In my early 20s, music criticism seemed dominated by writers in their 40s. Now that I'm in my 30s I'm too old to be a critic. Why?

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Has anyone else noticed this? When I was in college I distinctly remember feeling that music writing and coverage was totally driven by people who felt that the new Bonnie Raitt album would potentially be the most important piece of music released during the year. Well, maybe that's not the best example, but most writers' reference points all seemed fixed about 20 years in the past.

Yes, writers nowadays clearly look for references to Gang of Four or whoever, but you don't get the sense that their new album or a new Echo & the Bunnymen release is what everyone will run above the fold.

― mitya can't remember his frigging password, Wednesday, 19 October 2005 22:44 (twenty years ago)

Ha ha, I'm in my mid 40s, I determine what runs above the fold, and I can't for the life of me comprehend why anybody would consider running a Gang of Four or Echo and the Bunnymen review there in 2005! (Or any time after 1981, probably, for that matter.)

― xhuxk, Wednesday, 19 October 2005 22:52 (twenty years ago)

I read this the title as beginning "In the early 20s" and was very intrigued.

― A|ex P@reene (Pareene), Wednesday, 19 October 2005 22:55 (twenty years ago)

GET ONE GRIMEBLOG

― Paranoid Spice (ex machina), Wednesday, 19 October 2005 22:57 (twenty years ago)

It might have helped if Gang of Four had actually put out an album of all new material.

― Hurting (Hurting), Wednesday, 19 October 2005 23:01 (twenty years ago)

In my early 20s, music criticism seemed dominated by writers in their 40s. Now that I'm in my 30s I'm too old to be a critic. Why?

http://www.alternativenation.net/gallery/files/1/4/0/0/1400-from_the_intarnet_sig.gif

― donut hallivallerieburtonelli omg lol (donut), Wednesday, 19 October 2005 23:07 (twenty years ago)

It might have helped if Gang of Four had actually put out an album of all new material.

Or if Echo weren't crippled still by the lack of De Freitas.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 19 October 2005 23:12 (twenty years ago)

"Never gonna change, never gonna disappear!!!"

― scott seward (scott seward), Wednesday, 19 October 2005 23:17 (twenty years ago)

I mean "Return the Gift" would have been a perfect title had it been slated for release during Hannukah.

― Hurting (Hurting), Wednesday, 19 October 2005 23:18 (twenty years ago)

people who felt that the new Bonnie Raitt album would potentially be the most important piece of music released during the year.
I was listening to the song Dion wrote about Bonnie Raitt just this weekend for some reason. He (and I) should have stopped at "Abraham, Martin and John."

― k/l (Ken L), Wednesday, 19 October 2005 23:22 (twenty years ago)

no way, post-abraham, martin and john dion rocks. not to mention that the b-side to "abraham, martin and john", "Daddy Rollin'", is a fucking masterpiece.

― scott seward (scott seward), Wednesday, 19 October 2005 23:32 (twenty years ago)

but echo DEFINITELY should have stopped after the dancing horses 12 inch with the ruling shoulder/bedbugs b-side double whammy. the only people who listen after that are ned.probably.

― scott seward (scott seward), Wednesday, 19 October 2005 23:34 (twenty years ago)

Only barely.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 19 October 2005 23:36 (twenty years ago)

ned's innnnn candleland!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

― scott seward (scott seward), Wednesday, 19 October 2005 23:38 (twenty years ago)

now that I'm in my 30s I'm too old to be a critic.

Ha-ha. Calm down, you still have plenty of time to screw up like the rest of us.

Yes, writers nowadays clearly look for references to Gang of Four or whoever

Eh? The world is definitely flat. If you masturbate, you'll slowly go blind and hair will grow on your palms. If you say "Candyman!" three times into a mirror a big guy with a hook will be in your apartment to gut you. The Los Angeles Times is a leftist newspaper. The liberal newsmedia is corrupting our national values. Darwin's theory of evolution, like creationism, is only a theory, so it might not be right and both should be taught in public schools. There's a monster in Loch Ness.

― George the Animal Steele, Wednesday, 19 October 2005 23:45 (twenty years ago)

ned's innnnn candleland!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hehehe. I'll grant the first solo album but that's about it.

Whenever I say Candyman Willy Wonka appears. It's weird.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 19 October 2005 23:47 (twenty years ago)

Well, you must be saying it into the candy bowl then, not the mirror.

― George the Animal Steele, Wednesday, 19 October 2005 23:50 (twenty years ago)

Ned, it must be fun to live in a world of your own creation.

All right, scott, I'll give you "Daddy Rollin'," "Your Own Backyard," his cover of "The Dolphins" and even his cover of "Purple Haze," but after that, I dunno. One more thing- Bob Dylan's little tribute in the boxed set liner notes is amazing.

― k/l (Ken L), Wednesday, 19 October 2005 23:50 (twenty years ago)

Ned, it must be fun to live in a world of your own creation.

You creatures called humans, you amuse me.

Well, you must be saying it into the candy bowl then, not the mirror.

