oniongrief

#18

2010-08-10T16:41:00.000-07:00

I’ve been in written correspondence with a poet from Australia called Ben Smith for the last year. I recommend you read his Vietnam poems featured at Outlaw Poetry.

Currently I am reading Danny Sugerman’s Wonderland Avenue. To quote the popular internet message board meme in a non-ironic way “Cool story, bro”.

I also regularly read Achewood. Roast Beef is me!

Leung Ting’s Bible also arrived in the post

#17

2010-07-12T11:08:00.000-07:00

I’ve stopped writing about music in order to write poetry again. This move is a selfish one.

I can now listen to music as a fan, rather then a critic. When you are a critic you tend not to enjoy music all that much.

#16

2010-06-14T08:59:00.000-07:00

Too Busy to Blog

Wow, it's been over a month since I posted anything. What should I write about? The fledgling Cricket team I've joined? My continual education in Wing Tsun Martial Arts? The frustration of being a Poet riddled by Writer's block?

The Cricket Team. An old work colleague of mine contacted me on Facebook saying that he was looking for people to join a Cricket team he had started from scratch. His motivations for starting the team stemmed from this book. I hadn't played any cricket since University (which reminds me I shall have to recount my hellish University experience candidly some time), yet I've always remained a avid follower of the Sport. I turned up at the first practice session and had a rather scratchy time with the bat, and an erratic spell with the ball. But on Sunday, second time around things began to come together. I batted with better shot selection and improved timing, and bowled more accurately. Obviously, I will improve as time goes on; though I'm disappointed that I haven't managed to recapture my nippy in-swing from a few years back.

Wing Tsun. Who'd have thought I'd be doing this? In blog #12 I mentioned reading a book that inspired me to get into Martial Arts. Well, in late April I did, joining Rapid Defence Martial Arts. Last weekend I completed my first grading. I must admit I found the experience terrifying, but I got my rewards by putting in the hard yards and picked up my yellow belt.

Poetry. Not much to say really. I've lost the spark. Will I ever get it back? Did I ever have it in the first place?

One thing I won't write about in any great detail is my working life. For if I did I would most likely get sacked from my employer. This frustrates me somewhat as I have a loose tongue and a feverish mind. I like to recound my experiences. I have many tales to tell, but I understand the consequences of telling them. I was lucky to get away with writing accounts about my brief time as a postman http://www.lilbeck.com/Announcements.html.

Links to Music Reviews / Interviews / Articles:

Railcars Interview
http://www.godisinthetvzine.co.uk/content/content_detail.php?id=4318&type=Interviews

Wildbirds and Peacedrums
http://drownedinsound.com/releases/15368/reviews/4139856

The Drums
http://www.audioscribbler.co.uk/reviews/the-drums-%e2%80%93-the-drums/

Lady Antebellum
http://musosguide.com/lady-antebellum-need-you-now/10255

The Hush Now
http://www.godisinthetvzine.co.uk/content/content_detail.php?id=4357&type=Singles

Almost Famous Article
http://slurvemag.com/magazine/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=286%3Aliving-in-a-cave-almost-famous&catid=37%3Afilm&Itemid=94

Matthew Glenn Thompson
http://godisinthetvzine.co.uk/content/content_detail.php?id=4367&type=Singles

Sweet Sweet Lies
http://godisinthetvzine.co.uk/content/content_detail.php?id=4366&type=Singles

The Blueskies
http://www.godisinthetvzine.co.uk/content/content_detail.php?id=4377&type=Singles

Karen Elson
http://drownedinsound.com/releases/15402/reviews/4140059

Elliott Smith
http://musosguide.com/elliott-smith-roman-candle/10425

Burning Hank
http://slurvemag.com/magazine/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=384:burning-hank-seriously-its-getting-us-down-now&catid=47:music-reviews&Itemid=101

Suzerain
http://www.godisinthetvzine.co.uk/content/content_detail.php?id=4387&type=Singles

FNS
http://www.godisinthetvzine.co.uk/content/content_detail.php?id=4399&type=Albums

