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I agree – I think this is a decent thread on a serious topic. But I have to disagree with the criticism of the Lost Music piece. I think it does what it sets out to do: describe Santa Dog in tones of appreciation and then direct you to where you can hear more if you want. It’s like an old-style fanzine but with music a click away and I really like that. None of us are going to win prizes for writing, and none of us are going to be asked to replace Paul Morley when he bores himself to death. Instead, I think you have to appreciate what the writer is trying to do and judge him or her on the success of that – and if the result is to get someone to check out a myspace page, record or gig by a particular band, then the job’s a good one!
I noticed that LM has no obvious sponsorships, which makes me even more ready to trust them because I know they are fanboys/fangirls there just like we are. This is where music criticism is changing: with so much product out there, you need friendly filters to help you navigate, just like you might take a friend’s recommendation. You can’t trust NME or some of the bigger webzines who are whoring themselves out; so you go with the people who are doing this for love of music. I’d narrow Bob’s description of SXP – it carries reviews but that’s not the primary purpose. Usually we’ve done the first filter in not writing negative reviews, because we’re trying to find good things to talk about and recommend.
That doesn’t mean that criticism isn’t legitimate – we can all get better. Our writing, and mine definitely, varies in quality. But the only time I ever get worried is when I suspect a writer isn’t writing from conviction. But I don’t get that sense from LM – I feel that we’re on the same side as them so should be careful to temper our criticism to what’s really necessary. If we start knocking each other, it’s exactly what Conor McKnackerless wants!
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