The Problem With Music: Josh sent me (why me specifically, apart from that I’m a major label pimp and all?) to this Steve Albini rant, which appeared in slightly different form in an APA I’m in, several years ago. Indeed, lots of the APA actually believed Steve had joined. It’s worth reading – anything Albini writes is worth reading, his reviews/reminiscences of the various bands he’s worked with being particularly hilarious.
Actually I was thinking of this very article even before Josh and Doug reminded me of it, because of the Wolfie review Josh blogged, which left me with mixed feelings. On the one hand I sympathised with the Pitchfork guy’s frustrations at bandmembers’ sending him inane criticisms of his original criticism. But on the other hand I found his ‘constructive’ commentary at the end of the review prescriptive and unhelpful (and it was the “warm” bits that put me in mind of Albini’s rantings). I think a critic’s job is not to be constructive, at least not like this. I’m not entirely sure what a critic’s job is sometimes, mind you…which I think is one of the reason’s I’ve never tried to get paid for doing it.