated Top of the Pops appearances.
― Alan Partridge Project (ithappens), Thursday, 6 January 2011 21:36 (thirteen years ago) link
Early Police was definitely rather punky. It is disputable whether "Every Breath You Take" is, but that would just make the gap even larger.
― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Thursday, 6 January 2011 21:39 (thirteen years ago) link
And, yes, they went into the charts, but they never managed to compete with the likes of Wham!, Frankie Goes To Hollywood and Pet Shop Boys.
The Jam, Oasis, Blur and even Arctic Monkeys were all among the most popular bands in the UK based upon singles charts dominance. The Smiths were never close to that.
― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Thursday, 6 January 2011 21:41 (thirteen years ago) link
I'm willing to bet that the Smiths have sold a shit-ton more singles than the Arctic Monkeys.
― O Permaban (NickB), Thursday, 6 January 2011 21:44 (thirteen years ago) link
Geir, you weren't talking about charts you said this
And because you were proved wrong you have tried to move the goalposts.
― Shakey Moe Szyslak (Algerian Goalkeeper), Thursday, 6 January 2011 21:51 (thirteen years ago) link
Geir will never ever admit he's wrong, surely you all know this by now?
― Matt DC, Thursday, 6 January 2011 21:54 (thirteen years ago) link
Also here's the NME's Top 20 albums from the same year, a fairly varied list:
1. Parade - Prince & The Revolution 2. Rapture - Anita Baker 3. Control - Janet Jackson 4. Evol - Sonic Youth 5. Word Up - Cameo 6. Graceland - Paul Simon 7. Bend Sinister - The Fall 8. Rasin' Hell - Run-DMC9. The Queen Is Dead - The Smiths 10. The Album - Mantronix 11. Nelson Mandela - Youssou N'dour 12. Life's Rich Pageant - R.E.M.13. Blood And Chocolate - Elvis Costello 14. King Of America - Elvis Costello 15. Your Funeral... My Trial - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds 16. Schoolly D - Schoolly D 17. Rough & Rugged - Shinehead 18. Tutu - Miles Davis 19. Say What! - Trouble Funk 20. Liberty Belle & The Black Diamond Express - The Go-Betweens
I mean I only started reading the NME in 1995 when it was pretty much regarded as an indie magazine by everyone I knew but I realised this can't always have been the case (most obviously because it'd been around far longer than indie music had).
― Gavin in Leeds, Thursday, 6 January 2011 21:57 (thirteen years ago) link
I think cover artists are important in identifying who they were trying to sell to (see 55 x Oasis and more than 20 x Stone Roses even years after they split).
― onimo, Thursday, 6 January 2011 22:00 (thirteen years ago) link
That's true. But through the mid-80s they were trying to sell an awful lot more than just indie. That list of 86 covers has only five by acts of the kind codified as "indie music"- Easterhouse, Lemon Drops, Morrissey, Mary Chain, Shop Assistants. You could add to that Test Dept, Sonic Youth, the Cramps and Billy Bragg - but that's still less than a fifth of the year's covers, which is astounding by the standards of the past 20 years.
― Alan Partridge Project (ithappens), Thursday, 6 January 2011 22:05 (thirteen years ago) link
NME's top albums of the 80s pretty much ignores 1986 - much more of an indie/post-punk slant.
1. The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses ‘892. The Queen Is Dead - The Smiths ‘853. Three Feet High And Rising - De La Soul ‘894. Sign ‘O’ The Times - Prince ‘875. It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back - Public Enemy ‘886. Psychocandy - Jesus And Mary Chain ‘857. Hatful Of Hollow - The Smiths ‘848. Closer - Joy Division ‘809. Sound Affects - The Jam ‘8010. Low-Life - New Order ‘8511. Remain In Light - Talking Heads ‘8012. Searching For The Young Soul Rebels - Dexy’s Midnight Runners ‘8013. Bummed - Happy Mondays ‘8914. Surfer Rosa - Pixies ‘8815. The Lexicon Of Love - ABC ‘8216. Swordfishtrombones - Tom Waits ‘8317. Kilimanjaro - The Teardrop Explodes ‘8018. Dare - The Human League ‘8119. Parade - Prince ‘8620. 16 Lovers Lane - The Go-Betweens ‘8821. Rain Dogs - Tom Waits ‘8522. This Nation’s Saving Grace - The Fall ‘8523. Rum, Sodomy And The Lash - The Pogues ‘8524. The Smiths - The Smiths ‘8425. Blood & Chocolate - Elvis Costello ‘8626. Don’t Stand Me Down - Dexy’s Midnight Runners ‘8527. The Eight Legged Groove Machine - The Wonder Stuff ‘8828. Crocodiles - Echo And The Bunnymen ‘8029. Nebraska - Bruce Springsteen ‘8230. The Nightfly - Donald Fagen ‘8231. Talking With The Taxman About Poetry - Billy Bragg ‘8632. Miss America - Mary Margaret O’Hara ‘8833. Rattlesnakes - Lloyd Cole & The Commotions ‘8434. George Best - The Wedding Present ‘8735. Atomiser - Big Black ‘8736. My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts - David Byrne & Brian Eno ‘8137. Sister - Sonic Youth ‘8738. Straight Out Of The Jungle - The Jungle Brothers ‘8839. Heaven Up Here - Echo And The Bunnymen ‘8140. Green - REM ‘8841. Imperial Bedroom - Elvis Costello ‘8242. You Can’t Hide Your Love Forever - Orange Juice ‘8243. Midnight Love - Marvin Gaye ‘8244. Like A Prayer - Madonna ‘8945. Beautiful Vision - Van Morrison ‘8246. Infected - The The ‘8647. Meat Is Murder - The Smiths ‘8548. New York - Lou Reed ‘8949. Yo! Bum Rush The Show - Public Enemy ‘8750. Warehouse: Songs And Stories - Husker Du ‘87
from http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/607080.html
― onimo, Thursday, 6 January 2011 22:07 (thirteen years ago) link
I'd argue it has had a "punk" edge to its general writing policy since, well, since punk. Which has also naturally caused it to be very pro-indie, since indie has basically the same roots as punk.
― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Thursday, 6 January 2011 22:17 (thirteen years ago) link
NME's top albums of the 80s pretty much ignores 1986
While I personally consider 1986 to have been a good music vintage (IMO it got much, much worse later in the decade), it can be argued that 1986 was sort of a no-man's-land between two phases in the 80s. The new romantics/synthpop age was pretty much coming to and end. Surely, you had Pet Shop Boys and Erasure and a-ha who were building on the heritage from that era but the arrival of sampling and FM synths meant that they still sounded very different from what the new romantic/synth bands in the early 80s had sounded like. And many of the biggest new romantic/synth names struggled commercially in 1986 compared to earlier (Human League did sort of a comeback, but with a single that was closer to R&B than synthpop).
On the other hand, hip-hop and hair metal, save for the occasional appearance in the charts (Run DMC, Europe, Bon Jovi) were still largely US phenomenons while house music had still to cross over from the Chicago club scene. So the dominant trends of the late 80s had yet to really settle.
So it is no wonder that 1986 may fall outside what is usually considered "representative" of the 80s, and as such, maybe no wonder it performs badly. Surprised not to see "Graceland" in there though.
― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Thursday, 6 January 2011 22:23 (thirteen years ago) link
("The Queen Is Dead" is 1986 not 1985 though)
― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Thursday, 6 January 2011 22:24 (thirteen years ago) link
20. 16 Lovers Lane - The Go-Betweens ‘88
interesting, i was wondering what kind of alltime lists go-betweens, felt & "the marble index" -- three acts singled out as not obscure upthread -- appeared on.
― zvookster, Thursday, 6 January 2011 22:27 (thirteen years ago) link
I want to see Geir interviewed by Paxman.
― Shakey Moe Szyslak (Algerian Goalkeeper), Thursday, 6 January 2011 22:27 (thirteen years ago) link
Tho even paxman would get fed up after 2 hours of geir refusing to admit what he said was wrong.
― Shakey Moe Szyslak (Algerian Goalkeeper), Thursday, 6 January 2011 22:28 (thirteen years ago) link
Anybody know what happened to these plans?http://www.timewarner.com/corp/newsroom/pr/0,20812,1553295,00.html
much as I despise the brit-edition of the mag (incessant covers for oasis) I'd love for this to happen. Rolling Stone and Spin are the worst magazines in existence.
― heh (kelpolaris), Thursday, 6 January 2011 22:33 (thirteen years ago) link
I'd assume pitchfork has made sure it wont happen.
― Shakey Moe Szyslak (Algerian Goalkeeper), Thursday, 6 January 2011 22:38 (thirteen years ago) link
Surprised NME haven't tried to develop their website into a UK equivalent tbh. I cant see the mag surviving more than another few years, but maybe it would be too late. Then again, outside of ilx, I'm not sure many in the UK care or even know about pitchfork at least compared to the NME.
― Shakey Moe Szyslak (Algerian Goalkeeper), Thursday, 6 January 2011 22:40 (thirteen years ago) link
Sure, that makes sense but there was that time in the mid '80s with a big indie/soul divide in the writers - no idea how big either faction was but I guess there was a chance the magazine could have gone the other way (I could be wrong but supposedly it was Steve Sutherland becoming editor that led to indie winning out)?
― Gavin in Leeds, Thursday, 6 January 2011 22:47 (thirteen years ago) link
The mid 80s was around the time when soul music was finally starting to come out of the "disco" stigma that caused all indie fans (and rock fans in general) to hate it. In the early 80s there was very much this soul=disco thing, which meant that soul music wasn't taken seriously (which, of course, disco never was)
― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Thursday, 6 January 2011 23:03 (thirteen years ago) link
can you point out some examples of the punk edge in features from the last eight years?
― basically just a 2/47 freak out (sic), Thursday, 6 January 2011 23:05 (thirteen years ago) link
Geir when did you first start reading NME?
― Shakey Moe Szyslak (Algerian Goalkeeper), Thursday, 6 January 2011 23:15 (thirteen years ago) link
I have never been a permanent reader (besides the now defunct Select, Q and Mojo have been my favourite mags), but have been reading some NME editions since the 80s.
― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Thursday, 6 January 2011 23:18 (thirteen years ago) link
The punk edge is in preferring indie, which follows from punk.
― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Thursday, 6 January 2011 23:19 (thirteen years ago) link
Do you realise you're using your original assertion as your only citation of evidence, there?
― basically just a 2/47 freak out (sic), Thursday, 6 January 2011 23:43 (thirteen years ago) link
I hope we've all learned something today
― assorted curses (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 6 January 2011 23:50 (thirteen years ago) link
So, inverting the logic, you prefer punk because it presaged and pre-defined indie?
― Mark G, Thursday, 6 January 2011 23:51 (thirteen years ago) link
I prefer classic, melodic pop, which has more in common with indie than with most other genres that were really popular in the 90s. But I still prefer classic, melodic pop to indie.
― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Friday, 7 January 2011 01:07 (thirteen years ago) link
surely indie follows from earlier indie labels, like Motown, amirite
― basically just a 2/47 freak out (sic), Friday, 7 January 2011 01:15 (thirteen years ago) link
Indie in this case does not mean "independent". PWL was also independent. Indie is a musical genre, founded especially in the 80s as a protest against the synth dominated pop music of the time, but also rooted in punk.
― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Friday, 7 January 2011 09:54 (thirteen years ago) link
Yeah, the protest was lead by Daniel Miller and Thomas Leer...
― Mark G, Friday, 7 January 2011 09:59 (thirteen years ago) link
Indie was not formed as a protest against anything. It really did mean independent. It was only the rise of labels like PWL "contaminating" the indie chart that made people start writing "what does Indie mean?" articles and start to (re)define it as a genre that could ignore Kylie and all those other nasty manufactured pop acts.
― onimo, Friday, 7 January 2011 10:06 (thirteen years ago) link
New Order were a protest against synth music, stop being dumb guys.
― O Permaban (NickB), Friday, 7 January 2011 10:12 (thirteen years ago) link
I think you'll find New Order was a synth based pop protest against moody post punk like Joy Division.
― onimo, Friday, 7 January 2011 10:16 (thirteen years ago) link
Actually, many of those who hated seeing Kylie Minogue in the indie charts were not too pleased with seeing Erasure up there either. They hated synth based music with a passion.
― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Friday, 7 January 2011 10:18 (thirteen years ago) link
Projectin'
― Mark G, Friday, 7 January 2011 10:20 (thirteen years ago) link
If only they could have turned back the clock to the time when Depeche Mode used to be number one.
― O Permaban (NickB), Friday, 7 January 2011 10:22 (thirteen years ago) link
I don't know a single indie fan that even likes Kraftwerk.
You know me? I'm not single tho.
― Mark G, Friday, 7 January 2011 10:24 (thirteen years ago) link
Stop trying to undermine this rock-solid theory on which Geir is building his mad castle.
― O Permaban (NickB), Friday, 7 January 2011 10:29 (thirteen years ago) link
There should be a band called The Disco Stigma.
Geir's history of indie:In 1977 punk gave us The Police and the Boomtown Rats. The Police were new wave until Every Breath You Take. After the Police split up, all the indies fled underground, never showing their faces again. Although the Smiths and many other indie bands were very popular, that didn't count, because none of them had No 1 singles. And then Blur and Oasis found all the indies underground and led them back to the light in 1995.
