Simon Reynolds

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Also, unlike the other two albums, it hasn't sold very many copies.

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 07:07 (twenty years ago)

But I don't really think it was designed to.

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 07:07 (twenty years ago)

I don't either. She's said many times she approached it to a degree as an art project, and I can see that. It's also one of the things I like about it (and that the Dissensus crew seemed not to)--that it's a deliberate pastiche of all the stuff she's into at the moment (that she made the album, anyway). I do think of it as a pop record, though, just because I love the hooks.

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 07:13 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, like most pop, it's not just pop.

Also Marcello I think it's pretty much inescapable for message boards to defer a bit to 'celebrity' members - sure Chuck gets challenged on ILM sometimes but there's a lot of respect for his viewpoints too, ditto Mark and Frank K. And in fact if you look upthread you see J Sutcliffe complaining cos I'd threatened to delete something he wrote about Simon R! (I have no recollection of this). I didn't look at Dissensus for long but there was definitely a spectrum of opinion there.

― Tom (Groke), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 07:58 (twenty years ago)

not something he wrote, Tom, something someone else wrote on a different thread.

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 08:02 (twenty years ago)

Oh OK! In that case it was probably the thread "Simon Reynolds is a Gobshite"!

― Tom (Groke), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 08:10 (twenty years ago)

yeah tom but there's a difference between having respect for people's viewpoints and arselicking. i never argue with eddy or kogan 'cos they can back up their arguments in terms of their knowledge and experience. even if i don't agree with them, at least they know what they're talking about. and mark's a friend anyway. but there is a discernible difference in dissensus and the symbiotic relationship between reynolds and ingram definitely has something to do with that. a lot of what reynolds is posting there just now i don't think even he believes - but he started the pointless popist/rockist argument and now he's stuck with seeing it through.

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 08:11 (twenty years ago)

Whoah the stuff that kicks off this thread is hella bonkers. J Sutcliffe's elaborate queer panic in the sacred grove of academe paragraph upthread had me blushing up a storm, and then summoned up images of him snapping, all "Falling Down" style, and launching on a quad bell tower sniper rampage after one too many hapless undergrads turned in bad imitations of his idol/nemesis/bete-noire SR.

Is it utopian to hope that maybe one day the whole "who is the crankiest crank in Ye Olde Cranky Rock Critic town?" sweepstakes will give way to . . . . something else?

― Drew Daniel (Drew Daniel), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 08:41 (twenty years ago)

yep.

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 08:45 (twenty years ago)

My Reynolds dream!

― Tom (Groke), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 08:54 (twenty years ago)

Who wants to buy my copy of Simon's Rip It Up book? It is up for sale on Amazon.

― PJ Miller (PJ Miller 68), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 09:05 (twenty years ago)

Tom, I think that's a book for the Sinker to write.

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 09:06 (twenty years ago)

Yeah it's weird my subconscious picked Reynolds since it's not really his 'beat', but is it anyone's? Kodwo Eshun maybe?

― Tom (Groke), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 09:08 (twenty years ago)

Geeta could make a brilliant job of it!

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 09:10 (twenty years ago)

Irony-alert ahoy! I'm pretty sure "J. Sutcliffe" posted as "Majooba" elsewhere (both mention teaching philosophy in Texas, have conniption fits over snooty British dudes). Remember that buttmagazine.com photo of you and Martin piggybacking nude? L4nya 4nderson: ""Based on the picture above, I may have to become a Matmos fan." Majooba: "If you're into Aryan gay sex. Whatever floats your cute fascist boat, aesthetes."

Aside: I have absolutely no idea how I'm supposed to be "helplessly stuck in the joke-trap set for him with that 'all of western philosophy' stuff" No idea what that means, none. Help me out here, people, I'm only a BA.

― Michael Daddino (epicharmus), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 10:34 (twenty years ago)

carlins comments about MIA and reynolds overall are fucking OTM! weird, never thought that would happen. i thought everyone wanted to slob reynold's genitals.

― hmmhmmhhmm, Wednesday, 5 October 2005 12:01 (twenty years ago)

"She's said many times she approached it to a degree as an art project, and I can see that. It's also one of the things I like about it (and that the Dissensus crew seemed not to)--"

this is because only white artists can do art school projects and have cred, when 'the ethnics' do it it just means theyre no longer authentic, duh

― okok, Wednesday, 5 October 2005 12:08 (twenty years ago)

Actually I do wish Arular was more of a pop album. I would flat out adore an entire album like "Amazon". But I'm repeating myself.

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 12:18 (twenty years ago)

"Yeah, like most pop, it's not just pop."

Ha ha true (and ouch).

My point was simply that I think not all reasons for liking M.I.A. are pro-pop ones, although certainly some are.

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 12:23 (twenty years ago)

heaven forbid that somebody might like music for the wrong reasons.

― m coleman (lovebug starski), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 12:32 (twenty years ago)

Way to misinterpret what i'm saying...

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 12:36 (twenty years ago)

'i would like this album more if it was good'

― N_RQ, Wednesday, 5 October 2005 12:43 (twenty years ago)

I like goodness, when it is not bad. Then I wish it to be good, except when it is so bad that is clearly is not good.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 13:18 (twenty years ago)

I haven't had the time to wade through this thread, but if no one else has said it, it's worth noting that Simon's become a better, more visceral writer as he's gotten older.

― Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 13:42 (twenty years ago)

do you think he's got more visceral? i think he should lay off the patois, is all.

