Wire's Colin Newman in online spat with fan dustup

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/sashafrerejones/2012/03/loving-a-band-that-doesnt-want-to-be-loved.html

Really?!

wire's colin newman in online spat with dubstep fans?!?!?

that makes newman sound like kind of a dick on the other hand, maybe she was really annoying him.

Wonder what this young fan posted on his Facebook wall that got him so riled up

Port McNeill BC = Rural Vancouver Island = the start of Canadian Alaska, basically. Perfect setting for Big Black's "Kerosene"

Prickly English art-rocker kind of grumpy shockah!

Um, did SFJ watch any of those videos...?

granddaughtered by a wite kid in a FB beef

oh my god I just started watching "Go Ahead"

Colin Newman OTM

Oh man, I just watched part of "Go Ahead"...Newman showed impressive restraint actually

it's a shame musicians over 30 just don't have the modern fanbase management experience to know to just type "thx 4 the add! ;)"

The videos aren't that bad! They're not actively good but they're not at all as embarassing as I expected.

the Map Ref video is... something

when I was 17 I made a website for a local band I thought was awesome and attempted to keep it full of FACTS and UPDATES even though I didn't know any facts or updates since I didn't know the band

when I was introduced to the guitarist, the only thing he could think of to say was "it was very... blue"

so, I should not be mean, because I was that girl, once

They are shit, to be fair.

Find this kind of thing fascinating and yet horrifying. Like, the weird interface between social media and "celebrity" culture and the whole aspect of entitlement - like, just because you *can* get in contact with someone does not give you the automatic right to?

But this is where I reveal myself to be an old grump because quite frankly, it doesn't have much to do with the quality of the videos, but if someone is clogging up your social media space because they want to ~lead the fan army~ I can imagine that getting pretty wearing pretty quickly.

I dunno, I mean, obviously I did stupid teengirl fan projects when I was a teenage girl (301 Reasons Why I Like David J springs embarrassingly to mind) but gah, even if Facebook had existed back then, I don't think I'd have ever tried to impose that sort of thing on him?

wire's colin newman in online spat with dubstep fans?!?!?

― the late great, Monday, 5 March 2012 18:54 (1 hour ago) Permalink

yeah seriously I spet a min scrolling around the article searching for the drop

on the one hand this 15 yr old sounds really annoying, on the other trolling colin newman is p funny

why is the new yorker covering this

sfj loves wire/nascent internet talent

this 15 yr old sounds really annoying http://www.mrmedia.com/uploaded_images/chris_hansen.gif

cuz it's funny xxp. but colin newman otm.

it is noteworthy that the new yorker is letting sfj say wire needs no introduction.

who is the colin newman in the new yorker-wire relationship

Profiles in Un-Self-Awareness:

After a period of posting links to my videos on [band member] Colin Newman’s wall, he became annoyed and told me to stop filling up his wall. . . . After sending him a few messages he snapped, and told me to fuck off . . . I wrote on the walls of a few of his fan pages that I am now blocked from. I am not blocked from the Wire fan page on Facebook but I cannot post or comment on anything.

At first I was upset—it’s like if Jesus came down and told all of the Christians to stop worshipping him because he was getting tired of people kissing his ass too hard. How conceited does a person have to be to do that?

it is noteworthy that the new yorker is letting sfj say wire needs no introduction.

and then giving them a fairly lengthy introduction

"I posted stuff everywhere I could and as often as I could demanding that Colin Newman pay attention to me, and now I'm blocked! Like, get over yourself, Colin!"

"How old are you?

I am fifteen years old.

Where do you live and what do you do during the day?"

“You Don't Understand How I Feel”
By Sara Poirier

Imprisonment against my will,
You don't understand how I feel.
Misunderstanding why I'm here still,
You don't understand how I feel.
I was lost searching for something unreal,
You don't understand how I feel.
I didn't mean to kill, I didn't mean to steal,
You don't understand how I feel.
You knew it was an unfair deal,
You don't understand how I feel.
I now have wounds that will never heal,
You don't understand how I feel.
You slither about, you dirty eel,
You don't understand how I feel.
I wish to plug up every gill,
You don't understand how I feel.
This can't be true, this can't be real,
You don't understand how I feel.
You've suddenly found my Achilles's heel,
You don't understand how I feel.
You're the one who opened the seal,
You don't understand how I feel.
It let out all that none should feel,
You'll soon understand how I feel.

