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No, I don't "identify strongly with the reviewer" - what an odd way to put it. I like the piece. I like the unusual structure that helps it stand out from your average review. I like the points McNamee makes. I won't deny it's a challenging piece, and I'm sorry if the mention of political history throws you, but don't be scared. Put a little work in and the points are there - direct observations about the music, Radiator, often even specific enough to relate to a certain point in the duration of a song. Points like the fact that the guitars at one point during 'Karazee' closely recreate the experience of "coming up" on E, or the fact that the vocals on the chorus of 'Pardon My Freedom' have a percussive effect.
That being said, it's true that McNamme writes in a rather allusive way - sometimes apparently abstract or free-associating - that can be difficult. For this very reason, I can't really see what connection the review has to the blokeish, prosaic stylings of someone like Tony Parsons - the two writers seem at opposite ends of the stylistic spectrum no matter which one prefers. I have to confess that I'm perplexed as to what kind of music writing you value yourself, seeing as you object to both opinions and references to anything outside the record itself (or maybe just outside the world of indie rock?).
As for "The writer likely works in the media..." - oh no, a writer who works in the media! Personally I've always thought that writers should work down the pit and only greengrocers should work in the media... We get that you resent people who have had success in a certain field, Radiator. However in this case I think you're confusing your targets somewhat. Plan B is very much a do-it-yourself venture. Like Careless Talk Costs Lives before it, it seems to involve (as far as I can tell from a slightly removed viewpoint) a relatively small group of people investing a lot of time and even money into something that does not produce obvious financial rewards, if any. People certainly don't get paid for writing for it. So this awful "well-connected" media whore exists only in your head. But by all means, feel free to make a rational point about the pros and cons of small(er) press / self-published music journalism, if you have the urge.
Moving on, please God, to the subject of !!! v. LCD Soundsystem: as I sit here and listen to the latter's 'Yeah', I can't help but think it surpasses everything on Louden Up Now - then again, I'm getting a little sick of waiting for LCD Soundsytem to actually release an album. Often scarcer the material, the more exciting it seems, so I guess time will tell... It is interesting how similar the sound of the two bands is when compared to, say, The Rapture when produced by the DFA. The Rapture's material tends to still be quite song-based in the traditional sense - built around melodies and vocals rather than rhythm - whereas with !!! and LCD Soundsytem the rhythm and percussion are what drives the song, and the vocalists mumble and occasionally yelp rather than singing - neither of these bands would ever make a ballad, I think it's fair to say. And both have used the 303 recently... |
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