Fuzzy Lights
http://www.godisinthetvzine.co.uk/content/content_detail.php?id=4413&type=Singles

Junkboy
http://www.godisinthetvzine.co.uk/content/content_detail.php?id=4408&type=Albums

The Operation
http://www.godisinthetvzine.co.uk/content/content_detail.php?id=4412&type=Singles

Anna Kashfi
http://www.godisinthetvzine.co.uk/content/content_detail.php?id=4411&type=Singles

The Climbers
http://www.godisinthetvzine.co.uk/content/content_detail.php?id=4429&type=Albums

Ice Black Birds
http://www.godisinthetvzine.co.uk/content/content_detail.php?id=4410&type=Singles

Christina Aguilera
http://drownedinsound.com/releases/15438/reviews/4140199

#15

2010-04-25T09:54:00.000-07:00

Whine-Garten?

Firstly, here is a link to the video
http://www.ippio.com/view_video.php?viewkey=dfad0d536e0a62cf4917

Secondly, here is a response
http://altreport.hipsterrunoff.com/2010/04/hype-machine-employee-responds-to-bitter-music-critics-anti-hype-machine-tirade.html

Thirdly, here are my thoughts.....

Weingarten has stuck his head on the chopping block. He has become a viral argument, arguing against the viral disease he is convinced runs through the industry. Unfortunately for Weingarten, the game has changed. The internet is a grey area, both terrible for the limited future of the existing music industry, and wonderful for the progression of music as an art form.

Weingarten himself must evolve, move with the times. Write the negative reviews that he claims are not being written, offer himself up as a Christgau like figure, providing us with the voice of reason. The old guard (his generation) are still knocking out good shit. Read anything by Simon Reynolds, Sasha Frere-Jones, or most who contribute to http://thequietus.com. Heck even the Grandad’s of music journalism – the likes of Paul Morley and Jim DeRogatis still have their moments. So those who wrote in the days when music writers actually got paid are still offering up intelligent critique in the internet age. Importantly they are operating alongside amateur bloggers, and freelance contributors who are adding to this wonderful clash between old school thoughts and irreverent high speed information exchanges.

The critic still can provide a useful role to the listener, but to do that the critic must maintain standards, offering quality content. Weingarten’s original impassioned rant at The 140 Characters Conference http://www.popmatters.com/pm/post/95299-christopher-r.-weingarten-the-140-characters-conference-video initially raised some valid points regarding this – his reasoning was easier to understand back then. But right now I think Weingarten is under pressure, he’s fast becoming the writer who’s getting a profile for something other than his writing. A buzzwriter. Like the buzzband’s he so despises, we know his name, we talk about him, we blog and tweet about him, but we know nothing else. He’s becoming insubstantial.

#14

2010-04-21T15:25:00.000-07:00

Oz

It’s now a week since I returned from Australia, touching down 24 hours before Volcanic Ash wrecked havoc in our skies. What a trip it was! I nearly crashed a boat, got shot... by a paintball gun, climbed a mountain, wandered onto a nudist beach, and ate shark and wallaby. Had a wonderful holiday, and now I feel recharged and ready to go again.

Here is some stuff I wrote before the trip.....

A bit of a half arsed piece titled Jack (and Jills) of all Trades
http://thefourohfive.com/articles/2662

Interview with Galleries
http://www.godisinthetvzine.co.uk/content/content_detail.php?id=4212&type=Interviews

Cloud Corner 2 feat: No Monster Club, Lemonade Kangeroo, The Dirty Diamonds, The Gin Riots, Battle Flags, Flower of Zeus and The Sailplanes.
http://thefourohfive.com/articles/2699

Reviews - Motion City Soundtrack, General Fiasco, Jose James, No Machine, Archangel, Ice Black Birds, Drew Andrews, Kerbdog, Petter & The Pix, Sivert Høyem and Pavement.

