The All-New STYLUS.

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STYLUS.

Have a look. Tell us what you think.

Nick Southall (Nick Southall), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 07:27 (7 years ago) Permalink

That I have started a Stranded article every week and throwing it in the bin by wednesday. It always sounds/reads better in my head, not on a comp screen. Otherwise: great!

nathalie (nathalie), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 07:33 (7 years ago) Permalink

All the text is overlapping and unreadable for me.

Melissa W (Melissa W), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 07:36 (7 years ago) Permalink

Email Todd please, Melissa, and let him know what browser you're in and stuff so it can be altered. There's a link in the 'contact' section.

And thanks!

Nick Southall (Nick Southall), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 07:39 (7 years ago) Permalink

To me it looks pretty good.

Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 07:39 (7 years ago) Permalink

Good work on getting Dave Q on board!

Jerry the Nipper (Jerrynipper), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 07:56 (7 years ago) Permalink

Coming soon - Dave Q's review of Frank Black's new album. I personally can't fucking wait.

Nick Southall (Nick Southall), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 07:58 (7 years ago) Permalink

Dave Q is on Stylus now?!

Michael B, Tuesday, 2 September 2003 08:18 (7 years ago) Permalink

He is indeed.

Nick Southall (Nick Southall), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 08:27 (7 years ago) Permalink

it looks smart, however in time i would like to see a database of links by reviewer.

I also didn't realize how young [Todd Burns] the chief is !

DJ Martian (djmartian), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 09:42 (7 years ago) Permalink

Aye, he makes me look like a codger.

Nick Southall (Nick Southall), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 09:45 (7 years ago) Permalink

I will link to it later today, it looks very nice.

Tom (Groke), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 09:48 (7 years ago) Permalink

Tom, you're a beautiful man.

Nick Southall (Nick Southall), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 09:49 (7 years ago) Permalink

Heh hope it's not too backhanded.

Tom (Groke), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 10:16 (7 years ago) Permalink

I have writer's block Nick :(

Cozen (Cozen), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 10:17 (7 years ago) Permalink

This is gorgeous. Old Stylus was ugly. Good work Todd! (And Kenan?)

Cozen (Cozen), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 10:18 (7 years ago) Permalink

Yay Stylus, yay Todd, yay our alcoholic UK editor.

Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 10:20 (7 years ago) Permalink

Haven't had a chance to read anything yet, but it looks very very swanky indeed and nicely laid out. One minor quibble, though, is that the brown-on-brown text on the front page is a bit difficult to read.

I also have writer's block. I'm having trouble getting a moment to knock my Richard X thoughts into any sort of coherant form, but with any luck it should be more or less sorted by this afternoon.

The very thought of Dave Q writing for Stylus fills me with joy.

Matt DC (Matt DC), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 10:25 (7 years ago) Permalink

If I commit to this here, publicly, then I might actually get round to writing it: would you, Nick, like an article on accents in the songs of B&S and the Scottish doppelganger?

Cozen (Cozen), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 10:26 (7 years ago) Permalink

I like the Richard X album three times as much after writing about it.

Ronan (Ronan), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 10:27 (7 years ago) Permalink

DJ Martian, we intend to have reviews searchable by author at some point in the future.

Cozen, I would love that (plus anythign else you want to do).

Tom, it's not back-handed at all (I don't know what you look like!).

Dave Q's had one article published with us, ahs another in the works (ie; waiting for me to edit and format it), and a review coming soon.

Dom, write me more stuff, you're brilliant.

Swygart, same for you.

Matt DC, I await your Richard X review with baited breath and sweaty palms.

DR C, I'm ready any time you are.

Credit for the new look is mainly due to Kenan, Todd, and the man from Moveable Type whom we love with all our hearts (and who's been sat up till all hours with Todd reloading stuff into new matrices and tables and stuff for the last week).

It's looking fucking splendid, and will be even better when I email Todd a picture of me looking windswept on Dartmoor.

Nick Southall (Nick Southall), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 11:06 (7 years ago) Permalink

**DR C, I'm ready any time you are**

Sorry Nick, something WILL come your way soon. I have had v.little time.