― N_RQ, Wednesday, 5 October 2005 13:46 (twenty years ago)

ha physician heal thyself

― twaddle widdle, Wednesday, 5 October 2005 13:59 (twenty years ago)

i'ma wet you up inna chest, twaddle

― N_RQ, Wednesday, 5 October 2005 14:04 (twenty years ago)

If you compare Blissed Out to, say, his Uncut reviews these past few years, yes — MUCH more visceral. It's almost as if, as he's gotten older, he's not just thinking about the music anymore — he's listening to it, feeling it and then enlisting his intellectual capacities. It's a positive development, I think.

― Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 14:22 (twenty years ago)

i don't read uncut, but i think he's got less sure of things, politically (this might be a good thing, but i don't think he brings the fire so much now).

― N_RQ, Wednesday, 5 October 2005 14:24 (twenty years ago)

What do you mean by "politically"?

― Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 14:26 (twenty years ago)

in RIUASA his bits about the political situation of 78-84 hardly seem to come from the pen of reynolds, his stated political reference source is (i think) the companion to some channel 4 series, and in general it's a real let-down. stuff like 'the unions were holding society to ransom' or something, a moderate, liberal voice. he used to be more of a lefty (despite all the refs to non-lefty french dudes).

― N_RQ, Wednesday, 5 October 2005 14:29 (twenty years ago)

It boggles my mind how anyone could read Blissed Out and not get the huge feeling and excitement SR was getting off the music! I don't think it's changed, maybe he expresses it more directly since he started blogging, but it's always been there in his writing surely.

― Tom (Groke), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 14:34 (twenty years ago)

It boggles my mind how anyone could read Blissed Out and not get the huge feeling and excitement SR was getting off the music!

Uh yeah. Are you people saying it wasn't there on crack or something?

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 14:35 (twenty years ago)

sometimes i read him
then i listen to the music he wrote about
then i wonder what the fuck he was hearing

― hater, Wednesday, 5 October 2005 14:52 (twenty years ago)

Well, the passion's always been there. But I think he's learned to express himself in a more direct and less erudite way.

― Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 14:56 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, that's why the later Reynolds isn't as good. (I still think the Death of Jungle basically was the Death of Reynolds.)

― Omar (Omar), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 15:05 (twenty years ago)

i prefer his writing now
its more direct
still dont like certain opinions of his, he expresses them better than most rock journalists, but his hatred of soul and conflicted love/hate relationship with virtually all black music leads him into this typical white liberal middle class cul de sac which i find annoying
plus on dissensus he once said all black music is slick and i find his general condescension slightly irritating
hes a good writer though
rockist despite his aims not to be, everything he writes is fucking rockist as he draws it all back to rock, even when its about dance
i mean, recently he credited a rakim hip hop lyric to ian brown!
hilarity

― hater, Wednesday, 5 October 2005 15:10 (twenty years ago)

Actually I do wish Arular was more of a pop album. I would flat out adore an entire album like "Amazon".

See, I don't understand this statement at all. The kids go crazy for many other fun tracks on Arular - I have witnessed this myself! How is "10 Dollar" or "Bucky Done Gone" not pop????

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 16:14 (twenty years ago)

I guess I'm trying to figure out why someone I agreed with so much when reading the Melody Maker, Blissed Out, Feminine Pressure etc etc etc, could strike me as so close minded and just plain wrong recently, especially WRT M.I.A.

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 16:23 (twenty years ago)

I'll admit that I was generally disappointed with many of my favorite critics' sitting-on/wringing-of hands reaction to MIA.

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 16:36 (twenty years ago)

many white critics dont know what to make of MIA, its too much for them to take on.

― hater, Wednesday, 5 October 2005 16:41 (twenty years ago)

Er, disappointed that they didn't agree with you or disappointed in how they disagreed with you?

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 16:42 (twenty years ago)

Let's say shocked at their slow and/or negative reaction based on their previous opinions.

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 16:45 (twenty years ago)

(Also, what I perceived to be the consistency of their previous opinions)

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 16:47 (twenty years ago)

Ned, I'm obviously not upset simply because someone disagrees with me.

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 16:48 (twenty years ago)

Right, right...it's just that personally I'm not surprised at all when opinions deviate from what one might expect of someone's tastes. To assume otherwise always puts them in a box -- "I like these things, he/she/it likes these things, ergo if I like this thing, he/she/it will like it as well." It's an understandable enough assumption but surely can't be a hard and fast rule.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 16:50 (twenty years ago)

Well, I actually do appreciate the consistency of certain reviewer's logic, even if I disagree with their ultimate thumbs up or down critique.

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 16:56 (twenty years ago)

this is because only white artists can do art school projects and have cred, when 'the ethnics' do it it just means theyre no longer authentic, duh

yeah, I have to admit that when I was reading the chapter on Remain in Light I couldn't help but think, "This is like the reverse-negative of what he said about M.I.A."

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 18:19 (twenty years ago)

Current Reynolds kind of reminds me of late-period Lenny Bruce when he got so obsessed with one thing that he forgot to be good. But this is probably unkind.

― Eppy (Eppy), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 20:00 (twenty years ago)

Since we're also commenting on the original thread, allow me to say that the original poster lost me when he said:

"As Lester Bangs wrote, I don't know shit about the English class system and I don't care shit about the English class system. (Well, I did once receive a paid trip to Cambridge University and found, with few exceptions, the profs and students alike to be the most snooty and arrogant bunch of toffs imaginable."

Which almost makes me think it's a prank, but probably not.

― Eppy (Eppy), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 20:12 (twenty years ago)

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Simon Reynolds - C or D