I feel the same ambiguity, as the market has dried up and I've had to rely increasingly on blog-only stuff. In 2010 I don't what makes anyone with intelligent opinions about music a critic. What IS a critic in 2010? On the other hand, maybe we deluded ourselves ten years ago -- writing to and for the same community of a few hundred people. I don't like to think so: I was inspired by the same community ten years ago.
― raging hetero lifechill (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 30 September 2010 00:22 (thirteen years ago) link
hey scott i just found out what your 33.3 book is and i'm super super psyched!
― call all destroyer, Thursday, 30 September 2010 00:31 (thirteen years ago) link
it's just overproduction. and i don't even mean that in a "it was better when there used to be standards and cultural gatekeepers" kinda way either. (i certainly wouldn't be getting paid to write about music without blogs.) i don't think the majority of people doing it ten or even twenty years ago were really practicing "criticism" in the kael/christgau/whoever you'd like to add sense, either. (i certainly don't think *i'm* doing it, as much because of a lack of ability as a lack of venues.) i think they were just "writing about music." (see tim's "his questions seem kinda generic and undeconstructed.") there's nothing *wrong* with that, but i think, especially now since so many more people are doing it, you've got to be a pretty good (or at least distinctive) stylist to cut through it, which is one reason (again, distinctive rather than good) that people are talking about the prr kid.
plus also it's just easier than ever to get sucked into your own little corner of the internet and those 10 or 20 or (god love you) 30 people you can keep up with are your critical voices, even if they're not particularly critical or haven't developed much in the way of a voice, and harder than ever to attract an audience outside of that circle. and i think there generally *are* usually some real-deal critics in those individual circles, the only reason we're even discussing prr kid at all is that he's leeched himself onto an established brand and begun to branch out into other publications--he's found a way to game the system, through accident or design, at a time when it's very hard to do so.
― strongohulkingtonsghost, Thursday, 30 September 2010 00:42 (thirteen years ago) link
Have you read Tom Ewing's Popular series?
...When it comes to music critics who have emerged over the last ten years or so with a "distinctive voice", I really can't think of a better candidate.
― Tim F, Wednesday, September 29, 2010 4:30 PM (3 hours ago) Bookmark
have to confess that i haven't read much tom ewing, tim. now have his freaky trigger "popular" stuff loaded up on another page, preparing to dig in. and thanks for taking that request (more that than a complaint, i hope?) seriously. thanks too to lex for the same. we rarely see eye to eye, but i've always enjoyed reading your analysis.
it's funny, when i was a kid, i read tons of crit and "reviews". was particularly fond of greil marcus, byron coley, pauline kael, and older lester bangs stuff, but took in almost anything i could get my hands on. music, movie & art magazines, newspapers, fanzines, whatever. as i've gotten older, however, i've almost completely stopped reading real criticism. i keep up with a few clearinghouses for brief reviews of stuff i know might be up my alley (termbo, mosurak @ dusted), occasionally drop in on pitchfork just to see what's going in the world outside, comb through encyclopedia metallum user reviews, but that's about it. partly it's ILX, which seems to serve all my needs in that regard, and partly it's that i'm old and jaded and rarely read anything that really breaks down doors for me.
would like to feel a little less boxed in and lazy, though, so any/all suggestions for outside reading appreciated.
― having taken an actual journalism class (contenderizer), Thursday, 30 September 2010 03:44 (thirteen years ago) link
didn't Robin Carmody used to dissect old top 20 lists?
― drown sandwich (Drugs A. Money), Thursday, 30 September 2010 04:17 (thirteen years ago) link
prr dude is compelling in the same way that woody allen is compelling. pretty sure he realizes what he sounds like. don't see why solipsism is an issue. lots of people make careers off that. if anything, his navel gazing is his strength.
i just have no idea what separates and elevates him from like a million other bloggers, except i guess that he has successfully "done meta"
― fennel cartwright, Thursday, 30 September 2010 07:29 (thirteen years ago) link
wait, so like a bunch of people are actually paying attention to this guy?
― sarahel, Thursday, 30 September 2010 16:21 (thirteen years ago) link
...
