View previous topic :: View next topic |
Author |
Message |
Kris
Joined: 16 Sep 2002 Posts: 2550 Location: Sheffield
|
Posted: Wed Apr 23, 2003 08:37 Post subject: How Authentic do you want it? |
|
|
Has the NME always been this shit or did I just grow up?
My Magpie Eyes blames The Boo's for going top ten........
Anyway does it matter whether Avril is a faker or not, whether she writes her own material or was born in a test tube, surely all that should matter is that she whines the crappiest most mind boggingly shit awful lyrics over the top of the wankest tunes ever?
Kinkster _________________ "fashioned by the blade of a world that doesn't care,
feeling so removed, drifting thru stealing air then...
pause and think about it, try to move and shift the pain, but it's there you feel it kicking and you scream and feel alive." |
|
Back to top |
|
|
gillworm
Joined: 14 Nov 2002 Posts: 529 Location: London
|
Posted: Wed Apr 23, 2003 09:20 Post subject: |
|
|
well since i appear to be the oldest user here (41last week, wahey!) i'll take it upon myself to answer that one...
i was a very regular reader of the NME back in the early to late 80s, when there were 3 weekly music newspapers: Sounds which leaned towards rock/metal/punk (in other words, noise), Melody Maker, which i think was the first to use colour and leaned towards Pop/charts (in otherwords more mainstream and lightweight) and the NME, which at the time covered a broad range or music though essentially with the same character is has today. it was always the most annoying of the three because it was the most opinionated, but that was what readers liked about it, its ability to start an argument.
my personal feeling is that there are several problems with the NME now - fistly i think that the range of music is far too narrow and definitely cliquey. secondly, far too many pictures and not enough meaty writing. thirdly, the quality of the writing isn't as good and it's too gossipy. news, current affairs and politics used to be a small but important part of the NME and they get little coverage now.
getting back to what you said about Avril and whether she's authentic enough, that may be because she doesn't fit the narrow range of music that the NME appears to favour. when i first saaw her on tv i thought she was a paleAlanis imitation so in that sense she isn't perhaps original enough, or maybe she appears to be too manufactured -hey, what we need it a new Alanis but easier to listen to! which probably makes her too shallow for some tastes too?
i'm going to stop there cos this message is getting too long, but you've touched on a load of thoughts that bother me about the current pop scene - not the least the lack of any emotional depth to most of what is successful in chart terms. coldplay for instance, so huge that the festivals they're playing are selling out at an astonishing rate, he's got a good voice and some of the musical arrangements are impressive, but the album has no real emotional depth to it...
'gets off soapbox' |
|
Back to top |
|
|
Kris
Joined: 16 Sep 2002 Posts: 2550 Location: Sheffield
|
Posted: Wed Apr 23, 2003 12:29 Post subject: |
|
|
though they have got the Radiohead review pretty much spot on today..... _________________ "fashioned by the blade of a world that doesn't care,
feeling so removed, drifting thru stealing air then...
pause and think about it, try to move and shift the pain, but it's there you feel it kicking and you scream and feel alive." |
|
Back to top |
|
|
gillworm
Joined: 14 Nov 2002 Posts: 529 Location: London
|
Posted: Wed Apr 23, 2003 15:05 Post subject: |
|
|
and for a change the person editing the letters page made reasonable, fair comments instead of the usual sarky piss taking.
does anyone think the live reviews section should be bigger? |
|
Back to top |
|
|
Setareh Juventina
Joined: 01 Dec 2002 Posts: 1415 Location: Norrköping, Sweden
|
Posted: Wed Apr 23, 2003 15:33 Post subject: |
|
|
The reason people go on about Avril's authenticity is because she constantly claims to be so real etc etc...she brought it on.
Amor y Paz
Setareh _________________ Man is the only animal clever enough to build The Empire State Building and stupid enough to jump from it. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
CiaranMac
Joined: 03 Sep 2002 Posts: 460 Location: Sligeach
|
Posted: Wed Apr 23, 2003 17:23 Post subject: |
|
|
I think Avril Lavigne is really ugly and sulky looking. Wasn't she voted sexiest person of the year or something in NME?
As for authenticity, what does that mean exactly? I think Martin made a very good point in some earlier thread about the White Stripes blowing on about how they use knackered old equipment and don't use computers. Why they think that informing the listeners of that on the back of their album is going to have any impact on how their music is perceived beats me.
Maybe it's just more of this misguided
realness
In Science and Engineering there is an acronym BATNEEC
Best Available Technology Not Exceeding Excessive Cost..could easily be applied to music making or anything else.
Sexiest person of the year is definetely Lana Lang in Smallville.....er thats a bit irrelevent perhaps. To follow on who do the message boarders think is sexy?