she understands the concept of rhyming better than about 80% of the people working in hip-hop, even if she's on the unimaginative side

also massive lol @ crut's post

She's totally ripping off Tom Petty

http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj242/donaldparsley/exorcist.gif

hi. friend me. i made u a video. friend me.

looool crut

It's like none of you have been 15 year old girls

1) The quicker that 15 year olds learn that actually, pop stars are not Jesus, generally the better their lives will be

2) Better idea: let's all go and leave hundreds of fan videos and comments on Sasha Frere Jones' facebook page until he gets mad and blocks us, then get Colin Newman to write snidely about it.

(I secretly kinda like the Go Ahead video but I'm perverse like that.)

I think the fifth or sixth time she ran her hand against the wall was where I tapped out

oh wait no, I gave up when she started lip-synching, clicked over to another tab, and clicked back to see another hand-wall run and said "okay done" and closed the tab

The bit where she was reading out the notes was, I don't know, it made me laugh really hard.

This is hilarious! In a laughably bad kind of way.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yGPO_r88wo

I dunno, they just remind me of really bad early 80s videos by The Church, but I guess I don't watch fan videos that much.

She's irritating as fuck, but she's also really amusing to watch. Probably because I don't have to deal with her? also, it is just funny to see that kind of OTT teengirl lipsynch enthusiasm applied to... Wire?

i seem to remember some derpy chubby elementary school girl was posting videos of herself doing britney spears songs? this reminds me of that. but what was that, again?

Haha,

do you think she understands WIRE'S music?

yeah, the videos are hilarious & endearing and kind of spot on, but i can see why colin might have been less than charmed.

Why would you think that a teengirl wouldn't understand Wire's music? I listened to a lot more "inaccessible" stuff when I was 15.

I don't know, maybe she isn't too bright?

It's more about her as a person than a teengirl. I teach teengirls and they are usually smart

also, it is just funny to see that kind of OTT teengirl lipsynch enthusiasm applied to... Wire?

― ...I KERNOW BECAUSE YOU DO (White Chocolate Cheesecake), Monday, 5 March 2012 22:12

imagine applying it to radiohead

I'm sure she LISTENS to Wire, like, a lot

Teengirls have a lot more interesting enthusiasm for Radiohead than jaded 30-something messageboard dudes, that's for certain.

It's just the combination of wholesome Canadian farmgirl and dark English art-punk is just... funny through its unexpectedness, it amuses me.

But it's her overentitled behaviour, not the quality or lack thereof WRT the videos that makes her irritating.

does she know about 12 sb u: ilx covers wire?

you should always be nice to your teenage fans, lest a new yorker writer contact them about their web videos

I think that we can all agree that Sasha Frere Jones is the bad guy here.

Does he still post here?

Trying to come up with a joke based around "Think of a Tumblr, divide it by two," can someone gimme an assist here?

But it's her overentitled behaviour, not the quality or lack thereof WRT the videos that makes her irritating.

1) i think we can assume that it's primarily this behavior that got her tossed off of wire's FB page etc.

2) if somebody were making incredibly inventive youtube videos for wire songs (hard to imagine), would it change newman's reaction?

3) i completely empathize with newman's likely reaction to these videos. seeing his work reflected back to him in such an incongruous way. i can't help but think that, the awfulness of the videos aside, there's a generational misunderstanding here. this girl aligns wire's music, because it's dark and arty and english, with whatever "goth" trappings a 15-year-old girl in far-flung rural canada has access to. newman, a 50something english dude who probably was more than a little skeptical of even the first incarnations of "goth" stylings, is horrified by the connection.

fans can all fuck off tbh

nah tbf u can fan as much as u want as long as you keep it amongst yr peers

incongruous = wire's music comes across as so serious and severe and this girl's videos are not in that spirit at all.

xpost

yeah also the idea of "fandom" that this girl subscribes to is probably very different from what being a fan means to us or to colin newman.

also as w/ many youtubers this girl's idea of how she comes across is probably way out of synch with how she actually comes across to most people.

this:

I got in contact with the band via Facebook, and at first they tolerated me but refused to acknowledge my work. After a period of posting links to my videos on [band member] Colin Newman’s wall, he became annoyed and told me to stop filling up his wall. He changed his settings so no one could post there anymore. After sending him a few messages he snapped, and told me to fuck off. (I mentioned this predicament in my vlog about Malka and Colin Newman.) I wrote on the walls of a few of his fan pages that I am now blocked from. I am not blocked from the Wire fan page on Facebook but I cannot post or comment on anything.

sounds like the main thing. who wants anyone filling up their wall with anything, especially if it's not a personal wall but a public wall that is in some sense keyed to someone's 'public image'? that seems like a few steps from including your home demos on your favorite band's latest record, or getting to perform covers of their songs onstage before they come out.

"u can fan as much as u want as long as you keep it amongst yr peers"

didn't the ilx wire compilation get passed to an actual wire member at some point?

no it was posted a bunch of times on newman's wall iirc

Not sure about that, there was a story regarding the U2 one which ran similarly...

This is the greatest musical feud in years.

ILM never misses a chance to shit all over a teenage girl

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOsD3Ziax7Y

this is like a scene from misery.

or getting to perform covers of their songs onstage before they come out.

jim derogatis to thread.

Who is she talking to?

teenagers can really think the world revolves around them can't they?

this mindset + web 2.0 = trouble

Who is she talking to?

― Luomas (admrl), Monday, March 5, 2012 7:06 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

185 people, apparently.

I wonder what this thread would be like if it concerned Section 25 or Pere Ubu instead

that link came from the new yorker piece, she included it as part of her response to a question.

This would be even better if she were stalking Morrissey's Facebook page.

fuck the fans

What is Graham Lewis, chopped liver?

no it was posted a bunch of times on newman's wall iirc

irl lol

I bought my green screen from the Scholastic book orders for about fourteen dollars

I don't care how sub-"Anything Can Happen on Halloween" the videos are, BOOK ORDER FORM-fueled DIY Wire videos by a teenage girl. It's too hypothetically perfect. The idea of it is really pushing all my buttons.
This is the kind of great thing teens do when they haven't figured out drugs yet!

ilx in online scat with Wire fan

i did check online to see how cheaply green screens could be got -- cheapest is $30! well, $30 US but the conversion rate can't be that bad.

I don't know, I see both sides of this. On the one hand, you'd hope a seasoned artist like Colin Newman would be cool to even an over-enthusiastic fan, but then said fan can easily take positive feedback waaaaay too far. It's a fine line being a semi-public figure, I suppose, but social media is just that - social, like all the weirdos he meets after gigs, but with even less boundaries.

There's got to be more to this story. It'll be interesting to see if Colin responds publicly.

the book order form green screen has to be some future Pixelvision-style fetish object

holy shit estela otm, rip colin newman and i guess your wife or someone

Oh man, that vid! "I'm genuinely SOHREE" *rolleye*

This is the kind of great thing teens do when they haven't figured out drugs yet!

now I'm remembering all the ridiculous videos my brother and I made with my parents' first camcorder and am glad that was well before youtube

Whoa wait, "Malka" is Colin Newman's wife and not some unrelated subject? Why is she vlogging about Colin's wife? (watching now)

ohmygod

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_gsZ4xh0K_5Y/S-P31dwutbI/AAAAAAAADIk/4JAMLTMJTI8/s1600/PLAYMISTYFORME-010.jpg

"I went on her Facebook page and publicly ranted at her BECAUSE she'd blocked me from sending her private rants.... of COURSE, what ELSE was I going to do?"

everyone involved in this should just gotobed

parents, please limit your children's internet usage to i dunno 90 minutes/day and make sure the computer is in a common area.

This whole scenario makes my head hurt. Big time.

Why would you think that a teengirl wouldn't understand Wire's music? I listened to a lot more "inaccessible" stuff when I was 15.
--...I KERNOW BECAUSE YOU DO (White Chocolate Cheesecake)

Name names!

yeah, but don't start

Her videos only have a couple hundred views... she'd remain a nearly anonymous teenager if SFJ actually had something to write about. Millions of teenagers do dumb things online that almost nobody sees.