― http://tinyurl.com/tittyblam (SFW) (s1ocki), Thursday, 30 September 2010 16:22 (thirteen years ago) link
http://eclecticboogaloo.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/whatever.jpg
― Mr. Que, Thursday, 30 September 2010 16:22 (thirteen years ago) link
lol @ que
― sarahel, Thursday, 30 September 2010 16:25 (thirteen years ago) link
he's definitely gained some degree of notice in an obscenely cloistered, tiny section of the American indie music crit world
― markers, Thursday, 30 September 2010 16:38 (thirteen years ago) link
http://icanhascheezburger.files.wordpress.com/2007/09/128298508615001250urtheoryhasme.jpg
― Mr. Que, Thursday, 30 September 2010 16:42 (thirteen years ago) link
:-D
― markers, Thursday, 30 September 2010 16:48 (thirteen years ago) link
y'all know I love ILX until the end of time, but as far as cloisters go, this board is one that's unusually good at being unimpressed with stuff, so the "wait, people actually read this?" reaction is mildly humorous
I am 100% down with that opinionated skepticism, it is awesome, but occasionally it approaches a point of seeming really baffled by things that are not all that incredibly baffling
― oɔsıqɐu (nabisco), Thursday, 30 September 2010 17:18 (thirteen years ago) link
baffled vs horrified incredulity
― (e_3) (Edward III), Thursday, 30 September 2010 17:21 (thirteen years ago) link
this board is one that's unusually good at being unimpressed with stuff, so the "wait, people actually read this?" reaction is mildly humorous
yeah, i posted that for that reason
― sarahel, Thursday, 30 September 2010 17:23 (thirteen years ago) link
the only reason we're even discussing prr kid at all is that he's leeched himself onto an established brand and begun to branch out into other publications--he's found a way to game the system, through accident or design, at a time when it's very hard to do so.
OTM + high five + 3 gold stars. What he's done is very clever, in the same way that, say Danger Mouse was able to leverage his album mashup into a regular production gig. This is How Things Work now.
― Veðrafjǫrðr heimamaður (ecuador_with_a_c), Thursday, 30 September 2010 17:26 (thirteen years ago) link
I really glad this thread exists, if only for tim f's vulcanization of rubber style invention of a new posting technique
― puff puff post (uh oh I'm having a fantasy), Thursday, 30 September 2010 17:27 (thirteen years ago) link
yeah that danger mouse thing is p otm
― puff puff post (uh oh I'm having a fantasy), Thursday, 30 September 2010 17:28 (thirteen years ago) link
the only reason we're even discussing prr kid at all is that he's leeched himself onto an established brand and begun to branch out into other publications--he's found a way to game the system, through accident or design, at a time when it's very hard to do so.OTM + high five + 3 gold stars. What he's done is very clever, in the same way that, say Danger Mouse was able to leverage his album mashup into a regular production gig. This is How Things Work now.― Veðrafjǫrðr heimamaður (ecuador_with_a_c), Thursday, September 30, 2010 1:26 PM (1 minute ago)
― Veðrafjǫrðr heimamaður (ecuador_with_a_c), Thursday, September 30, 2010 1:26 PM (1 minute ago)
New York Times Reviews Reviews
― markers, Thursday, 30 September 2010 17:28 (thirteen years ago) link
this
― Mr. Que, Thursday, 30 September 2010 17:29 (thirteen years ago) link
ditto, only remove "incredulity"; I don't find it surprising that ppl would be into this guy, just super irritating because that means it's like 3 years away from infecting every media source I frequent
RIP my frequented media sources ;_;
― THE CHOMPING DUCK GETS HIS FATTY OUT FOR VADAR (HI DERE), Thursday, 30 September 2010 17:36 (thirteen years ago) link
i just can't read stuff like that, i find it irritating and completely tedious. can't really get into HRO for the same reason.
― ('_') (omar little), Thursday, 30 September 2010 17:39 (thirteen years ago) link
his shitty writing style and the fact that people read and enjoy it is baffling. like i said yesterday, i think sometimes with the internet you can throw up any piece of shit writing to the wall and if it's got enough name dropping, people will jizz all over it.
