Last.FM vs Criticism

Nick Southall on the end of Stylus and how web 2.0 has changed the criticism game.

Blogged as a marker to myself, really, though one sensible response on my part would be to stop thinking so much about music criticism and just get on with some.

Rockists Night In: Set The Fire To The Third Knob

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scott pgwo

2 Nov 2007 22:33

that’s how I’m feeling right now too…

mitya

3 Nov 2007 10:53

I wanted to respond to nick’s comments, but I don’t have a blogger account, so I can’t.

Honestly I can’t say that I’ve made a single substantial discovery through last.fm – maybe a song here or there, occasionally hearing something I’d thought about but not been bothered to follow up on, but the idea that last.fm could substitute for some kind of contextual discussion seems absurd to me, unless perhaps if we’re talking about 18-year-olds who feel compelled to listen to whatever everyone else is listening to. Because really that’s about all you can get out of it, unless — and this is partially why I point my finger at 18-year-olds (and perhaps should be pointing at 15s) — you actually don’t have much exposure to music, and you’ve got the whole world open to you. Blame oink, slsk, the hype machine – instant access – fine! But last.fm is really no more helpful than walking into a record shop (or doing it 10 years ago, anyway) and seeing a shelf full of new releases. I like last.fm a lot, but I wouldn’t believe their press so much.

mark sinker

3 Nov 2007 12:32

there’s a curious self-doubt built into nick’s — and to be fair almost the entire er er profession’s — sense of what it is they’re meant to be doing: he sez sumfink like, “why will someone want to read 600 words when they can now just listen straight away?”

well the asnwer to that is
i. bcz they ENJOY READING
ii. bcz you* can write

*but of course obv lots of the YOUs in the er er profession CAN’T write so much, or have anyway have used “interest in the object reviewed” as a crutch for this, or an excuse or an evasion, and are now in a panic — WHY WOULD ANYONE WANT TO READ WHAT I WRITE, but the answer really IS i. plus ii., with vast emphasis on ii. (cz i. takes care of itself in the end, ppl who enjoy reading are not going to vanish from the earth ODDLY ENOUGH)

xyzzzz__

3 Nov 2007 13:11

Its the desire to understand, to make sense of what you’re listening to that will keep driving the need to write and read. It may be done badly or well, paid or not…

But it will be done.

stevem

3 Nov 2007 14:52

The question/dilemma for me is what kind of current music is really worth writing or reading about. That may sound heretic but I personally get more joy these days out of reading about music from great distance time-wise, fact-finding and dots-joining about artists and work from before or just a few years after I was born. Blogs are proving great for this and last.fm et al don’t take anything away from this for me in fact quite the opposite.

That said I enjoyed reading the last issue of The Stool Pigeon and I’ve got a copy of The Word for the first time in a while. For websites it’s strange. I SHOULD’VE been reading the Stylus singles jukebox still, if only to get an idea of what new stuff I might like and to go seek…but i wasn’t, and not because the process of finding the music is really any easier. There’s a strong sense of being overwhelmed that is overshadowing that ease unfortunately, for me.

But I’m not 15-25 so shouldn’t be worried about too much ;) Can’t speak for them but as Julio says the desire to read longer pieces on both technical and artistic issues in music (which Stylus handled well) isn’t going to go away just because it’s supposedly easier to access music both old and new.

xyzzzz__

3 Nov 2007 15:39

btw, I wsn’t referring so much about to long pieces in webzines but also apparently tossed off comments in msg boards, convo-building in discussion groups and the like…all of can take away the time.

byebyepride

3 Nov 2007 21:11

Stylus to me is what Last fm is to Nick i.e. the thing after the thing we liked / felt part of. Everything flows.

wpDiscuz

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