Is that right, Geir?
― Alan Partridge Project (ithappens), Friday, 7 January 2011 12:48 (thirteen years ago) link
You forgot the bit about the PWL ringwraiths riding through the shires on their flying synths.
― O Permaban (NickB), Friday, 7 January 2011 12:53 (thirteen years ago) link
And, I mean, basically the argument style and posting style on his ILM work is the same as on the alt.music work, even though there is less overt racism and the drums and bass are hardly mentioned . There was a certain Beatles-factor to his posts that was thankfully lost somewhere around "2001" but he has never really found a way to stop having the same fucking conversations for the past 20 years.
― sometimes all it takes is a healthy dose of continental indiepop (tomofthenest), Friday, 7 January 2011 12:59 (thirteen years ago) link
Harold and Kumar Go To Geir's Mad Castle
― Cracker Flocka Flame (Doran), Friday, 7 January 2011 13:15 (thirteen years ago) link
Geir's history of indie:In 1977 punk gave us The Police and the Boomtown Rats. The Police were new wave until Every Breath You Take. After the Police split up, all the indies fled underground, never showing their faces again. Although the Smiths and many other indie bands were very popular, that didn't count, because none of them had No 1 singles. And then Blur and Oasis found all the indies underground and led them back to the light in 1995.Is that right, Geir?
Indie existed in the meantime as well, but it was a very narrow genre with a somewhat narrow following, so the NME had to have a broader musical scope if they were to survive.
― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Saturday, 8 January 2011 00:05 (thirteen years ago) link
Point being, Indie singles sold loads, they didn't chart highly because a lot of the sales weren't in chart return shops.
― Mark G, Saturday, 8 January 2011 00:07 (thirteen years ago) link
Anyway, basically, the main reason why the likes of The Smiths, R.E.M. and Waterboys got popular in the 80s, not with the masses but with a certain kind of audience, is they were guitar fundamentalists. They were known as "guitar bands", and were popular with people who hated how the synth had become the most important instrument in pop music.
― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Saturday, 8 January 2011 00:07 (thirteen years ago) link
X-Post: Very doubtful. Indie in the 80s subscribed to a certain low-fi thinking that made it unable to appeal to the masses. I think that was also a key element in bringing Britpop to the top of the charts, that the Britpop acts actually found production values to be important, as opposed to late 80s indie acts.
― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Saturday, 8 January 2011 00:08 (thirteen years ago) link
much as I despise the brit-edition of the mag (incessant covers for oasis)
Oasis have broken up and are thus now more likely to end up on the cover of Mojo than the cover of NME.
― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Saturday, 8 January 2011 01:28 (thirteen years ago) link
We'll see.
― Mark G, Saturday, 8 January 2011 22:07 (thirteen years ago) link
Yeah, I write for NME and I don't mind confirming that Geir is unfortunately wrong on this count. Oasis were on the cover at least twice last year.
― Cracker Flocka Flame (Doran), Saturday, 8 January 2011 22:11 (thirteen years ago) link
Surely now they're split up, they wont be anymore as Beady Eye & Noel will get their own covers? (until they inevitably reform for a massive amount of money)
― Shakey Moe Szyslak (Algerian Goalkeeper), Saturday, 8 January 2011 23:03 (thirteen years ago) link
Brother getting a NME cover is unbelievably LOL.
Also LOL is someone using a false name to write criticism of them on The Quietus... presumably they're an NME staffer who doesn't want to get in trouble?
― Craigo Boingo, Saturday, 8 January 2011 23:09 (thirteen years ago) link
And an ilxor because whiney g is mentioned!
― Shakey Moe Szyslak (Algerian Goalkeeper), Saturday, 8 January 2011 23:20 (thirteen years ago) link
Noel Gallagher may end up on the cover once or twice. Liam is a has-been now that he doesn't have his brother to write those brilliant songs for him anymore.
― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Saturday, 8 January 2011 23:42 (thirteen years ago) link
I didn't realise Paul wrote Liam some songs. Why did he stop?
― Chewshabadoo, Sunday, 9 January 2011 00:22 (thirteen years ago) link
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_TGaFUPJleS4/TQeIsZDpkLI/AAAAAAAAV3U/226Gb0tZNy0/s1600/NME%252BBeadyEye.jpg
― basically just a 2/47 freak out (sic), Sunday, 9 January 2011 00:34 (thirteen years ago) link
andy bell looks like a christmas ornament, liam looks like patsy kensit
― basically just a 2/47 freak out (sic), Sunday, 9 January 2011 00:35 (thirteen years ago) link
xpost straw man in that Quietus piece is that the conventional establishment isn't actually going gaga for Brother. NME is, but most of the coverage I've seen so far has taken a studiedly offhand tone, as if to say, "This is what they say about themselves. You're capable of deciding for yourself that they are deluded." You might say that if they're that shit, they shouldn't be covered at all.
I've heard more people say more bad things about Brother than any other group in years. I think they're forgetting that in that "you either love us or hate us" cliche, some people need to love you, too.
― Alan Partridge Project (ithappens), Sunday, 9 January 2011 02:07 (thirteen years ago) link
Well, he has Andy Bell. But Andy Bell wrote cirka two good songs for Ride and two good songs for Hurricane #1, so it still doesn't quite hold up.
Noel Gallagher is the one songwriting genius and the act worth following. Hopefully he will become even more Beatlesque in his songwriting now that he is rid of his screaming/punky brother.
― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Sunday, 9 January 2011 03:05 (thirteen years ago) link
still find that NME top 3 albums from 86 amazing!
― piscesx, Sunday, 9 January 2011 03:49 (thirteen years ago) link
so it still doesn't quite hold up.
..........uhh so are you saying that cover [1]doesn't[/1] exist?
― basically just a 2/47 freak out (sic), Sunday, 9 January 2011 03:52 (thirteen years ago) link
Well... It does. Now... But Liam will be forgotten in a short time, except for his part in Oasis. Noel is the one and only genius from that band and even though Liam may have more of a rock'n'roll attitude, that isn't enough alone.
― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Sunday, 9 January 2011 14:36 (thirteen years ago) link
I bet liam sells more papers though with his bullshit
― Shakey Moe Szyslak (Algerian Goalkeeper), Sunday, 9 January 2011 14:55 (thirteen years ago) link
I actually think that is still the reason why Dodgy and Travis never quite became critics darlings. Not arrogant enough, not enough bullshit, too boring and nice personalities.
― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Sunday, 9 January 2011 15:00 (thirteen years ago) link
& mostly shite
― Prince wouldn't ‘woa’ (onimo), Sunday, 9 January 2011 16:29 (thirteen years ago) link
I guess that's why Radiohead have been getting blanket critical slatings for the past 15 years as well
― cup of tea & an orange.xls (DJ Mencap), Sunday, 9 January 2011 16:46 (thirteen years ago) link
Thom Yorke is apparently quite high maintenance though isn't he? I mean, the guy from Travis seems like a lovely guy... worst mistake you can make I reckon. I bet him and Terrorvision are a great laugh down the pub.
― Cracker Flocka Flame (Doran), Sunday, 9 January 2011 16:52 (thirteen years ago) link
Thom Yorke is paranoid and at times rather arrogant in his unwillingness to be a pop star. Those guys from Dodgy and Travis are just fairly cool guys, and less interesting to write about than, say, Oasis. Chris Martin has started to act a bit more like a pop star after he became one, and this may be the reason why the press hasn't tired of Coldplay to the same extent.
― You're Twistin' My Melody Man! (Geir Hongro), Monday, 10 January 2011 09:40 (thirteen years ago) link
that nme cover is next level
― deejeuner sur l'herb (nakhchivan), Monday, 10 January 2011 09:44 (thirteen years ago) link
Thom Yorke has, famously, wanted to be a pop star ever since he was born.
At the point where you achieve your *ambition*, you had better have some more reason or raison'detre than when you were three.
So, by then his "popstarness" is firmly established, and the ability to walk through walls is implicit, hey he can look as 'disinterested' and he knows it won't matter.
When he sang that song about "oh such a lovely garden, oh such a lovely house", i suspected he was a hypocrite as it would be fairly certain he'd have a huge house someplace, and fair enough. Eventually some article showed he did have a huge place, but it was fairly castle-crumbly and the garden hadn't been mowed for decades. Still, though.
― Mark G, Monday, 10 January 2011 09:49 (thirteen years ago) link
^exterior life of Thom Yorke
― Prince wouldn't ‘woa’ (onimo), Monday, 10 January 2011 13:49 (thirteen years ago) link
mark g prefers songwriters who have no idea what they're talking abt
― zvookster, Monday, 10 January 2011 15:30 (thirteen years ago) link
blimey, I do!
― Mark G, Monday, 10 January 2011 15:31 (thirteen years ago) link
It is so odd how Geir writes like he has stolen every line from an old copy of Q on whatever subject is bought up, like he is *schoolin'* us. No more, no less.
― "jobs" (a hoy hoy), Monday, 10 January 2011 15:46 (thirteen years ago) link
Schooly G
― Shakey Moe Szyslak (Algerian Goalkeeper), Monday, 10 January 2011 15:50 (thirteen years ago) link
The Music 1999 - 2011: Why They'll Be Missed
It came as a cruel irony today that midway through our first listen to the godforsaken new Brother record, news landed that The Music were splitting up.
― oppet, Friday, 1 April 2011 21:07 (twelve years ago) link
RIP guys, heaven needed a ropey Verve knock-off.
― Neil S, Friday, 1 April 2011 21:08 (twelve years ago) link
Ropey Verve probably the worst era to knock off.
― death, taxes and (onimo), Saturday, 2 April 2011 00:19 (twelve years ago) link
Has anyone read this:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/images/1907554483/ref=dp_image_z_0?ie=UTF8&n=266239&s=books
Briefly skimmed through it at Waterstones to see if Mr S1nk3r late of this parish was in it and he wasn't or any mention of his U2 review being spiked. So if it's missing something as key as that, I wonder how thorough it is with the rest of the history.
― fun loving and xtremely tolrant (Billy Dods), Tuesday, 6 March 2012 17:43 (twelve years ago) link
That's this book btw.
http://images.amazon.com/images/G/01/richmedia/images/cover.gif
― fun loving and xtremely tolrant (Billy Dods), Tuesday, 6 March 2012 17:44 (twelve years ago) link
Oh ffs, just click the link instead http://www.amazon.co.uk/History-NME-Worlds-Famous-Magazine/dp/1907554483/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1331055546&sr=8-1
― fun loving and xtremely tolrant (Billy Dods), Tuesday, 6 March 2012 17:45 (twelve years ago) link
I did suggest to mr S that there could be a fascinating book about the 'tribes' that inhabited NMEworld back in the day, and how they evolved/mutated. He seemed to srsly consider the idea, laffed even.
― Mark G, Wednesday, 7 March 2012 00:00 (twelve years ago) link
for those who, like me, didn't know the story:
U2/NME versus Sinker
is the full review anywhere online?
― ban this sick stunt (anagram), Wednesday, 7 March 2012 08:42 (twelve years ago) link
Pat Long was assistant editor at NME during the 2000s.
yyyyeeah, this doesn't sound more promising than re-reading the reminiscences in the 40th anniversary issue
― Θ ̨Θƪ (sic), Wednesday, 7 March 2012 13:51 (twelve years ago) link
Pat is a cool dude and a good writer iircimho
I also only skimmed it in aforementioned book chain but unless I totally missed it there was next to no coverage of the last 10-15 years
― Sylv_ebanks (DJ Mencap), Wednesday, 7 March 2012 14:16 (twelve years ago) link
Don't think anyone cares or wants to read anecdotes from The Killers about the Conor McNicholas era, even taking into account declining relevance of print media etc etc. My guess is it ends post-Britpop?
― Homosexual Satan Wasp (Matt DC), Wednesday, 7 March 2012 14:22 (twelve years ago) link
I did suggest to mr S that there could be a fascinating book about the 'tribes' that inhabited NMEworld back in the day, and how they evolved/mutated. He seemed to srsly consider the idea, laffed even
I would definitely read that book.
I don't the NME has been relevant for a long time, so it makes sense that coverage would end about 10-15 years ago.
― Respectfully, Tyrese Gibson (Nicole), Wednesday, 7 March 2012 15:30 (twelve years ago) link
Pat's a sound guy, a great writer and I think it's reasonable to end the book at the start of the internet age.
There are severe problems with proofing, subbing though...
― Conan The Asshander (Doran), Wednesday, 7 March 2012 19:40 (twelve years ago) link
shame.
despite the fact i am no longer target audience, every time i have flicked through the nme recently have been impressed with the changes krissi has brought in :
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/apr/12/nme-krissi-murison-sunday-times?CMP=twt_fd
of course, if an ilm'r steps up ..
― mark e, Thursday, 12 April 2012 11:01 (eleven years ago) link
Yeah she made a decent job of it, it seemed a much less blinkered and, well, condescending publication over the last few years. Conor McNicholas tended to treat his readership like idiots who could only focus on three bands at once.
― Homosexual Satan Wasp (Matt DC), Thursday, 12 April 2012 11:04 (eleven years ago) link
Co-signed. Sadly McNicholas had already wrecked that ship by the time she took over.
