the wire
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dubplatestyle
Well-known member
the wire <i>has</i> gotten pretty bad, but there are little glimmers still of how good it used to be. (hold ya head...well, i won't say, because they post here and will like get even bigger egos than they already have!)
i think the decision - conscious or not - to switch to almost blanket coverage of noise/improv/"new weird america"/freak folk/psyche has been calamitous.
also, peter shapiro needs to write for them more.
i think the decision - conscious or not - to switch to almost blanket coverage of noise/improv/"new weird america"/freak folk/psyche has been calamitous.
also, peter shapiro needs to write for them more.
john eden
male pale and stale
first one I got had Photek in it.
erm, it's the only music mag I buy every month... I think it should be supported financially and also criticised!
It does seem to be going down a more specialist than generalist route now, but this might just be because I have very little idea about new music these days. Great quality writing though.
I liked the stuff about metal in this month's and will try to check some of that out...
erm, it's the only music mag I buy every month... I think it should be supported financially and also criticised!
It does seem to be going down a more specialist than generalist route now, but this might just be because I have very little idea about new music these days. Great quality writing though.
I liked the stuff about metal in this month's and will try to check some of that out...
dubplatestyle
Well-known member
oh don't get me wrong, i still buy it every month...even when i could read it free at work!
it does seem to have undergone an undeniable...white washing, though. (at least in terms of the present.)
it does seem to have undergone an undeniable...white washing, though. (at least in terms of the present.)
the question of whether or not to keep buying it comes up every month, and every year I wonder if I should bin my back issues (almost a decade). i seem to skim through reading the bold text to see what's been released as soon as it's out then read the articles a month or two later.
first one i read won me over rating Beastie's 'Check Your Head' as one of 92's highlights. surprising, as most of the uk press had passed on this album and i was a disheartened fan at the time. unfortunately they tried to convince me Arrested Development was worth a look too
first one i read won me over rating Beastie's 'Check Your Head' as one of 92's highlights. surprising, as most of the uk press had passed on this album and i was a disheartened fan at the time. unfortunately they tried to convince me Arrested Development was worth a look too
Diggedy Derek
Stray Dog
The Sleep and Electric Wizard records recommended there are absolutely monumental. The former was originally recommended to me by someone who more or less listens to only pop music of the S Club 7 ilk (a pop curator perhaps), yet he thought Jerusalem was one of the best records of the 90s. Even he could not deny the rock-power of Sleep. Seriously, seriously, unreservedly recommended!
redcrescent
Well-known member
Wire's OK, the only UK mag I subscribe to although I've no clue about most of the music it covers.
I rate Dave Tompkins on hiphop, too.
This just about sums up my criticism of it, too. The lack of Grime coverage is another major shortcoming, I seem to remember The Wire putting stock in things like Neurofunk but no Grime cover story as yet (I'd love to see likes of Kano on the front page), maybe they're saving it up for a Primer in ten years' time. Simon Reynolds is about the only one (doing some quality) writing about this bizness.dubplatestyle said:
I rate Dave Tompkins on hiphop, too.
I'd agree, all three Sleep albums are ace and definitely worth a listen. Saw them live once supporting Lee Dorian's Cathedral and they were simply awesome. Doom-laden, stoned post-Sabbath riffing starts and ends here, IMHO.Diggedy Derek said:
jenks
thread death
i got a whole box of issues of the wire in the shed - faithfully kept subscibed for years and finally gave up when the only way i could get hold of the music was via the cover mounted cd.
some of the free cds still get regular airplay in my house but i the end i just couldn't muster the enthusism for it.
recently i've thought vbout coming back - independent etc is appealing when faced with wall to wall ipc and conde naste
(i suppose the loss of toop and penman also contributed to my decision)
some of the free cds still get regular airplay in my house but i the end i just couldn't muster the enthusism for it.
recently i've thought vbout coming back - independent etc is appealing when faced with wall to wall ipc and conde naste
(i suppose the loss of toop and penman also contributed to my decision)
Ness Rowlah
Norwegian Wood
the problem I've got with The Wire at the moment is that almost none of the reviews makes me
want to go out and listen. And 90% of the music seems to get "good" reviews (or it might be
that the writing is so convoluted that I think it is a good review ...)
Still buy every other issue or so though ...
want to go out and listen. And 90% of the music seems to get "good" reviews (or it might be
that the writing is so convoluted that I think it is a good review ...)