FUN FUN FUN FUN LOOKING FORWARD TO THE WEEKEND

ILM never misses a chance to shit all over a teenage girl

[former poster X] doesn't post here anymore, though

(substitute as appropriate)

ILM never misses a chance to shit all over a teenage girl

momus performance art

that video is horrifying. if I were colin I'd take out a restraining order, although I don't know what good that does when you're essentially being stalked online.

HEY WHO IS THIS GUY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIbBoLMTEEo

A question of degree: if she starts channelling her fandom into her own written music as well, this could be really great for her. I'm a little surprised many people haven't suggested this to her, afaik.

totally curious what music video she'll make for "B", tbh (although there already is an official one)

this advice doesn't seem to go over well with people who write fanfiction though... the impulse is fundamentally different, I think.

Her videos only have a couple hundred views... she'd remain a nearly anonymous teenager if SFJ actually had something to write about. Millions of teenagers do dumb things online that almost nobody sees.

― elan, Monday, March 5, 2012 9:34 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

this. SFJ is going to feel bad about this soon if he doesn't already.

wld be even funnier if this happened to like the monochrome set or something.

Newman's been dealing with inappropriately entitled teenage fans for over 30 years now, no wonder he's irritated.

I wonder what this thread would be like if it concerned Section 25 or Pere Ubu instead

― Luomas (admrl), Tuesday, March 6, 2012 1:10 AM (6 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

if the latter, probably just dozens of ppl expressing their outrage that David Thomas could do *that* to a teenage girl

section 25 is almost fronted by a teenage girl (not quite)

been reading this as "fan dubstep" lol

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKM0a0CsNS0

ouch.....

holy shit

that is fucking amazing. oh my god. the best is the listing of the band members.

i want to go to a wire gig and start singing this. ROBERT GREY-EY-EY.

At last, someone in North America that can pronounce the name Grey-ham correctly.

Rather than Gremm? I tend to file this alongside An-thunny and Coe-lin.

they pronounce it GRAM like Parsons even with the obvious H. this is my least favourite American pronunciation along with NITCH for niche. TAKE NOTE USA.

also CLICK for clique.

and how about creg for craig, eh? (in the spirit of turning every ilx thread into uk vs usa.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NovieGB9uVQ&feature=plcp&context=C38b0ee1UDOEgsToPDskJJEiNns3uhpgodClvh00Ej

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZWAOtR2ZfU

she doesn't actually pronounce Graham right tho

Her tribute videos might be kind of cool w/o her in them.

that is fucking amazing. oh my god. the best is the listing of the band members.

― Jamie_ATP, Tuesday, March 6, 2012 6:26 AM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

You should get her to open for Wire

Go to Soviet Russia, get Wire to open for her.

teenagers can really think the world revolves around them can't they?

this mindset + web 2.0 = trouble

― flesh, the devil, and a wolf (wolf) (amateurist), Tuesday, March 6, 2012 1:07 AM (12 hours ago)

^^^ this with a heavy sprinkling of web 2.0's version of 'never meet your heroes because they will disappoint you'.

"FORGIVE HIM WHEN HIS VOCALS ARE NO GOOD"

You think she takes requests? I'd love to see what she does with The Agfers of Kodack.

and how about creg for craig, eh? (in the spirit of turning every ilx thread into uk vs usa.)

*lightbulb* so that's why one of the South Park kids is called "Creg"! I thought it was some weird made up name or something

good bit of craig, innit?

Creg from Edinberg.

Ok, actually I'm getting more and more annoyed with SFJ as I see more of her videos. Also kind of imagining a postpunk version of The King of Comedy, which isn't good. Ethically, this thread should probably be locked and deleted.

imagining a postpunk version of The King of Comedy

You don't say, "Here's the chorus," you just do the chorus.

There's actually nothing wrong with the article but the headline -- willing to bet that that wasn't SFJ.

they gave this loon a platform though

"Hi, I'm 15, I live in a little town in the middle of nowhere, I take metalwork at school and the boys tell me I should be learning to cook, I'm afraid of the dark, I've made these cool coathooks that I'm proud of. Oh, and a bunch of 40-year-olds are cleverly making fun of me (sympathetically, of course) because I like this band without properly appreciating their place in musical history..."

