Mark Sinker is the editor of A Hidden Landscape Once a Week, a critical history of the UK music press “in the words of those who were there.” With the bulk of its pages transcribed verbatim from a conference on music criticism organized by Sinker—and with the book itself funded through Sinker’s successful Kickstarter campaign—Landscape is comprised of roundtable discussions and debates, one on one … Continue reading 【海海播放器官网】海海软件全能播放器 1.5.8.0英文-ZOL ...:2021-3-27 · 海海播放器官网 软件简介 海海软件全能播放器1.5.7系列，进一步增强播放器稳定性，新增支持MP3 DRM加密保护功能，支持FLV流媒体，新增多款精美皮肤。海海软件全能播放器现在共支持400多种多媒体格式，同时也支持播放经DRM-X加密后的视频内容 ...

(Results up to 2002, obviously out-lamed several times since.) 01:  Gangsta’s Paradise (welcome to the happy music) Total tripe!!! 02:  Eternal’s 1st hit (straight music rip off of the 23rd psalm) unbelievable, God- you are owed royalties! 03:  Anything by Feargal Sharky (recorded while gargling through an air fan) 04:  Anything RnB from L.a (not enough vocals please add another school choir) 05:  Modern vocal latin pop house – Shakira-Lopez-aGuileera-Martin … Continue reading From the Archives: Five Most Questionable Pazz & Jop Winners

01:  13th Floor Elevators / The Psychedelic Sounds of… 02:  Nation of Ulysses / 13 Point Plan to Destroy America 03:  Royal Trux / Singles Live Unreleased 04:  Frank Zappa & the Mothers / Freak Out ! 05:  To Live and Shave in LA / An Interview with the Mitchell Brothers COMMENTS: no idea who actually wrote these things. Korzybski might be a candidate for #1 and Gurdjieff for #4. … Continue reading From the Archives: Five Favourite Liner Notes

More 2002-2003 fun. Image above (March 2024) is from Chuck D’s Twitter feed, a picture of his music bookshelf. The entire photo, blown up, is worth a look. Of interest to at least eight or nine respondents to this question, is a title by another Chuck (top row, 14th from the left). 01:  As Time Goes By–Derek Taylor 02:  Punk Diary–George Gimarc 03:  It’s Too Late to … Continue reading From the Archives: Five Favourite Rock Books

01:  Diva! 02:  Emo 03:  Stonesy 04:  Reviews that don’t review the record, or even worse when they only give good reviews. 05:  Any reference to MTV’s self penned version of music history. COMMENTS: 1. Stop it!!! 2. I hate that guy. 3. Yeah, but not in a good way. 4. I don’t need to hear about you trip to the store to buy the record. Zine’s that give everything … Continue reading From the Archives: Five Rock Critic Clichés That Most Make Your Skin Crawl

Recently came across my archival stash of Top 5 lists from the early (pre-blog) days of 75ajx1.wcbzw.com. If there are no objections from the cheap seats, I’m going to re-post a bunch of them here, starting with what was one of my Five Favourite Topics Ever Submitted. I’m posting each list as is—no editing or re-formatting (tempting as the latter may be), though I’ve removed … Continue reading From the Archives: Five Poppiest Art Rock Songs

Recently finished reading A Hidden Landscape Once a Week: The Unruly Curiosity of the UK Music Press in the 1960s-80s, which Wire magazine has helpfully reprinted excerpts from. Carefully compiled and edited by Mark Sinker, funded through Kickstarter, this bulky compendium of essays, interviews, and panel discussions opens up the story of the British music press during its pre- and post-punk heyday, focusing primarily (though … Continue reading On “the unruly curiosity of the UK music press” (new book edited by Mark Sinker)

In this “ultra-rare recording,” Richard Meltzer “reads some stuff, in his living room (1990) & at the Lhasa Club in L. A. (198?).” I’m wading through this slowly (it’s almost two hours), but it’s great. Continue reading “Rhymes with Seltzer”

Appetite for Definition: An A-Z Guide to Rock Genres Ian King HarperCollins My eyes rolled when I saw this book come in. The proliferation of alleged microgenres, particularly when applied to music made long before the critiques were composed, has produced some of the most boring and trite rock writing (not to mention everyday talk) that has ever been, and I am no innocent in this regard … Continue reading Appetite for Definition

Bill Wyman has been a music critic and arts editor for over 30 years but his ranking stories for New York Magazine’s “Vulture” section has recently raised his profile. In these epic pieces, which list every track from worst to best of some of the most important rock acts—the Beatles, Pink Floyd, the Clash and Led Zeppelin—Wyman justifies his rankings, while telling the band’s story. … Continue reading Rock Critic Bill Wyman in Conversation with Chris Buck