The New Yorker music issue

Um, which early 90's were those? If someone has a copy handy, have I totally misread that line? I can't believe its as bad as I remember it being.

i've yet to get to Hornby's piece, but i'm loving the rest of the issue so far. James Surowiecki's attempt to tie in to the theme in his front-of-the-book financial column aims to be an expose; it's good-intentioned, but misses the mark. but Sanneh's Jay-Z piece is superb, Gates' profile of Ralph Stanley is revealing, and the piece on selling Steinway pianos is just really interesting. truth be told, the article i'm really looking forward to is the story on a wedding band; it may not be a story about art, but it should be a nice music piece, and a story that never really gets told.

So, obviously I have yet to read it, but I'm sure it will be more fun from the man who felt that "Kid A" was too difficult. There's something odd going on when the periodical writing you most look forward to these days are the ones that hold a train-wreck fascination...

I find it odd that Hornby can make a qualitative claim, differentiating between P. Diddy (crap) and D12 (not so crap), and yet has crap-all to say about nu-metal:

Actually, the truth of it is that neither Staind nor Linkin Park nor Limp Bizkit is dissimilar to just about any other band that has played an electric guitar very loud in the past thirty years, which means that there is very little to be said for or about them, though I wish them no ill.

He's either lazy, or just doesn't give a fig. (And I find it VERY odd that he namedrops the Dickies in talking about Blink 182 - why not the Dead Milkmen, or the Meatmen, or some other obscure band that the New Yorker audience is going to scratch their head about?)

Is the conclusion reached (today's pop music ain't got the same soul; let me run back to my sanctuary) any different than the type of conclusion that would've been reached by any other adult in their mid- 40s with a mild interest in music?

And who the hell is Jagged Edge?

Aside from the all-too-obvious question of why shooting holes through Lil Romeo and Linkin Park should be entertaining for the New Yorker's readership (unless they're really that insecure about their middle- brow-ness that they need to have it bolstered by disdaining the chart pop their kids listen to) and Hornby's egregious times-aint-like-they- used-to-be fogey-isms, one line leapt right out at me: "when I have recovered my strength, creep back to my little private Top Ten...who make music full of thoughtful, polite ironies and carefully articulated cynicism." Can there be any more of a rockist view of pop music? Ugh.

I just thought I'd gush in public here... I'm usually pretty unemotional but wtf... I am 33 years old, and Nirvana was the last band I truly loved. Of course, I Love Music and all, and lots of new stuff gets me plenty excited. But I loved Nirvana. Or do I mean him. Ok, enough of that.

As usual, Christgau's writing is good, too. Maybe I'll read the book.

Yeah, that too. I'm pretty sure Jagged Edge is from Atlanta though.

Beside the point why has thier not been alot of BEK cartoons of late. He is grate , as well as any one read the Murakami short story. I bought one for a Munro a while back and was bvery disappointed.

Overall: ace. makes me wish they did some more pop music coverage. best single-issue music mag i've seen since the last music issue of the oxford american.