Seriously, fuck SFJ and Wire (and me). Wire should send her autographed copies of all their albums and ask her nicely to move on with her life. After that, hands can be washed.

This whole thing is just so ugly and depressing, from all angles.

i'm kind of hoping this starts a new craze of teenagers making well-meaning but slightly creepy fan vids for obscure 70's and 80's alternative bands...

Someone turn her onto Sean O'Hagan, he'll be much more accommodating to this kind of thing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xkn4a2K6Zms

^ Is it true that Robert Palmer blocked Sonic Youth from his usenet newsgroup for this?

"Can I say I'm your stalker on Facebook?"

I really don't understand this young generation's belief that everything they do is IMPORTANT and needs to be validated by the entire world as such. Sometimes its okay to do fun things just for fun.

http://image.shutterstock.com/display_pic_with_logo/71344/71344,1314199674,2/stock-photo-an-angry-old-man-glaring-and-pointing-near-the-viewer-isolated-on-white-83383246.jpg

was saving that for the wdyll thread, but thanks for ruining it

wire kinda sux

Rebecca White

Pretty sure SFJ put about a million times more thought and interest into this than Colin Newman

I can imagine being him and wondering why the hell facebook is letting some random Canadian girl post stuff on his page, figuring out how to stop that, and then the same person keeps sending you messages.

Does she do requests? I really want to see/hear her version of Outdoor Miner. Could be really good imo.

Pretty sure SFJ put about a million times more thought and interest into this than Colin Newman

i for one am glad that Colin Newman isn't showing interest in teenagers on facebook

hahaha I was kind of thinking that

I wonder what the headline would have been if Colin Newman had merely told her "chase your dreams, and buy my side-projects."

Ah, the narcissism of fandom. This girl is going to be highly embarrassed by herself later in life.

Maybe they'll collaborate on something.

has she written any fanfic about him yet?

I love that she's chosen such a prickly and po-faced band

exactly. i am colin newman is not amused that she's mixing up wire's aesthetic with mall-goth (which is just one of the many bizarre things happening in those videos. btw i can't get through more than 20 seconds of any of them so perhaps in the last few minutes they become shockingly literate, visually virtuosic reinventions of the music video form or something.)

i IMAGINE colin newman

sry

Wow, I thought you outed yourself for a minute! Cause if you were Colin Newman that would explain a lot.

http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2012/03/04/teen-irritates-the-fuck-out-of-colin-newman

"Can't wait until she forms Elastica."

she should post on ILX

lol imagine if it was killing joke songz

What is Wire's aesthetic? I only know the Pink Flag album cover.

Um, they are a rock band that don't have lyrics, they have texts.

.. like as in how a painting in a museum would have a small card nearby on the wall with title, artist and 'text'.

it really kind of is an amazing choice of a band to do a lady gaga parody song about

you have to give her points for that.

I wish I had found this a year ago. But I think now that I have gotten past this I am of clearer mind to speak of what really happened. I started all of this madness when I was 13. I am now 16 and I realize now how hostile and even creepy I must have seemed. If only SFJ had asked the most important questions then maybe things would be clear. And there never really was a story of me after all of this. I just sort of disappeared. The reason for that is...a little more than a year ago the police came to my house and took my brother and I away. No, not because I kidnapped Colin Newman. We were taken into foster care. I am the only one who ended up staying in my foster home. My brother left. I'm really not sure where he is or how he's doing right now.

At home was not a happy place for me. It was a very abusive place that I hope to never return to. I was so dreadfully unhappy there. I had only one escape and that was with wire. I was so blissfully happy when I was making my tribute videos. I hoped that one day someone would appreciate me and help me find my way out of the horrible place I called home. I used to day dream about Wire showing up on my door step so I could go on tour with them.