Dr. C (Dr. C), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 11:14 (7 years ago) Permalink

No worries.

Nick Southall (Nick Southall), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 11:15 (7 years ago) Permalink

'Talented maverick'? You just made my day, thank you Tom. (Or is that a backhanded compliment? ;)

Cozen (Cozen), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 12:14 (7 years ago) Permalink

No it was a full frontal one.

Tom (Groke), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 12:18 (7 years ago) Permalink

Yay, Stylus! It looks great. A much better design. The site focusing more on features has been a great move, too -- it's better than that other place the past few months.

Burns/Nick: Tell Gavin to write as much as possible!

scott pl. (scott pl.), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 12:36 (7 years ago) Permalink

The front page is further PFork raiding (and poorly coded/laid out at that), but I love the new review layout.

Chris Ott (Chris Ott), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 12:45 (7 years ago) Permalink

though the content will prob be far superior.

Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 15:12 (7 years ago) Permalink

who made that beautiful cover art for the mix CDs in Sam's blog entry?

ben welsh (benwelsh), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 16:38 (7 years ago) Permalink

is the writing as bad as it used to be? *ducks*

gabbo giftington (dubplatestyle), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 16:54 (7 years ago) Permalink

its the internet gabbo. you get what you pay for ;)

Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 17:00 (7 years ago) Permalink

for $45 a month, i expect a lot!

gabbo giftington (dubplatestyle), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 17:07 (7 years ago) Permalink

we got rid of that harvell guy, so it should be fine now. ;)

todd burns (toddburns), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 17:08 (7 years ago) Permalink

(Tom - I already have reviews up on Stylus too. Though as much as I love Todd I'm not sure I like these edits. :P)

Cozen (Cozen), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 17:21 (7 years ago) Permalink

Richer than Pitchfork. But not as nice as Vice!

Momus (Momus), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 17:50 (7 years ago) Permalink

You might like my Morgenstern article with made-up quotes Momus - seeing as you're all about the fiction nowadays.

Cozen (Cozen), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 17:57 (7 years ago) Permalink

Did Ott compliment Stylus?!?

scott pl. (scott pl.), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 18:13 (7 years ago) Permalink

half and half.

Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 18:16 (7 years ago) Permalink

maybe he forgot to take his medecine.

gabbo giftington (dubplatestyle), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 18:16 (7 years ago) Permalink

I didn't think his disease could be cured by any medicine.

Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 18:17 (7 years ago) Permalink

I mean, when you don't really post to the message board and only come here once or twice and post snarky stuff then you've got to get the mental health services involved.

Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 18:20 (7 years ago) Permalink

he's out there...watching...waiting...

gabbo giftington (dubplatestyle), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 18:22 (7 years ago) Permalink

watching...waiting...
masturbating?

it rhymed. cut me a break.

ben welsh (benwelsh), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 18:53 (7 years ago) Permalink

Congrats Todd and the whole stylus crew! Looks nice!

I am using IE 5 and the album reviews on the left do not have enough space between artist, title, etc. I will IM Todd about when I get back from work.

Aaron Grossman (aajjgg), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 19:06 (7 years ago) Permalink

My favorite thing about the site is the graphic first-letter on each article. That is really classy.

Nice job, Todd.

Chris Dahlen (Chris Dahlen), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 20:06 (7 years ago) Permalink

how is that four-line drop cap going to work the next time Southall submits a one-sentence review? ; )

scott pl. (scott pl.), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 20:09 (7 years ago) Permalink

Each word gets its own line break from now on.

Nick Southall (Nick Southall), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 20:49 (7 years ago) Permalink

I'm not sure I like the spacing between paragraphs (a break too long?).

Cozen (Cozen), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 22:38 (7 years ago) Permalink

Yes!! This is brilliant, I can finally read Stylus without my browser crashing. And it looks good, too.

