OK, is this the worst piece of music writing ever?

Oh, Ranaldo's lyrics don't have the 'storytelling deftness' (actual quote, no shit) of Robert Hunter's? Ignoring for a moment the fact that Robert Hunter rarely wrote 'story' songs, it seems to me this reviewer read Lee's recent piece on the Dead and structured his entire review around the specious idea of Ranaldo and the Dust as a 'jam band,' pesky facts be damned. I get the feeling that if Lee had instead written a billet-doux to, oh, I don't know, Kriss Kross, St John might be complaining that the cadences heard on Last Night on Earth aren't as 'poignantly riveting' as Daddy Mack's.

you tell 'em, son

has this been linked yet?

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/oct/08/school-of-pop

from the comments: I kind of rely on well informed Guardian commenters to expand upon my limited range of references, as you have done.

Almost the only aspect of being paid to write columns that is not highly pleasurable is being scooped.

old dude be old

Amol Rajan should write a book on reggae. What would it be called I wonder?

Almost the only aspect of being paid to write columns that is not highly pleasurable is being scooped.

I'd imagine rereading such dogshit columns before submitting them must be quite painful too, though its clear that the reggae guy doesn't actually reread his stuff before sending it.

He's the editor of the fucking Independent. wtf.

The weird thing is that he actually seems to know quite a lot about reggae - he must have actively worked to come across as so clueless and objectionable.

http://www.independent.co.uk/incoming/article8514227.ece/ALTERNATES/w460/Amol_Rajan_crisps.jpg

needs some Reggae Reggae Sauce on those crisps

andrew collins' blog is the smuggest piece of shit in the world

do i have to cross out the "s' blog" there?

modern chart pop – industrially produced by a risk-averse industry for distracted tweens who generally get to vote for the artists they'd like to perform it – is no longer required to induce academic curiosity

Apples and oranges, this. All of his old examples are art-rock or post-punk, apart from the mighty Boney M.

Likewise this: The National Literary Trust study found that 21.5% of young people agreed with the statement: "I would be embarrassed if my friends saw me read." This jars with my fond teenage memory of poring over lyrics with friends in the gatefold-sleeve era. I'm sure some of the other 78.5% do the equivalent now.

That piece is maddening and lazy and loads of people argued with it beneath the fold and so therefore it generated lots of clicks and so therefore it justified itself as "paid journalism" but really this isn't why I "got into" writing about music, and certainly not what I read it for. Also his books are wincingly poor "Do u remember spangles and white dog poo?" dogshit.

modern clickbait "journalism" – industrially produced by a risk-averse industry for distracted twenty-somethings who generally get to vote for the writers they'd like to perform it – is no longer required to induce academic curiosity

he literally writes impassioned 4000 word posts where he cries about people not putting their british library carrier bags back in the box properly

I'm wary of the phrase "clickbait" tbh. There's always been a need for eyeballs and a disappointing willingness to run sloppily argued "provocative" columns, long before the internet. AC isn't a product of the SEO era - he was writing like this in the NME 20 years ago.

30 years ago.

I'm wary of the phrase "clickbait" tbh.

Just makes me think of the song(?) "Slug Bait" by Throbbing Gristle

https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/1391487_10151956929613834_974845207_n.jpg

Tory reggae could totally be a thing.

Jah Trustafar-i

How long shall they kill our profits/ while we stand aside and look

New winner

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/10358000/Dave-Berry-the-10-albums-every-man-should-own.html

Fuck me.

nggghhh

I like "Survivor's legendary basslines" but, "quite simply", it's all Partridge gold.

During some of the naughtiest times in my life this has been the soundtrack that has turned me into "the special cuddle king".

I can't even begin to get my head around this.

The first line is a quote just to be clear, I forgot the italics.

i'm reading this as excellent satire on a certain vision of masculinity, surely?

This guy should be chained to a lambretta and thrown in a slurry pit.

"I didn't want to include "best ofs" in this list ­ it's cheating. But if I'm honest I don't know enough about the great John to recommend a specific album."

I ...

Actually, I'd have more respect for him if he said "These are the only albums I own"

Anyway, truth time:

How Many Of These Do You Own?

(you can only answer if you're a MAN mind)

(five)

hmmm, allow me to qualify what i was about to post "only owning 10 obvious churl-rock records is exactly part of that vision of masculinity i was thinking about."

Our Amber owns the Ed Sheeran one, but she's not a MAN so it did not count. (oh, and she's not me obv)

I don't actually think it's wrong to pick a JLH compilation and if I was trying to introduce him to someone, that would be the way I'd go too. This guy is still a bellend though.

Dave Berry needs to know it's okay to not really be into music much. also didn't he put out some records in the 60s?

I am 10% man ("Dummy").

there's some kind of aporia happening around the whole "i need to think in terms of the album so i am ashamed to acknowledge the compilation album as an album even tho i like these songs" waltz that idiots do

Trying to think who this other Dave Berry was but can only remember this guy instead:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OL2t2Pu2Z44

http://www.cryinggame.co.uk/

I don't actually think it's wrong to pick a JLH compilation and if I was trying to introduce him to someone, that would be the way I'd go too.

Nor do I, it was more the "I don't know anything about his albums" bit.

ILM needs a Mike Berry thread stat, wash away the taste of laughing at the unfortunates

Had not heard The Crying Game before, so thanks thread & NV for introducing me to it. Actually I lie cos apparently the Boy George version was used in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, but that somehow didn't make much of an impression on me.

"The Crying Game" is a fantastic record which is why they made a film about it.

Hmm yes, I admit I have not seen that film. Only Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.

ILM needs a Mike Berry thread stat, wash away the taste of laughing at the unfortunates

Maybe a big Mike Berry vs Paul Nicholas vs Dennis Waterman vs ??? poll would be the way to go, it's the ILM way