The All-New STYLUS.

lol

I really doubt Stew does google himself actually.

Can you explain why he's been given such a prominent platform? Yeah I know obnoxiousness is his steez but at least Dom (for instance) is funny and occasionally picks on good targets.

Dave Queen should have written that run-down, not him. Assuming Dave Queen's alive, which I've heard is uncertain.

wait waht

Uh

Someone said 'nobody's been able to contact him for ages'! I forget who. Anyway, I hope he's alive and well. He's a fabulous writer.

Horses for courses; the two essays today are the ones I most wished I'd written.

Was the other one the Ned one? Liked that.

Much as I liked Ned's piece I meant Powell.

90% of these "reviews" are just awful. but i guess that doesn't make it any different than music criticism in general. john's are ok.

it's like, since they are unable to just describe what's interesting/compelling about the music, they feel they have to name the SPECIAL SIGNIFICANCE of each and every album in this i-top-your-hyperbole game that is exhausting from the starting gate. zzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzzzz

I wish you or someone who wasn't a pompous unfunny asshole had written the Voegtlin piece! It's a good piece-idea. The irreverent, slightly snarky rampage over 10 years dubiously spent.

Stew is about the least pompous person I know. Seriously. He kills all his own food.

i mean if it's necessary i'm sure lj and i could pull out the pompous and unfunny lines from it. i'm sure stew is a nice guy and whatever but yikes.

it's like, since they are unable to just describe what's interesting/compelling about the music, they feel they have to name the SPECIAL SIGNIFICANCE of each and every album in this i-top-your-hyperbole game that is exhausting from the starting gate. zzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzzzz

Come now, it's not all so bad. Clearly we've learned that Burial's music is interesting/compelling because it is "taking the sounds of club culture and R&B and reconfiguring them as ghosts drowning into a black hole."

I was first acquainted with his writing here: Baroness - Blue Record

...so admittedly we didn't start off on a great footing, he and I.

yeah me too but the stylus piece is so much worse

"Stew is about the least pompous person I know. Seriously. He kills all his own food."

Pomposity is based on how much/little food you kill now?

The Stylus piece has so many instances of offTM, unnecessary bitterness as to be insane. Needs to be far more irreverent, and far less assholish. Or at least far less unfunny.

i think mike powell is my favourite music writer atm

"taking the sounds of club culture and R&B and reconfiguring them as ghosts drowning into a black hole."

I thought he took the sounds of UK Garage and 2-Step and reconfigured them as ghosts drowning into a black hole.

But whatevs.

That depends which side of the Atlantic you're on.

Heading out for the evening and taking a printed-out copy of Stewart Voegtlin's essay with me because I have some sitting around to do later. (I've already read the other essays, but I still the to read the lists.)

High-five to Nick and the entire Stylus crew who helped to pull this together. I'm sure I'll be back to this thread later.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usfiAsWR4qU

great

i think mike powell is my favourite music writer atm

Echoing this. Best essay of the week!

mike powell essay fantastic.

I thought Burial was a hauntological exploration of a remembered future in which London is underwater and drowning into a black hole.

No ghosts?

only the ghost of future present

"taking the sounds of club culture and R&B and reconfiguring them as ghosts drowning into a black hole."

surely it's VAMPIRES that are drowning OUT OF a black hole? maybe my stereo channels are reversed?

that's Lupe Fiasco

yep, it's awesome. Best lines: Paul Wall bit, and lighting matches bit

xposts

No, it's like in the Daft Punk "Digital Love" review. You are emerging from slumber in a dream-land where the music is inside-out, a negative image of the dance track you're itching for it to become, and you have to recall your dream and will it into life and watch it explode into color.

xxpost

Stewart Voegtlin left doomed forever (the old southern lord board) in a huff because people liked mastodon there. People still laugh about him over there and on the rolling metal thread here too after is godawful village voice piece.

Nick, I don't know if this is a bug but on the singles list, section 40-21 there isn't a link to the top 20, only to go back to 60-41. I had to guess and type the url directly.

The Stylus piece has so many instances of offTM, unnecessary bitterness as to be insane.

He did give Nilsson an extra 11 years of life though. I wonder if he made any more records in that time?

...same with albums list.

What happened to the Hold Steady's Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea album?? You guys had second thoughts? I thought the votes were tallied and finalized...

90% of these "reviews" are just awful. but i guess that doesn't make it any different than music criticism in general. john's are ok.

I hope you didn't feel like you had to add that at the end just because you know me.

hah, i only scanned the mike powell essay so far, but in general i like his approach and he has pretty similar taste to me in a lot of stuff so. i mean there's never a sense that he's some jaded guy sick of the hype machine, he just seems happier to ignore the crtical climate's silliness and just hunt for great sounds

Stewart Voegtlin seems like a deeply fucked up person imo

what on earth?

he's a murderer imo

collaborates w/bin laden iirc

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiight.

zapruder film enhancement captures Stewart Voegtlin passing envelope full of cash to the umbrella man. more champagne!

Voegtlin piece pretty good imo.

his metal article in the voice was *terrible*, jeanne fury's response piece was otm