I realize now that my dreams were unrealistic. I should have been dreaming of a safer home with a family that loves me. Its just over a year since I've entered the foster care system and I found that family I've always needed. The beat part is they need me too. I still love wire but in a healthier way. I hope one day someone will want to hear the real story about me before they assume I'm insane..

i still love wire too

buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-bang!

sorry to hear of your troubles :(

wire are an excellent consolation band, been listening to them a lot recently

cross-reference this thread with vordul aol beef obv

maybe this thread should be renamed 'healthier ways to love wire', which will also solve my problem of reading the last word as 'dubstep'

dugga dugga dugga

the thing I idolise most about Wire these days is probably Graham Lewis' wondrously aloof & acerbic grandeur. probably the finest stage presence I've seen and it comes across in his vocals too

hey if you're really you, nobody here (I assume) thinks yr insane, just teenage. the videos were an oddly charming way to express your passion for a band like Wire; we're all just old and used to have to write logos and lyrics on our school books, or denim jackets. Great to hear you're in a better place in various ways.

wow xposts. also crüt otm

I love the new album but Graham Lewis still a chore to listen to :/

if he was the vocalist for everything it wouldn't work. he needs to pop icily up every so often & then return to dudgeon as colinxoxoxo brings the punk <3

he was by far the cutest -- even during The Mullet Period.

Yes, I am the real Sara Poirier and that essay I wrote up there is true. As for the person who said no one thinks I'm insane, did you see the post where I am compared to the exorcist? And for your information since coming into foster care I have seen a number of pychologists and psychiatrists not because I'm still upset about the wire thing but because of the trauma I suffered while I was at home. Life still has it's troubles but it's a lot better than being at home. The only thing I have really suffered with is having a sense of belonging, it's something I get really sensitive about. Especially knowing if my family didn't want me I could be booted out and sent to another home. But right now I feel more safe and stable than I've ever been. I love the new family I'm with and I know they love me too.

I just wish I could get wires attention now so I could apologize for any harm I may have caused but I know after all that's happened they would never listen to me, if they saw me in public they would probably look down on me and not care where the scars on my wrists came from. I have the feeling they hate me. I just wish they could know I didn't mean them any harm. They are my idols.

You may (or may not) learn one day to not make idols of musicians. Idolize Chairs Missing, maybe, but not Colin Newman. He's just a guy. You'll be okay imo, Sara Poirier!

As for the person who said no one thinks I'm insane, did you see the post where I am compared to the exorcist?

hey, it's the internet, lots of us say hyperbolic things in the heat of the moment, not thinking of how everyone who reads them might take them. you know? :) I made jokes in this thread that I didn't mean literally, and didn't consider that you'd read. please don't take anything unempathetic from the past here to heart: be well and be happy, and keep enjoying Wire's music.

This is maybe going to sound ... mmm...

Bear in mind that Wire / Colin Newman have their own lives and day-to-day concerns. There's no reason for Wire to 'look down on you' or hate you, because you are not central to or a part of their life. If Colin recognised you, he'd more than likely be concerned as to what is going to happen next, but time has passed and (assuming there's been no contact since the incidents above), there's no reason for him to go out of his way to tell you to fuck off, etc.. Should you be in that position, and he recognised you, a simple "sorry, I was in a bad place, I'm OK now" would do. Don't explain all the above there is no need. Obviously it would be better if that meeting does not take place, there is no need to. In fact, if he recognised you, a simple nod would be much better and would relax him.

Maybe it's easy for me to say, I also love Wire and Chairs Missing, but if I saw Colin in the street, I'd nod (if that).. One time, I saw Brett Anderson in Paddington station. Some blokes my age would go 'whoa, Brett man!' and it was clear from his expression he'd seen me and was anticipating some 'interruption to his process' but I just nodded in acknowledgement and left him alone. Why not? I have no questions, and I'm sure he's got none for me.

This is no more extreme than some of my high school friends' love for e.g. morrissey. However, Wire is arguably a better band than the Smiths (POLL?) and back then we didn't have any way of youtubing the hell out of him on his facebook wall >_<.

I wish only the best for TheQueenOfUr.

I'm glad to hear you're still a Wire fan :)

A friend of my brother's was peeing at a urinial then turned round to see Bernard Butler next to him. Stunned, he said "thank you for The Asphalt World", which caused Butler to leg it without washing his hands.

Please don't poll Wire vs Smiths for I will post unto ban

and I'm beginning to like The Smiths (a bit)

I still think of when I met Tim Smith at a gig and basically burst into tears. He gave me a hug. Bless him in every sense

I was in the ICA once and Colin Newman sat beside me... I didn't say anything even though I'd once interviewed him (and Graham Lewis) years before. Also, a few years back, I was sitting on a train listening to a Bruce Gilbert album when the train pulled up at a station and Bruce Gilbert was standing on the platform right in front of me and proceeded to get on the carriage. (Have I told this story here before?). Anyway we both got off at the same stop and I went up to him and told that I was just listening to one of his albums.

