Posts by Russell Brown
-
Hard News: Friday Music: History, motherfuckers, in reply to Rich Lock,
It’s a shame we don’t know someone with an existing platform and an existing audience who already know Danielle and her writings who could host it.
I thought I'd said so:-)
To be clear, if Danielle could find the time to write a music post, I would be very proud to publish that post here.
-
Hard News: Friday Music: History, motherfuckers, in reply to Stephen D. O'Hoy,
People like Nick Bollinger, Sam Wicks, Graham Reid and a handful of others do care about music and are happy to put the music first rather than their own interests.
I'd add Gary Steel to that. He and I have had our moments, but he's a reviewer I'll actually read, because he can write and he comes from some depth.
-
Hard News: Friday Music: History, motherfuckers, in reply to "chris",
Russell, a journalist, is a discoverer; regularly championing unsigned talent, exposing it to wider audiences, a position in which having at least one digit on the pulse of the industry is essential. If that’s not also too reductive a depiction…
No, that's fair. I am also very interested in the business of music and how people sustain themselves making and releasing it, so I need to know what's going on there too.
-
Hard News: Friday Music: History, motherfuckers, in reply to "chris",
He wrote a decent review of Ladi6 last week, but to coin his pet phrase; ‘diminishing returns’ characterizes his output of late, right about the time he starting posting poetry and short stories on offthetracks.
It's hardly a review. He doesn't mention a single track or actually say anything specific about the music. The whole post is terribly written.
It's also where he links to his Lorde "review":
I'm hopeful that there'll be something in the Lorde album beyond empty hype. I'm really not sure on that one though - something's fishy, I reckon. I'm just not convinced, just yet. Something doesn't quite add up. I smell a rat. It's kinda my job to smell rats. I see and hear enough of 'em...
It reads like parody. But hey ...
But I'll be the first to gush all about that album if it is the real deal.
The thing is, he says positive things about the Jonathan Bree and Matthew Bannister albums, which I've featured here. We also both really like the last SJD album. So we share some tastes, clearly. But ...
-
Hard News: Friday Music: History, motherfuckers, in reply to Sacha,
It was knowing and edgy.
joining Russell rofl-ing
Yeah, seriously, it really wasn't. It was clumsy and oafish.
-
Hard News: Friday Music: History, motherfuckers, in reply to "chris",
There is that, but ideally I prefer a reviewer to simply look and listen, then expound on the music and cover art. Something that Simon has utterly failed to do on this and countless other occasions.
That's actually a very fair point. There's definitely virtue in just reviewing the music (and, as you say, the cover art). It's just not what he did.
-
Hard News: Friday Music: History, motherfuckers, in reply to "chris",
I’d read your music blog Danielle, I’m sure it would piss me off far less often than Sweetman’s.
I'd read that!
-
Hard News: Friday Music: History, motherfuckers, in reply to Ken Double,
He cultivates no connections at all with the music industry. He’s just not interested. It may lead him to go proudly, arrogantly off the deep end every now and then, but some of us actually value any opinion unswayed by industry baubles, junkets and – that most insidious of all inducements – access.
Hang on, I'll just get up off this floor I've been rolling around laughing on ...
I'm not sure where you get your info about the local music business, but there are few, if any, junkets and no baubles whatsoever. And I'm not even sure what you mean by "access". It's really not hard to speak to New Zealand artists.
Russell is a very principled journalist but even he likes to warm his toes by the fires of the biz on occasion. He has mates. So be it, that’s how you get stories. Simon doesn’t do that. Look at him less as a critic – he’s not a great analyser truth to tell – and more as a musical diarist and passionate fan, and you can see he performs yeoman work. Let’s face it, no one else is prepared to make themselves that unpopular.
Yes, I know people who make music and people who try and sell and present that music. I have done for more than 30 years. I've lived with them, loved with them and I've very definitely got drunk with them. We run a special, very cheap advertising rate for local bands and promoters, and one of the best things about writing the blog is being able to get behind people like SJD, Blair Parkes and Matthew Bannister. I never expect my name to be on the door at gigs, because I can afford to pay.
Basically, people in "the biz" overwhelmingly bear no relation whatsoever to the perceptions you seem to be implying here. But if that's what Sweetman thinks, it is an insight into his ill-informed Lorde rant.
It does say something for Sweetman that you and Mark Cubey and others see the good in him. I honestly didn't want to make it some dumb feud -- that's why I didn't lead with the commentary on Friday (although I was VERY angry on Thursday).
But I might as well say this: I've been thanked by a lot of music people since that post went up -- most of them people Sweetman hasn't ever had a harsh word for, some of them people he has praised. The Lorde thing seemed to be the final straw for a lot of them. And I do not think there's any virtue in being unpopular in that sense.
-
Hard News: Event Season, in reply to Farmer Green,
Meanwhile , in the “More Boring News on a Monday” Dept.
(By the way, nice to see you all here still . . .)
Um, hi.
I've deleted the entirety of the off-topic climate-denial text you copied from the Daily Mail and posted here. Please don't do this again.
-
Hard News: Event Season, in reply to Bart Janssen,
You personally don’t have to be, unless you care that many others in your country are interested, either because they sail themselves or because they like seeing New Zealanders excel.
It's also a hell of thing to watch. I'm not generally a follower of yachting but I felt like I'd had five coffees after the second race this morning.
I'm also in no doubt that the regatta coming here would be good for Auckland. I remember how it was last time: several years of colour and money.