[/img] _________________ www.myspace.com/storkboychoons
|
|
Back to top |
|
|
che
Joined: 19 Aug 2002 Posts: 988 Location: in the gutter, staring at the stars.
|
Posted: Wed Apr 23, 2003 21:04 Post subject: |
|
|
personally, given the option, i'd fuck avril to high heaven and back cause i fancy her. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
Setareh Juventina
Joined: 01 Dec 2002 Posts: 1415 Location: Norrköping, Sweden
|
Posted: Wed Apr 23, 2003 22:16 Post subject: |
|
|
I think in this context Ciaran, by authentic we mean an artist that isn't a mere product, an artist who him/herself has thoughts, ideas, whatever. It's not that important but when Avril goes around claiming to be so real and pointing out various others as fake then she has that coming.
NME and Melody Maker voters are slightly blind and have a disorted perception of the word sexy, as if the Avril Lavigne/Chris Martin thing wasn't bad enough, one year MM voters got Kelly Phonics as third sexiest male or something like that...weird.
I can't think of anyone sexy right now. Beautiful however I can, Simone Inzaghi, oh dear my body's shivering I have to quit...night all...
Amoré é Pace _________________ Man is the only animal clever enough to build The Empire State Building and stupid enough to jump from it. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
Guest
|
Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2003 12:21 Post subject: |
|
|
Avril Lavigne seems to be a real sore point for a lot of people. If you ask me she's just another nondescript ephemeral bubble in the froth of modern pop music. She is no more real or fake than Britney or Richey Edwards. When it comes to the crunch they are all performing artists and in a sense are real, however the quality of their creative product may differ widely.
A struggling boyband singing together in their garage woulds be reffered to as commercial music by many people, while the heavily marketed, currently no.1 band the white stripes are commonly reffered to as uncommercial, yet in the eyes of most marketing men are as commercial and saleable a product around right now.
Terms like "real" and "authentic" are pretty meaningless when it comes to music these days, I think you just gotta know what you like and listen to it. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
ciaran Guest
|
Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2003 12:46 Post subject: |
|
|
errr...that last post was me by the way |
|
Back to top |
|
|
Setareh Juventina
Joined: 01 Dec 2002 Posts: 1415 Location: Norrköping, Sweden
|
Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2003 13:00 Post subject: |
|
|
The White Stripes are totally commercial, just look at the whole gimmick thing, no one dressed like that just because and no one pretends to be brother and sister just because. THey're odd. But cute.
Amor y Paz _________________ Man is the only animal clever enough to build The Empire State Building and stupid enough to jump from it. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
ciaran Guest
|
Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2003 13:32 Post subject: |
|
|
I thought they really were brother and sister |
|
Back to top |
|
|
CranesAreFlying
Joined: 11 Apr 2003 Posts: 247 Location: Boston
|
Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2003 18:44 Post subject: |
|
|
I've got a thing for the singer from Drugstore, mainly because she has such a sultry voice. their musik is ok as well.... _________________ "Even I know the solution: love, music, wine and revolution..." (magnetic fields)
Vodamusic.com
|
|
Back to top |
|
|
Tommy Tynans Lovechild
Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 854 Location: People's Republic Of BS4 (Though always PL2 4Ever)
|
Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2003 21:44 Post subject: |
|
|
NME has been rank for months now - think thats 'cos its got nowt to read. Everything is bite size and my guess its 'cos most things are going that way now (peoples shorter attention spans, internet sites which have shorter reviews than mags setting a trend for mags to follow suit etc) and also 'cos its now found its market. Don't think it could afford to go the way of MM so it had to pander a little bit. That said some of its writing is shocking now, so i'm diving into the PUNK and MADCHESTER NME Originals Mags for reminders of quality music journalism...... |
|
Back to top |
|
|
Kris
Joined: 16 Sep 2002 Posts: 2550 Location: Sheffield
|
Posted: Fri Apr 25, 2003 08:52 Post subject: |
|
|
Setareh mirrors my point quite well
The White Stripes as an image maker are easily as commercial as Ms Latrine, though obviously avril is targeting a more modern Teenage audience...
The point really is that it just doesn't fickin matter does it? Good music, bad music, it should all be judged on merit surely and not who's got the biggest/smallest/oldest/youngest/clearest/greasiest/whitest/shortest/tightest/longest/tits/teeth/skirts/hair/guitar/skin
I'll shut up before I start making sense.....
Kinkster _________________ "fashioned by the blade of a world that doesn't care,
feeling so removed, drifting thru stealing air then...
pause and think about it, try to move and shift the pain, but it's there you feel it kicking and you scream and feel alive." |
|
Back to top |
|
|
|