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i'd probably have to agree. Some of the writers here are up to that standard, it's just a shame they're in the minority!

always put me off reading CMG

craigx

They have some great writers, but all too often they get wound up in muso twittery. I'm sure some of them would make great novelists and abstract thinkers, but I'm after a music review, not a piece of art. They are good, but their whole problem is summed up by this extract from their Harvey Milk review, which says precisely nothing at all to me:

"Thus, “Motown” is called “Motown” not because it is about Motown or Detroit but because in its big melodic chug it recalls, kinda, Motown, or at least recalls it moreso than most Harvey Milk tracks do. Accordingly, “Barnburner” is a barnburner. The band is tautological because it can be, because songs equal themselves because songs are just songs. It’s a slippy bit of rhetoric that could quickly get old (I hated thinking that last sentence), which is why the wit with which its implemented is so refreshing."

That's awful, by any standard.

Yet then they come up with something incredible like this: http://www.cokemachineglow.com/record_review/4028/blackmilk-tronic-2008

I dunno, they're so hit and miss.

My favourite writer is probably still Mike Diver. Sorry for embarassing you Mike, but you always write a great review. Some of the new DiS guys are pretty good - I like that Andrej guy for starters.

All in all, I prefer written reviews I've decided. I think Rock A Rolla and Wire do great reviews. The brevity of them is a particular draw- very little room for chaff.

cmg is awful. so bad it makes me angry. they like charles hamilton and david thomas broughton though.

^has made the above post 50 times.

http://www.mbvmusic.com/

still.

+ Pitchfork + The Quietus.

dis is fairly poor...very amateur. i trust the music boards 9/10 over a reviewer.

fact is the only one of those that covers music I'm realy interested in before I've heard it tho. p4k seems to have gone really lame and slow this year its like its not got over the christmass break yet. There hasn't been any specialist columns or anything yet. The quietus is quality but I don't read it to much as I already know about the stuff I want to by the time they write about it.

DiS has its moments but they are getting few and far between these days with quality writing and stuff I want to read, plus I've read it for ages so I'm kinda bored of alot of the writers.

Coke Machine Glow hurts my brain its so annoying to rea, I like alot of what they cover but they write like GCSE students trying to be clever, its like a sub ironic vice way of doing things at times.

NO PAIN IN POP!

http://www.soundsxp.com - great for indie type stuff
www.thelineofbestfit.com/ -lovely layout and writing
http://www.godisinthetvzine.co.uk - a bit self indulgant to mention ourselves but we try our best to be independent. We're hoping to improve it soon with better features/editorial and blogs.

I read lots of blogs too

And if the man's to be believed his drinking makes Bukowski look like fucking Chris Martin. Pitchfork is a bit too humourless for my liking. This site is bizzarely addictive though and I'm not sure why. The writings not bad but as someone else said it is a bit amateur. Stool Pigeon is my favourite print publication. By a fucking mile.

dur