Fuck, I knew I was doing something wrong. *says it into mirror, is gutted*

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 19 October 2005 23:51 (twenty years ago)

Music criticism in newspapers over here (Australia) still seems to be dominated by boomers. This doesn't really bother me, except when they write about recent music normally out of their field of expertise and cock it up so spectacularly (e.g. every review of a pop or R&B album is just an excuse to talk about how chart music sucks that doesn't even bother to tie the rant to a specific point about the album).

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Thursday, 20 October 2005 05:54 (twenty years ago)

You are only as old as you feel inside. I'm 39 years old, but in my heart, I'm 87 and you damn kids keep knocking the top hat off my head with your snowballs, if I catch you I'll give you a good thrashing with this cane you WHIPPERSNAPPERZ

― The Obligatory Sourpuss (Begs2Differ), Thursday, 20 October 2005 12:58 (twenty years ago)

Now more than ever, it is the duty of the elderly to afflict and tax the young, particularly because they're so much better at blogs and computer games and iPods and picture phones and joining the Marine Corps than everybody else.

― George the Animal Steele, Thursday, 20 October 2005 14:56 (twenty years ago)

I only figured out how to put words in italics on Wednesday! This old coot is excited!

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Thursday, 20 October 2005 15:01 (twenty years ago)

I can teach you how to put them in boldface and even upload a music file to your Myspace page! This is an important thing!

― George the Animal Steele, Thursday, 20 October 2005 15:04 (twenty years ago)

(wondering if this would've gone any farther if he hadn't used echo as one of his examples)

― mitya can't remember his frigging password, Thursday, 20 October 2005 19:31 (twenty years ago)

Probably not.

― George the Animal Steele, Thursday, 20 October 2005 20:04 (twenty years ago)

"The Bunnymen" not "Echo", please, people.

― flowersdie (flowersdie), Friday, 21 October 2005 00:11 (twenty years ago)

actually, re what Tim said, there's a reason the servers are in Boomerstraila: when I think of how old half the pooples in this board are,I take my nap (coz I'm even older)("coz"/oz/oztrailya) Cheep Cheep, Brother Ned!

― don, Friday, 21 October 2005 00:30 (twenty years ago)

--take my nap while writing more for money than evah, albeit not for more money than evah: in othaahh wods, you're just not old *enough*! Is what I meant to say, Threadstarter, whose name I also forget...deedeedee...mumble

― don, Friday, 21 October 2005 00:33 (twenty years ago)

Cheep Cheep, Brother Ned!

Go in peace and sin some more.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 21 October 2005 00:37 (twenty years ago)

I'm so old, I've metamorphosed into a pile of calcium silicate sand. The pile of sand still aims to afflict the young. Fear not! Humans live long. Retribution -- the revenge shot(s) from teh younger critic who chafea at our scourge -- will arrive. I guarantee it!

― George the Animal Steele, Friday, 21 October 2005 05:51 (twenty years ago)

More free reading material on the internets...
Declined readership in print music mags...
Less money to spend on mags...
Less money to pay writers...
Have to go to people who will write for nearly free...
= damn kids.

― Whiney G. Weingarten (whineyg), Friday, 21 October 2005 09:32 (twenty years ago)

If mags spent less money on pointless self-promotion and more money on decent writers, more people would read them, or is that far too simplistic?

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Friday, 21 October 2005 09:37 (twenty years ago)

all depends on how you define "decent writing"

...and then the problem of getting it past the "gatekeeprs"

editor #1: "hey Carlin's piece on Mar1$$@ M@rch@n* was pretty good"

editor #2: "oooh you should've seen it before I took a whack at it"

― m coleman (lovebug starski), Friday, 21 October 2005 09:48 (twenty years ago)

"decent writing" - writing which is original, entertaining and thought-provoking, such that the reader might be induced to purchasing whichever record they're writing about.

music "editors" - managers who don't even have the guts to call themselves managers, as penman rightly stated.

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Friday, 21 October 2005 09:53 (twenty years ago)

time out excepted obviously, but that's on a different level from the IPCs and EMAPs of this world.

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Friday, 21 October 2005 09:53 (twenty years ago)

I'm so old, I've metamorphosed into a pile of calcium silicate sand
You're so old you're making references to the original Star Trek, George.

― k/l (Ken L), Friday, 21 October 2005 09:54 (twenty years ago)

>"decent writing" - writing which is original, entertaining and thought-provoking, such that the reader might be induced to purchasing whichever record they're writing about.<

Or to NOT buy it!

(I'm a middle-manager, I think.)

― xhuxk, Friday, 21 October 2005 11:52 (twenty years ago)

Gang of Four? Come off it - I was reading about Gang of Four 'influences' back in the 80s. I guess nothing has changed since then? People want to stay stuck in the 80s for some reason.

― mickey raft (mickeygraft), Friday, 21 October 2005 13:11 (twenty years ago)

"I'm so old...sand" yes, but (Freakwater twangs): "throw that sand upon the fire, become those glasses we all admire" (actually they say "rose-colored," but I know George would pick dif frames to be; mirrorshades, Ah 'magine. "Whut we have heah, is a failure to communicate." WHAM)

― don, Friday, 21 October 2005 13:28 (twenty years ago)

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