David A. (Davant), Tuesday, 2 September 2003 23:07 (7 years ago) Permalink

nick, are there any other stylus writers besides you and i (and i suppose scott) who write for stylus and post/lurk at ilm ... BUT WERENT DISCOVERED VIA ILM?!

samuel, Friday, 5 September 2003 02:09 (6 years ago) Permalink

Mastodon as Rihanna

I'm imagining them doing "Umbrella" now...

Ned Raggett, Saturday, 16 January 2010 13:41 (7 months ago) Permalink

yeah see also ppl who go 'the production on this r&b track sounds like aphex twin' meaning it's a bit squelchy & has some weird backwards edits coz the only twin song they've ever even heard was windowlicker

Karen Tregaskin, Saturday, 16 January 2010 13:41 (7 months ago) Permalink

x-post Not in the States, Lex! Plenty of mainstream visibility for both there!

ithappens, Saturday, 16 January 2010 13:42 (7 months ago) Permalink

There's as much mainstram visibility for country as there is for rnb, in the States at least. The difference is maybe that country and metal have their own critical infrastructure, hip-hop too, in a way that rnb seemingly never has. Why that's the case is an interesting tangential question.

Space Battle Rothko (Matt DC), Saturday, 16 January 2010 13:43 (7 months ago) Permalink

(Also jazz also classical fwiw but they're so far outside this field that it doesn't seem to matter for anyone invested in either)

Space Battle Rothko (Matt DC), Saturday, 16 January 2010 13:44 (7 months ago) Permalink

you dont see enough books on tape on these best album lists

max, Saturday, 16 January 2010 13:46 (7 months ago) Permalink

Supposedly authoritative lists being narrow cos the rnb fan didn't bother to submit a ballot.

brain thoughts (Scik Mouthy), Saturday, 16 January 2010 13:47 (7 months ago) Permalink

The difference is maybe that country and metal have their own critical infrastructure, hip-hop too, in a way that rnb seemingly never has

yeah this IS a really interesting question - i don't pretend to have any answers but i suspect that it's partly because it's so female-coded - maybe the most female-coded genre of popular music? cf discussions passim about why critics are disproportionately male...

لوووووووووووووووووووول (lex pretend), Saturday, 16 January 2010 13:48 (7 months ago) Permalink

answer to that already given. coz men can't listen to r&b without their sexuality being called into question by the boner police

Karen Tregaskin, Saturday, 16 January 2010 13:50 (7 months ago) Permalink

Are you into football, Karen? RnB is overwhelmingly the music of choice for that notoriously gay-friendly demographic, professional footballers.

Space Battle Rothko (Matt DC), Saturday, 16 January 2010 13:54 (7 months ago) Permalink

(Nick we're not talking about the Stylus decade any more, you don't need to be so defensive)

Space Battle Rothko (Matt DC), Saturday, 16 January 2010 13:54 (7 months ago) Permalink

(Just trying to cause that aneurysm.)

brain thoughts (Scik Mouthy), Saturday, 16 January 2010 13:58 (7 months ago) Permalink

answer to that already given. coz men can't listen to r&b without their sexuality being called into question by the boner police

― Karen Tregaskin, Saturday, January 16, 2010 8:50 AM (7 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

i dont know what its like in the UK but i have never known this to be true

max, Saturday, 16 January 2010 13:58 (7 months ago) Permalink

x-post

Further to MattDC ... Several have even tried to set up R&B labels. Kevin Campbell was going to sign Mark Morrison to his. Andy Cole named his first son Devanté after fella from Jodeci.

ithappens, Saturday, 16 January 2010 14:00 (7 months ago) Permalink

x-posts that was a joke about mr blueski policing my boner upthread!

