The return of Everett True | 126. LCD Soundsystem
Being a contrarian, I switch off when other critics start forming clusters, mind-sets. I like to think I can figure it out for myself. Often, I can. It’s the American critics who wind me up most. In the U.K., most critics have some form of sense of humour, a pluralism, about what they do. Least, the ones […]
Whatever happened to the music press? An interview from January 2002
Originally run on PennyBlackMusic. Interview and feature by David McNamee in Hull, who later (briefly) became editor of Plan B Magazine. WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE MUSIC PRESS? It died a death. After reading Laura Branch’s recent interview with Alexander Bailey of the indie label Radio Khartoum, I was reconciled to the notion of label as auteur. […]
Everett True reacts to the news Mumford & Sons have announced their third studio album
March 2, 2015 – Mumford & Sons are pleased to announce the details of their forthcoming third album, Wilder Mind. I’m assuming the title doesn’t refer to Arizona Wilder, the Mind Control Slave. Nor can I assume it is some form of bizarre, semi-illiterate reference to a “broadening of the horizons” because, clearly, Mumford & […]
“The music consumes me” | students tackle Identity in Music
The way in which subcultures achieve authenticity is through what theorist Pierre Bourdieu calls cultural capital. Every object has economic capital, which is its monetary value, and a utility value defined by its purpose. However, more importantly for identity construction is the social associations made with the object. He writes, “Taste classifies, and it classifies […]
What I did last night instead of seeing Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks play live
I watched a few episodes from season 3 of The West Wing and thought, not for the first time, this is the cast of Friends moved to the White House. I wondered whether there was even the remotest possibility Stephen and his band could be even a 10th as good as this cover version would indicate – and […]
The return of Everett True | 125. Hinds
I have no idea if they’ll remain this good the whole time the four ladies, the two ladies, are together. It seems near unbelievable they could be. But there again, there’s Kim Deal. If you don’t get this video on any level, if you do not understand this music just one nano-second of a nano-second, if you do […]
The return of Everett True | 124. The Furrs
I enjoy having no frame of reference. Well, little. This is from a tradition of music that I have little familiarity with. Having lived here in Brisbane for close on seven years now, I am of course aware of certain musical irregularities in this country’s past. Sharpies. The boogie scene that spawned AC/DC and the […]
What I did tonight instead of seeing Foo Fighters play live
First, I do not believe a bad live review affects a band’s sales or reputation. Certainly not a band the size of Foo Fighters, able to play Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium (capacity 52, 500). If anything, a bad review helps shore up the fans – they can unite in their condemnation of the idiot fuckhead’s opinion, possibly […]
In Search of Nirvana: Why Nirvana: The True Story Could Never Be ‘True’
In my book Nirvana: The True Story (2006), I undertake an autoethnographical approach to biography, attempting to impart an understanding of my chosen subject—the rock band Nirvana—via discussion of my own experiences. On numerous occasions, I veer off into tangential asides, frequently using extensive footnotes to explain obscure musical references. Personal anecdotes are juxtaposed with […]
What I did last night instead of going to see The Necks play live
I thought about how good The Necks sound on record, and how refined I would have felt watching their refined, exploratory jazz at the Old Museum where bats fly out from under the rafters. (I tried to find a review to link to so you could engage viscerally with their music without the tiresome bother of […]