― Scary Move 4 (dog latin), Thursday, 12 April 2012 11:57 (eleven years ago) link
I'd be perfectly happy to send in my CV but unfortunately I am at least twice the age of whoever they're looking for.
― Here he is with the classic "Poème Électronique." Good track (Marcello Carlin), Thursday, 12 April 2012 12:49 (eleven years ago) link
It's a decent paper once again, even if not for me thesedays, yes.
― Mark G, Friday, 13 April 2012 00:47 (eleven years ago) link
oh well looks like marcello, didn't get the job.
from CMJ mailout :
IPC yesterday announced the promotion of NME's Deputy Editor Mike Williams to the role of Editor. Williams, of course, replaces Krissi Murrison, who announced this year that she was moving on to become Features Editor of The Sunday Times Magazine.
Williams joined NME in 2010, prior to which he founded and was editor of Kruger magazine for six years. Initially freelancing for the music weekly, he then took on the role of Features Editor before moving up to become Murison's deputy.
Upon the announcement, Williams told CMU: "I'm super excited to be the new editor of NME. As far as dream positions go, it really doesn't get any better than this. Krissi Murison has done an amazing job as my predecessor, and I'm totally honoured to pick up the baton from her. My challenge is to make NME magazine and the wider NME brand even sharper, our message more coherent and to engage even more with NME's audience of passionate music fans. With the brilliant team we've got in place, I can't wait to get started!"
Meanwhile IPC's Publishing Director Emily Hutchings added: "After an extensive recruitment process, I am absolutely thrilled to announce Mike Williams as the next editor of NME. He brings with him a wealth of editorial experience as well as knowledge in managing multiplatform brand extensions. Mike demonstrated a clear strategic vision and passion for NME that will help take the brand on to even greater success".
The NME print publication, of course, is in terminal decline despite gallant efforts by Murison to overhaul the magazine, though the wider NME brand remains as strong as ever, with future potential almost certainly locked to online and digital innovations
― mark e, Friday, 1 June 2012 10:39 (eleven years ago) link
I've known the dude for years - nice guy - no real idea what he'll be like editing the NME but it's cool by me
― cissémanwhore (DJ Mencap), Friday, 1 June 2012 10:45 (eleven years ago) link
I didn't apply.
― Here he is with the classic "Poème Électronique." Good track (Marcello Carlin), Thursday, 7 June 2012 11:29 (eleven years ago) link
So, is it good, bad, somewhere in between, or who cares anyway?
― Mark G, Thursday, 21 May 2015 15:13 (eight years ago) link
Isn't it Libertiones one week 1980s Mojo Heritage the next atm?
― Eric Burdon & War, On Drugs (Cosmic Slop), Thursday, 21 May 2015 15:41 (eight years ago) link
Just the two Noel Gallaghers, one Kurt Cobain and one Richey Edwards so far this year.
― There was Bjork from Iceland and Alanis Morissette from Canada (onimo), Thursday, 21 May 2015 16:00 (eight years ago) link
Good grief they actually put the Prodigy on the cover this year, who on earth is that meant to please?
― Matt DC, Thursday, 21 May 2015 16:02 (eight years ago) link
their record label who ponies up the advertising?
― Eric Burdon & War, On Drugs (Cosmic Slop), Thursday, 21 May 2015 18:09 (eight years ago) link
ooh .. you cynical b*stard.
― mark e, Thursday, 21 May 2015 18:11 (eight years ago) link
http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/jul/06/nme-to-go-free-with-larger-circulation
Confirmed.
― Matt DC, Monday, 6 July 2015 09:54 (eight years ago) link
Wonder if this will see the levels of Arctic Monkeys and Johnny Marr front covers plumetting
― PaulTMA, Monday, 6 July 2015 11:45 (eight years ago) link
Wonder if this will see the NME basically becoming nothing more than an advertorial for whoever the industry needs to sell.
― Mark G, Monday, 6 July 2015 12:07 (eight years ago) link
This move doesn't surprise me at all.
― You’re being too simplistic and you’re insulting my poor heart (Turrican), Monday, 6 July 2015 12:49 (eight years ago) link
No magazine has ever become smarter after switching to free distribution (witness the miserable travesty that is Time Out these days), but the cover should be a non-issue given there's likely to be wrap-around advertising on every copy.
― Matt DC, Monday, 6 July 2015 13:37 (eight years ago) link
guess the writing really is on the wall when this rag can't even inspire much of an ilm point n'laff pile-on.
― 2011’s flagrantly ceremonious rock-opera (Bananaman Begins), Monday, 6 July 2015 13:43 (eight years ago) link
I remember when Zig-Zag magazine became a freebie given away at Our Price shops. lasted 2 editions, yeah?
― Mark G, Monday, 6 July 2015 14:29 (eight years ago) link
more details from the NME of the new free magazine:
A statement to the media confirmed that music is "firmly at the heart of the brand" but there will also be "film, fashion, television, politics, gaming and technology". Read more at http://www.nme.com/news/various-artists/86702#bycyB6vkzCsv1KW3.99
so could the new NME be like a combination of: The Guardian Guide, i-D, Dazed, New Statesman, Mashable, Engadget UK and Wired UK - plus the core Music coverage.
Seems the NME will also be more like Ireland's Hot Press magazine, that has always had a wider politics & current affairs / films / culture / sociology remit.
Maybe the NME will take inspiration from magazines from the past like,
The Facehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Face_(magazine)
e.g the end of year 1985 edition, dated jan 1986 had Grace Jones on the front cover and 1985 the year in review covering: Music Film Fashion Politics Television Designseehttp://fullscream.com/how-old-designers-are-wrong-and-new-designers-are-taking-risks/
so what NME are proposing in reality is reinvention of The Face magazine for modern times. in 1985: Music Film Fashion Politics Television Design in 2015: "film, fashion, television, politics, gaming and technology". gaming and technology rely on good design to succeed. It's the same remit.
additionally, the last relaunch of NME in October 2013, http://www.theguardian.com/media/media-blog/2013/oct/07/nme-david-bowie-front-cover-music-magazine?CMP=twt_fd
..had a design that some suggested was inspired by The Face. red and white block graphics
so with the design and content - the NME could become The Face magazine for modern times.
another magazine with a similar style content was
Sleazenationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleazenation"An ideal for living through fashion, art, music and design".
The NME's closest new competitors in terms of content could be
i-dhttp://i-d.vice.com/en_gb
dazedhttp://www.dazeddigital.com/
...alternatively the new NME could be a disaster of The Fly magazine + Buzzfeed content lite + promotional branded "native advertising"
― djmartian, Monday, 6 July 2015 22:23 (eight years ago) link
Or they could just slip it into copies of the upcoming Libertine album
― Mark G, Monday, 6 July 2015 23:04 (eight years ago) link
s
and all future Noel Gallagher projects while they're at it.
― You’re being too simplistic and you’re insulting my poor heart (Turrican), Monday, 6 July 2015 23:42 (eight years ago) link
when they say its not going to focus on indie guitar acts so much does that mean they will cover other music or does it mean less indie music as its covering politics/fashion/whatever in its place but the music focus is sill narrow?
― Eric Burdon & War, On Drugs (Cosmic Slop), Monday, 6 July 2015 23:45 (eight years ago) link
Bump?
― Kibbutzki (Jaap Schip), Tuesday, 7 July 2015 11:04 (eight years ago) link
I'd like NME to carry on as a physical thing, just for 20+ year old nostalgia for my own youth, but I've not read it regularly in 13 years and I can't help but feel that this is a death rattle.
― Hey Bob (Scik Mouthy), Tuesday, 7 July 2015 12:02 (eight years ago) link
NME: 'Music is still what we stand for'http://www.musicweek.com/news/read/nme-music-is-still-what-we-stand-for/062237
NME editor Mike Williams is "phenomenally pleased" with initial responses to the news that NME is going free, but is keen to emphasise that "music is absolutely, unequivocally, the heartbeat of the brand".
Speaking to Music Week after news broke yesterday that the magazine would drop its retail price from September 18, Williams (pictured) said: "The headline news is that NME has gone free as a weekly magazine, but the story as far as we're concerned is that this is a total brand transformation. For us, this is about developing all of the platforms and making sure we're really strong right across them; making sure we're able to produce great content that people really want to enjoy and share, regardless of whether that's on their mobile or via a print product."
Williams, who took on the editorship of the Time Inc. publication in 2012, downplayed reports that the magazine would be expanding its content remit to include the likes of film, video games and politics at the expense of its music coverage. He said: Music is absolutely, unequivocally, the heartbeat of the brand. It's absolutely what we stand for. What we're saying with this is that we're making more of a noise about the things we already do. We already talk about film, TV, politics and social issues - whatever we think is interesting to the audience.
"What we're going to do is really galvanise that and make it more important within the brand, and make sure everyone knows that we do it. All of the things that inspire music and inform music, and all the things that music inspires and informs - that's part of the music world, and for us to be able to talk about the things that are happening that aren't just music is a natural thing for us. You can't say strongly enough that music is still what we stand for. We can use music as a gateway into a wider world of culture, entertainment, and all of the different subject matters that we mentioned in the press release."
The editor couldn't discuss whether new staff would be hired, instead claiming: "We'll address other issues as it gets closer to launch time."
He added: "We wouldn't go into something so monumental without spending a lot of time talking to the audience and researching this inside out. The overwhelming response from the audience was that there really is still an appetite for print, it's just not necessarily a product people are used to and in the habit of paying for. People felt that free press is attractive, NME doing free press is really attractive, so for us, as we rethought what the brand could stand for and how big we could make it, it was a no-brainer to make print a part of that."
There are many unanswered questions from the above comments.
However, lets look at the NME under the last 3 editors,
Wilkinson - NME heritage era - reliance on the past, no much going on in new guitar music, particularly in a British context. Declining sales, no risk strategy - stick to the familiar past.
re "when they say its not going to focus on indie guitar acts" - this is a statistical fact of the past few years, only one new landfill band has emerged over the past few years the dreadful Catfish and the Bottlemen - most of the sorry losers on that ilm swagger page are rightly ignored.
Murrison - Post-landfill Pitchfork exists era
McNicholas - Landfill era, any rubbish scruffy British guitar band lauded and given coverage.
what of the future, now going free the NME doesn't have to worry about putting a new / emerging / this decade artist on the front - at the risk of losing sales. I can see a gradual shift back to the Murrison era. More front covers for in the next year or so for the likes of Wolf Alice, Courtney Barnett, Alvvays, Chvrches, Tame Impala etc. Shifting away from the 60s / 70s / 80s / 90s/ 00s - front covers.
however looking ahead to forthcoming releases, what could the NME promote to the front cover? the media is reliant on the release schedule, it's difficult to identify artists the NME is likely to put on the front cover that they previously haven't featured.
http://pitchfork.com/news/60083-pitchfork-guide-to-upcoming-releases-summer-2015/
― djmartian, Tuesday, 7 July 2015 12:19 (eight years ago) link
correction, Wilkinson should be Mike Williams
― djmartian, Tuesday, 7 July 2015 12:23 (eight years ago) link
Jim Carroll, The Irish Times, is pessimistic about the realities of the new NME
NME goes free, world shrugshttp://www.irishtimes.com/blogs/ontherecord/2015/07/07/nme-goes-free-world-shrugs/
― djmartian, Tuesday, 7 July 2015 12:47 (eight years ago) link
more discussion,
Sink or swim for NME as long-running music weekly goes free from Septemberhttp://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/jul/06/sink-or-swim-for-nme-as-long-running-magazine-becomes-free-from-septemberMagazine will also branch out into TV and film, fashion, politics, gaming and tech in a move described as the ‘last throw of the dice’
― djmartian, Tuesday, 7 July 2015 13:03 (eight years ago) link
Wolf Alice had the cover two weeks ago.
― Mark G, Tuesday, 7 July 2015 13:23 (eight years ago) link
yes, Wolf Alice is an example of gradual change - away from heritage
as this blogger mentions,
http://xrrf.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/what-pop-papers-say-nme-pulls-surprise.html
Wednesday, June 10, 2015What the pop papers say: NME pulls a surpriseThis week's cover band is Wolf Alice.
Last week's cover band was Florence.
That's two female-fronted acts in two weeks.
The last time that happened? November 2003, when Kylie followed The Distillers.
If you don't think Kylie counts, and are looking for the last time two rock acts with female leads followed each other on the NME cover, you'd have to go back to the end of September 1998, for Hole followed by PJ Harvey.
― djmartian, Tuesday, 7 July 2015 13:30 (eight years ago) link
If you don't think Kylie counts whuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut?
― feargal czukay (NickB), Tuesday, 7 July 2015 13:36 (eight years ago) link
also who the heck were the Distillers?
― feargal czukay (NickB), Tuesday, 7 July 2015 13:38 (eight years ago) link
what the NME are proposing is very similar to Ireland's Hot Press magazine that has existed in that format for decades. However as Ireland is dominated by Dublin and has a much smaller population than the UK - it's much more easier to reflect music / culture / society.
Hot Presshttp://www.hotpress.com/
about:http://www.hotpress.com/1278263.html
For over 30 years, Hot Press has consistently rattled the cages of Irish society and broken exciting new ground in contemporary journalism. With an abiding commitment to music at its core, it remains the essential guide to rock, pop, dance and all the best in contemporary music, both nationally and internationally. That means the big names, of course, from U2 to DJ Shadow, but it also means the first coverage of new acts who might one day make big waves of their own.