-----

this is something interesting that my riot grrrl ex pointed out when we first moved in together and we were comparing our record collections for collation and filing

my record collection was at that point 99% male. her record collection was about 75% female or at least female fronted (i used to ask why there were boys in huggy bear but apparently i'm too dumb to understand)

i said yeah, at my school if you listened to girly music that meant you were a poof. my ex said at her school if you listened only to girls and didn't at least fancy one of duran duran or him out of wham then that meant you were a lesbian

neither of us really got this. she said in a hetereo-normative world identity is defined and codified through music and genre as part of that identity. so how come women prove their hetero-normative thru listening to men and men prove their hetereo-normative by listening to ....... men? didn't get that part

Karen Tregaskin, Saturday, 16 January 2010 14:07 (7 months ago) Permalink

In my view if there was any lame strawman associated w/ dudes listening to r'n'b it would be that of the Smoove B loverman type - I don't think 'lol gay' would be that prominent a notion

i swear on my life i feel so powerfull (musically) (DJ Mencap), Saturday, 16 January 2010 14:09 (7 months ago) Permalink

mind you we didn't have any lol girls at my school

if i didn't have sisters i'd think girls weren't actually invented until 1987

Karen Tregaskin, Saturday, 16 January 2010 14:35 (7 months ago) Permalink

Karen I'm pretty sure steve's comment wasn't calling yr sexuality into question BTW.

Tim F, Saturday, 16 January 2010 15:06 (7 months ago) Permalink

i dont know what its like in the UK but i have never known this to be true

funny, i figured they weren't from/in the UK because they write 'chicks' and 'boner'

anyway i think a lot of us do tend to have far less interest in or patience for Country and Metal than what's more commonly accepted or labelled as Black Music (new or old). not that there aren't songs from both i do like. i think the main reasons as to why they're marginalised are quite straightfoward/understandable tho e.g. Metal's sonic 'extremity' and general aggression, and Country's perceived conservatism (decent gender balance notwithstanding). i'd suggest rap+R&B's remarkable occupation and domination of what Pop tended to entail in the US from the mid 90s (or at least early 00s) onwards led to a negative reaction from too many rock critics used to dismissing pop (based on the manufactured/commercialised criticism which presumably took hold in the 80s with digital) in the charts already (as Matt says, the likes of Badu and Maxwell are probably taken more seriously...tho not to the extent that they make many lists but there are other obstacles for them e.g. stereotypes similar to why many people aren't into smooth Jazz).

i've always had problems with albums anyway so addressing the issue on whether some genres are better suited to the format is tough. they all equally suck :)

mdskltr (blueski), Saturday, 16 January 2010 16:59 (7 months ago) Permalink

The only real music is actual ambient sound produced randomly by one's environment. Everything else = COMMERCIAL ROCKIST SELLOUT. There, I've spoken.

Ned Raggett, Saturday, 16 January 2010 17:01 (7 months ago) Permalink

^^^ Sockpuppet

Space Battle Rothko (Matt DC), Saturday, 16 January 2010 17:11 (7 months ago) Permalink

next time i'll be sure to write benynes and tuss instead of internet lolspeak for the sockspotters!

Karen Tregaskin, Saturday, 16 January 2010 18:02 (7 months ago) Permalink

if karen's not a sock he's still an unbearable poster to read & i dont really care if he thinks im so mean that he'll never listen to R&B again.

not a playa but i ilx a lot (deej), Saturday, 16 January 2010 19:17 (7 months ago) Permalink

lol @ argument reducing to "maybe if R&B fans werent so mean, there would be more of them!!!" ooh point scored

not a playa but i ilx a lot (deej), Saturday, 16 January 2010 19:18 (7 months ago) Permalink

i will say that sometimes something that can occasionally frustrate w/ the lex's writing is he wants to have his cake & eat it to, to be able to correct the structural inequities that do unfairly malign R&B while still occasionally indulging in the kinds of back-patting "most avant-garde beats on offer" like R&B fans care about having the most avant garde beats (is that even an accurate statement? what does it even mean?) etc

not a playa but i ilx a lot (deej), Saturday, 16 January 2010 19:20 (7 months ago) Permalink

^^this is the kind of thing that bothers me most but prolly bc i've been guilty of it in the past and the narcissism of small differences etc

plaxico (I know, right?), Saturday, 16 January 2010 20:01 (7 months ago) Permalink

