The Strokes

I wrote a long series of musings about the Strokes under Neil's review of Room on Fire on this site, asically suggesting that pop life did not sit easily with Mr Julian and that the poor wee guy is full of beer n' depression n' some of the most nutritionally vacant food in the world if the above mugshot is anything to go by. The Queen's just left hospital after knee surgery and the removal of benign skin lesions from her face: one recommends her doctor to Mr Julian with a great deal of haste. Perhaps he's decided that it's dumb to carry on copying various garage acts, tussle with allegedly cool 80's influences and a bit of snotty 70's punk and that it's time to turn himself into a NYC facsimile of the King of Pop himself. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Elvis Casablancas. Just don't let him go for a shit alone.

I think it's telling that they started with 'Reptilia' as this is by far the bounciest, most energised track from Room on Fire. It seems like all the criticisms I gave it, that it was half-arsed, full of lyrical moaning throughout, and had no energy to it and a lack of really decent tunes is shown up even more live and is amplified by the band's seemingly can't won't don't give a fuck attitude.

And it's nice to see the Oxford Zodiac mentioned. It's been a long time since I cascaded down Cowley Road drunk. Let's just mention the Point too for old times sake.

Sniff, the Jericho... I saw my first ever Oxford gig there.

and Heaven... erm slightly more alert than usual

hehehe...

when yr gonna justify and debate (and woo, here's one for all the future hacks out here, <i>write</i>) about music, there will need to be a point when you will need to bring in objectivity. For otherwise we get grotesque hyperbole (largely instigated - certainly in the UK - by yr ol' pal NME) of the "Best band in the world evereverever" type and not a negative word about them for a good 24 months in the music weeklies (or rather weekly). You get rabid unquestioning nonsense flying round the net and filling up clueless tabloids that - slow to pick up maybe - will only fuel things further.

Obv if you go one way or the other wholly (subjectivity / objectivity), you then erase subjectivity/personality/emotion and are then left without any of that instinctiveness that makes true genius Pop/ rock/ dance/ music of all genres so fucking wonderful, and always has. And that's then shit, as you said, leaving you with nary but mumbly musos and the proper chinstrokey, joyless idm. But go t'other way and you are highly in danger of losing all fucking sense of perspective, and it becomes a joke, all you've to back yourself up with with 'well ooh it was nuts' and lots of intangible feelings you aren't prepared / don't feel the need to justify beyond whatever emotions it elicts...

So incorporate both perhaps? is that such a scary idea? it gives a better argument, through whatever medium yr using.. I never even thought of sub/objectivity so, just was a natural state of affairs - til recently....(which leads me back to the ol' first strokes/hype point....)

If you don't want to though - well.....don't come and argue/debate/defend your passion for whoever on A Message Board. If you want lots of uncritical approval that won't stoop so low as to question your personal view, then hunt down their website or a fansite or something. or go and read a copy of The Fly instead.

why indeed yes NME is flawed, but it gives us 'something'?? ..((and the crossword don't count, albeit 1 thing whose quality in the paper's been preserved the past few years...))
YEah so, lets sit ike gleeful pigs in their shit and be proud to be unaware of whatever's happening in the editorially-unapproved real world, outside of its pages full of the latest self-proclaimed-zeitgeist, LET ALONE dare to complain. Look! There's a computer at your fingertips! And you're still prepared to rely on the latest NME reports on an NME-sponsored tour for bands on the NME Deputy Ed's own label?

You're right - too true, the music scene's fucking amazing at the moment, i'm with you there - though I doubt much at all would have been given the time of day in NME, let alone wouldve told me about them. I don't think it's entirely a coincidence either, that i'm falling over great new music when I've not bought it for a year or two, and now rarely even flick through even its (fairly paltry) gig guide any more;
they've reduced and spread out the fonts with every relaunch so much you could probably read it in the Co-Op in 7-8 minutes.. If you're happy to say 'ah well it's shit but what else is there' (i'm not having that 'flawed' apologist balls), yous are the sorts who actively deserve it. Nme.com and a few other fave sourses for news, some mags/papers/sites you trust and have time for the writing of for reviews/features, skim through the gig guide in whsmiths while yr waiting for the train or summat. You seriously rely on nme for your new music, your pointers? You're the one who stepped up on that one, i'm just honestly just trying to get my head round yr withering justification..

[shite...this weren't an nme thing, someone's derailed this - all the above on them is a given really, far too much effort spent discussing their failings and juicily hyped mediocrity, onto the new fucking breed...........]


PS - said nme email address was signed up for yeeears ago when they were 1st introduced (the whole site/editor was different, brilliant place to discuss crap, 'i love Music' with less weight/less traffic/more fun). I don't give out my personal one anymore on boards since yahoo and chums took to using/abusing them. no endorsement, oh clever one (nor any of my details). shucks, what a hypocrite this makes i.......says they, to the one who doesn't even provide his inbetween replying to, essentially, lots & lots of Strokes postings........
Thank fuck it's the end of the day now !

i just have all 5 + Viney EVERY day
and I do my badges at the same time

it is sharp