The UK has become (almost) irrelevant

[Rachel Verinder]

Britain's problem is one of too many mediocre music journalists. Even those of us who aren't are more often than not forced into being such due to the current culture of a demographic mindset which supposedly can't absorb anything more than an 80-word capsule review with star rating attached ("comfort food for solvent retards" as Ben Watson so magnificently put it). No doubt they'll soon find a way to get rid of words altogether in music reviews and replace them with emoticons. I've kind of drifted away from that arena, or more accurately the arena has been dragged away from me.

Stelfox to thread for full rebuttal of above remarks...

 

[matt b]

Britain's problem is one of too many mediocre music journalists.

having read alex petridis' awful article on roots manuva in the guardian today (can he not fact check or listen to the records before writing about them?), i'd agree.

 

[Logan Sama]

Reading articles about the grime scene always makes me chuckle.

People wonder why I don't like Grime being reported in Newspapers because "all publicity is good publicity"

I'd rather it wasn't written about by the sort of journos who change their musical tastes 2 times a year to stay "current". Would be nice if I could read or hear about this music in a year's time still after the NME/Guardian lot of stopped writing about the "poor urban youth of London". Are there any decent british journalists who actually do like the music they write about and don't just focus on whatever the current Buzz is?

 

[Pearsall]

I find this connection pretty tenuous; that sort of rhthmic stuff was in miami bass and new orleans bounce. I'm not saying there wasn't a connection neccessarily (although, for the record, I believe Timbaland has denied having heard jungle prior to recording "One in a Million" in interviews, although I wouldn't be able to verify this). But I think there was a lot more to Timbo's early rhythmic ideas than jungle.

I stand corrected.

When a lot of the early Timba productions were coming out I was living in London and mainly listening to jungle, so the connection seemed obvious to me. I don't really know that much about New Orleans bounce (well, more or less nothing about the music before No Limit and Cash Money became big) so what stuff should I check out?

 

[Dubquixote]

Personally I think that urban London is making the most vital music today, and has been for at least ten years. Part of the problem as I see it (sitting here on the East coast of the US) is that the grassroots music scenes that brought us hardcore, jungle, garage, grime, etc. are so damn fickle. I mean, let's face it, these different micro-genre are all a part of the same creative continuum, yet it seems like the drive to constantly innovate and carve out a new niche has the effect of cutting off one's nose to spite one's face.... People just don't stay invested in their sound like hip hop did in the states. Now going on 25 years hip hop is paying dues to those who stuck with it.

 

[Logan Sama]

Grime is the first genre to successfully institute a firm culture and make it spread into the predominantly white suburban areas. Jungle was the template which most of todays biggest grime artists grew up on, but grime is the first thing that the youths of London have invested their culture into, and as such, I can't see the kids stopping making it. There will always be "youngers" wanting to pick up the mic, and they will always have curious crew mates or friends who want to try and make a beat for themself.

The pirate radio scene is such a firm placement in London as well that the people who want to make this music will always have a way of airing it to the rest of the city.

And the variety of the music right now means people can go off in whatever directions they want and it will still fall under the same umbrella. With Jungle and "UK Garage" they were both restricted by arbitrary bpms and and restrictive controlling infrastructure.

 

[Fiddy]

Reading articles about the grime scene always makes me chuckle.

People wonder why I don't like Grime being reported in Newspapers because "all publicity is good publicity"

I'd rather it wasn't written about by the sort of journos who change their musical tastes 2 times a year to stay "current". Would be nice if I could read or hear about this music in a year's time still after the NME/Guardian lot of stopped writing about the "poor urban youth of London". Are there any decent british journalists who actually do like the music they write about and don't just focus on whatever the current Buzz is?

I'd like to think I'm not a wastewoman journalist.

 

[dubplatestyle]

Logan if you think coverage of grime is bad in the UK press, try reading the US press on it sometime.