The difference is maybe that country and metal have their own critical infrastructure, hip-hop too, in a way that rnb seemingly never has

i think the main reasons as to why they're marginalised are quite straightfoward/understandable tho e.g. Metal's sonic 'extremity' and general aggression, and Country's perceived conservatism (decent gender balance notwithstanding). i'd suggest rap+R&B's remarkable occupation and domination of what Pop tended to entail in the US from the mid 90s (or at least early 00s) onwards led to a negative reaction from too many rock critics used to dismissing pop

To some extent country and metal have not only their own critical infrastructure but their own self-selecting community/class divide (class in the Frank Kogan sort of way, I suppose). Country and Metal's critical infrastructure exists not only as a result of marginalization by 'mainstream' criticism but also as an outgrowth of their own isolation from the mainstream by choice, perhaps?

In America country music's division from the broader pop market isn't just a result of past or present critical derision but also a host of political, class based, regional, etc. factors none of which are wholly explanatory but which lend themselves to the creation of a parallel cultural viewpoint.

Metal presumably functions differently in the specifics but with the same end result - neither has any DESIRE to capture the mainstream's affections in so far as country VIEWS itself as the silent majority/heartland to some extent and metal conceptualizes itself in opposition to the mainstream - as did rap as did punk as did any countercultural movement. 'Mainstream' criticism was slow to embrace rap as a 'serious' genre 'worthy' of discussion and thus a critical establishment for rap maybe developed out of need. Punk and its offshoots gradually turned into the current all-enveloping 'indie', which has been PBS-ed into the critical mainstream, explicitly linked to the rockist discourse of progress and so forth (and tbh was picked up by mainstream white critics much faster) so never reallllly required a separate critical establishment. I'm not sure why metal has remained divided while punk was coopted/embraced. Someone with a better knowledge of this should (and WILL) tell me why all of the above is totally wrong.

Alex in Montreal, Saturday, 16 January 2010 20:22 (7 months ago) Permalink

But I guess um...R&B doesn't really have a self-segregating/identifying community. R&B functions as pop in the marketplace of music ideas - it WANTS to capture the mainstream, it has no investment in walling itself off - whether out of a desire for 'purity' 'authenticity' or any other bullshit notions that drive underground scenes. Mainstream criticism though has always been heavily grounded in the legacy of the 60s 70s etc. and punk/college rock's evolution into no stakes NPR/PBS-ified indie has kind of captured that critical sphere over the past decade.

As R&B functions as a 'default' option sort of in the pop marketplace (to the point that pop = R&B frequently in normal conversation) the need to champion it to the public doesn't really exist (or isn't as broadly perceived as necessary) which is one of the things that for better or for worse creates a lot of critical/cultural establishments? Punk, indie, country, rap criticism all at some point felt the need to PROVE something (legitimacy, realness, worth) to their cultural predecessors/antagonists/rivals. R&B is such an assured and confident presence culturally that outside of critical circles (where R&B's champions feel outgunned and isolated sometimes per The Lex) there isn't much of a feeling that its success as a genre is at stake or that there is a pressing need to rep for it. Maybe?

Alex in Montreal, Saturday, 16 January 2010 20:28 (7 months ago) Permalink

What does mainstream mean? Does it mean "music consumed by people without tribal loyalties"? Or "music you might expect to hear on daytime radio"? Or "music consumed by vast numbers of people"? Metal is mainstream by the last of those, country by two of those across huge swathes of the US. Perhaps it's that country and metal have created their own mainstreams, and their own extremities. Metal, say, is not in and of itself extreme, but it has adherents who value extremity. However, anyone who goes to metal gigs knows there are plenty of people there who don't exist in a self-segregating community, who are not metal genre loyalists above all, but who like the act they are seeing. I'm sure plenty of the country audience buy albums that aren't country ... so I don't think the argument that they are special cases where the critical invisibility is inevitable - unlike R&B - quite stands up.

ithappens, Saturday, 16 January 2010 20:55 (7 months ago) Permalink

PS I'd say metal, above all genres, has historically valued the mainstream - rap and metal are surely the two genres that have traditionally valued commercial success for its own sake, and the rewards that success brings

ithappens, Saturday, 16 January 2010 20:57 (7 months ago) Permalink

Lumping country and metal together qua "non-mainstream" is pretty weird, I think. Remember that Garth Brooks is the best selling solo artist in US history. That's not "creating its own mainstream", that is the mainstream.