#13

2010-03-22T07:02:00.000-07:00

Feeling Lazy on this Hazy Spring Day

Finished Nick Kent’s seventies memoir Apathy for the Devil. I enjoyed it, but I can understand why some people didn’t.

Recommended articles:
http://www.avclub.com/articles/the-hell-of-being-prolific-are-musicians-making-to,39269/

http://www.3ammagazine.com/3am/an-american-hangover-charles-bukowski/

http://thequietus.com/articles/03925-the-fall-and-mark-e-smith-as-a-narrative-lyric-writer

Vintage Brooker:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/mar/22/charlie-brooker-newspapers-dangerous-drug

That's all I've got.

#12

2010-03-15T11:27:00.000-07:00

Let’s Go Away for a While

Whilst counting down the days and hours until my trip to Australia I have been occupying some of my time reading some books that have previously lied dormant on my desk, aside from the usual novels and non-fiction books I have read a trio of short story / prose collections. Woody Allen’s Complete Prose which went over my head mostly. Ewan Morrison’s The Last Book Your Read, a selection of short stories that mostly involved sex, and since I haven’t been privy to such debauched activities for a while I found it pretty hard to get into. Then there was Lee Rourke’s Everyday which I enjoyed most out of the three, and even had the good grace to inform the author of the pleasure that filled me as I turned each page of his book.

One of the more interesting books that I have read this year was Sam Sheridan’s A Fighter's Heart: One Man's Journey through the World of Fighting. Despite believing that fighting should always be the last resort in resolving a conflict, I am a sucker for organized prizefighting. Be it through Boxing or Mixed Martial Arts. Sheridan, despite coming across early in the book as a bit of a pampered rich kid, is actually an engaging writer who literally tackles the subject he is writing about.

Sheridan roughs it in Thailand training in Muay Thai kickboxing, repeatedly gets his arse kicked in Pat Miletich’s gym, and lives and breathes boxing with Olympic Gold Medalist Andre Ward and his charismatic trainer Virgil Hunter, questioning the how’s and why’s of combat sports. In amongst this are some interesting chapters about meditation and surprisingly dog fighting.

Dog fighting is something I find completely abhorrent, however I am completely ignorant about the ‘sport’, so this chapter certainly made me reevaluate my opinion, and think about it a little differently. Sheridan makes you understand that although Dog Fighting is a cruel and vicious sport there are also trainers who rear their dogs in a professional fashion, preventing them from excessive suffering.

The book has inspired me to look further into the world of fighting. When I return from my travels I'm thinking about signing up with a gym, and pushing myself into Martial Arts. At 26 I will be a late starter, but that could be said about so many decisions I've made throughout my life. Though the likelihood that I will get punched in the face makes me seriously question such a decision.

Reviews:
Showstar, Sambassadeur, The High Wire, Gaggle, Zebra & Snake, Archie Bronson Outfit, Chris TT, Dance To The Radio, Lucius, Bonobo, Sound of Guns, Sir Yes Sir and Railcars.

#11

2010-03-07T14:21:00.000-08:00

PRats

This blog results from a review I submitted to one of the sites I write for, to avoid embarrassment and possible legal action, certain bands, people and companies shall remain nameless. First of all let’s take a look at the review:

“Beware bands and artists: PR companies might jeopardize how your music comes across to the listener. ***PR person who I can’t name for legal reasons***, the name listed on the bottom of this piece of paper I am currently holding, this neatly folded sheet of A4, if it was you who put together such a generic presentation of a band then you should be ashamed. See I'm not afraid to point the finger. Some of my other fellow critics might even choose to replicate the full contents of this sheet, but I'm not going to play that game. You really don't know how to wet the appetite ***First name of PR person who I can’t name for legal reasons***, I feel as though I'm reading aloud the contents of a Little Chef menu.

However, after listening to ***Single Title***, it suddenly dawned on me that maybe ***First name of PR person who I can’t name for legal reasons***, or whoever wrote this PR blurb, were helpless in representing a band that are indeed utterly boring, a complete lost cause, and that actually ***Band that I can’t name for legal reasons***, are indeed deserving of nothing more than false flattery; only worth the generic taglines of "getting played on XFM", or "being a Jeff Buckley forward slash Editors crossover". It fits this turgid, sterile, wooden spoon of a single.

