nick sylvester = maker upper

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y'know, the fake riffcentral interviews were always by far my least favorite of Sylvester's schticks, but I thought that was a brilliant way to handle things, and it made me laugh a few times.

― Alex in Baltimore (Alex in Baltimore), Thursday, 20 April 2006 17:34 (twenty years ago)

I have some information that may vindicate Mr. Sylvester. Email me at [email protected].

― Alex in Baghdad, Thursday, 20 April 2006 17:42 (twenty years ago)

there were no WMDs found at misshapes!?!?@!

― JW (ex machina), Thursday, 20 April 2006 17:44 (twenty years ago)

I'm doing the "I knew it!" amateur conspiracy theorist spit take right now due to that "it wasn't for the front page" crap. I hope Nick is back on his feet doing ok, there are way too many crappier "journalists" out there.

― mike h. (mike h.), Thursday, 20 April 2006 17:56 (twenty years ago)

Here's his T.I. review:
http://www.thephoenix.com/article_ektid9289.aspx

― Nigel (Nigel), Friday, 21 April 2006 15:10 (twenty years ago)

"I get to live the rest of my life like a schnook."

― Sterling Clover (s_clover), Friday, 21 April 2006 15:32 (twenty years ago)

hahaha sterling

― s1ocki (slutsky), Friday, 21 April 2006 15:34 (twenty years ago)

hahahahaha

― M@tt He1geson (Matt Helgeson), Friday, 21 April 2006 16:13 (twenty years ago)

um. hahaha. hahahha
haha.

― Alex in Baghdad, Friday, 21 April 2006 18:00 (twenty years ago)

three weeks pass...

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/18/education/18cheating.html

it's better to be right than first

― Tracey Hand (tracerhand), Thursday, 18 May 2006 01:33 (twenty years ago)

Though the thread is only sorta related, nice opportunity to bring this up. Ad posted by Rob Harvilla on the Voice's Web site. Funny ad, yes, and as always am sure to say, I respect Rob's ability and know he's a dutiful (alebit talented) employee. But how fucking nuts is this? Reads:

Get paid to write about your mail for the Village Voice.
The Voice is looking to broaden its base of freelance music writers, who're responsible for reviews, features, interview profiles, investigative boondoggles, and existentialist rants. Though maybe not so much of that last one, and no using the word "angular" either. E-mail a few clips, your musical genres of expertise (all are warmly welcome), and a snappy intro to Rob Harvilla. No calls or regular mail, please.

That'd be normal if it was in maybe Scranton or Biloxi. But the Voice *soliciting* for music writers? Or needing an ad to get queries from the talented among us? Another weird example of NT's thinking -- as if having the most diverse and largest roster of music writers in the world on the Rolodex is a bad thing to them.

― O'Connor (OConnorScribe), Thursday, 18 May 2006 01:47 (twenty years ago)

what? no napkin!?

― Sterling Clover (s_clover), Thursday, 18 May 2006 02:08 (twenty years ago)

hahahahaha

― O'Connor (OConnorScribe), Thursday, 18 May 2006 02:10 (twenty years ago)

Though he's right ... we kinda do get paid for being on the Schwag Pony Express.

― O'Connor (OConnorScribe), Thursday, 18 May 2006 02:12 (twenty years ago)

"existentialist rants" = the NT's formulaic anti-intellectual dismissal of the best VV pieces of the past, no doubt

― Tracey Hand (tracerhand), Thursday, 18 May 2006 02:17 (twenty years ago)

"it used to be crazy man, all these, these ... i dunno, existentialist rants! those were different times though, you know?"

― Tracey Hand (tracerhand), Thursday, 18 May 2006 02:24 (twenty years ago)

Funny you should mention, Rob just e-mailed me today and asked if I wanted to do a fomulaic anti-intellectual dismissal of a great VV piece of the past.

― Eppy (Eppy), Thursday, 18 May 2006 02:47 (twenty years ago)

Also, I briefly confused the title of this thread with the one below it at the time and thought it was "nick sylvester = bon jovi". Now there's a think-piece for you.