If you're talking about "critical mainstream" it still doesn't work. Country artists haven't traditionally been looked down upon by critics. Each of the Rolling Stones Record Guides have lots and lots of country artists reviewed (many with some very good reviews). Maybe they're looked down upon by the indie rock critical mainstream but then you're just talking about genre specialists.

Euler, Saturday, 16 January 2010 21:11 (7 months ago) Permalink

Euler OTM ... the central point is that "indie" critics (using the term broadly) have over the past 20 years come to dominate mainstream publications, and then the more widely read critical sites. Hence indie has become the mainstream in critical discourse, while it's nowhere near the mainstream in commercial discourse,

ithappens, Saturday, 16 January 2010 21:18 (7 months ago) Permalink

Fair enough. In that case, using Euler's measures (just by way of thought experiment), are R&B albums more or less likely to be reviewed/reviewed well by Rolling Stones Record Guides or comparable parts of the "critical mainstream"?

Is the issue that R&B is actually underrepresented critical, or undervalued critically? Or is it just that there is less space/call for R&B genre specialism (compared to say Country or Metal or Indie or what-have-you, which both appear in the centre of critical discourse and in their own critical spheres)?

Alex in Montreal, Saturday, 16 January 2010 21:48 (7 months ago) Permalink

Because while Beyonce or Amerie or whoever's albums are turning up in droves on these list-making exercises, I feel like they don't get a worse rap than most other albums in regular review season - whether courtesy Rolling Stone, Christgau, The Guardian or anyone else.

Alex in Montreal, Saturday, 16 January 2010 21:51 (7 months ago) Permalink

*aren't turning up in droves (clearly)

Alex in Montreal, Saturday, 16 January 2010 21:51 (7 months ago) Permalink

thats really not true. you'll get a few token records in every year (though never at number one of course) the genre is never represented to any depth

not a playa but i ilx a lot (deej), Saturday, 16 January 2010 21:58 (7 months ago) Permalink

Sorry. Like I said above, typo. During regular review season they get more than token coverage, is what I meant. And often v. good reviews.

And again, the question of what it is about lists like these that result in underrepresentation of R&B is interesting, but in regularly running reviews I think there are probably as many well-reviewed/graded R&B albums in generalist publications (NYTimes, Guardian, Rolling Stone, whatever) as there are well-reviewed indie albums or well-reviewed rap albums.

Alex in Montreal, Saturday, 16 January 2010 22:48 (7 months ago) Permalink

And yes that statement is totally unfounded. When I have a spare moment I will scan through NYT and Rolling Stone archives of last yr or Metacritic or something to try and back that up.

Alex in Montreal, Saturday, 16 January 2010 22:52 (7 months ago) Permalink

yeah thats deceptive though. the center around music crit in generalist mags rotates remains indie, and marginally popular performer w/in that milieu are way way way more likely to get coverage than marginally popular but equally compelling artists in r&b/hiphop/metal/country/dance

not a playa but i ilx a lot (deej), Saturday, 16 January 2010 23:27 (7 months ago) Permalink

Hmm. I'll buy that.

Alex in Montreal, Saturday, 16 January 2010 23:29 (7 months ago) Permalink

center around which

not a playa but i ilx a lot (deej), Sunday, 17 January 2010 01:12 (7 months ago) Permalink

I wonder, does "mainstream rock" - say, Nickleback, The Fray, etc. - have a critical centre either? The successful stuff gets reviewed much like Beyonce or Rihanna get reviewed, but yeah it occurs to me that in order to have a substantial discourse that would, say, produce either prominent genre specialists or (similarly) promote coverage of the less successful stuff, you need to have some strong sense of being a community apart from the mainstream - which country, rap, indie, dance music and metal all have, regardless of their actual level of success, which might be enough to qualify them as mainstream-in-fact.