But Hot Press is also about more than music. Its current affairs, cinema, sport, humour, books, fashion, politics, sex – everything that matters – receive the inimitable Hot Press treatment every fortnight. And in January 2008, an entire issue was devoted to the problem of drugs in Irish society – looking at all angles, from the point of view of the dealers, gardai, politicians and the addicts and their families.
In addition, The Hot Press Interview (much imitated, never equalled) has become a national institution, with a well-deserved reputation for being the most rigorous, incisive and talked-about forum in Irish journalism, as everyone – from UN human rights ambassador Mary Robinson to maverick novelist Will Self, from disgraced politico Charles Haughey to chameleon thespian John Cusack, and from model humanitarian Christy Turlington to Sinn Fein's Gerry Adams – will attest.
Through all of this, one constant remains: Hot Press is a writers' paper, with a thorough commitment to giving space to quality journalism: stuff that's sharp, smart, witty, informed, and, above all, written with style.
That commitment has also been carried through to Hotpress.com, making Ireland's finest music and pop-culture magazine available all over the world – at the press of a button! In addition to the staple Hot Press diet, hotpress.com offers new music to investigate, pop videos to watch, video interviews with a host of Irish and international artists to view, competitions, message boards, the indispensable Hot Press Industry Directory online in full, and the Hot Press Archive – our unrivalled collection of great writing and resource material, going back almost 30 years
Incisive and irreverent...humorous and challenging...sometimes controversial, frequently provocative, always a great read...and with hotpress.com fully interactive – now that you're with us, why not get involved, and become one of the growing Hot Press community!
Hot Press - wikipediahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_Press
― djmartian, Tuesday, 7 July 2015 13:49 (eight years ago) link
The Distillers were an American punk rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1998.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Distillers
― djmartian, Tuesday, 7 July 2015 13:50 (eight years ago) link
fronted by Brody Dalle, shouty angry punk singer, black hair, covered in tattoos, can't recall any of their tracks, not my thang - was covered by kerrang alot
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brody_Dalle
Dalle married Tim Armstrong, frontman of Rancid, in 1997 when she was 18. The couple divorced in 2003. Their divorce inspired some of Armstrong's lyrics on Rancid's 2003 album, Indestructible. After they divorced, Brody reverted to using the surname of her favourite actress, Béatrice Dalle, best known for Betty Blue. Dalle has had seven surnames since birth. In 2004 Dalle was re-united with her half sister Morgana Robinson, when the two met at a Distillers show. They share a father, who now lives "in Leeds or some shit".[10]Dalle married Josh Homme in 2007. They had their first child, Camille Harley Joan Homme, on 17 January 2006. On 12 August 2011, Dalle gave birth to her second child, a baby boy, named Orrin Ryder Homme. The couple lives in Palm Springs, California.
― djmartian, Tuesday, 7 July 2015 13:55 (eight years ago) link
Yeah, c'mon keep up!
― Mark G, Tuesday, 7 July 2015 14:08 (eight years ago) link
the chick from Sourpuss's new band iirc
― let no-one live rent free in your butt (sic), Tuesday, 7 July 2015 14:15 (eight years ago) link
Who was it this week? I know last week was The Libertines (fair enough, new album, playing Glastonbury, etc)
― Mark G, Tuesday, 7 July 2015 14:20 (eight years ago) link
this week,
Who killed Amy?https://www.facebook.com/nmemagazine
tie in with the film
front coverhttps://www.facebook.com/nmemagazine/photos/a.499102104166.300902.9577714166/10154022832309167/?type=1&theaternotice angry facebook comments
― djmartian, Tuesday, 7 July 2015 14:25 (eight years ago) link
An interesting train of thoughthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thought
― anvil, Tuesday, 7 July 2015 15:21 (eight years ago) link
http://www.nme.com/photos/nsfw-50-of-the-most-eye-poppingly-filthy-lyrics-ever/369707?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=filthylyrics
Scroll down to the entry for Chuck Berry's My Ding-A-Ling.
They put a picture of Little Richard.
Well done.
― Hey Bob (Scik Mouthy), Wednesday, 8 July 2015 13:20 (eight years ago) link
And that's from February. And still up. Maybe it's been discussed here already. Good grief.
― Hey Bob (Scik Mouthy), Wednesday, 8 July 2015 13:22 (eight years ago) link
i saw that on the kulks fb too. quite astonishing and apparently lots commented on the article at the time and on twitter as well yet they didn't change it.
― Eric Burdon & War, On Drugs (Cosmic Slop), Wednesday, 8 July 2015 13:25 (eight years ago) link
It's just baffling.
― Hey Bob (Scik Mouthy), Wednesday, 8 July 2015 13:31 (eight years ago) link
It's easy to make a mistake, and there's any number of ways it could have happened - jnr staff member sourcing images for free from wherever, finds something incorrectly tagged, doesn't know any better - and that's OK, mistakes happen. But not to fix it?
― Hey Bob (Scik Mouthy), Wednesday, 8 July 2015 13:32 (eight years ago) link
Agreed. They just dont give a fuck
― Eric Burdon & War, On Drugs (Cosmic Slop), Wednesday, 8 July 2015 13:45 (eight years ago) link
NME goes free, world shrugs
or, in the case of the irish times, publishes a 'think' 'piece', which is hardly shrugging, is it?
― you throw darts like a lesser man and owe me cash (stevie), Wednesday, 8 July 2015 14:35 (eight years ago) link
There have been shitloads of thinkpieces. Well, a few.
― Hey Bob (Scik Mouthy), Wednesday, 8 July 2015 14:47 (eight years ago) link
Similar to the Chuck Berry and Little Richard mistake. I saw this last month that made me laugh. The entry for Teen Wolf Too. This time it's the text that has the error.
http://www.nme.com/photos/10-terrible-comedy-sequels-which-make-us-look-back-and-cringe/366343#/photo/1
― Kitchen Person, Wednesday, 8 July 2015 15:07 (eight years ago) link
Kendrick Lamar is on the front cover of the NME this weekhttps://www.facebook.com/nmemagazine/photos/a.499102104166.300902.9577714166/10154039186974167/?type=1&theater
― djmartian, Tuesday, 14 July 2015 22:14 (eight years ago) link
FREE AT LAST, FREE AT LAST
― This is for my new ringpiece, so please only serious answers (Noodle Vague), Tuesday, 14 July 2015 22:17 (eight years ago) link
About fucking time, but cringing at the way they've led with the B*****s mention
― feargal czukay (NickB), Tuesday, 14 July 2015 22:17 (eight years ago) link
cover says £2.50, when does it start being free?
― soref, Tuesday, 14 July 2015 22:19 (eight years ago) link
september
― feargal czukay (NickB), Tuesday, 14 July 2015 22:20 (eight years ago) link
That's a great cover.
― Credit: howtokeepapositiveattitudedotcom (stevie), Wednesday, 15 July 2015 08:30 (eight years ago) link
So this week will be the last ever paid for issue of NME. or as the NME state "the first chapter" ends. re 1952 - 2015
NME magazine: front coverhttps://www.facebook.com/nmemagazine/photos/a.499102104166.300902.9577714166/10154076158264167/?type=1&theater
Bumper 132 pages "Massive Collectors Issue" looking back on the history of NME. with a price tag of £3.50
The NME are also asking what is your favourite NME cover? 50 choiceshttp://www.nme.com/ratemy/383583/what-s-your-favourite-ever-nme-cover
There then will be a break in publishing the NME until 18th September. Presumably to give staff and the editor time to produce a few dummy copies of the new look magazine. Whilst carrying on with new updates on the website / twitter / facebook / email newsletter etc. There is a lot of celebrity lite Buzzfeed type trash on the NME facebook feed.
The last time there was a break in publishing the NME was due ta a NUJ strike in 1984, you'd have to ask Uncle Sinker about the details.
NME list of covershttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_NME_covers
1984
NME was not published in June and July this year due to a NUJ strike.
― djmartian, Tuesday, 28 July 2015 21:11 (eight years ago) link
Predictably boring/same old shit selection of covers in that farewell montage.
― everything, Tuesday, 28 July 2015 21:36 (eight years ago) link
do you mean the final front cover? i wouldn't say PJ Harvey, MIA and Public Enemy was the same old shit if so.
― piscesx, Tuesday, 28 July 2015 21:47 (eight years ago) link
FREE NME available everywhere *not including Scotland or Wales, South West England...http://i.imgur.com/LoOR6D6.png
http://www.nme.com/map
― Cosmic Slop, Thursday, 17 September 2015 14:53 (eight years ago) link
When?
Will London get them a day early like before?
― Mark G, Thursday, 17 September 2015 15:00 (eight years ago) link
Why not as its the only place you can get it!
― Cosmic Slop, Thursday, 17 September 2015 15:03 (eight years ago) link
http://i.imgur.com/yJcdrcW.pnghttp://i.imgur.com/jQOgGvV.pnghttp://i.imgur.com/mam5KJ6.png
― Cosmic Slop, Thursday, 17 September 2015 15:18 (eight years ago) link
seriously, i have to make a trip to topman in the shopping centre if i want to read the nme now?
xp bunch of whiners, oh wait
― feargal czukay (NickB), Thursday, 17 September 2015 15:21 (eight years ago) link
from Cosmic Slop's map:
Head84 The Mall, Golden Square Shopping Centre, Warrington
promisingly, this place went out of business last week
― soref, Thursday, 17 September 2015 15:24 (eight years ago) link
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! I LIKE WHITE GUYS PLAYING GUITARS!!! WAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! RHIANNA ISN'T REAL MUSIC!!! WAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! WHAT'S THIS, NME!? WAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! YOU'VE LET ME DOWN YOU'RE MEANT TO BE ABOUT WHITE GUYS PLAYING GUITARS!!! I'M COMPARING NME WITH SMASH HITS AND CLEARLY I NEVER READ A SINGLE FUCKING ISSUE!!! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! NOEL GALLAGHER THE LIBERTINES ARCTIC MONKEYS OASIS THE STROKES!!! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"
― Turrican, Thursday, 17 September 2015 15:26 (eight years ago) link
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! I'M GLAD I LIVED THROUGH THE GOOD OLD DAYS WHERE NME WAS ALL ABOUT PROPER MUSIC AND REAL WHITE GUYS PLAYING GUITARS AND MUSIC WAS SO MUCH BETTER BECAUSE IT WAS REAL MUSIC NOT THIS CRAP POP DANCE CRAP!!! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!! YOU'RE SO HIPSTER, NME! WAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
― Turrican, Thursday, 17 September 2015 15:29 (eight years ago) link
There was someone on there complaining about the rihanna cover but also about the amount of morrissey/arctic monkeys/libertines/oasis covers. Maybe the NME isnt for them?
― Cosmic Slop, Thursday, 17 September 2015 15:30 (eight years ago) link
just do what my pal is doing and post the spice girls cover when people post about how nme was great in the britpop era and never covered "manufactured pop music"
― Cosmic Slop, Thursday, 17 September 2015 15:31 (eight years ago) link
NME is dead.XFM is dead.There's nothing left to live for.
^this guy is taking the piss, surely?
― soref, Thursday, 17 September 2015 15:36 (eight years ago) link
Looks like it is Friday's NME will come out
― Cosmic Slop, Thursday, 17 September 2015 15:51 (eight years ago) link
Gotta get down (London) on Friday
― Turrican, Thursday, 17 September 2015 16:15 (eight years ago) link
"A great man once said to me he loves all music from A to Z... Abba to Zappa" clearly the best bit of that sheet of nitwit flypaper above
― Hector Ringtone (DJ Mencap), Thursday, 17 September 2015 16:25 (eight years ago) link
hearty lols @ nitwit flypaper
― feargal czukay (NickB), Thursday, 17 September 2015 16:28 (eight years ago) link
well, I will get one tomorrow thanks to being in LDN tomoz, will wait until I see what is INSIDE!
But it does sound like what happened when Zigzag became a free mag back in the nineties, two issues?
― Mark G, Thursday, 17 September 2015 16:45 (eight years ago) link
I doubt the advertisers will be pleased that large parts of the UK wont be able to get it.
― Cosmic Slop, Thursday, 17 September 2015 16:48 (eight years ago) link
XFM is dead? :-O
(A: even worse)
― flyingtrain (sbahnhof), Friday, 18 September 2015 03:45 (eight years ago) link
tbf XFM already died once in 1998
― Just noise and screaming and no musical value at all. (Colonel Poo), Friday, 18 September 2015 08:22 (eight years ago) link
Love the guy going "I remember when it was all Suede, Pulp, Mansun on the cover", who has presumably blocked out the Spice Girls and Robbie Williams covers from the same era.
― Matt DC, Friday, 18 September 2015 09:17 (eight years ago) link
I guess, for being the first of this new method, the 1st front cover acts as a mission statement.
― Mark G, Friday, 18 September 2015 09:52 (eight years ago) link
― Cosmic Slop, Thursday, September 17, 2015 4:30 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
Cornelius Cardew or gtfo imo
― called a 'Star' by the Compliance Unit (Bananaman Begins), Friday, 18 September 2015 10:16 (eight years ago) link
Nah, they just want the circulation to be as high as possible from the off.