― Mr. Que, Thursday, 30 September 2010 17:43 (thirteen years ago) link
i think PRR and HRO are hateable for opposite reasons
― the parking garage has more facebook followers than my band (Jordan), Thursday, 30 September 2010 17:44 (thirteen years ago) link
Daft Punk writes new song except it sux & is nothing 2 get excited abt (28 comments)
― markers, Thursday, 30 September 2010 17:47 (thirteen years ago) link
i would agree w/that too xpost
― ('_') (omar little), Thursday, 30 September 2010 17:48 (thirteen years ago) link
http://www.pitchforkreviewsreviews.com/post/1215918248/haiku-cycle-about-the-new-york-yankees-pitchfork
― markers, Thursday, 30 September 2010 17:54 (thirteen years ago) link
this. except i like PRR and fucking loathe HRO with a passion
― having taken an actual journalism class (contenderizer), Thursday, 30 September 2010 17:55 (thirteen years ago) link
man, that "haiku cycle" makes me wanna take back every nice thing i've ever said
― having taken an actual journalism class (contenderizer), Thursday, 30 September 2010 17:56 (thirteen years ago) link
about anyone or anything anywhere ever
― having taken an actual journalism class (contenderizer), Thursday, 30 September 2010 18:00 (thirteen years ago) link
this. except i like PRR and fucking loathe HRO with a passion― having taken an actual journalism class (contenderizer), Thursday, September 30, 2010 6:55 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark
― having taken an actual journalism class (contenderizer), Thursday, September 30, 2010 6:55 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark
you basically have the opposite of taste
― l'avventura: pet detective (history mayne), Thursday, 30 September 2010 18:00 (thirteen years ago) link
rimshot
― having taken an actual journalism class (contenderizer), Thursday, 30 September 2010 18:01 (thirteen years ago) link
PRR's writing reads like my 9 year old talking
― (e_3) (Edward III), Thursday, 30 September 2010 18:01 (thirteen years ago) link
At least HRO keeps his posts short.
― Telephoneface (Adam Bruneau), Thursday, 30 September 2010 18:02 (thirteen years ago) link
although on evidence of those fucking haikus, maybe history mayne has a point
― having taken an actual journalism class (contenderizer), Thursday, 30 September 2010 18:02 (thirteen years ago) link
are yall on #teamprrbro or #teamcarles?
― l'avventura: pet detective (history mayne), Thursday, 30 September 2010 18:03 (thirteen years ago) link
i dunno, i read that haiku and it's like a whole new world, like seeing what matsuo bashō was doing when he was 20.
― ('_') (omar little), Thursday, 30 September 2010 18:04 (thirteen years ago) link
LA LA LA I CAN'T HEAR U
― having taken an actual journalism class (contenderizer), Thursday, 30 September 2010 18:04 (thirteen years ago) link
suckered by chauncey gardiner
― having taken an actual journalism class (contenderizer), Thursday, 30 September 2010 18:05 (thirteen years ago) link
if you traded animal collective and lil wayne for bionicles and mighty beanz the affinity is strong
― (e_3) (Edward III), Thursday, 30 September 2010 18:05 (thirteen years ago) link
just for the record i think HRO is as equally reprehensible as PRR
― لوووووووووووووووووووول (lex pretend), Thursday, 30 September 2010 18:06 (thirteen years ago) link
I prefer HBO and PBR to HRO and PRR
― sarahel, Thursday, 30 September 2010 18:07 (thirteen years ago) link
kind of surprised carles hasn't reviewed prr yet
― l'avventura: pet detective (history mayne), Thursday, 30 September 2010 18:08 (thirteen years ago) link
idk nabisco...that haiku cycle pretty much distills everything about his blog that makes me want to scream: do you really think that THAT merits a readership? do you really think that there's some intrinsic value to his writing that makes him well known (among certain circles), instead of his attention-grabbing stunts (again, the initial meta conceit of the blog, but also his suspect story about meeting President Obama)? Is it really that surprising that some folks would find that obnoxious? (multiple xposts)
― we don't have to suffer; we're the best batch yet (Drugs A. Money), Thursday, 30 September 2010 18:10 (thirteen years ago) link
(sry about the awkward shoehorning of parenthetical asides)
― we don't have to suffer; we're the best batch yet (Drugs A. Money), Thursday, 30 September 2010 18:11 (thirteen years ago) link
i like both hro and prr but hro is funny and i can usually read almost the entire post instead of just the first couple sentences
― max, Thursday, 30 September 2010 18:15 (thirteen years ago) link
Fall - Yankees are shitePitchfork rates them nought point noughtBashō turns in grave
― Veðrafjǫrðr heimamaður (ecuador_with_a_c), Thursday, 30 September 2010 18:22 (thirteen years ago) link
Sorry
I lol'd
― markers, Thursday, 30 September 2010 18:26 (thirteen years ago) link