They Phoned It In (One in an occasional series): Rock critic at big newspaper makes year end list as numbing as others, ices cake in declaring that "Finally, songs that move us were delivered in 2005"

I wish I were a violent man, so I could find said critic and relieve him of a debilitating factor he struggles with called 'life.'

it doesn't get easier

and er finally songs that move us?

the earth moves under Bob's feet, the sky comes tumbling down and his heart starts to trembling everytime Bono & Bruce come around

but hey, all's right w/the world know what I mean? sometimes predictability is reassuring. if hilburn came out for reggaeton or that Cactus anthology I'd be a little worried frankly.

Re "predictability," yep, it sort of goes without saying. Have to keep in mind, that the LA Times -- much like the NY Times, in terms of its music-writing, aims it at upper middle-class readers in a tightly-defined probably at least half-imaginary snob demographic who editors think want to know about this stuff, but not actually buy and listen to it.

I guess the dirty secret no one told readers was that anyone with even a shred of sense, like almost all the copy editors, detested year-end lists and rehash stories with a passion. My favorite was one year end list of things like Judas Priest's "Painkiller," declared, and it's the honest truth, so help me God, "...rock to blow your jaw off with a pistol to."

Wait, I thought that McClusky album was from a few years ago?

I thought he was retiring? I kinda agree with m coleman--I think I'm gonna miss him when he's gone. But hey, not one reference to Bono/U2 in the whole article-wow!

oh x-post

When I moved out here, I thought LA was a real hard rock town. How was I to know the only band was Queens of the Stone Age? Oh yeah, Korn got mentioned recently. Woohooo.

hahahahahahaha i dont think even kanye would say that!

Ask Ray Charles.

"My God is better than Your God,
He takes more drugs than a touring funk band - sing it!"

Mclusky RIP - When is the box set out?

The opening seconds of this spectacular single combine the '60s zest of the Beatles and the Beach Boys, and it keeps coming at you with witty lines about this outwardly cocky guy's attempt to land the girl of his
dreams.

``I'm going to make somebody love me,'' he declares, telling the girl she's the ``lucky, lucky'' one. Of course, it's all fantasy, cloaking our hero's insecurities about likely rejection."

Oh, Jesus H.Christ on a cunting unicycle. Not only does this article embody everything I hate about portentious music critisicm (Petridis, I'm looking at you) but here's the last person on Earth not to get Franz Ferdinand or indeed irony.

corey even though as an american I still have some of that odd sort of pride one has in one's terrain, I have to say the sentiment you've expressed strikes me as profound

it's sort of the least of that article's problems but that Franz song is pretty obvious guy-on-guy action

http://www.calendarlive.com/music/hilburn/cl-et-notebook31dec31,0,3526413.story?coll=cl-hilburn

"Have to keep in mind, that the LA Times -- much like the NY Times, in terms of its music-writing, aims it at upper middle-class readers in a tightly-defined probably at least half-imaginary snob demographic who editors think want to know about this stuff, but not actually buy and listen to it." -- George the Animal Steele (george_the_animal_steele...), December 31st, 2005

George, are you saying that writers with approaches and tastes like Hillburn at the LA Times on one hand and the very different ILM pop and rap friendly Sanneh at the NY Times, were each chosen to aim for this same demographic?