― Matt DC, Friday, 18 September 2015 10:17 (eight years ago) link
Effectively it has gone (inner) London only, if that map is exhaustive, as that's about the only place with the density of distribution distribution to get a pick-up rate attactive to advertisers.
A bit like the conservative party, it makes a gesture towards including the rest of the country, but is only really interested in one square mile in London, ho ho
― called a 'Star' by the Compliance Unit (Bananaman Begins), Friday, 18 September 2015 10:32 (eight years ago) link
I used their map to see based on my workplace postcode.
It looked like I was in the highlands/islands.
― Mark G, Friday, 18 September 2015 10:36 (eight years ago) link
I make Aberystwth and Fort William the two places on mainland uk furthest away from an nme distribution point.
― called a 'Star' by the Compliance Unit (Bananaman Begins), Friday, 18 September 2015 10:36 (eight years ago) link
It's a pretty fun map tbf to nme
― called a 'Star' by the Compliance Unit (Bananaman Begins), Friday, 18 September 2015 10:38 (eight years ago) link
was looking for a map of university student distribution to compare it to, but no joy
― Ray Chard (NickB), Friday, 18 September 2015 10:49 (eight years ago) link
Aberystwyth is a uni town. Presumably an algorithm crunched the numbers and determined that the size of student population did not make it worth the transport costs of distribution to the west coast of Wales.
― called a 'Star' by the Compliance Unit (Bananaman Begins), Friday, 18 September 2015 10:52 (eight years ago) link
If you're really desperate for a copy every week I'm sure you can subscribe for the cost of postage. Why you would want to when all the articles will be online and will presumably be getting flimsier and flimsier anyway is a different question.
― Matt DC, Friday, 18 September 2015 10:59 (eight years ago) link
Yes.
― Mark G, Friday, 18 September 2015 11:01 (eight years ago) link
you can pay for postage & packaging to have it delivered if you don't live near a distribution point
£36 per year / works out at under 70p week
NME Magazine Subscriptionhttps://www3.magazinesdirect.com/az-magazines/n/6756/nme.thtml
― djmartian, Friday, 18 September 2015 11:14 (eight years ago) link
what year did the nme cost 70p? some time in the late 80s / early 90s?
― djmartian, Friday, 18 September 2015 11:17 (eight years ago) link
It seems it went from 65p to 75p round about 1992-3
http://thumbs4.ebaystatic.com/d/l800/pict/141418119298_1.jpg
― Mark G, Friday, 18 September 2015 11:26 (eight years ago) link
Brian?
― Fields of Fat Henry (Tom D.), Friday, 18 September 2015 11:35 (eight years ago) link
http://cdn.discogs.com/VZvDbKR201YEAmOzTIAVCbBW2oU=/fit-in/599x600/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(96)/discogs-images/R-5833821-1403981334-7414.jpeg.jpg
― Mark G, Friday, 18 September 2015 11:43 (eight years ago) link
Number of album reviews in this week's issue: three, plus five 30-word capsules. And of those three, the shortest is suffixed with "read the full review on NME.com".
Number of gig reviews: zero. But there are five whole pages of gig previews, covering a whopping 10 well-known acts.
Elsewhere, the axe has fallen on virtually all coverage of lesser-known/emerging acts, with the Radar section reduced to a single page, covering a single artist.
There's only one long-form feature: Peter Robinson's uncharacteristically characterless and PR-y interview with Rihanna. ("As well as being fashion's most exciting muse, Rihanna is now the ultimate muse for the planet's greatest songwriters and producers.") Chvrches get a double page spread, but only one page with text. And that's it for your music features.
Total number of news stories: three at a pinch, or one (new Libertines tour) if you take a stricter definition of "news story".
Full page picture stories include "10 best costumes from Bestival", "what's on your headphones" (which doubles as "what are you wearing", "things we like; this week's objects of desire" (headphones, bag, shoes, razor, coat etc - full page ad on facing page for the razor listed in the feature).
Worst issue ever.
― mike t-diva, Friday, 18 September 2015 11:43 (eight years ago) link
Right, I shall stroll out and get one.
LivStStation? Or elsewhere..
― Mark G, Friday, 18 September 2015 11:45 (eight years ago) link
lol, it's raining man, don't do that to yourself.
― called a 'Star' by the Compliance Unit (Bananaman Begins), Friday, 18 September 2015 11:52 (eight years ago) link
Someone thrust a copy into my hand earlier today and it's pretty much exactly as you would expect. DFS ad in there as well, you didn't get that in the Britpop era.
― Matt DC, Friday, 18 September 2015 11:59 (eight years ago) link
xpost Man, isn't it just?
will kick back for a bit.
― Mark G, Friday, 18 September 2015 12:00 (eight years ago) link
I see from Sky News, there's a ton of them outside Westminster tube station.
― Mark G, Friday, 18 September 2015 12:02 (eight years ago) link
They just had Ringo on, 'yeah, on your phone now, back then biggest newspaper in the world, yeah, peace love'
― Mark G, Friday, 18 September 2015 12:04 (eight years ago) link
Someone left the papers out in the rainI don't think that I can take one cause they're all gone soggy
― Mark G, Friday, 18 September 2015 12:35 (eight years ago) link
so far, not seen one in any of my local music emporiums : hmv, fopp, head, rise.
as per my school reports from a bygone era : must try harder.
― mark e, Thursday, 24 September 2015 18:33 (eight years ago) link
how about top man?
― Cosmic Slop, Thursday, 24 September 2015 18:38 (eight years ago) link
as you'd expect, I have no idea where that is in this glorious town of wonder (an honest description for our new recruit to these parts, dog latin !)
― mark e, Thursday, 24 September 2015 18:40 (eight years ago) link
https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/t31.0-8/12038707_10154241979429167_1204071788281887017_o.jpghttp://www.nme.com/news/various-artists/88552
― Cosmic Slop, Thursday, 24 September 2015 18:41 (eight years ago) link
"ex-vampire"
umm ..
― mark e, Thursday, 24 September 2015 18:49 (eight years ago) link
It really is fitting that they no longer have the words 'New', 'Musical' and 'Express' on their cover, isn't it?
― Turrican, Thursday, 24 September 2015 19:38 (eight years ago) link
has that happened before?
― Cosmic Slop, Thursday, 24 September 2015 19:44 (eight years ago) link
Been like that for a while, certainly since the last christmas 'double issue'
― Mark G, Thursday, 24 September 2015 20:02 (eight years ago) link
.. The last two I bought were the christmas one and the 'farewell to yr money' one
― Mark G, Thursday, 24 September 2015 20:03 (eight years ago) link
'express' would be fitting if you're picking it up to read on the train
― Hector Ringtone (DJ Mencap), Thursday, 24 September 2015 20:49 (eight years ago) link
mark e - my colleague brought one in from temple meads stn.
― canoon fooder (dog latin), Friday, 25 September 2015 09:26 (eight years ago) link
how does it compare to any of the other free music papers? just looking at the cover makes me think there's not a lot of content in there
― Ray Chard (NickB), Friday, 25 September 2015 09:32 (eight years ago) link
actually makes me nostalgic for stool pigeon r.i.p.
― Ray Chard (NickB), Friday, 25 September 2015 09:33 (eight years ago) link
dl : ah. fair enough.
thats a fair old trek from my workplace to do there and back in an hour, and its not like i need a copy.
xp : i loved stool pigeon.
― mark e, Friday, 25 September 2015 09:35 (eight years ago) link
Meant to be able to get it on campus. Can't see where. Oh well. No great loss.
― Hey Bob (Scik Mouthy), Friday, 25 September 2015 12:00 (eight years ago) link
Much less content than The Skinny. Although at least NME pay their writers.
― Poor.Old.Tired.Horse. (Stew), Friday, 25 September 2015 12:18 (eight years ago) link
I would imagine that, if other free mags are anything to go by, the amount of content and possibly distribution will increase once advertising and pagination go up? I'm guessing they're running this on as low an overhead as possible right now.
Doesn't mean it'll be any good, mind.
― Matt DC, Friday, 25 September 2015 12:57 (eight years ago) link
saw this on Ned's facebook.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CPvdoduWgAAjWFp.jpg
― piscesx, Friday, 25 September 2015 14:08 (eight years ago) link
house invented by european white dudes everybody
― Ray Chard (NickB), Friday, 25 September 2015 14:12 (eight years ago) link
hahahahahaha
― Cosmic Slop, Friday, 25 September 2015 14:16 (eight years ago) link
doesn't stool pigeon exist anymore?
― ♛ LIL UNIT ♛ (thomp), Friday, 25 September 2015 14:30 (eight years ago) link
Not for a couple of years.
― please don't shampoo your eyes (stevie), Friday, 25 September 2015 14:49 (eight years ago) link
https://thump.vice.com/en_uk/article/the-nme-guide-to-dance-music-genres
― Cosmic Slop, Friday, 25 September 2015 14:59 (eight years ago) link
How hard is it not to fuck up a brief guide to house music? FFS
― impossible raver (Re-Make/Re-Model), Friday, 25 September 2015 15:08 (eight years ago) link
You have to actually have listened to house music first, though
― please don't shampoo your eyes (stevie), Friday, 25 September 2015 15:44 (eight years ago) link
i am normally "who gives a fuck about idiots?" but that is almost rage-inducing
― nameReinhard Gruhl/name (Noodle Vague), Friday, 25 September 2015 16:19 (eight years ago) link
NME's History Of Reggae.
The Trailblazer - Paul Nicholas.The Breakthrough - MadnessThe Cool One - The Clash
― Cosmic Slop, Friday, 25 September 2015 16:19 (eight years ago) link
wait, does Baines = Dwight Yorke?
― soref, Friday, 25 September 2015 16:36 (eight years ago) link
yes
― Hector Ringtone (DJ Mencap), Friday, 25 September 2015 17:00 (eight years ago) link
article analyzing the cultural demise of the NME over the last 15 years
NME: HOW A MUSIC MAGAZINE TOOK INDIE INTO THE MAINSTREAMhttp://noisey.vice.com/blog/nme-how-a-magazine-took-indie-into-the-mainstream
― djmartian, Saturday, 17 October 2015 12:22 (eight years ago) link
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JUD3dBVLTOA/T7KuqkPXwUI/AAAAAAAAJaw/5aISdxYYpxw/s1600/GazCoombes.jpg
― systems drinking (Noodle Vague), Saturday, 17 October 2015 12:52 (eight years ago) link
http://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/10-of-the-best-debut-albums-of-2015
Lol.
― Matt DC, Thursday, 5 November 2015 15:16 (eight years ago) link
ithappens already dropped this nugget on this thread :
OK, is this the worst piece of music writing ever?
― mark e, Thursday, 5 November 2015 15:19 (eight years ago) link
Holy shit.
― Hey Bob (Scik Mouthy), Thursday, 5 November 2015 16:00 (eight years ago) link
Never thought I would feel sad for the NME but this is actually depressing in a whole new way.
― the tune was space, Friday, 6 November 2015 02:59 (eight years ago) link
If only it were written in crayon.
― billstevejim, Friday, 6 November 2015 06:50 (eight years ago) link
Down down, deeper and down
― un-ironic, earnest racist manning remains to be rehabilitated (Bananaman Begins), Friday, 6 November 2015 11:23 (eight years ago) link
Nauseating Marketing Express.
― Chewshabadoo, Friday, 6 November 2015 11:42 (eight years ago) link
nearly literally lolled at work when I saw that piece
― systems drinking (Noodle Vague), Friday, 6 November 2015 13:33 (eight years ago) link
That's amazing.
― the joke should be over once the kid is eaten. (chap), Friday, 6 November 2015 13:37 (eight years ago) link
can't even remember a single one of the records they mentioned, just windows 10
― djp HOOS clouds (NickB), Friday, 6 November 2015 13:39 (eight years ago) link
but i guess compared to some of the garbage they've ridden for over the years, microsoft isn't the worst
ts: windows 10 vs pearl jam ten
― djp HOOS clouds (NickB), Friday, 6 November 2015 13:40 (eight years ago) link
The equivalent of your best mate pulling your mum - NME gets burnt by branded contenthttp://www.thedrum.com/opinion/2015/11/06/equivalent-your-best-mate-pulling-your-mum-nme-gets-burnt-branded-content
― djmartian, Friday, 6 November 2015 14:58 (eight years ago) link
it's not that I am pouring one out for the lost integrity of NME or whatever but because of the ongoing cultural downgrade in importance of music itself as just one stream of cultural activity that gets bottlenecked through the web, devices, and social media. So this is sad as a symptom of an ongoing redistribution of our focus, and it literalizes the way that those devices and media leverage the concept of access and participation in order to cloud the encounter with artwork with the corporate squid ink of branding. The present is gross.
― the tune was space, Friday, 6 November 2015 15:00 (eight years ago) link
otm
― thwomp (thomp), Friday, 6 November 2015 15:19 (eight years ago) link
That Drum article is as embarrassing as the NME one. I'd rather be forced to weave Windows 10 references into every shitty thing I ever wrote - especially now that the Start menu is back and better than ever - than try to keep a straight face producing this kind of garbage: Personally, I’d love to see NME and Microsoft come together and produce something truly unique to music and both brands. NME was never one to lie down and take a beating and I’m not sure why that should start now. After all it’s often a brand’s heritage that can save it from the abyss.