Colin emailed me some Wire press shots a while back and said "long time no speak" but I'd never spoken to him in my life. so technically it was a fair comment I guess

Up there I noticed someone was using one of my poems to make fun of me. But there are better ones they could have chosen from. You'll notice my poetry is my true pain. It was one of the outlets I often used instead of cutting myself when I was still at home.

Lust For Power
By Sara Poirier
 
The milk pumped from betrayal is oh so sour,
But we must use it to feed our lust for power.
Climb to the highest point on the social tower,
Stay there a life time and only work for an hour.
 
Cover their eyes and keep the cash flowing,
Don't tell the outsiders where it is going.
Spend it all without anyone knowing,
Make sure there is no evidence showing.
 
The poor are starving while the rich get fatter,
The wealthy stand on top while the peasants hold the ladder.
Empty promises while the economy get sadder,
A political debate turns to mindless chatter.
 
Parents teach us manners but they are so rude,
The children ran because they were abused,
The trees are clear of birds that once coed,
Nothing is left, it was all used. 

"Them"
By Sara Poirier
 
I am always the one they blame
Yet there is no evidence to be found
I get on my knees in shame
To pick my dignity off the ground.
The more confidence I possess
The more they strike me down
My life has turned into a mess
My soup of a brain spins around
They wear me as a mask
Though I also wear my own
I do every task
They could have done alone
I am their scape"goat"
They refuse to keep me fed
So I write them this note
As I lay dying here in my bed
You should have been more greatful
To have my presence around,
Give thanks for every plateful
And to be safe and sound
I did everything you asked of me
And never complained once
But when you thought I was too happy
You would torture me for months
You couldn't handle it
If I said I could survive without you
And you would have a fit
If I did something I wasn't supposed to do
When I say I want to leave
You then begin to care
But why should I believe
Something that isn't there?
Now for my trip I must prepare
Before I will leave this grave
I am leaving all I could spare
And taking all you never gave
 
Here are a few poems I still feel are dear to me

http://files.coloribus.com/files/adsarchive/part_346/3463455/file/lencr-softener-barbed-wire-sock-small-38191.jpg

^ I thought this myself, but a quick Google of the screen name reveals this isn't the case. Fucking hell, ILX, what have you done!? :D

I once accidentally kneed Bruce Gilbert in the back of the head at a Faust concert in London, he looked at me in a peturbed fashion and I said sorry.

I was playing at an event that Bruce Gilbert was DJing at years ago, his style of was basically putting on one side of a Xenakis record and retreating to the bar, very cool. I hassled him a bit about why the Mzui Waterloo Gallery record hadn't been released on CD yet, he was very nice.

I wish I had found this a year ago. But I think now that I have gotten past this I am of clearer mind to speak of what really happened. I started all of this madness when I was 13. I am now 16 and I realize now how hostile and even creepy I must have seemed. If only SFJ had asked the most important questions then maybe things would be clear.

in retrospect, do you wish the New Yorker hadn't published the interview in the first place, and do you get the impression that SFJ was intentionally mocking you/making you look ridiculous? did anything positive happen to you as a result of the publicity? do you still make music?

(sorry to hear about your family situation, btw)

There was good and bad in all of it. But I think I created the bad on my own. I enjoyed the attention I got from the interview. It gave me something to hold on to, to make me feel important, to live for. It was like someone out there cared about me. That's all I ever wanted. Was to be cared about. And as for the family issues...you'll never know just how bad it was. I'm still dealing with it now and the stress is horrible. I have court in 4 days now and the thought of having to sit up there and feel my dad look at me is terrifying. I never really feel safe anywhere even tho I'm out of that home. My dad has tried to come after me since I left. I have a restraining order now but I know it won't stop him.
I think all I ever wanted from all this was to be heard and I hope one day someone will want to hear the whole story.