― Eppy (Eppy), Thursday, 18 May 2006 02:49 (twenty years ago)

damn. i was in the middle of a pitch for an anti-formulaic intellectual dismissal of a great VV piece of the past. I guess that pitch has been nearly scooped.

― Sterling Clover (s_clover), Thursday, 18 May 2006 02:52 (twenty years ago)

No, I bet we'll do different ones.

― Eppy (Eppy), Thursday, 18 May 2006 02:56 (twenty years ago)

I'm pitching to review music blogs in the style of Cheryl Tweedy.

― alext (alext), Thursday, 18 May 2006 06:21 (twenty years ago)

I never knew the Voice was lacking people who wanted to write for the music section!

― Raymond Cummings (Raymond Cummings), Thursday, 18 May 2006 10:50 (twenty years ago)

HI ILX, WE HATE YOU TOO

― NEW TIMES GUY (Enrique), Thursday, 18 May 2006 10:53 (twenty years ago)

that solicitation reads like a house ad that would run in a college newspaper. i guess the transformation is nearly complete.

― maura (maura), Thursday, 18 May 2006 12:06 (twenty years ago)

i like the ad, i think it slightly demystifies the whole thing, it's sweet. lord knows if anyone will get through, but there's a whiff of entitlement among the antis.

― Enrique IX: The Mediator (Enrique), Thursday, 18 May 2006 12:13 (twenty years ago)

entitlement? um, no. just unimpressed by 'cute' bits like the request for 'existentialist rants' followed by an immediate retraction of that request. i mean, wtf, seriously. in a venue that's shrinking its word counts by the minute, flabby ha-has like that -- especially when they're coming *from an editor* -- aren't a good sign ...

― maura (maura), Thursday, 18 May 2006 12:42 (twenty years ago)

And sorry, but this does have an air of "you can all be replaced," whether intended or not. It'd be one thing to phase out the current crop of freelancers and use writers he prefers instead--that's just how the game goes. But the announcement sounds desperate, like "God, anyone would be better than these chumps I've been left with."

― Martin Van Buren (Martin Van Buren), Thursday, 18 May 2006 12:49 (twenty years ago)

I kinda assumed this ad was because people they were "left with" stopped pitching, but I may be projecting.

― Zwan (miccio), Thursday, 18 May 2006 12:57 (twenty years ago)

ok, how shd he go about getting in new talent?

blogs? pitchfork?

― Enrique IX: The Mediator (Enrique), Thursday, 18 May 2006 12:57 (twenty years ago)

i just saw the ad and thought that if people have really stopped feeding the machine, then this has been an amazing bit of collective action. i may be projecting, but it's my guess that xhuxk didn't have a shortage of pitches.

and maura otm. that ad reeks of desperation. as far as getting new writers: pay them fairly (read: more) and allow for creative, interesting work.

― blackmail (blackmail.is.my.life), Thursday, 18 May 2006 13:09 (twenty years ago)

yes yes, that hasn't been precluded. he's asked for pitches is all.

― Enrique IX: The Mediator (Enrique), Thursday, 18 May 2006 13:14 (twenty years ago)

I APPLIED IMMEDIATELY. URGENT AND KEY XPOSURE!111!

― Chris Ott (Chris Ott), Thursday, 18 May 2006 13:15 (twenty years ago)

doesn't the voice maintain a database of a couple thousand music critics already?

and did anybody notice the music section's lead review this week?

http://www.villagevoice.com/music/0620,harding,73181,22.html

― the barracuda sleeps at sundown, Thursday, 18 May 2006 13:18 (twenty years ago)

Chuck used to get like 100 pitches a week.

― Whiney G. Weingarten (whineyg), Thursday, 18 May 2006 13:38 (twenty years ago)

doesn't the voice maintain a database of a couple thousand music critics already?
and did anybody notice the music section's lead review this week?
http://www.villagevoice.com/music/0620,harding,73181,22.html

-- the barracuda sleeps at sundown (libr...), May 18th, 2006.

people die, people start to suck, new eds want new blood -- shocking i know.