It's especially frustrating to me, as a Yank, because I've been following "this" music since jungle...I do understand why the rockcrit massive has found it easier to get into grime than UKG (more "real", more "street", less floss'n'gloss consumption/authenticity issues, R&B will always lose out to rap over here) but it does bug me to read a lot of these context-less, content-free "reviews" popping up ever since Dizzee blew up. (Though big up the Chicago Reader for letting me publish a lengthy - if sometimes sketchily researched - "garage rap" piece back in late 2002.)

 

[captain easychord]

Logan if you think coverage of grime is bad in the UK press, try reading the US press on it sometime.

It's especially frustrating to me, as a Yank, because I've been following "this" music since jungle...I do understand why the rockcrit massive has found it easier to get into grime than UKG (more "real", more "street", less floss'n'gloss consumption/authenticity issues, R&B will always lose out to rap over here) but it does bug me to read a lot of these context-less, content-free "reviews" popping up ever since Dizzee blew up. (Though big up the Chicago Reader for letting me publish a lengthy - if sometimes sketchily researched - "garage rap" piece back in late 2002.)

fuck man, it's brutal out here. i swear to god most people in toronto think M.I.A. is at the forefront of the grime scene. "it's like, rap from london, so it like must be grime right?"

 

[Logan Sama]

I'd rather it wasn't written about by the sort of journos who change their musical tastes 2 times a year to stay "current".

Miss Fiddy, thankfully you don't appear to change ur taste every 2 months to ensure u can pay ur mortgage, so when you write about grime, I believe you have credibility.

Big up all the journalists who backed Dubstep, while saying grime was crap.... and when Dubstep fell on it's face started writing about grime.

And big up the "It's all about funky house right now" crew.

Waste Paper Long Johns.

 

[Fiddy]

Miss Fiddy, thankfully you don't appear to change ur taste every 2 months to ensure u can pay ur mortgage, so when you write about grime, I believe you have credibility.

Big up all the journalists who backed Dubstep, while saying grime was crap.... and when Dubstep fell on it's face started writing about grime.

And big up the "It's all about funky house right now" crew.

Waste Paper Long Johns.

Brap! Brap! Waste Paper Pants for sure... wish I did have a mortgage to pay instead of frittering the rent money into stinky landlords pockets

 

[luka]

yeah, i saw those dubstep ones switch. that was funny.

 

[Poet for Hire]

who was that then?

funny, didn't logan used to a be straight up ukg man, i remember him talkin shit on the uptown forum?

 

[Poet for Hire]

i've heard him described as the westwood of grime, i.e. white boy wanna be, who jumped ship at the right time by brown nosing wiley - can't believe he is takin this realer than real, holier than thou approach!

 

[HMGovt’s Glorious Return!]

Britain's problem is one of too many mediocre music journalists.

Yep. That's Britain's problem.

 

[luka]

i think i might remember sama from before he went grime, but i wouldn't bet on it. i just remember an essex sounding dj on rinse who played a lot of todd edwards and prided himself on his versatility. he was on beofre roll deep quite often. dunno though, hopefully he'll give us his history.

 

[bun-u]

Obviously if he was real real real, Logan would've abstained from listening to all music until grime came along

 

[mms]

i've heard him described as the westwood of grime, i.e. white boy wanna be, who jumped ship at the right time by brown nosing wiley - can't believe he is takin this realer than real, holier than thou approach!

hmm he's really doing well for the music now, so who cares about the bitching really, we all have to start somewhere.

 

[Diggedy Derek]

Yeah, agree- basically, Logan works his arse playing tunes and representing the artists. Plus he's just a great selector. Anything else seems almost irrelevant.

 

[Melchior]

The only way anything would be vaguely relevant would be if someone had evidence of logan doing what he accused other people of doing (ie. slagging grime and then jumping on it). And used to 'play garage and now plays grime' is hardly the same thing.

But whatever, that 2005 prevew cd is something I have been THRASHING. He could have used to have been a polka dj for all I care.