"Use other words please."

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"Sampledelic" / "Sampladelic" (sorry Pete)

"myth" as in "the rock myth" - was about to use it in the Depeche/League thread and suddenly thought HOLD ON.

― Tom, Friday, 27 April 2001 00:00 (twenty-five years ago)

"cheese" - it's such a boring metaphor and it doesn't even work.

― Tom, Tuesday, 1 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-five years ago)

Correct again Tom, but maybe that's because I don't like erm...real cheese, so I don't like music getting associated with smell. I came across spiel again recently. As irritating as schtick.

― Omar, Tuesday, 1 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-five years ago)

"Rockist", especially when used to describe sounds, rather than a mindset.

― Patrick, Tuesday, 1 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-five years ago)

"mindset"

too easy and vague by half

― Charlotte, Tuesday, 1 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-five years ago)

Hmmm, all right Charlotte. How about "ideas", then ?

― Patrick, Tuesday, 1 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-five years ago)

"......... on acid" - too broad, lazy

― K-reg, Wednesday, 2 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-five years ago)

"Dinosaur" has been driving me crazy for years: can't believe I forgot it before. Dinosaur meaning what? Lumbering, badly designed, fit for doom and extinction, and deserving of it? So why does absolutely everyone LOVE dinosaurs: dinosaurs are TOTALLY cool, if you're a kid OR if you're a scientist, from Barney to Ankylosaurus (which is like a souped-up tortoise with spikes round its neck like punk rock and a great club of bone at the end of its tail for wacking raptors with).

(Kid vs scientist: who'd want to be anything else anyway?)

Dinosaurs rooled! For 70 million years!! Badly designed? To get rid of them, the cosmos had to hurl a rock the size of Birmingham — at Mexico!!!

Also (somewhat related, tho not somewhat rock-related): "FAT CATS"

I'm sorry, excuse me, just HOW is this headline shortcut going to help stir up class rage against capitalism?

Cats are great, fat cats are bigger, thus better QED.

Might as well call 'em Honey Bunnies or Wonky Donkeys...

― mark s, Wednesday, 2 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-five years ago)

On this 'tip' ("tip"!):

"Chameleon" (Tanya made this point once but she nicked it off me or Pete) - David Bowie a rock chameleon i.e. ever-changing, unpredictable BUT chameleons blend into the background, so it's more like Soup Dragons-y bandwagon jumping AND the only colours they can do are various shades of dull green yellow and brown so 'unpredictable' is a bit off too.

― Tom, Wednesday, 2 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-five years ago)

"Macca" is totally unacceptable, even served dripping with sarcasm.

― mark s, Wednesday, 2 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-five years ago)

Spawned: NO.

(And this word is doubly evil if used in the same sentence as "punk rock")

― mark s, Wednesday, 2 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-five years ago)

"can you say ... ?" - as in "can you say 'manipulation of the media' ?" (just used on another thread)

Like, yeah, I can even *say* it with a nice French Canadian accent. Where did that stupid expression come from ?

― Patrick, Thursday, 3 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-five years ago)

i think that particular bastard expression comes from mr.rogers, who would ask children if they could say the word he trying to teach them. it's now becomes lazy gen x shorthand for explaining a concept and i hate it.

― ethan, Thursday, 3 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-five years ago)

"wilfully perverse" - tautology, frequently used to describe electronica

― K-reg, Thursday, 3 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-five years ago)

Jacko. Risible. Seminal. Words ending with 'core'.

Post Schmaltz should be used more often.

― Steven James, Thursday, 3 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-five years ago)

Post-Schmaltz-Core Revivalists?

― Sterling Clover, Thursday, 3 May 2001 00:00 (twenty-five years ago)

six months pass...

"That says it all": no it doesn't you lazy fuckwit retard. Do some work for a change and PERSUADE us.

― mark s, Sunday, 25 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Thank fuck nobody uses "(x) is worth the price of admission" any more.

― dave q, Sunday, 25 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Spot on Dave, that one's always irritated the fuck out of me as well.

― Robin Carmody, Sunday, 25 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

High school journalism, featuring "Beg, borrow, or steal" "Run, don't walk" "I want my eight bucks back" and "classic" or worse, "perrenial classic" for a group's first album or something. In fact, perrenial classic for anything!