TheKingOfUR
This is Fred Poirier Sara's father .
Sara said she hoped that someday someone would want to hear the whole story I have the whole story, but it is quite a bit different that the one from Sara. I am not looking for someone to feel sorry for me I am just out to let you know the truth.
Sara insinuates all sort of things to you people for you to feel sorry for her how mistreated she was at home.
1) How did she get to meet the band Wire a 13 year old child?
Answer from a 48 years old boy from Australia.
2) Why not tell you about the conversation with the cop Amanda at the Cop Shop 6 months before
She was kidnapped by the Ministry Of Child And Family Development (MCFD) ?
3) Why not tell you about a guy by the name of John Kelly?
4) Why not tell you about a guy by the name of Mr. Prong?
5) Why turn against the parents when the parents did absolutely nothing wrong?
6) How bad it was at home?
When some 48 years old boy phone your house at 3 or 4 O:clock in the morning a couple of times a week any aprents get
upset?
7) My dad came after me not true.
The MCFD told you that. Your dad come to defend you from the Monster.
8) You believe you create the bad on your own and you are correct on that one.
Why not explain to these people why you are upset with the family?
9) The family is not mad at you because they know how the Ministry (MCFD) opperate?
But it get pretty annoying after 2 years of this harassment.
10) I want the people that feel sorry for you to contact me and I would explain to them the story for you.
They will still feel sorry for you for a completely different reason.
And that for sure not your parents that was abusing you and you know the truth and you know the story. You are
punishing yourself 2 years of house arrest with MCFD should be enough, but it's up to you.
Parents can forgive and forget a whole lot and you know that.
The attitude of MCFD is if you are over 12 years old and your parents don't want to listen to you just phone the Ministry
they will look after you if you need protection or not they collect the same money both ways.
Thank you for listening to our side of the story we are not doper, not drunk just a plain good partents.

Just Google MCFD corruption and see for yourself ?????

what happened?

This topic is a fucking trip.

Kinda. Mostly v sad tho

who is "The Monster" and how can we make sure to avoid passing on the street

Who is "THE MONSTER" ?
You don't want to avoid this Monster it like a serial killer of families.
In the U.S.it call CPS IN Canada it MCFD You have to help.
Find a way to change the current trap to Families under the banner of
"CHILD PROTECTION" when it is really "CHILD ABUSE" and "ABUSE OF POWER"
IF you don't understand ask a different question.
Thank for asking.

guys we found the Yellow King

Is there any literature on this? I dont believe anything unless its in pamplet form

Who is "THE MONSTER"
The Monster is call CPS in US and MCFD in CANADA
You don't want to avoid this Monster it is like a serial killer of Families.
WE should all get together and destroy it some how by sharing ideas.
All this abuse of Families under the banner of "CHILD PROTECTION"
when it "CHILD ABUSE" and "ABUSE OF POWER" at the expense of Families.
Dealing with MCFD it like dealing with a tornado "When everything calm
down the house is gone" not by a act of God but by the Social Workers
that believe that they are GOD.
Here you are GUILTY till you proved you are INNOCENT ?????

Sorry not buying it until said words are printed in comic sans on awkwardly folded orange paper

You don't want to avoid this Monster it is like a serial killer of Families.

speaking as a member of a family I would be keen to avoid a serial killer of families

Oh great, they have F@thers 4 Ju$t!ce in Canada too.

[...]

Responsible parents all know that it's great to post about their family and legal problems on public message boards. Definitely.

Anyone else googled this guy?

Fred Poirier · Follow · Port McNeill, British Columbia

M.Doug Christie was the person that brought our son home for Christmas in 2012 from a MCFD kidnaping in june 2012.He presented to a good Judge the manipulation of the social workers.He did't stop when he was tire he stop when he was DONE.My full respect to this GREAT man.

perhaps the MCFD was trying to save S@ra from incomprehensible sentences. inclined to believe her over you.

this guy's screen name also implies he is married to his daughter. CPS or no CPS I believe authorities take a dim view of that

haha I had the same thought about that - creeped me out a bit o_O

Jesus tittyfucking christ.

dignity thy names is the king of ur

It's a leap to think he thinks/is married to his own daughter, but it's odd they're both such attentive fans of an album a lot of Wire fans (used to, anyway) dismiss

I wasn't being wholly serious just ftr

we should probably close/remove this thread

Cosign, bt just for locking. Not rly a place for jokes tbh