Mike_Diver

THE PIERCES?

When did DiS go all Radio 2?

Love this LP.

Cos they's a band innit. Herman Dune. I have even seen them with mine own EYES.

Is jokes yes?

But a good album. Yes. I have played this a lot.

If it's the same Steel Pulse that played ATP a few weeks back, they're from Birmingham, aren't they? (Just saaaaayin...)

True Fact.

Something to do with ownership of them perhaps?

(As noted in my review... http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/gc3q)

...as it says above. CF were a bit late... guess I must've seen what I did of TF en route... They were in that little merch/ale space.

...it's flagged up as a games column, so if you don't wanna read it, cool.

Games are big business - just look at the attention now afforded the E3 conference. Plenty of people here (including me) discuss games on the boards. Plus, many a reader grew up with them. So it makes sense to add something editorially. If it's once per month I don't see it diluting DiS's music identity any...

It is not progformers.

...Kanye's album was one of reflection. So misogyny became 'qualified' through admission of mistakes. The language might not be particularly excusable but it was delivered in a manner that didn't leave a long-lasting sourness. Plus the production was SIIIICK. And Kayne's past productions comprise the 'journey' to Twisted Fantasy (and the title of the record itself is fairly indicative that he is not wholly serious about its entire contents; or, rather, that imagination should not be perceived as matter of fact). Tyler: very different. Limited back-story and what there is has always been confrontational, to say the least. On Bastard there was a cheekiness that seemed to lessen the impact of lyrics about trapping girls in basements and videotaping their rape. I can't explain how, exactly, but now this content has lost that laugh-cos-it's-all-you-can-do defense. Goblin is, in places, unforgivably awful of lyric. And now the spotlight is brighter than it's ever been on Odd Future, said kids will have either accept censorship/adjust their however-tongue-in-butt-cheek worldview; or simply be forgotten. I do believe that Tyler - and select few OF types - can make for themselves a real future. But they still need to do a lot to convince the average listener that their imaginations are not geared the way they are for purely shock value purposes - which they often seem to be. Blah blah ramble...

I had limited expectations. Which have been exceeded. It won't be a stereo mainstay. But it's better than I was anticipating.

10/10 though?
(Not in this house.)

Me, perhaps more so.

My fingers are so fat I have to type with chopsticks sellotaped to the tips.

Wednesday night will be well fun.

Plenty of Beasties cuts.

Colin and I on zee decks.

Will be like the ol' Barfly gigs - only exclusively hip hop.

And it's free.

And you can give to charity.

Banging.

This is super great.

I really like this. Though it seems loads of folk don't.

My words:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/j5wx

The serious message beneath those LOLs - that this is a lazy album designed to click with lazy listeners who'll follow any new thing if there's enough sparkle dusted atop it and television tells us to - comes through. That Jessie J was sold to the public as a songwriting force, but then crams several co-writers into this record, resulting in a hideously disjointed fumble of a debut that tries to be Rihanna and Adele at the same time, makes a joke of everyone. We, the critical community, have (largely) been had. You, the public, have been conned.

I don't doubt the girl has ability. She has to - you don't make it this far without any, however much the most cynical of observers might like to cry otherwise. But the team around her has made a right fudge-up of this release. Not that it matters, mind - it IS all about the money, money, money, and she's making it.

<LOL>MANDEM</LOL>

Words: http://bit.ly/g1azYJ

And it is.

It's context.

But if that number puts you into the laps of folks who'll further your career, great.

Of course, if you're a tiny band and you get a 3.2 and 1/5 across the board, well... maybe give up?

That the vast majority of people scanning the internet to get an opinion - or a set of opinions - on a record before downloads (legally or otherwise) don't have/make time to properly read critiques. It's something the BBC suffers from, I'm sure (though thankfully Metacritic and AnyDecentMusic have taken the reviews and assigned their own scores, now). So a score IS important. And when it comes to breaking a band Stateside, a Pitchfork score is very important. It can really set one's ball rolling in the US, if significant enough. Bookers, promoters, festivals etc - they'll all be looking at what an album gets on Pitchfork. Whether the score matters to you or not is another thing, but scores = very important for bands. And your more casual consumer. I'm guilty of going to Metacritic for my guides, and I'm sure many others are the same.

I'll go away now.

Esben was 11/10? :o)

Esben EP is available via Rough Trade right now, and gets a wider release next Monday.

LOVE him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-64UQoUURA

Probably.

So yeah. That.

BALLBUSTER

Bailey Rae.

...

You never worked there, ya liar.

This film is VERY loud.

TBH I simply forgot to mention that I did here.

Can't say I care for them. Bad Black Sabbath songs. Not for me.

Some of the Dio worship amongst people around me was... frightening.

Understandable. But frightening nonetheless.

That the reviewer has an education?

GOOD.

I do not understand such things at all. I see nothing substandard about the second para here. Nothing.

Nice venue, so it is.

It's, like, out... so...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/rp8r

^ some words ^

Not saying I agree with its opinion, but it's a good piece of analysis. "Can someone translate this into English"? This is fine use of language IMO.

...several listens later it's still tugging at the heartstrings.

You can think I have "come out badly" - but if I was just anyone posting such a comment, presumably nobody would care? I don't think it's wrong to express my opinion here, as a reader of the site just like the rest of you. Me suggesting that maybe a writer needs to buck up or ship out is no different from anyone else doing so - equally unlikely to actually affect any such decision.

ALTHOUGH... I did used to edit DiS, and I remain fairly attached to it in the sense that I do not want to see standards slipping. I do not think that's a crime, and any suggestions that I have in some way called for the expulsion of a contributor are wrong. I have merely stated my position. It is not a ridiculous reaction at all. It is quite a considered one, actually, bearing in mind previous articles by the same author that have exhibited similar shortcomings.

Cheers all, don't let molehills obscure an otherwise splendid view.