― Eyeball Kicks, Friday, 6 November 2015 15:47 (eight years ago) link
it's not that I am pouring one out for the lost integrity of NME or whatever but because of the ongoing cultural downgrade in importance of music itself as just one stream of cultural activity that gets bottlenecked through the web, devices, and social media.
It's actually more illustrative of the crisis in print publishing/consumer media in general I think.
― Matt DC, Friday, 6 November 2015 15:48 (eight years ago) link
Personally, I’d love to see NME and Microsoft come together and produce something truly unique to music and both brands. NME was never one to lie down and take a beating and I’m not sure why that should start now. After all it’s often a brand’s heritage that can save it from the abyss.
This man is Part Of The Problem imo.
― please don't shampoo your eyes (stevie), Friday, 6 November 2015 15:52 (eight years ago) link
Aha just saw your post Eyeball. We are on the same page I believe.
― please don't shampoo your eyes (stevie), Friday, 6 November 2015 15:53 (eight years ago) link
"Richard Armstrong is the former drummer from the rock band Gay Dad founder of content marketing agency Kameleon."
Guessing he might have a vested interest here.
― Matt DC, Friday, 6 November 2015 15:56 (eight years ago) link
it was funny to see some of the same people who'd been mocking this yesterday pay attention to the j*** l**** xmas advert as a serious and significant cultural event
partoftheproblempartoftheproblempartoftheproblem
― lex pretend, Friday, 6 November 2015 17:00 (eight years ago) link
http://uxrepo.com/static/icon-sets/ionicons/svg/checkmark-circled.svg
― systems drinking (Noodle Vague), Friday, 6 November 2015 17:28 (eight years ago) link
The missing link is Oasis, which goes to show how tiny the gap is between NME and Middle England festive retail mawk these days.
― Matt DC, Friday, 6 November 2015 17:37 (eight years ago) link
I thought it was proven by science that only soulless automatons would fail to weep copious tears at a retailer's cartoon of a penguin giving a mouse a bubble bath or whatever
― Tell The BTLs to Fuck Off (wins), Friday, 6 November 2015 17:44 (eight years ago) link
Just turn it over the second it comes on.
― Caput Johannis in Disco (Tom D.), Friday, 6 November 2015 17:47 (eight years ago) link
... like I do whenever I see Carol Kirkwood reading the weather
― Caput Johannis in Disco (Tom D.), Friday, 6 November 2015 17:51 (eight years ago) link
Anglo penguin gives a German mouse a copy of Windows 10 in no-mans land. Both of them are shredded by enemy gunfire on Boxing Day. George Ezra soundtracks.
― Matt DC, Friday, 6 November 2015 17:58 (eight years ago) link
you know what is good for checking the weather? windows
― djp HOOS clouds (NickB), Friday, 6 November 2015 18:00 (eight years ago) link
Is give them a 10/10
― Tell The BTLs to Fuck Off (wins), Friday, 6 November 2015 18:01 (eight years ago) link
I'd
― Tell The BTLs to Fuck Off (wins), Friday, 6 November 2015 18:02 (eight years ago) link
xpost Lex - the difference between the John Lewis ad coverage and the NME advertorial is that the John Lewis ads became news because people liked them, they became incredibly popular, and they started spawning hit singles. Publications - including the Guardian - started covering them because people were talking about them. People didn't start talking about them because publications were covering them. They became legitimate news events. Soft news, sure, but news.
― Roaming gang of aggressive circlepits (ithappens), Sunday, 8 November 2015 09:30 (eight years ago) link
enh, unless the coverage across the board is 'people are worthless cretins and if you perpetuate the idea that these adverts are in any way net good for humanity you literally deserve to be fucking stabbed to death,' then i think there's a failure of journalistic responsibility
― thwomp (thomp), Sunday, 8 November 2015 10:12 (eight years ago) link
Well, if you want to say people are worthless cretins because they are interested in things you're not, that's your lookout. It's not a sustainable way to run a journalism business, though.
― Roaming gang of aggressive circlepits (ithappens), Sunday, 8 November 2015 10:23 (eight years ago) link
no, only Windows 10 has the powerful features that contain sustain high quality journalism today
― John Dope Assos (Noodle Vague), Sunday, 8 November 2015 10:48 (eight years ago) link
i don't think "people like advert" is remotely newsworthy - adverts are designed to manipulate people! - and def not in the uncritical way the JL shit is covered - treating it like an important cultural event when it's. a. fucking. advert.
one was clunkily executed and the other was not but the NME advertorial and JL hype are indistinguishable at root
― lex pretend, Sunday, 8 November 2015 11:14 (eight years ago) link
I think it's a sign of how desperate some people in Britain are for any kind of shared national experience. Specifically white people who want an all white shared national experience. Downton Abbey trailer? John Lewis advert? Who cares. Let these racist bigots rot in their isolationist monoculture.
― Does anyone know the Klingon for T'ai Chi? (snoball), Sunday, 8 November 2015 11:23 (eight years ago) link
I suppose you could argue that the Age UK angle makes this year's JL *slightly* more newsworthy in its own right, but there's something particularly grim about leveraging people's rational fears about old age and loneliness and using them to sell a load of shit, especially in the current political climate, even if you are giving some of the cash to charity at the end of it. And that's even the case with a cuddly mutual like John Lewis of which I essentially approve. It certainly shouldn't be covered uncritically.
Ultimately the desire to manipulate people into buying shit is what's kept non-BBC journalists in work for generations. The primary function of the NME has always been to make money for IPC by selling access to people who are into music. People don't like this stuff being laid bare (cf that Conde Nast statement the other month), but from the NME's heyday through to the advent of the internet the two sides were able to rub along well enough because there was self-evidently a market for music writing (plus the news and the gig guide and other actually useful things). Now there are apps and services that fulfil the utilitarian aspect better, and there isn't really any reason for good music writing to exist within "the market" any more. The result is you end up with crap like that Windows article propping up a magazine that there would no longer be any reason to invent if it didn't already exist. And all the time the NME were sitting around wondering how to make digital advertising pay and how much advertorial they could sell to Microsoft, someone else went and invented Songkick and completely ate up a space they could have owned.
― Matt DC, Sunday, 8 November 2015 11:37 (eight years ago) link
You know that's just absolute shit, obviously. The notion that people only like those things because they're racist is well beyond rational, and somewhere into tinfoil hat/green biro territory.
― Roaming gang of aggressive circlepits (ithappens), Sunday, 8 November 2015 11:56 (eight years ago) link
No, Lex. They're not indistinguishable, because the public want to know more about one – we know this, because we have the tools to see – which is why we cover it. You may as well say the NME thing is indistinguishable from you writing about Dawn Richard, because at heart all you are doing is taking your place in her campaign.
Everything that is not hard news, something someone doesn't want you to know, is advertising at some level. Everytime you fanboy for an R&B singer in print, you're advertising. My gripe about the NME one was how fucking shit it is.
― Roaming gang of aggressive circlepits (ithappens), Sunday, 8 November 2015 11:59 (eight years ago) link
also windows paid NME for the advertorial and presumably have final say in what it contains, John Lewis don't pay the titles that cover their ad for covering their ad and have no say in how they will cover it. These seem not-inconsequential differences between the two cases.
― please don't shampoo your eyes (stevie), Sunday, 8 November 2015 12:22 (eight years ago) link
It's a leap to say that anyone innarested in the John Lewis advert and suchlike is racist, but the first part of snoball's sentence is bang on. Lol @ the dreadful paucity of imagination going into this imagined community these days.
― un-ironic, earnest racist manning remains to be rehabilitated (Bananaman Begins), Monday, 9 November 2015 12:16 (eight years ago) link
Adverts as a shared national experience have been around a lot longer than the social media shitfest that goes along with them these days. The next big Levis ad and the 60s song it was inevitably going to propel into the top ten was a thing in the 80s. I remember new Coke adverts being a big deal too.
(now pining for those halcyon days when I didn't know or care how many people watched ballroom fucking dancing competitions on a Saturday night)
― posted missing (onimo), Monday, 9 November 2015 17:12 (eight years ago) link
And around the same time there was Nescafé with the future Giles.
― AlanSmithee, Monday, 9 November 2015 19:40 (eight years ago) link
Still, I'm wondering if demand for the kind of what-happened-on-the-telly-last-night entertainment news has actually ballooned since the internet, which is weird now you can basically watch it whenever you want.
― Matt DC, Monday, 9 November 2015 21:55 (eight years ago) link
Has anyone actually got and read one of the new NME's yet? Outside of London like
― Cosmic Slop, Monday, 9 November 2015 22:03 (eight years ago) link
well, yeah
― Mark G, Monday, 9 November 2015 22:34 (eight years ago) link
you're barely outside tbf!
― Cosmic Slop, Monday, 9 November 2015 23:22 (eight years ago) link
i read oneit had loads of james bond stuff in itit was awful, but a few bits less awful than I expected
― kinder, Monday, 9 November 2015 23:41 (eight years ago) link
They're around in Glasgow. Fopp and elsewhere. It's just another free thingy isn't it? I don't know if I would connect the NME logo on these things to the paper I read in late 80s/90s any more than I thought that paper was the same as the 50s version.
― Eyeball Kicks, Monday, 9 November 2015 23:49 (eight years ago) link
HMV have copies in Dundee. I think I read the first free issue, maybe two, but haven't bothered since - I'd stopped buying it on any regular basis years ago anyway. Is it terrible thay I can't be bothered carrying a copy around town if I pick one up? At least the Skinny has a little more to read.
― michaellambert, Tuesday, 10 November 2015 00:50 (eight years ago) link
Also I find the NME website unreadable on my phone so that's not really a replacement.
― michaellambert, Tuesday, 10 November 2015 00:52 (eight years ago) link
They have them in tesco. In my local tesco anyway.
― Acting Crazy (Instrumental) (jed_), Tuesday, 10 November 2015 01:00 (eight years ago) link
New free NME seems very closely modelled on ShortList in terms of design, content, even the paper used
― sʌxihɔːl (Ward Fowler), Tuesday, 10 November 2015 09:33 (eight years ago) link
How is it on the cheeks?
― Cosmic Slop, Tuesday, 10 November 2015 09:40 (eight years ago) link
https://pmchollywoodlife.files.wordpress.com/2015/11/justin-bieber-nme-magazine-lead-1.jpg
― piscesx, Thursday, 12 November 2015 12:11 (eight years ago) link
oi, leave me out of it
― kinder, Thursday, 12 November 2015 12:20 (eight years ago) link
can't work out whether piscesx bumped that in a +ve or -ve way. opinions to go with your c/p images please!
― lex pretend, Thursday, 12 November 2015 12:25 (eight years ago) link
Also, the Hollywoodlife.com link, is that on the actual magazine?
― Mark G, Thursday, 12 November 2015 12:32 (eight years ago) link
opinions to go with your c/p images please
sometimes silence is more dignified
― ogmor, Thursday, 12 November 2015 12:47 (eight years ago) link
That Bieber cover is New Labour level triangulation. "It's okay older readers, he's got a knife through his head really!"
― Matt DC, Thursday, 12 November 2015 13:05 (eight years ago) link
It's not even their fucking interview.
― Matt DC, Thursday, 12 November 2015 13:06 (eight years ago) link
that Hollywood Life bit isn't on the cover, couldn't fnd a JPG of the regular one.
i think it's pretty good they've got JB on because NME likers on Facebook have been moaning non stop about *every* cover they've had since the relaunch (RiRi, Kill Your Friends etc) so they musta thought F it and just gone the whole hog. i still don't think he's done anything as good as Boyfriend mind.
― piscesx, Thursday, 12 November 2015 13:07 (eight years ago) link
Nah they'll have had a Bieber cover in mind since the relaunch, especially given we're now well into the worldwide Campaign for Bieber Rehabilitation.
― Matt DC, Thursday, 12 November 2015 13:09 (eight years ago) link
that Hollywood Life bit isn't on the cover
OK, so it's not some sort of weird buy-in interview from said website which requires a citation/publicisation.
That's something, anyway.
― Mark G, Thursday, 12 November 2015 13:10 (eight years ago) link
https://www.facebook.com/nmemagazine/posts/10154344284529167
― Cosmic Slop, Thursday, 12 November 2015 18:04 (eight years ago) link
RIP NME.
― Turrican, Thursday, 12 November 2015 19:40 (eight years ago) link
It's a long, painful death until it joins Sounds, Melody Maker and Word in music mag heaven from this point on.
― Turrican, Thursday, 12 November 2015 19:44 (eight years ago) link
Trying to read the awful 10-best blog posts everyone's complaining about, and they seem to have been taken down. Microsoft didn't get value for $, obviously.
― as verbose and purple as a Peter Ustinov made of plums (James Morrison), Friday, 13 November 2015 01:46 (eight years ago) link
"It's a long, painful death until it joins Sounds, Melody Maker and Word in music mag heaven from this point on".
Don't forget Select!
― Kibbutzki (Jaap Schip), Friday, 13 November 2015 05:08 (eight years ago) link
Select is in music mag hell for creating Britpop
― Cosmic Slop, Friday, 13 November 2015 16:17 (eight years ago) link
The pre-Oasis polyester version of Britpop though: Suede, Pulp, Auteurs, St Etienne, Denim. Eccentric rather than beery. Stuart Maconie's essay in that issue is worth rereading.
