Who are your favorite music critics not from Anglo-America?

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Street edge, what is that? That's a U.S. bias that has no merit at all. European players are far tougher, more aggressive, and went through more to play the game than anybody in the street, so to speak. They're prepared better. They work on their games. They've developed better fundamentally. They're probably better coached as young kids now, too.--Jerry Reynolds, the Sacramento Kings' player personnel director

He's talking about basketball, but you get my point. So who are the best music critics that you know of not to have grown up in the USA, Canada, Britain, Australia, New Zealand (though they may live there now)? I'm most curious about the ones who cover pop and disco and rock, the ones ready to beat us at our own game (some of whom may post on this board), but I'd be interested in hearing of critics of any music, whatever language they write in.

― Frank Kogan, Friday, 31 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Irin Carmon, teenager who writes for the Village Voice. I think she grew up in Israel.

― Frank Kogan, Friday, 31 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

m. carlin - from Scotland

m.sinker - from mars

― Dr. C, Friday, 31 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Mars = Part of Britain

― Frank Kogan, Friday, 31 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Oh, and don't do what I just did, which is to cite a name but say nothing about the work. Irin writes about Britney, Natacha Atlas, Ani Di Franco. (Which still doesn't tell you much, but if you go to the Voice and type "Irin Carmon" into their search engine (without the quotation marks) you can read her stuff.)

― Frank Kogan, Friday, 31 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I like her range already (it helps I've been a Natacha Atlas fan for years, admittedly).

― Ned Raggett, Friday, 31 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

m.sinker - from mars
I knew I wasn't alone. Switching back to Helenfordsdale. heh.

I'd pick S*rge S*monart as my favourite.... Uh no, let's not. He's a sycophantic blah writah with goooood looks. If I am not mistaken he occasionally writes for some British magazines. Actually I'd pick one-time ILM-er OMAR MUNOZ-CREMERS!

― cuba libre (nathalie), Friday, 31 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

would Elisabeth Vincentelli count? she was born and raised in France but is music ed of Time Out New York right now

― M Matos, Friday, 31 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Yes, she'd count (probably more than Irin, who tells me she was born in Israel but raised mostly in NYC, with summers back in Israel; says that the family speaks Hebrew at home).

― Frank Kogan, Friday, 31 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I've been a Natacha Atlas fan for years

She's a Fairouz fan.

― DeRayMi, Friday, 31 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Ah, excellent. Recommendations for albums or collections, please, good sir!

― Ned Raggett, Friday, 31 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Mark Beaumont comes from Chile, where his interviews with emo bands were regularly used as weapons of torture during Pinochet's reign.

― Dom Passantino, Friday, 31 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

dele fadele — nigeria via syracuse univ — was terrific in the 80s, tho i've not read anything at all recently

― mark s, Friday, 31 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

tho i've not read anything at all recently
Not even Freaky Triggah! Shockah in Gloomtown!

― cuba libre (nathalie), Friday, 31 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Yes it's true! Mark is illiterate; he doesn't actually read ILx, he puts his hands on the computer screen and feels the vibe (much like Tommy and pinball machines), and then he says something and his assistant - played by Tony Randall - transcribes and posts.

― Frank Kogan, Friday, 31 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

De:Bug is one of the best music papers anywhere. Learn German.

― Momus, Saturday, 1 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Actually, don't learn German, use the built-in Google Translation button at the end of each text on De:Bug. Instead of 'debugging' the mysteries of the language, they will add to them, magnificently enriching the whole critical discourse.

For instance, from a review of Takemura's 'Sign', Google renders this description: 'a typical post office skirt track, which in co-operation with usual suspecting in things post office skirt'. How much duller when you know that 'post office skirt' is actually a mistranslation of 'post rock'.

Post Rock, yeah, the usual suspects, file under, been there, done that. But 'post office skirt'... it's the New Thing! Wear one when you post your letters! Sew a mailbag to match! Learn the 'postie' dance! Thank you, Google, the world's currently most creative music critic.

You think I'm joking, don't you?

― Momus, Saturday, 1 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

man, post office skirts are so 1996.

― J Blount, Saturday, 1 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Ah, excellent. Recommendations for albums or collections, please, good sir!

― DeRay, Saturday, 1 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Ah, excellent. Recommendations for albums or collections, please, good sir!

Oh, wait, stop, don't insert that! I hit the wrong key. Anyway, my favorite Fairouz is on thrid hand cassette compilations without any titles, but until I find out what's on them, here are some suggestions.

"Andaloussiyat" is sampled briefly (it's just a sample after all) on an Atlas album (Gedida, I think). When I heard it, I had to shuffle through all my Fairouz until I could find the source. "Soiree ave Fairouz" is pretty nice. "Ishar" has some old 60's electric organ sounds which are kind of funny, but my relationship to it is primarily non-ironic. (I like it.) "Fairuz" is a pretty good general collection. The first three songs on "Wahdon" are unusually upbeat for Fairouz, and have great driving doumbek playing, but the last two tracks are just dreadful, mostly do to the production. (I think there is a good melody burried under all of it, and Fairouz as usual, sounds the same.) I have this funny little cassette compilation called "Fairus and the Moon" that's quite good, but this was produced in the West Bank, so I don't know how reliable distribution is going to be.

Incidentally, her music doesn't sound much like Atlas's. Western influences here are most classical music and a watererd down understanding of jazz. No drum n bass beats.

― DeRayMi, Saturday, 1 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

The Impeccable Fairouz

― DeRayMi, Saturday, 1 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

*bookmarks site* Kewl. I thank you.

― Ned Raggett, Saturday, 1 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Job de Wit! Heehee...

― Orange, Sunday, 2 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

four months pass...

DV, here you go.

― Rockist Scientist, Tuesday, 22 October 2002 13:46 (twenty-three years ago)

RoXoR. although wouldn't it be better if we just had this discussion on MY Fairuz thread?

― DV (dirtyvicar), Tuesday, 22 October 2002 14:31 (twenty-three years ago)

Serge Sim*nart. hahaha Witnessed him in a panel chat. Good GAWD. I think he occasionally writes for American/English magazines (Q actually).

― nathalie (nathalie), Tuesday, 22 October 2002 15:44 (twenty-three years ago)

i wanted to say elisabeth vincentelli as well, but mr matos said it before...
i also like christophe basterra in france (he writes for Magic), patricia godes in spain (formerly in rockdelux, now in the spanish edition of rolling stone and other less known mags).
there's this serbian guy who writes on careless talk, but i've never got much out of his contributions anyway.

― joan vich (joan vich), Tuesday, 22 October 2002 16:09 (twenty-three years ago)

But he's got great one-liners.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 22 October 2002 16:13 (twenty-three years ago)

so do you.

― joan vich (joan vich), Tuesday, 22 October 2002 17:45 (twenty-three years ago)

D'oh!

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 22 October 2002 17:50 (twenty-three years ago)

Barry O'Donoghue, from Dublin, mainly cos he's a DJ though.

― Ronan (Ronan), Tuesday, 22 October 2002 18:35 (twenty-three years ago)

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