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he *could* do with perhaps *toning* down the number of *starred* *words* in his *reviews* though. Excellent street team response too - did you see how he called a music journalist a failed musician? Brilliant.

Where the fuck have they come from and why? the hype around them is hilarious. Well done the reviewer for pointing out lyrics which make no sense.

But PS Every journalist is a failed musician! ;)

*asterisks for emphasis* BIG CAPITAL LETTERS clumsy reference to unrelated credible band hahahahahahhaaha *more asterisks* MORE CAPITALS horible, like, syntax

Scathing polemic is very fun to write, and that was some particularly bilious copy indeed.

100/100 for the vitriol

0/100 for the final scoring.

Wonder what he thinks of all this Kaka bollocks.

and that review is quite funny, but those lyrics aren't that bad really. There are a lot worse out there.

Mark Says:
January 13th, 2009 at 6:53 pm
Bitter much? You must be some sort of failed musician who cannot let go of your lost dreams of success, and therefor must trash anyone who attains what you could not. Here’s an idea, instead of critiquing the band for your preconceived notions about them, why not instead just focus on the music. And 0%? Come on, that’s not fair. You should be above being so petty and nasty. Taken down a peg? What is your problem? They are just doing what they love, and you are a little weasel harping on them because you are blinded by jealousy and lack of real talent. Oh yeah, your prose sucks too. Learn to write!

"taken off the line entirely".

Numerical scores for records - a bit gash anyway?

Do you, like, see what I did?

He's trying to make a point with the review and the score, and it's a very good point. White lies are gash. Would it make any more sense if he gave them 12%, or 34%?

Also, reading the review, he doesn't appear to be taking anything quite as seriously as some of the comments (jealous, blind weasel that he is).

Leaving aside how badly written this is - littered with unsubstantiated invective and a strange random capitalisation - music reviews that only briefly mention the ACTUAL MUSIC get an automatic fail from me.

But then, it's easy to slag.

What a load of horseshit. Does that mean Alex Kapranos is a failed musician? White Lies album has some great songs on it, but then it's always will be fashionable to slag off popular acts won't it.

the two don't have to be mutually exclusive do they? I know loads of guys who write for the *press* and are in bands that are ace. That said whyman is very litigious, but he's made people talk about his review more than the awful album White Lies have regurgitated. I mean, do they think people have never heard of Ultravox?

...he's combative, reviews I've read are heavy on the ol' polemic. So by giving them 0% people will talk more about the style of reviewing than the merits of the album. He's a pretty decent writer though.

I do not get the starring at all

Also, I wish people would stop calling music journalists failed musicians as a stupid kneejerk comment. FFS, just stop.

I now have "Let's grow old together - AND DIE AT THE SAME TIME!" stuck in my head. I'm going to change it to "Let's grow old togther - AND SOUND LIKE EDITORS!" and see if it improves.

White Lies are a decent band who will probably do well this year, and good for them. They were excellent at Reading Festival I thought.

Far better them on the radio than the derivitve bland trash that is The Kooks, The Enemy, The Fratellis etc etc ....and don't even get me started on that Frank Turner single - it's driving me insane with its uber mindless radio friendly posturing.

Hearing White Lies on the radio is a blessed relief compared to this lot - even that ringtone inspired MGMT rerelease....I'm feeling gumpy!

There are better bands but the Ultravox alikes

...before NME even sniffed their presence and I fell in love with them there and then. I was blown away by Harry's voice and the atmosphere that they created, I felt like I was back in time listening to joy division, the smiths or the stone roses live. I don't really know how I feel at this stage about their popularity, I knew the moment I watched them play that they will be huge. I kinda ignore the fact that they are big as it doesn't matter cos I really like them. I guess I feel that I found a band without seeing a review first and made my own mind up, there was no hype or anything around them when i first heard their songs I thought it was okay, but when I saw them live it was something else.

CAPITALISE AND ASTERISK

...and they were pretty good. Better than Glasvegas, certainly, and I've had the album for over a week now and it's grown on me. Not incredible, but worth a listen.

*ugh*

Note to journalists - If you're going to berate a band for the paucity of their lyrical content, probably a good idea to make sure your own spelling's up to scratch first, otherwise you may find yourself hoisted by your own petard. I've not even heard the band yet and already I find myself siding with them after reading this. How ironic!

he's unique and orignal, he conveys his point and he's not afraid of saying what he feels.

also he writes awesome reviews like this http://www.thelineofbestfit.com/2008/08/trouble-books-united-colours-of-trouble-books/

"and its just all utterly lovely"

"just by how its all recorded"

Must. Use. Apostrophes.

0% (just)

Punctuation is like, so last year.

C'mon, kids, this reads like something put together by a sixth-former, for inclusion in the school rag. Although, judging by some of the comments of support, I guess that tallies well with the target audience.

Are the White Lies the greatest band around? Are they lyrical genuises, penning modern-day masterpieces and who will stand the test of time and be forever hailed as genuinely original musical pioneers? Of course not. But they can hold a tune, they create a good sound, and whilst some of their lyrics are indeed a little clunky, some are actually quite interesting and well-constructed. They are a damn site better than most of the trash around at present.

But, whether you agree with the sentiment or not, it should be possible to look objectively at the review. It seems the author has at some point been exposed to genuinely funny, biting criticism and believes that he is up to the task of churning some out himself. He is not.

Indeed, from the pomposity and inflated sense of self worth, right the way down to the jarring clumsiness of phrase and awkwardly derivative style, he is the embodiment of all that he supposedly detests in the band he reviews. Those in glass houses....

You've cut me to the quick. You're absolutely right, of course. All opinions expressed above are nullified by the passing of two months. How embarrassing for me. Thanks for setting me straight, I'll endeavour only to talk about albums and/or threads created in the last hour, going forward. Now I come to think about it, the font I used was a really *stupid* shade of black, too.