This goes back to my point above, that the first, founding conceptual operation of music crit is to establish a sense of distance from "just" mainstream music consumption - which is different from saying that music crit is always defensive - much specialist music crit is or appears to be entirely oblivious to the existence of the mainstream.

But at any rate I agree that the conflation of R&B with "the mainstream" may be part of why it falls between these stools as such.

Although I do think gender is a big issue here. As I've said before I suspect no music is more regularly and casually critically maligned than "women's music" of the non-indie/non-R&B variety.

Tim F, Sunday, 17 January 2010 03:29 (7 months ago) Permalink

Obv R&B does have genre-specialist critics, but not in the numbers you'd expect proportionate to its commercial success or even - on a tracks basis at least - performance in polls like this.

Tim F, Sunday, 17 January 2010 03:39 (7 months ago) Permalink

If I can be snarky for a second, I would note that I don't like the way these threads seem to devolve into referendums about one person's taste, esp. recently - Joe The Plumber tactics IMO.

The issues raised in this thread are (or can be) much more interesting than whether one person is right or wrong in their appreciation of X.

Tim F, Sunday, 17 January 2010 03:50 (7 months ago) Permalink

At this point I think we should probably consider the market forces that drive production of crit, which are not record sales or radio play, but magazine sales, website hits, and advertising spend. Who reads, and who is influenced by, music crit, who isn't, in terms of genre audiences, and why?

brain thoughts (Scik Mouthy), Sunday, 17 January 2010 07:45 (7 months ago) Permalink

I dunno, I feel like this is one profession that's more defined by who steps up to perform it than what the audience or industry asks for. Indie-loving English majors are in far greater supply in the field of music writing than they could ever possibly in demand for.

shart shart shart shart shart hey guys is this still funny? shart sh (some dude), Sunday, 17 January 2010 07:57 (7 months ago) Permalink

That's very true, I guess, but if people didn't also want to read it then P4K would get no hits and no money, likewise magazines (the ones that haven't already folded, anyway). Obv moneys not the only driving factor in mags and websites existing, some will always be run for free, but it's nevertheless a factor.

brain thoughts (Scik Mouthy), Sunday, 17 January 2010 08:01 (7 months ago) Permalink

Well, all sorts of websites and publications cover all sorts of music and get lots of hits/readers, it just happens that the ones that are more critic-driven and wordcount-heavy are indie or indie-leaning generalist types. And I have a strong hunch that whatever desire exists out there to read critical analysis of non-indie music, no matter how small, is probably pretty underserved.

shart shart shart shart shart hey guys is this still funny? shart sh (some dude), Sunday, 17 January 2010 08:12 (7 months ago) Permalink

As I've said before I suspect no music is more regularly and casually critically maligned than "women's music" of the non-indie/non-R&B variety.

yeah, i think you said this w/r/t female singer-songwriters before, which rings v true - the reason i never really read much music crit when growing up is because it was mostly very snarky/dismissive of the artists i listened to as a teenager (tori amos, fiona apple, ani difranco et al). oddly enough apple became a lot more accepted (circa extraordinary machine) once she started hanging out w/indie-auteur faves like paul thomas anderson, developed that whole me-vs-the-record-label narrative which wasn't even true etc etc.

tori amos's weirdo electronic albums at the end of the 90s are still two of the most critically underappreciated ones i own - been revisiting them a lot this week and the scale, ambition and execution are still extraordinary, yet pretty much no one cares about them any more.

لوووووووووووووووووووول (lex pretend), Sunday, 17 January 2010 11:30 (7 months ago) Permalink

As I've said before I suspect no music is more regularly and casually critically maligned than "women's music" of the non-indie/non-R&B

I don't read enough crit these days to say for sure, but my impression is that this isn't true of women's country music...assuming that by "women's music" you mean music made by women. If you're talking about music made for women then I don't know what this means so I can't say.

Euler, Sunday, 17 January 2010 11:37 (7 months ago) Permalink


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