― 1 1 2 3 5, Sunday, 25 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Does anyone remember a Chinese cooking expert (=chef) from early 80s? His apron said "wok, don't fry" . Yes, I know...

― Tracer Hand, Sunday, 25 November 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

four months pass...

"Bland"

Heh: this just reminded me one of the original OBSCURE STRATEGIES requires you to eat a Red Chili pepper and tape yr mouth shut, then work — write, record, whatevah — in this state.

― mark s, Friday, 19 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

The idea of putting Flea in my mouth and then taping it shut is morally repugnant.

― Ned Raggett, Friday, 19 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Rockcritics.com's Top Five Lists has a huge-ass page of these. I recall submitting "zeitgeist", "(blank)-hop" and the phrase "call it [insert smarmy portmanteau genre/analogy here]" (i.e. "call it 'wonktronica'") among others.

― Nate Patrin, Friday, 19 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Nate you are right

― mark s, Friday, 19 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

post-dadrock

― geeta, Friday, 19 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

'atmospheric'

― dleone, Friday, 19 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

sqwonk
damn, things go out of date fast these days

― Paul, Friday, 19 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I'm clearly trying to avoid "clearly". And "obviously". And "stuff". And stacatto half-sentences.

― fritz, Friday, 19 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

what i'd give to never read the phrase "balls-out" rock or of any band needing to "grow nuts"

― , Friday, 19 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

balls-out twee!!

― mark s, Friday, 19 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

balls out twee jihad!!

(gently hug their balls, etc. i'm so sorry.)

― jess, Friday, 19 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

two weeks pass...

"promiscuous"

― Graham, Tuesday, 7 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

When I write copy I tend to use "tipped" quite a lot. Sometimes with "hotly" preceding it, sometimes on it's own.

I'll agree with whomever described "glacial" as a keeper. Except when you're describing artists from Iceland. I believe I may be guilty of this as well.

Confessions (i.e. more words that I tend to overuse): decidedly, melange, myriad, ornate and, erm (urp!) rawk

It's amazing I still find work..

― Mark, Tuesday, 7 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

The "incestious" Chicago scene. (It's not as colorful as that.)

― Curt, Tuesday, 7 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Ahem....nor as "incestuous".

― Curt, Tuesday, 7 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

one month passes...

The word "experimental" has been causing me much consternation recently. How do the experiments run? "What do you suppose will happen if I blow on this saxamaphone, like, real real hard? For, like, ages?" "Uh, dunno"

What are the control conditions?

― Tim, Monday, 24 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

control conditions = huey lewis and the news

― mark s, Monday, 24 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I would describe my own form of experimental ahem music as just messing about. If I did this in a lab I'd be asking for trouble. Therefore, Tim is quite right.

― jel --, Monday, 24 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I'm guilty of overusing "seminal" and "angular."

― j.lu, Monday, 24 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Took to the stage, took to the decks = yuck

It's like [something crap], but on drugs!

And most awful of all is any piece containing 'hey kids!' or similar. Don't patronise your readers.

― Anna, Wednesday, 26 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

'Chin-stroking' to describe anything difficult/'experimental'! etc.

― Andrew L, Wednesday, 26 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

"(gasp!)"

― DeRayMi, Wednesday, 26 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Ha, Tim, that's fucking hilarious about "experimental"! I say "amazing" too much, I know, and Mark, "stunning" doesn't bother me for its falsity (can you really determine this anyway?) as much as it does for its vagueness - it does no work in a review besides passing a "this-is-good" judgment.

― Clarke B., Wednesday, 26 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

"Engaging."

― DeRayMi, Wednesday, 26 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

"also and "sound" and "and".

― Sterling Clover, Wednesday, 26 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

If i hear some bespectacled dweeb with a goatee refer to any...ANY...album as a Tour de Force one more time, I'm gonna nut up and start murdering musicologists! GodDAMN I hate that! Its a stale clichéd cop-out generic one-size fits all handwaving filling column inches and paid by the word pretentious prolix pseudo-profound look-I'm-now-Baudelaire-because-I-used-a-word-in-French-does-this-beret- make-my-ass-look-big piece of crap and it never EVER NEEDS TO BE USED EVER AGAIN! And I know that some people who write for Allmusic are out there, so just remember...you have been warned.

― Lord Custos III, Wednesday, 26 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

[Custos is yanked from his seat and the men in white coats give him his tranqs]

― Lord Custos III, Wednesday, 26 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

how do you feel abt "tour de france" then? *runs away*

― mark s, Wednesday, 26 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

"Indeed."

