The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #37944   Message #531369
Posted By: Pinetop Slim
19-Aug-01 - 06:14 PM
Thread Name: Music Journalism. a Rant, nuthin' more!
Subject: RE: Music Journalism. a Rant, nuthin' more!
The graf cited by Midchuck is a rarity in music journalism (about which, in general, I'm all in favor of a RANT) in that it's clear what the writer is trying to say and actually gives me some feel for the Stanley Brothers music.
In six or seven years of looking through the press kits for acts appearing at a coffee house where I volunteer, I'm yet to see anything comparable. The performers' biogs are OK, but about their music rarely is anything meaningful said. A string of adjectives, maybe, or the "reminds the listener of (fill in the blank)" and too often the incredible hybridization "it is as if the soul of (fill in the blank) joined with the rhythm of (f.i.b.) and the lyrical sensitivity of (f.i.b.)."
About the lack of fact-checking, I sympathize, but I can't get my shorts in a bunch over it when maybe 10 percent of the postings here at Cat are disputes over song authorship, origination etc. The folk process is bound to yield a lot of misinformation posing as fact.
Who writes well about music? Some names and examples of their work would be valuable to practicing or would-be music critics, reviewers and feature writers.