I'm making an about turn from my initial opening statement and would like to apologize to ***PR person who I can’t name for legal reasons***, and the good people at***PR Company that I can’t name for legal reasons***. Sometimes PR companies have to literally sell turds. And as we all know, it is pretty damn hard to dress up a turd.”

Yeah, a little shoddy, not exactly the greatest piece I’ve written. I admit that. But I’m curious about the reaction that came from the PR person:

“Hi ***Editor I’m not going to name***, just seen this review:

***Defunct web link for review***,

I’m pretty shocked and appalled that you’ve decided to publish a review personally attacking me and our company, particularly considering the number and variety of acts we have worked with you on over the years.

I see this reviewer has recently given ***Another band signed with the PR Company***, 5/5 and given a good review to***another band***, both of whom are my acts. He has also covered a number of other acts we work with as a company, so wonder why, when he’s given a record he doesn’t like he thinks it’s ok to publicly slate our taste and seek to damage our reputation.

I don’t have any problem with him giving an honest opinion of the record, but am seriously unhappy that he thought it suitable to review our company and make it personal, rather than give his thoughts on the contents of the CD. It just seems massively unprofessional and we’re unsure as to whether ***PR Company that I can’t name for legal reasons***, wish to continue working with ***Name of the site I contributed the review to***.

Would like to know your thoughts…

***PR person who I can’t name for legal reasons***”

First of all I contacted the editor and made no apology for the review. The editor in question even understood my stance on PR companies, and how certain companies are badly representing their artists by producing ham fisted blurbs. See my review wasn’t a personal attack against ***PR person who I can’t name for legal reasons***. That PR Person just happened to be someone who I highlighted to make a point. It wasn’t even an attack on the company that the PR person works for.

The ‘damage done’ was minimal in the scheme of things, but a worthwhile graze since it underlines the problem many band’s face when they sign with PR Companies. For one thing it appears that bands who are signed with PR are concentrating solely on their music, on practicing and on playing (which they should be doing), but blindly allowing spiel to be written that affects how their music is not just heard, but critiqued by influential tastemakers and critics; potentially this stops a buzz that could contribute towards the band moving from the toilet circuit to the festival circuit, gaining new fans and generally getting widely seen and heard.

Such blurbs are received from PR Companies when sites / reviewers get sent the single or album promoting their client, either in CD format, or sent a downloadable file. With this music comes the blurb; loosely describing who the band members / songwriters are, where they are from, forthcoming tour dates, snippets from previous reviews, influences and a little introduction to the songs.

Often this information is pretty generic, templated almost. Some reviewers will pad the bulk of their piece with said information, as I deliberately did for the above review. My point in doing this was to say that the blurb is selling the band to me. Snippets about the band getting endorsed by Zane Lowe or Edith Bowman, or in the case of the above review describing the band as "being a Jeff Buckley forward slash Editors crossover” can be turned negatively. If information can be easily used against a band, then surely that information must be considered damaging?

Artists need to try and keep as much control as their own affairs as possible, especially as they move forward. Once you are established, then PR can be used effectively, but in these formative years, where each decision impacts heavily upon whether or not a band has any future at all, then artists need to pay greater attention to what is being written about them by their representatives.

#10

2010-02-25T14:35:00.000-08:00

Sean Adams, the head honcho at Drowned in Sound linked this article up on his blog recently http://www.musicthinktank.com/blog/create-an-elaborate-plan.html. It got me thinking about what advice I might give to bands looking to breakthrough; though I don’t disagree on the general rule outlined in the article – which basically is to standout from the pack (alongside some pretty vague 2.0 marketing jargon). I feel that a lot of musicians are actually giving too much about themselves away, but what they give is often meaningless information. Meaningless because it is regurgitated, boring PR piffle.

