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Underground > Radio & Music >

New Musical Expressly Awful

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07:53 / 26.01.06

In '06 though, I'd imagine you'd have to trawl through the back roads of the interweb for much the same sort of service, unless you happen to be a fan of one of the niche genres covered by one of the monthlies, or indie student rock, and so, consequently, I never listen to, never mind buy any new music these days, and I do kind of resent it.

I dunno, 'Plan B' and 'Comes with a smile' are both well written, interesting and really good for discovering new music. The latter even has a free CD every month. I don't miss the NME or Melody Maker at all. Fuck them and the haircuts they rode in on.

08:59 / 26.01.06

Alex: The Wire is the only magazine I read, too. You just get a massive amount of bang for your buck, chances are you'll find dozens of new albums that are worth your time each month in there from even only a cursory read. All my other recommendations I get off the internet or from browsing other magazines without buying them. If you're unduly effected by their academic approach... well, that's your problem, isn't it? Reading how someone else responds to music doesn't make it the way I'm going to respond to it.

14:36 / 26.01.06

I've been on a big Wire kick recently too - I've probably bought every issue for the past 18 months or something.

I guess certain aspects of my musical taste are definitely shifting in 'that' direction, which undoubtedly helps, but above all I find the writing, design and photography to all be top notch, and even when they're writing about music I'm not particularly over the moon about, the features never fail to be, well, *interesting* (important point that) and to teach me something I didn't know before.

It's also the only magazine I can think of that regularly features actual analysis of what music sounds like and the methods that are used to make it sound that way.... not only in a wanky, experimental sense, but, y'know, just generally - it's amazing how much mainstream music writing, even the quite good stuff, relies on carefully established networks of reference points, fashion and emotional shorthand (not that I'm criticising - that stuff's all worthwhile too of course), rather than direct discussion of the sounds found therein.

The Wire's continued existence as something you pick up at WH Smiths or at the railway station is something I think should be supported and celebrated basically, regardless of it's drawbacks.

All Acting Regiment

15:26 / 26.01.06

The words "Arctic" and "Monkeys" appear on every other page of this issue, fact fans! And in the NME big prize thing shortlists, the Kaiser Chiefs make an appearance in every category.

Then there's an article about what it's cool to do in London, featuring a band called the Wee Willy Winkles(sic). They go to the science museum, I think, and one of them puts his hands on one of those electric balls.

The NME's continued sponsorship of the Chilly Chimps is bizarre. Thousands of words but no content. It's like watching a twenty-eight year old gluegun some Lego wagon wheels to his soles and rush up to some rollerblading kids shouting "Hotdog, natch!!1!"

All Acting Regiment

11:04 / 02.02.06

Most recent one also said of the Madonna record: "Will the Homos will lap it up? Computer says yes."

Orrin's Prick Up Your Ears

12:53 / 08.02.06

The Wire's great for appreciating music as sound. It opened me up to Sun-Ra & Eric Dolphy & Henry Cow & Art Bears & Robert Wyatt & Coil etc. The idea of living in the present, of appreciating sound in the moment rather than allowing oneself to sink into the sleepily stagnant comfortableness of familiar songs & nostalgia, was a very important lesson for me & helped me to break my ties to 'bands'. Resonance Radio also helped. For me, it was another voice calling for the need to truly live in the moment, valuing immediate, truly awake experience, over my (our?) tendency to retreat behind familiar patterns.

(Agree with the dry tone though. Listening to music that promises 'nothing beyond itself' (in Ben Watson's words) doesn't mean you can't find it deeply sexy, emotional & personally meaningful in that moment, & plot revolution to it.)

Hate Everett True but loved Careless Talk when it came out & Plan B seems much the same. Always refreshing to have enthusiasts talking about the music they're enthusiastic about rather than trying to invent & champion another half-arsed inorganic 'movement', yawn.

With NME floundering, Artrocker is showing sharklike predatory instincts by gearing up for its own leap to weekly publication, although as the quality of writing makes NME hacks look like Tolstoy, I'm not holding my breath (except in awe at how bad it is).

Best music mags I've seen recently are the freebies & zines. Fuck the professionals, to be honest. Stuff like The Organ, which is wonky & written very quickly with a correspondingly wild unevenness but scores by being solidly grass-roots, concentrating on local bands & the joy of gigging. It's a great thing (especially as there's a photo of me in the latest issue). Their radio show is on Resonance104.4FM, every other Sunday at 10.30pm, just before Horse Hospital Radio. Definitely worth catching.

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