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.

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