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Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Jim Connelly's
Favorite Recordings Of 2006
Monday, January 15, 2007
Jesse Steichen's Favorite Recordings Of 2006
Friday, January 12, 2007
Bill Bentley's Favorite Recordings Of 2006
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Tom Ridge's Favorite Recordings Of 2006
Thursday, January 4, 2007
Lee Templeton's Favorite Recordings Of 2006
Tuesday, January 2, 2007
Anthony Carew's 13 Fave Albums Of 2006
Monday, March 27, 2006
SXSW 2006: Finding Some Hope In Austin
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Letter From New Orleans
Saturday, February 18, 2006
Jennifer Przybylski's Fave Albums of 2005
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Music For Dwindling Days: Max Schaefer's Fave Recordings Of 2005
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Sean Fennessey's 'Best-Of' 2005
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Lori Miller Barrett's Fave Albums Of 2005
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Lee Templeton's Favorite Recordings of 2005
Thursday, January 5, 2006
Michael Lach - Old Soul Songs For A New World Order
Wednesday, January 4, 2006
Found In Translation — Emme Stone's Year In Music 2005
Tuesday, January 3, 2006
Dave Allen's 'Best-Of' 2005
Monday, January 2, 2006
Steve Gozdecki's Favorite Albums Of 2005
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Johnny Walker Black's Top 10 Of 2005
Monday, December 19, 2005
Neal Block's Favorite Recordings Of 2005
Thursday, December 15, 2005
Jenny Tatone's Year In Review
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Dave Renard's Fave Recordings Of 2005
Monday, December 12, 2005
Jennifer Kelly's Fave Recordings Of 2005
Thursday, December 8, 2005
Tom Ridge's Favorite Recordings Of 2005
Tuesday, December 6, 2005
Ben Gook's Beloved Albums Of 2005
Monday, December 5, 2005
Anthony Carew's Fave Albums Of 2005
Thursday, November 10, 2005
Prince, Spoon And The Magic Of The Dead Stop
Monday, September 12, 2005
The Truth About America
Monday, September 5, 2005
Tryin' To Wash Us Away
Monday, August 1, 2005
A Psyche-Folk Heat Wave In Western Massachusetts
Monday, July 18, 2005
Soggy But Happy At Glastonbury 2005
Monday, April 4, 2005
The SXSW Experience, Part 3: All Together Now
Friday, April 1, 2005
The SXSW Experience, Part 2: Dr. Dog's Happy Chords
Thursday, March 31, 2005
The SXSW Experience, Part 1: Waiting, Waiting And More Waiting
Friday, March 25, 2005
Final Day At SXSW's Charnel House
Monday, March 21, 2005
Day Three At SXSW
Saturday, March 19, 2005
Day Two In SXSW's Hall Of Mirrors
Thursday, March 17, 2005
Report #1: SXSW 2005 And Its Hall Of Mirrors
Monday, February 14, 2005
Matt Landry's Fave Recordings Of 2004
Wednesday, February 2, 2005
David Howie's 'Moments' From The Year 2004
Thursday, January 27, 2005
Lori Miller Barrett's Fave Recordings Of 2004
Thursday, January 20, 2005
Noah Bonaparte's Fave Recordings Of 2004
Tuesday, January 18, 2005
Kevin John's Fave Albums Of 2004
Friday, January 14, 2005
Music For Those Nights: Max Schaefer's Fave Recordings Of 2004
Thursday, January 13, 2005
Dave Renard's Fave Recordings Of 2004
Wednesday, January 12, 2005
Neal Block's Top Ten Of 2004
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
Jenny Tatone's Fave Albums Of 2004
Monday, January 10, 2005
Wayne Robins' Top Ten Of 2004
Friday, January 7, 2005
Brian Orloff's Fave Albums Of 2004
Thursday, January 6, 2005
Johnny Walker (Black)'s Top 10 Of 2004
Wednesday, January 5, 2005
Jennifer Przybylski's Fave Albums (And Book) Of 2004
Tuesday, January 4, 2005
Mark Mordue's Fave Albums Of 2004
Monday, January 3, 2005
Lee Templeton's Fave Recordings Of 2004
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Tuesday, August 14, 2001
Why We Write About The Strokes
Neumu's Michael Goldberg writes: It is the goal of many musicians to become popular on their own terms (you know, without "selling out"). Some work for years, even decades — playing clubs, recording singles and albums — without getting much attention or much of an audience.
Three years ago some young guys in New York formed a rock band. Sometime later they recorded a three-song demo. Unlike thousands of other bands, this one was not only good, it caught the attention of the owner of a respected English record company. Subsequently it also caught the fancy of many rock critics.
The band is, of course, The Strokes. Here at Neumu we've written three pieces about them during the past few months. Why? Because their demo, released as the EP "The Modern Age," is brilliant. Because their upcoming debut album, Is This It, is also brilliant, and because they're great live as well. In other words, we dig their music and we think they're an important band. As it happens, we're not alone.
Yesterday we ran a piece about them, by Neumu contributing editor Jenny Tatone, as the "Daily Report." Tatone, who'd just seen them at the Roseland Grill in Portland, was blown away by what she saw and heard. That was reflected in her piece, which also included some quotes from a member of the band.
Normally, getting media attention is a good thing. It's one of the ways music fans — you know, the people who buy albums and attend shows — find out about a new band or solo artist.
If no one writes about an artist, and they don't get any airplay, no one will know about them. That's not a good thing. It's not good for the artist; it's not good for music fans who might like that artist. We think music fans who like indie rock and punk will like The Strokes if they hear their music. We hope we've helped draw attention to the band.
Yesterday I got an email from a talanted designer and serious music fan named Rachel Lipsitz. She wrote to say that she's "already completely fed up with The Strokes' marketing machine that seems to have had every critic mentioning them for the last couple months."
I don't know whether Lipsitz has heard Is This It, which hasn't been released in the U.S. yet. In her email she wrote about all the attention the group is getting: "This wouldn't be so bad if they were at least good but I don't think they live up to the hype at all — but that's beside the point. I was just surprised that anyone would have the nerve to mention them at this point when the hype surrounding this band has already made them a joke to most people."
A "joke to most people"? To what people? I can tell you that most people in the U.S., at least, have never heard of The Strokes. Most music fans have not heard of them. It takes a lot to break through the constant info babble. In the U.S., The Strokes have not yet been on the cover of a single national magazine. They've gotten mentions here and there, and certainly there have been profiles and reviews. From the perspective of a fan of The Strokes, it's all for the good!
Lipsitz writes that she is "annoyed at the Strokes column in Neumu today" which she "expected" would be "a commentary on the bizarre amount of press surrounding a completely mediocre band." She adds, "I'm convinced The Strokes have brainwashed critics because they all seem to lose the ability to write about this band in the manner with which they normally write about music."
What is it about media attention that bothers some people? And how much media attention is too much? I mean, at what point did it cross the line to where she became bothered by it? Was it the NME cover? Or was it when issues of Q and The Face both came out with stories on The Strokes?
Or is it simply that Lipsitz thinks The Strokes suck? I mean, would all the attention be OK if The Strokes were her favorite band?
The InsiderOne Daily
Report appears weekdays at 9 AM PST, except when it doesn't.
by Michael Goldberg
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