Reviews: Am I justified for being kinda upset about this one?

also he says our drummer is the bass player, when actually i am (plus there's no bass solo on the album anyway wtf), but things like not getting names & credits right when they are CLEARLY WRITTEN ON THE CD WE SENT YOU fucking bothers me to.

Anyway, d00d's a rockist. And kinda clueless. I assume he's 12? O what hath Pitchfork wrought.

Also, funny typos!

"They are the successes of Blondie, Joy Division, Blonde Redhead and more recently Interpol. These are the victories of those who have toiled at the creative rock face. Those who have MIND the raw elements of this sound, carving it out of the solid granite and forming beauty out of the void."

dont take this guy seriously

(P.S. I actually think for publications covering small releases and still-local acts, the best critics you could have are older people in the area who -- even if they can't write about things well or deeply -- are going to be better at detecting which acts are doing something interesting, which acts seem like they'll go on to bigger things, etc.)

Well, and: Only knowing how to interpret bands that have already been interpreted by others; only understanding bands in terms of a grand historical narrative that is by and large a lie created by lazy journalists and marketers; and not knowing how to use apostrophes.

Nevertheless that's a remarkably incompetent review.

Also: I don't think I've ever had an article written about me that didn't get one of the band members wrong, one of the song titles wrong, or some other basic, seemingly obvious fact wrong about the band. Even the good, well-written reviews and articles. It's the nature of the (journalism) business.

Wait, since when are relationships not allowed to be sung about? I thought that was the driving force behind, oh... 99.999% of most music.

This guy's a 'tard.

The biggest problems with this guy's assesment are as follows"
Experimentation=the best process of music creation. Seen the End Times festival? Not all shit sticks to the wall. Hell, listen to alot of the stuff on my label.
That original=good=original. How many songs are in the same key/time signature/progression? Some are good, some suck.
All inspiration should only come from within. Because somehow the process being harder makes the result SOO much better. Man should create in a vacuum! ALL MUSIC SHOULD BE WRITTEN BY THE DEAF!!!
Sounding like other bands=bad. Umm...he's a jackass.

Basically what I'm saying is that this man does not understand music and thus has no right to critique anything.

This is one of the reasons 'Wellstones!' is not off the ground. I feel a need to take the visual and characters to the Nth. "SEE THE IRONY!!! IT'S UNSTOPPABLE!! CRITICS WILL BE POLARISED!!!" and "BRING ATTENTION THROUGH NOTERIETY! ANY KIND WILL DO! WHO NEEDS CRITICS!!??"

What I'm saying there is y'all should play more shows so the word gets out old-school....and I wants to see ya live alots more. I owe you a drink, too.

also, his font is too small. The Fucker.

Why does he claim to only like originality but then lists Interpol?
I dig them, but their lazy (accidentally write good songs, most of their songs appeal to me..) the definition of derivative(could they try to be Joy Division any harder?).

No, I don't know how to consolidate my thoughts into one post.
But then, you knew that.