― impossible raver (Re-Make/Re-Model), Friday, 13 November 2015 17:14 (eight years ago) link
They still covered all things Britpop though. It was *the* britpop bible
― Cosmic Slop, Friday, 13 November 2015 17:19 (eight years ago) link
I dunno, I quite enjoyed Select magazine at the time - particularly when they would do things like go through a bands discography song-by-song, like they did with Blur and Radiohead.
― Turrican, Friday, 13 November 2015 18:21 (eight years ago) link
Uh, well they covered the biggest bands of the time. They also covered lots of dance music and declared (iirc) Orbital the highlight of Glastonbury, not Blur, Oasis or Pulp.
― impossible raver (Re-Make/Re-Model), Tuesday, 17 November 2015 19:33 (eight years ago) link
aww RIP Select, thank you for introducing me to such Britpop legends as Vapour Space and the Wipers. Possibly both in the very same Britpop issue.
also Vox, which I concede maybe nobody else remembers fondly, but also turned me on to a bunch of stuff
although, in those days, what mag didn't? the joy of not knowing everything yet (ha)
― a passing spacecadet, Tuesday, 17 November 2015 20:08 (eight years ago) link
For all Select's faults, the joy of reading a new issue with an afternoon pint and fag will never in my life be surpassed.
― Eyeball Kicks, Tuesday, 17 November 2015 21:30 (eight years ago) link
I enjoyed Vox too. If I recall, the first time I ever heard Lamb was on a cover-mounted CD with Vox.
― Turrican, Tuesday, 17 November 2015 21:38 (eight years ago) link
There's a website with scans of old issues of Select, although it's not complete.
― Turrican, Tuesday, 17 November 2015 21:43 (eight years ago) link
Vox where U2 & Inxs covers were their equivalent of Beatles & Stones
― Cosmic Slop, Tuesday, 17 November 2015 21:49 (eight years ago) link
I used to enjoy Q, years and years ago, when they'd do things like make a journo sit in a pub for 3 days and record every song played on the jukebox and go slowly mad to endless replays of 'Africa' and 'November Rain'
― as verbose and purple as a Peter Ustinov made of plums (James Morrison), Tuesday, 17 November 2015 23:50 (eight years ago) link
Cosmic Slop is probably the only person in the world who can still get annoyed by music mags that closed the best part of two decades ago. Well, maybe DJ Martian as well.
― Matt DC, Wednesday, 18 November 2015 11:36 (eight years ago) link
Select was a great mag in its Andrew Harrison helmed prime. As others have said, it covered plenty of other things than Britpop. They were very pro pop and very pro dance music. Its treatment of pop culture and social issues was great too. The poster section in the middle provided plenty of fodder for my teenage bedroom walls. Always loved the personals at the end, although I never plucked up the courage to start corresponding with anyone in there. Once John Harris took over around 96 it lost a lot of its wit and flair. And like many mags it was a victim of the Britpop fallout.
― Poor.Old.Tired.Horse. (Stew), Wednesday, 18 November 2015 15:34 (eight years ago) link
Another great feature in Select was the home interiors section (I forget the actual name of it), where pop stars would show off their living rooms. The first issue I bought (REM, Autumn 94) had Poison Ivy and Lux Interior's house, which was the coolest thing I'd ever seen aged 13. Still up there really. Wish I could find a scan of that feature online.
― Poor.Old.Tired.Horse. (Stew), Wednesday, 18 November 2015 15:37 (eight years ago) link
Tried googling for your Cramps home interiors spread and got you saying exact same things 10 years ago.
Dug out some old Selects from the mid 90s the other day. The Andrew Harrison era was the best (? up to mid-95). He and Adam Higginbotham then went on to start Neon, which was the best mainstream/cult populist movie magazine evah!The first issue I bought was from Nov 94. The cover is missing but it's quite possibly the finest single issue of a music magazine evah! (I'm gonna get the most evah!s into a post evah!)REM main feature (not as worthy as you'd think - Neil Cooper gets them to drop their pants), Portishead on soundtracks, Kylie, Flavor Flav and his troubles, Sven Vath, Laibach! Then at the back there's a home beautiful piece with Poison Ivy and Lux Interior showing off their amazing house. It's possibly the greatest double spread in British pop mag history, evah! ― Stew (stew s), Thursday, July 21, 2005 10:16 AM (10 years ago) Bookmark
The first issue I bought was from Nov 94. The cover is missing but it's quite possibly the finest single issue of a music magazine evah! (I'm gonna get the most evah!s into a post evah!)REM main feature (not as worthy as you'd think - Neil Cooper gets them to drop their pants), Portishead on soundtracks, Kylie, Flavor Flav and his troubles, Sven Vath, Laibach! Then at the back there's a home beautiful piece with Poison Ivy and Lux Interior showing off their amazing house. It's possibly the greatest double spread in British pop mag history, evah!
― Stew (stew s), Thursday, July 21, 2005 10:16 AM (10 years ago) Bookmark
― Eyeball Kicks, Wednesday, 18 November 2015 17:17 (eight years ago) link
Interesting to hear that John Harris took it over around '96, I never really paid a lot of attention at that age to who was writing/editing music journalism but I did stop reading Select around then. Coincidence? Perhaps.
― Just noise and screaming and no musical value at all. (Colonel Poo), Wednesday, 18 November 2015 17:28 (eight years ago) link
Oh lord, my youthful lingo. The cringe!
― Poor.Old.Tired.Horse. (Stew), Wednesday, 18 November 2015 22:54 (eight years ago) link
http://www.nme.com/filmandtv/news/ant-and-dec-caught-complaining-about-technical-gli/393986?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=antanddec
Thanks NME for al those years and all that. It wouldbe nice if the news they covered on the website was primarily music based, not for me but whoever wants it now.
I guess its not.
― Mark G, Saturday, 28 November 2015 20:36 (eight years ago) link
No, NME has not 'got good'. Close thread and let us never think of this again.
― Hey Bob (Scik Mouthy), Sunday, 29 November 2015 05:20 (eight years ago) link
http://i64.tinypic.com/20jo39u.png
― Ad h (onimo), Monday, 15 February 2016 10:07 (eight years ago) link
honestly believe they're just trolling aging nerds now
― Chikan wa akan de. Zettai akan de. (Noodle Vague), Monday, 15 February 2016 10:52 (eight years ago) link
wtf
― Hey Bob (Scik Mouthy), Monday, 15 February 2016 12:16 (eight years ago) link
That pic was "blocked at work" to me, I have discovered that if you post blocked images on Facebook, they display.
So I did. Then deleted it.
Then posted it again to all. Think the world will appreciate it.
― Mark G, Monday, 15 February 2016 12:35 (eight years ago) link
http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1sob7lk
― Kibbutzki (Jaap Schip), Thursday, 18 February 2016 23:40 (eight years ago) link
We got all these facts from surfing a Windows 10.9.6 with flexible tablet interface.
― kinder, Friday, 19 February 2016 14:09 (eight years ago) link
NME to cease print edition.
― Kibbutzki (Jaap Schip), Wednesday, 7 March 2018 12:14 (six years ago) link
the last famous person you were surprised to discover was actually still alive
― Under the influence of the Ranters (Noodle Vague), Wednesday, 7 March 2018 12:18 (six years ago) link
ha, otm
― War, Famine, Pestilence, Death, Umami (bizarro gazzara), Wednesday, 7 March 2018 12:47 (six years ago) link
they lost when they dropped "accordion times" from the title
― mark s, Wednesday, 7 March 2018 12:48 (six years ago) link
i thought i'd be sadder about this but tbh it feels like a mercy killing, and i'd kinda made my peace with the nme being dead a pretty long time before it turned into a freesheet anywway
― War, Famine, Pestilence, Death, Umami (bizarro gazzara), Wednesday, 7 March 2018 13:03 (six years ago) link
it's still going to be available online isn't it? that's a kind of alive -- wait we're all dead aren't we
― mark s, Wednesday, 7 March 2018 13:06 (six years ago) link
if only
i guess it'll be online for as long as time inc can continue to squeeze pennies out of it but tbh i have even less idea who bothers to look at the online edition these days than who bothered to pick up the freesheet
― War, Famine, Pestilence, Death, Umami (bizarro gazzara), Wednesday, 7 March 2018 13:13 (six years ago) link
went to the website and all the top stories seemed to be Oscars-related
― nashwan, Wednesday, 7 March 2018 13:20 (six years ago) link
They haven't even bothered making an announcement on their similarly Oscars-heavy Facebook page.
― mike t-diva, Wednesday, 7 March 2018 13:27 (six years ago) link
the final NME print cover is a conceptual hommage to this LP: http://factmag-images.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/cale-05-kevinayers.jpg
― mark s, Wednesday, 7 March 2018 13:48 (six years ago) link
yikes
― maura, Wednesday, 7 March 2018 13:56 (six years ago) link
Well, I would never have expected Buzzcocks to make it onto the final NME cover!
― Mark G, Wednesday, 7 March 2018 14:03 (six years ago) link
I guess now Mark E Smith has gone...
― Mark G, Wednesday, 7 March 2018 14:04 (six years ago) link
a fitting tribute to the paper's birth in 1976 and it's continuing commitment to the best in new pop
― Under the influence of the Ranters (Noodle Vague), Wednesday, 7 March 2018 14:13 (six years ago) link
can i just tip my hat to Matt for trying to delimit this guff to one active thread and also thanks for not making it the swagger thread
― Under the influence of the Ranters (Noodle Vague), Wednesday, 7 March 2018 14:15 (six years ago) link
didwenevergetthissortedlads.txt
― War, Famine, Pestilence, Death, Umami (bizarro gazzara), Wednesday, 7 March 2018 14:16 (six years ago) link
Shenanigans
https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/former-nme-editor-reveals-shenanigans-12145655?x
― Kibbutzki (Jaap Schip), Thursday, 8 March 2018 09:29 (six years ago) link
terrible editor claims terrible editor wasn't terrible
― Finnegans woke (Noodle Vague), Thursday, 8 March 2018 09:34 (six years ago) link
poll each paragraph of that or do we have better things to do?
― nashwan, Thursday, 8 March 2018 09:40 (six years ago) link
The boss of the music magazine between 2002 and 2009, Conor McNicholas had a front row seat to stars like Dave Grohl, Pete Doherty, the Kaiser Chiefs and the Killers
― Thomas NAGL (Neil S), Thursday, 8 March 2018 09:41 (six years ago) link
i was gonna post that specific line, sends a thrill thru the pulse
― Finnegans woke (Noodle Vague), Thursday, 8 March 2018 09:44 (six years ago) link
Mirror article hashtags:
Danny Baker Dave Grohl Joni Mitchell Reading and Leeds Festivals Kasabian Kings of Leon The Killers The Strokes Hospitals Giving birth
Seems to be more about white dudes behaving badly than about music.
― koogs, Thursday, 8 March 2018 09:48 (six years ago) link
Hospitals Giving Birth had their moments.
― nashwan, Thursday, 8 March 2018 09:53 (six years ago) link
Is 'wide passion' a misprint?
― Buff Jeckley (Tom D.), Thursday, 8 March 2018 09:54 (six years ago) link
I remember Dave Grohl almost killing a journalist by throwing an unopened can of lager full pelt at their head after they’d sprayed him with beer for a cover shoot backstage at Reading Festival. (Only a swift duck saved the hack.)
https://cdn.birdwatchingdaily.com/2013/10/ducks-Mallard.jpg
― Buff Jeckley (Tom D.), Thursday, 8 March 2018 09:57 (six years ago) link
I caught a glimpse of (hair + eyebrows dyed jet black) Terry Christian yabbering incoherent cliches about this on the news and he was credited as a music journalist. How on earth do you get to the age of 57 and still be Terry Christian?
― calzino, Thursday, 8 March 2018 09:58 (six years ago) link
Some are born Terry Christian, some achieve Terry Christianity and some have Terry Christian thrust upon them.
― mfktz (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Thursday, 8 March 2018 10:17 (six years ago) link
A cover featuring Amy Winehouse
― Mark G, Thursday, 8 March 2018 10:40 (six years ago) link
some have Terry Christian thrust upon them.
ew
― War, Famine, Pestilence, Death, Umami (bizarro gazzara), Thursday, 8 March 2018 10:49 (six years ago) link
#RIPNME This is from an NME photo shoot in 1997. Kenickie on the Staten Island Ferry. Should mention NME wouldn’t put us on the cover because we refused to strip off and be painted gold. pic.twitter.com/Gly7MKQ4ym— Emma Jackson (@EmmakJackson) March 7, 2018
― calzino, Thursday, 8 March 2018 10:54 (six years ago) link
on the NME's masthead since at least the early 90s iirc
― Finnegans woke (Noodle Vague), Thursday, 8 March 2018 11:00 (six years ago) link
since 1973 iirc
http://www.paulgormanis.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Nick_Kent_1.jpg
― mark s, Thursday, 8 March 2018 11:05 (six years ago) link
probably but i wanted to note *cough* honourable exceptions
― Finnegans woke (Noodle Vague), Thursday, 8 March 2018 11:05 (six years ago) link
honourable saelf-pimping klaxon: i wrote an obit in 2009 for steven wells which i think describes the good and the bad of the nme i cared about (which was never quite the nme i actually wrote for): http://freakytrigger.co.uk/ft/2009/06/steven-wells-1960-2009-sleep-gently-sweet-foe/
lol as my sister just pointed out, i now have to jam another sentence into my book at late proof stage: thank you ipc for yr thoughtful timing you were always garbage >:(
― mark s, Thursday, 8 March 2018 11:10 (six years ago) link
Excellent timing from a promotional point of view though.