― Enrique IX: The Mediator (Enrique), Thursday, 18 May 2006 13:40 (twenty years ago)

new eds want new blood who work cheaper than old blood -- shocking I know.

― Roy Kasten (Roy Kasten), Thursday, 18 May 2006 13:49 (twenty years ago)

new blogd

― Whiney G. Weingarten (whineyg), Thursday, 18 May 2006 13:55 (twenty years ago)

i just saw the ad and thought that if people have really stopped feeding the machine, then this has been an amazing bit of collective action.

are you seriously suggesting that everybody should quit writing for the village voice as a "collective action"? i can't wait to see how collectively active you clowns feel when your beloved pazz and jop rolls into town next year... and why is xgau off the hook here? it would take him like 2 phone calls to find a new roost and he's still "feeding the machine" last time i checked. and if the most established music writer in america can't be bothered to move his ass, why should us struggling hacks?

― Struggling Hack, Thursday, 18 May 2006 14:00 (twenty years ago)

The goal is clear -- become an unstruggling hack.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 18 May 2006 14:03 (twenty years ago)

yes, i am. and i know a number of music writers who are getting paychecks elsewhere because of this trend against creativity and writing generally. i'm circumspect as to whether or not it's a collective action, since it's probably not something that was planned out, but i'm sure there are a number of people who are no longer pitching new times on principle. if the paper's starved for content, so be it. it's a tough lesson for management to learn.

― blackmail (blackmail.is.my.life), Thursday, 18 May 2006 14:04 (twenty years ago)

hahaha yeah, it'll be new times who suffers!

― Enrique IX: The Mediator (Enrique), Thursday, 18 May 2006 14:06 (twenty years ago)

i think that new times nyc is already suffering, hence the pathetic ad on the music page. xpost

― blackmail (blackmail.is.my.life), Thursday, 18 May 2006 14:08 (twenty years ago)

Also, I currently see no reason to stop writing for the Voice. They still let me talk about bands.

― Whiney G. Weingarten (whineyg), Thursday, 18 May 2006 14:17 (twenty years ago)

I didn't mean to suggest that people shouldn't write for the Voice if they want to. I was just saying I assumed the ad was in response to lack of pitches.

― Zwan (miccio), Thursday, 18 May 2006 14:25 (twenty years ago)

it is fun to make struggling hacks defensive, though

― Zwan (miccio), Thursday, 18 May 2006 14:28 (twenty years ago)

blackmail, do you think that the strategy of not pitching to the voice will make the management increase wordcounts?

― Enrique IX: The Mediator (Enrique), Thursday, 18 May 2006 14:30 (twenty years ago)

But why would people stop pitching? The field is competitive and unstable as it is. And Harvilla, by all accounts, is a good guy.

Like a bunch of seasoned veterans who have to feed their kids on writing about rock bands are gonna turn their back on the best known alt-weekly in the nation because a big, scary corporation bought it?

― Whiney G. Weingarten (whineyg), Thursday, 18 May 2006 14:34 (twenty years ago)

I guess the Voice is turning their back on them, then!

― Zwan (miccio), Thursday, 18 May 2006 14:38 (twenty years ago)

Like a bunch of seasoned veterans who have to feed their kids on writing about rock bands

The amount of people actually doing this and only this and making it work for themselves in this current historical moment is, I suspect, pretty damn small. (I'm sure Douglas Wolk isn't the only one, I agree, and it's not the only thing he writes about!)

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 18 May 2006 14:43 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, something's amiss. I realize that a lot of folks find the notion of collective action unsavory, and chances are this is just a coincidence, unless as Zwan suggests, it's a partial lock out situation that's produced a "talent search" of sorts. Management is clearly taking initiative in finding ways to get around established contributors - like Whiney G said, Chuck was never short for pitches. But without decent content, the New Times model is just another race to the bottom in an unstable industry that seems hellbent on needless self-destruction.

I understand people have to eat, but working for less and less with stricter rules isn't working toward stability either. It's just taking a pay cut.

― blackmail (blackmail.is.my.life), Thursday, 18 May 2006 14:44 (twenty years ago)

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