Maps of Norway Sister Stations:
Pointing out the problems on Sister Stations is easy. To be clear, the record is not loaded with flubbed notes or smooth-jazz covers of Ramones songs. None of the songs are about thongs. None instruct listeners how to do a novelty dance. No, the flaws on this record are particularly evident because most of the album is quite good, and when an arrangement or line that does not match the quality of the rest of the album, it has nowhere to hide. In other words, the record is like an otherwise good apple with an ugly bruise showing through the skin. If pointing out the problems - some flat singing and the occasional resemblance to Interpol - is easy because they are so obvious, ignoring or forgiving them is just as easy because Maps of Norway gives listeners so much to like. In general, the band has not introduced any new styles. Instead, it studies post-punk and dance punk, two genres that have been en vogue for most of this decade. The band avoids completely cloning the usual suspects - Joy Division, New Order, and Gang of Four - by doing three things: It inserts abrupt shifts in the arrangements and atmospheric interludes, the rhythm section tries to hypnotize listeners with its grooves, and the band lets a woman sing for once. "Traffic" opens the album with white noise, scraped guitar strings, and Jeff Ball's adventurous drumming. The introduction is a preemptive measure that distracts the listener from bass player Matt Helgeson's impersonation of New Order's Peter Hook throughout the rest of the track. A somewhat experimental track, "4 Digit Six," breaks down and reloads with a wheezing keyboard line straight out of a Dr. Dre production. In "Manners," Ball and Helgeson's instruments summon Ian Curtis' spirit to dance maniacally in front of the stage. Then, Eric Hanson mechanically strums his guitar, and Rebecca Leigh sings like Patti Smith. Like "Traffic," "Matches" begins with solo drumming. The band sets aside the initial rhythm for a long verse of skipping rock. The chorus brings back the drum motif, but this time, it leads to a reverb-heavy guitar interlude, Leigh's careful vocals, and a less aggressive tempo. Finally, the band essentially combines all the separate sections of the song before repeating the main rhythm motif at the song's climax. during such moments, it seems that Maps of Norway has found the path to a find sound of its own. (JM)

...which was promptly trumped by a response letter by IMM's own Mark Danjer.

That piece also makes me feel bad, because I once wrote a review of Boyracer in tweeC86 terms and Stewart wrote me this long, frustrated email about how they were really more like an Australian punk band. (I think my response was something like "duh, but let's be serious about who likes you" -- which I also feel bad about, cuz he just wants to be liked on the right terms.)

Well there's something you don't see every day!

(hi dude!)

^^^^^ totally OTM, btw

I find two parts of the Maps of Norway review kind of funny though:

Pointing out the problems on Sister Stations is easy. To be clear, the record is not loaded with flubbed notes or smooth-jazz covers of Ramones songs. None of the songs are about thongs. None instruct listeners how to do a novelty dance.

...

Maps of Norway gives listeners so much to like. In general, the band has not introduced any new styles.

About a year later, we managed to persuade B0yracer to come play in my college town, and my band was going to open, we were so psyched, but then our bass player couldn't play, so I said I would put together some kind of solo act just so I could open for B0yracer. I did some awful "experimental" droney thing with delay and keyboards and stuff and the whole time I was worried Stuart would realize I was the asshole who gave his label comp a mediocre review and call me out.

I'm not really upset about this one, I just wanted to post it somewhere but was too bashful to put it on ILM:
http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/47324-nightly-things

:)

This means I can print my own money now, right?!

Ha, I was just looking at that and thinking of you and was coming here to post it in case you hadn't!

nice

let us know if this translates into instant record sales/gigs

no, this is when the backlash begins

should i start an ilm thread called 'i liked begushk1n better before they sold out' y/n

no please

Looks like you are only a half step away from the big time. Except I couldn't find the part where they mentioned you by name.

Yeah, I'm only on a couple tracks on that record, and my playing is pretty spare. I figure in a lot more heavily on the next one, which is due out in March.

It will be interesting to see if the Pitchfork hype lives up to the hype. My guess is we'll see a jump in interest and sales but we're not going to be headlining the Bowery Ballroom next week or anything.

Ok, I am upset about one thing. Canterbury Tales? WTF did this guy only take one English class in college and now that's his reference point for anything that sounds sort of old and literary?

Maybe he saw the Michael Powell movie recently.

let us know if this translates into instant record sales/gigs

-- Jordan, Wednesday, December 12, 2007 11:58 AM (1 week ago) Bookmark Link

So far apparently not. Pitchfork review PLUS TONY rec. for tonight's show left us with a small crowd anyway.

Congrats on the review Hurting! I guess main point isn't just whether the reviewer likes or dislikes what's going on, but whether it puts across what you're like, so that those who would be intrigued by that kind of thing take notice? Seems to me that review does that pretty well, erroneous chaucery aside.

So if I finally make it out to hear you play at this point, will it constitute bandwagon-jumping?