― Matt DC, Thursday, 8 March 2018 11:11 (six years ago) link
I was genuinely saddened by Swells' death. He was a big part of my formative years.
― calzino, Thursday, 8 March 2018 11:14 (six years ago) link
xp haha yes, i am still thinking like a sub-editor not a future mogul: MUST CHANGE THAT
G. K. CHESTERTON ON SWELLSY: "It is many years now since this colossus of crime suddenly ceased keeping the world in a turmoil; and when he ceased, as they said after the death of Roland, there was a great quiet upon the earth."
― mark s, Thursday, 8 March 2018 11:18 (six years ago) link
Swells was always one of my absolute faves even when i was getting cross with him for being mean about some music i liked or when he was doing that C4 breakfast programme being mean about football
― Finnegans woke (Noodle Vague), Thursday, 8 March 2018 11:26 (six years ago) link
That's a great piece on Swells there, Mark.
The woeful Luke Haines was making derisory comments about Swells and pretty much everyone else at NME on Twitter yesterday, and was evidently searching Twitter carefully enough to catch my subtweet of him and try and set the millions of Auteurs on me.
― papa don't take no meth (stevie), Thursday, 8 March 2018 11:27 (six years ago) link
when everyone else was either tittering at Sean Ryder's big + clever *authentic* homophobia. Wells took the fucker down a peg or two with that Working Class Zeroes piece iirc.
― calzino, Thursday, 8 March 2018 11:27 (six years ago) link
or editing it out of interviews, I meant to add.
― calzino, Thursday, 8 March 2018 11:30 (six years ago) link
start a twitter war abt swellsy w/luke haines to promote my book y/n
― mark s, Thursday, 8 March 2018 11:32 (six years ago) link
if there was an a-hole that needed murking up, it's that fool.
― calzino, Thursday, 8 March 2018 11:34 (six years ago) link
y
he has 8,000+ followers, but most of those followers have +/- 90 followers and seem to be suffering frontal lobe damage so i'd say n
― papa don't take no meth (stevie), Thursday, 8 March 2018 11:34 (six years ago) link
that's several thousand more than i'd've guessed and i enjoy much of his work
― Finnegans woke (Noodle Vague), Thursday, 8 March 2018 11:35 (six years ago) link
his professional baddie shtick is so lame tho
its hilarious that he's so anti-music-press when he is the archetypal only-the-music-press-cares-about-him artist.
― papa don't take no meth (stevie), Thursday, 8 March 2018 11:38 (six years ago) link
I'll take him on with my 14 followers (4 of them porn bots).
― calzino, Thursday, 8 March 2018 11:40 (six years ago) link
4 Non Bots
― Finnegans woke (Noodle Vague), Thursday, 8 March 2018 11:41 (six years ago) link
Shenaniganshttps://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/former-nme-editor-reveals-shenanigans-12145655?xassumed this would be McDickless but c'mon, you could have used a trigger warning
― just noticed tears shaped like florida. (sic), Thursday, 8 March 2018 15:39 (six years ago) link
lover Swells so much I attempted to special-order his novel from bookshops in Australia for years
― just noticed tears shaped like florida. (sic), Thursday, 8 March 2018 15:45 (six years ago) link
thanks autocorrect
I must have stopped reading NME before Swells got good, because he wasn't when I was reading it.
― Buff Jeckley (Tom D.), Thursday, 8 March 2018 15:58 (six years ago) link
I can't stand Luke Haines anymore. His bitter bullshit was clouding my Twitter feed for far too long. I'm not even sure he's serious, but I think he is based on how badly he reacts to any criticism he receives. I once saw him cry his eyes out to some website's editor because a writer panned his third or fourth greatest hits collection; they actually took down the review, too.
― afriendlypioneer, Thursday, 8 March 2018 16:08 (six years ago) link
more like luke heinous amirite
― i'm surprised to see your screwface at the door (NickB), Thursday, 8 March 2018 16:23 (six years ago) link
Think I've said this twice before on here and I wasn't going to again, but fuck it - Swells (and Johnny Cigarettes) put me off all music journalism for a long time, I just found many things he wrote to be unnecessarily nasty, not usually in a constructive way, it just seemed vindictive without providing any greater insight. I appreciate that he sometimes stood up for good causes (like with Shaun Ryder and homophobia above) but feel like his canonisation is at least partly based upon the old 'hip young gunslinger' fantasy which is of interest to nobody except music journalists (by this I mean the idea that quality is judged on how angry and passionate you are rather than whether you actually have anything to say) (I may be wrong about this - if so please show me something genuinely good he wrote about music) In any case, I felt the NME of the mid to late 90s had an overwhelming air of contempt for both musicians and their listeners and rang hollow for anything it was supposedly championing - it wasn't anywhere near as bad as the Conor McNicholas days, but as vapid as his NME was, it was Swells who stopped me buying the paper, not him.
― mfktz (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Thursday, 8 March 2018 16:44 (six years ago) link
Had stopped reading NME by then tbh. Only familiar with early social realist Swells
― Buff Jeckley (Tom D.), Thursday, 8 March 2018 16:49 (six years ago) link
The actual final cover:
.@stefflondon is Britain's hottest new rapper – meet her in this week's free NME magazine Out Friday. Get your copy 👉 https://t.co/VfiZ6vWj1K pic.twitter.com/YKJoxGsnd8— NME (@NME) March 8, 2018
― mike t-diva, Thursday, 8 March 2018 16:49 (six years ago) link
lol, ok, good for them, not the worst way to go out: final cover star a birmingham-hackney girl who speaks fluent dutch
― mark s, Thursday, 8 March 2018 17:01 (six years ago) link
is that Geri's dress?
― Algerian Goalkeeper (Odysseus), Thursday, 8 March 2018 17:13 (six years ago) link
Swells wrote an article about punk in that appeared in an early 90s issue of UK comicbook Crisis, unfortunately doesn't seem to be online but I remember finding it incredibly exhilarating, maybe even "formative" when I read it as a teenager (in the late 90s after buying the comic second-hand) though tbf as far as I recall most of the article wasn't about music per se, more about the idea that anyone could create art regardless of technical skill or background (I remember that when I read Mark Fisher's K Punk blog a few years later I thought they seemed to be coming from a similar place in some ways)
― soref, Thursday, 8 March 2018 17:35 (six years ago) link
I only commented to Haines that if he ever got bored with his sour Toby Young in a indie-hat persona he might find something better to do with his time to slag off ppl who are no longer able to defend themselves. And he called me a halfwit and blocked me!
― calzino, Thursday, 8 March 2018 18:12 (six years ago) link
I found the cult of Swells irritating too - for the same sense of unearnedness mentioned above. Perhaps I came to him to late but it was rage and bile as motor as far as I could make out, in place of insight.
― The shard-borne beetle with his drowsy hums (Chinaski), Thursday, 8 March 2018 18:15 (six years ago) link
his skin appears to be thinner than his hair
― papa don't take no meth (stevie), Thursday, 8 March 2018 18:15 (six years ago) link
Haines is just a Poundland MES isn't he? Without the wit, or tunes. And imagine MES searching for himself on Twitter.
― The shard-borne beetle with his drowsy hums (Chinaski), Thursday, 8 March 2018 18:16 (six years ago) link
he was called smith
― mark s, Thursday, 8 March 2018 18:19 (six years ago) link
The Auteurs were great. They had lots of tunes. He's a sad, bitter dude past his prime, though. His Twitter is a broken record of negativity.
― afriendlypioneer, Thursday, 8 March 2018 18:46 (six years ago) link
Yeah he was one of the people along with Graham Linehan who i followed was quickly horrified by then unfollowed. Twitter is such a bad look for some semi-celebs.
― piscesx, Thursday, 8 March 2018 19:52 (six years ago) link
He's responsible for my favourite tweet of all time
Rag n Bone man sounds like Jimmy Nail.— luke haines❌ (@LukeHaines_News) June 25, 2017
― PaulTMA, Thursday, 8 March 2018 19:55 (six years ago) link
i agree with matt johnson re his band.
― mark e, Thursday, 8 March 2018 20:08 (six years ago) link
Swells rarely had much insight about music, but he was very funny. Turning in an entire feature about a band you freely say are bad but had a great time with is an excellent use of the music press. With 900 pieces a week across the inkies, it's fine to show kids that you can just write an entertaining piece, not attempt to tell them what they should buy. Here's a joke, here's some invective, here's some human interest, go freelance a career.
― just noticed tears shaped like florida. (sic), Thursday, 8 March 2018 20:35 (six years ago) link
didn't he once use the immortal phrase "the fetid stench of human cock-meat" in a Green Day review or something. I'd stopped reading him at that point tbh, but laughed when I read it quoted somewhere years later. G search doesn't doesn't yield anything so I might be just making this up.
― calzino, Thursday, 8 March 2018 21:08 (six years ago) link
He rarely had much insight about music but he had a lot about the people who wrote about music and about the music industry itself. As (very funny) meta-commentary he was great.
― Matt DC, Thursday, 8 March 2018 22:18 (six years ago) link
I loved these Swells remembrances bitd
http://thequietus.com/articles/02000-steven-wells-a-tribute
― piscesx, Thursday, 8 March 2018 23:20 (six years ago) link
sad that his final piece -- "in extremis: steven wells says goodbye" for the philadelphia weekly -- doesn't seem to be on the internet any more
― mark s, Thursday, 8 March 2018 23:24 (six years ago) link
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/mar/09/he-tried-to-get-out-of-the-car-at-80mph-the-stories-behind-nmes-greatest-covers
Don't think I knew that Penny Reel was AKA Paul Simon before!
― Ward Fowler, Friday, 9 March 2018 12:33 (six years ago) link
he's not, he's pete simons :)
this is either forgetfulness on viv's part or the long-stewed beef of some ancient feud
― mark s, Friday, 9 March 2018 12:39 (six years ago) link
Grauniad?
― Buff Jeckley (Tom D.), Friday, 9 March 2018 12:43 (six years ago) link
i blame Alba
― mark s, Friday, 9 March 2018 12:46 (six years ago) link
for some reason the swells phrase which sticks with me comes from a mid-90s interview where he takes issue with some feeble waif of a frontman (possibly rick witter) and asks if he'd not prefer to be stalking the stage 'encased in 250lbs of rock-hard raw beef'
― War, Famine, Pestilence, Death, Umami (bizarro gazzara), Friday, 9 March 2018 13:25 (six years ago) link
just realised that i have academic access to rock's back pages and thus i can confirm that swells did indeed use that exact phrase in conversation with rick witter in an article published on 9 may 1998, meaning it's been rattling around my brain for almost exactly 20 years :(
― War, Famine, Pestilence, Death, Umami (bizarro gazzara), Friday, 9 March 2018 13:37 (six years ago) link
"When I am dead and opened, you shall find Calais engraved on my heart" — Queen Mary
^^it's like this but world-historical
― mark s, Friday, 9 March 2018 13:42 (six years ago) link
also we have to open your head
i can't remember this morning's commute but i can remember something an nme hack yelled at the singer from shed seven three decades ago
― War, Famine, Pestilence, Death, Umami (bizarro gazzara), Friday, 9 March 2018 13:47 (six years ago) link
i feel like my head is already open tbh
― War, Famine, Pestilence, Death, Umami (bizarro gazzara), Friday, 9 March 2018 13:48 (six years ago) link
irl lolled at rock's back pages revelation
― just noticed tears shaped like florida. (sic), Friday, 9 March 2018 16:37 (six years ago) link
A classic from the the Steve Sutherland era
Oof. Here's the original NME review of Baduizm. Yikes. pic.twitter.com/RXCXw6LSwY— Caspar Salmon (@CasparSalmon) July 5, 2018
― Alba, Friday, 6 July 2018 07:01 (five years ago) link
Music magazine NME's switch to all digital format led to a 72% collapse in reader engagement:https://www.mediaite.com/print/heres-what-magazines-lose-when-they-go-digital-only/
Online readers of NME only spend an average of about three minutes a month with the publication, per the study, while print readers spent an average of about a half-hour a week with the magazine.[...]NME was founded in 1952. The publication was acquired earlier this year by the Singapore-based company BandLab Technologies and was previously owned by Time Inc., which made the decision to end the print product.
[...]
NME was founded in 1952. The publication was acquired earlier this year by the Singapore-based company BandLab Technologies and was previously owned by Time Inc., which made the decision to end the print product.
― insecurity bear (sic), Tuesday, 19 November 2019 01:09 (four years ago) link
Well, there it isn't.
― Mark G, Tuesday, 19 November 2019 07:34 (four years ago) link
Longtime NME media editor and features writer Gavin Martin has died at the age of 60.
― birdistheword, Friday, 11 March 2022 16:01 (two years ago) link