Furthermore, I also can’t criticize the current trend for acts to stream several songs on MySpace, Last FM and even to give away EPs for free via sites such as bandcamp.com. Which is fine, and necessary. You want people to listen to your music; they don’t want to pay for it. Everyone wins in the current climate. However what acts want is for a buzz to build, and for their band to step onto the next level. To reign as kings and queens of the blogosphere. To get invited to play music festivals in the summer. To gain radio play and get lucrative support slots opening for established bands. They want to actually make some kind of living, to get in the van and live the good life (even if it is only for 18 months), rather then play pretend musicians whilst holding down that boring desk job.

What is getting lost in the information age is mystique. In a round about way I think this was the point Tom Meighan from Kasabian was trying to make a few weeks back. We are quickly losing the ability to fall in love with a band. We absorb a gutful of music, sometimes we digest it slowly, after savouring every morsel of sound. Other times the tunes go straight through us. But what we haven’t got is the obsession. There are no longer music gods. No longer idols. And from the point of view of the younger music fan this can only be a bad thing.

I remember back in the day, when I was a teenager, reading articles about Trent Reznor, and the myth that surrounded the man in Kerrang. In reality Reznor is a hard working, multi-talented musician with a singular focus to make progressive, hard edged music. Something he has done all through his career. In fiction, the myth painted him to be dangerous, daring, evil, exciting - a maverick. After reading such articles it was then easy to get sucked in, to attend the concerts, to absorb the music, to commit yourself to a NIN religion. That’s just one example.

The wider point is that a band should look back to the past, and be creative. Don’t just be Joe from The *Insert band name here*, think of a alter-ego, a back-story. You’re not who you are. You must be different. Your band aren’t just four blokes who met in Art College, actually you were brought together by a charismatic shamanic guru, who one night suddenly disappeared. All of the greats had myths surrounding them - Robert Johnson at the Crossroads, Bob Dylan's early career tall tales and exaggerations, The Clash presenting themselves as noble urban outlaws etc. etc.

If I hear three jangly indie bands that are all obviously influenced by the same old shizzle, the one thing that might set them apart is the interesting back story that comes from the final band I listen to of the three; the fact that I can’t just Google the band's name and come across a generic bio (which might even directly link to each individual band member’s bland Facebook page) makes that band infinitely more intriguing.

One other thing - Don't do interviews if you have no material pre-prepared. Don't just accept any press opportunity, however small and give stock answers. Always stir the pot, be controversial, get yourself talked about. You want the hype to grow. You want the lies to fester.

Although the quality of the music will ultimately decide how far you go, and how many new fans you win over. The critics may be kinder if you display some enigmatic qualities.

New bands might be interested in sending something over to Cloud Corner.
***

Reviews:
TeenagersinTokyo, These Monsters, cliffordandcalix, Alex Turner, Built to Spill, The So So Glos, Paperplain, Shabby Rogue, Souvaris / Sincabeza, North Atlantic Oscillation, French for Cartridge, Boy Crisis, The October Game, Nedry, and Fight Like Apes.

#9

2010-01-25T16:40:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!!!
The first entry for 2010. Already things are going far better then this time last year where I was sitting around in my dressing gown waiting for the time to Sign On at the Job Centre. I believe Sunday's were the days where I would pick conflakes from my Belly Button whilst in deep contemplation as to how I might escape from my despair.

So yes, life is good, because I am working. I guess that Oscar Wilde quote rings true - “The best way to appreciate your job is to imagine yourself without one.”

To Tidy up a few loose ends - here is probably the finest review of Dead End Road. I would like to thank Stu Hatton for writing such a wonderful, well balanced appraisal of the collection.

http://www.kissthewitch.co.uk/seinundwerden/wink.html

I'm also still writing about music, here are some recent pieces:
A look back at 2000, Delphic, Franz Wright, Kobayashi, Swanton Bombs, Lostprophets, Hair Traffic Control (now known as Olympians), Flies are Spies from Hell, Flo Rida, Manna, Musée Mécanique , Chapel Club, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Jack Cleverly.