Still buy every other issue or so though ...
Rachel Verinder
Well-known member
Reading the Wire these days is like going to school, but give them credit - what other "mainstream" magazine in this day and age would dare put Anthony Braxton on their cover?
My first taste was the Michael Jackson cover ish in the late 80s. A controversial yet wise move on their part, one that at the very least widened their distribution to my office tower's newsstand. I dropped the monthly habit somewhere in the past year. I agree with Jess (?) in that the narrowing focus (some call it "Keenanizing") has excluded too many areas of interest. Even moreso, it's seemed to have become such a dry read. I keep checking it at the shops though, hoping it'll turn around again.
I too have subscribed since around 94 – ME Smith Invisible Jukebox was the initial draw – though I recently binned all the back issues when I moved.
The writing I still enjoy, particularly for reading on a train journey and particularly pieces about music that I’m never gonna hear. The music policy though seems to have moved away from what I predominantly listen to. I used to enjoy the Wire Tapper cds, but the last few have been 90% poor.
The writing I still enjoy, particularly for reading on a train journey and particularly pieces about music that I’m never gonna hear. The music policy though seems to have moved away from what I predominantly listen to. I used to enjoy the Wire Tapper cds, but the last few have been 90% poor.
blissblogger
Well-known member
you won't...
... have to wait ten years for the Grime Primer
just a couple of months
i'm doing one in a few weeks, probably going to go in April issue
... have to wait ten years for the Grime Primer
just a couple of months
i'm doing one in a few weeks, probably going to go in April issue
The next The Wire will have Gwen Stefani naked on the cover with article and interview by Marcello Carlin, a primer of the new sounds Grime by the Blissblogger, an article on the beauty of silence by David Toop, one long retrospective on hardcore ragga by Kevin Martin, a review of "Jazz Satellites vol.2 " by Simon Hopkins, "The story of Ian Penman part one" by Ian Penman, Peter Shapiro on Messianen and an article written by me about collecting more music that i have the money to buy for (or the time to listening...) and going bankruptcy
What else you want more?
Yes, also a Burzum poster for your room!!!
What else you want more?
Yes, also a Burzum poster for your room!!!
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wow!
is that true?
Maybe I'll buy it then ... I recently gave away all my back issues & have stopped buying. I don't have much interest in psychedelic folk either. Improv is nice live but I can't be buying the records anymore, and I get tired of watching the incandescent egos blaze in interviews ... (...)
anyway I'm pro Hua Hsu on hiphop. Dave Tompkins drives me nuts.
also I wish the "Dub" section would cover stuff that's not either 30 years old or out of the UK post-ONU sound ... more dancehall please!!
is that true?
Maybe I'll buy it then ... I recently gave away all my back issues & have stopped buying. I don't have much interest in psychedelic folk either. Improv is nice live but I can't be buying the records anymore, and I get tired of watching the incandescent egos blaze in interviews ... (...)anyway I'm pro Hua Hsu on hiphop. Dave Tompkins drives me nuts.
also I wish the "Dub" section would cover stuff that's not either 30 years old or out of the UK post-ONU sound ... more dancehall please!!
yeah the metal thing was good obviously but didn't see much criticism of some of these guys horrible politics.
maybe it's the state of music right now but what you apply to it is the important bit, maybe i'm selfish cos alot of the music now doesn't suit my tastes.
i bought alot of fanzines with strange ideas before i bought the mag, stuff about rave culture, magic and pop culture, left field culture, applying some cleverness to stuff i was into, the wire seemed to be an easily avaliable continuation of that with more cash, and i'm forever grateful for the reccomendations and ear opening music, it seems to be running into the same old faces and 'yeah we know what you are up to' type ideas at the mo. i still buy it almost every month tho.
maybe it's the state of music right now but what you apply to it is the important bit, maybe i'm selfish cos alot of the music now doesn't suit my tastes.
i bought alot of fanzines with strange ideas before i bought the mag, stuff about rave culture, magic and pop culture, left field culture, applying some cleverness to stuff i was into, the wire seemed to be an easily avaliable continuation of that with more cash, and i'm forever grateful for the reccomendations and ear opening music, it seems to be running into the same old faces and 'yeah we know what you are up to' type ideas at the mo. i still buy it almost every month tho.