― Arthur, Wednesday, 26 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Skipping 583 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

"the higher-ups"

― map, Tuesday, 9 December 2025 01:32 (six months ago)

“learnings”

― donna rouge, Tuesday, 9 December 2025 01:48 (six months ago)

😬

― map, Tuesday, 9 December 2025 01:52 (six months ago)

"...on my bingo card"

― Cow_Art, Tuesday, 9 December 2025 02:13 (six months ago)

"ask" as a noun

― bored by endless ecstasy (anagram), Tuesday, 9 December 2025 02:23 (six months ago)

"core memory"

istg if the pop-psychology of my lifetime manifested into a physical thing, it truly would be huge pile of literal bull shit, with a bunch of very ignorantly blissed out cows standing by at the ready.

― austinato (Austin), Wednesday, 10 December 2025 18:09 (six months ago)

three months pass...

needle drop

^this. I feel like its use must be *de rigueur* at any uni cinema club

― Galactic Poetaster (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 24 March 2026 23:03 (two months ago)

one month passes...

"final boss"

stop, please

― omar little, Monday, 18 May 2026 21:58 (three weeks ago)

See also final form, one-shot, side quest, level up, etc

― Jordan s/t (Jordan), Tuesday, 19 May 2026 00:15 (three weeks ago)

Young people (tm) seem to use video game slang all the time. NPC, bot, etc.

― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 19 May 2026 00:46 (three weeks ago)

they've gamified my anxiety disorder

― brimstead, Tuesday, 19 May 2026 01:28 (three weeks ago)

A student wrote that he had leveled up his writing skills in my class and I found it helpful tbh — to see it how they see it helps me encourage other students to try in the pursuit of leveling up.

― Piggy Lepton (La Lechera), Tuesday, 19 May 2026 02:14 (three weeks ago)

leveled-up is useful. i don't mind these words if they're useful

― rameau in the main room (dog latin), Tuesday, 19 May 2026 08:30 (three weeks ago)

'level up' makes zero sense to me as a phrase. to my brain it just means 'fix something that's wonky' and i have to make a conscious effort to interpret it any other way

― Ash Ra Pimples (NickB), Tuesday, 19 May 2026 09:45 (three weeks ago)

NPC is dehumanising language and has a strong fashy flavour, really hate to see non-fashy people using it.

― sonic catterdales (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Tuesday, 19 May 2026 09:58 (three weeks ago)

It’s a very 2026 phenomenon that the type of cunts who 10 years ago were calling libcucks NPCs now spend all their time talking to a literal NPC that they think is god/their gf/therapist/financial advisor

― unclear apocalypse (wins), Tuesday, 19 May 2026 10:11 (three weeks ago)

NPC is horrible, yes. Reflective of a solipsistic mindset, but also a reaction formation against the idea that one might not actually be as important as one wishes to be.

― rameau in the main room (dog latin), Tuesday, 19 May 2026 10:23 (three weeks ago)

i get that npc comes from toxic message board culture and furthermore from video games which have nothing of value to offer to anyone, but 'people who just follow along' is a real phenomenon that deserves some kind of shorthand that isn't too derisive i guess. 'default people', 'mainstreamers', something like that. 'sheeple' if you will.

― shaking babies (map), Tuesday, 19 May 2026 23:06 (three weeks ago)

I will have to ask my daughter about the decision between NPC and bot.

― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 20 May 2026 00:08 (three weeks ago)

That went terribly, now I'm even more confused.

― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 20 May 2026 00:30 (three weeks ago)

coronate/coronated evidently continues to give me sub-editor's histamine prickle lol: you can just say crown/crowned and lose literally nothing meaningwise (and gain style-wise imo)

for the fussy of mind "coronation" in the sense of the official ceremony of the crowning of a king (or by extension i guess the official ceremony of the inauguration of a president ect ect) is fine, bcz a latinate term for some all-channels fancy performative* event completely with parchment scrolls and big stamped seals is perhaps helpfully distinctive

"coronation vs contest" is iffy by these pernickety standards but does have a certain rhetorical-alliterative energy so i'll allow it (not that "crowning vs content" doesnt)

*note correct usage austin fans!!

― mark s, Thursday, 21 May 2026 13:06 (three weeks ago)

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