I was wondering when you would get to this in your McCullough retrospective. It is notorious, of course. As I remember it, Tony Wilson and the surviving band members were furious. And there is no denying that the last two paragraphs - in particular, the first sentence of the penultimate paragraph - are catastrophically ill-judged. But I think overall it is better than its reputation suggests. He's writing with raw feelings that are genuinely powerful, and incline me to forgive the points where he gets carried away and goes too far. And he situates Curtis in a place and time better than any other writer before or since. A work of flawed genius.
the 21st Century so far
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Talking about favorite records of the 21st Century so far...
I contributed, just barely, to *Resident Advisor*'s *Best of 2000-2025* epic with
a mini-rev...
the sound of the suburbs
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Really happy to have the opportunity to write about one of my favorite
albums of the 21st Century so far: Suburban Tours by Rangers. For
Pitchfork's Sunday...
The Futurist
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A Futurist, but not a Brutalist - too ludic, too goofy
I guess Gehry (RIP) was considered a postmodernist, but I don't see what
he is quoting, c...
Sex Maniacs
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Does any phrase bring to mind the atmosphere, the aroma, of the British
1970s better than "sex maniac"?
Not a rhetorical question - I genuinely am cur...
Ghost Box - 20 years
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*Sleeve notes for In A Moment... (Ghost Box compilation, 2015)*
*Tell me what you see vanishing and I*
*Will tell you who you are*
W.S. Merwin, "Fo...
angel delights
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https://rada-ve.bandcamp.com/track/saturn-rings-songs
*Go on* - listen to that gorgeous bubble bath of synthtronica!
Another vintage release, with a vi...
I was wondering when you would get to this in your McCullough retrospective. It is notorious, of course. As I remember it, Tony Wilson and the surviving band members were furious. And there is no denying that the last two paragraphs - in particular, the first sentence of the penultimate paragraph - are catastrophically ill-judged. But I think overall it is better than its reputation suggests. He's writing with raw feelings that are genuinely powerful, and incline me to forgive the points where he gets carried away and goes too far. And he situates Curtis in a place and time better than any other writer before or since. A work of flawed genius.
ReplyDeleteYes it's overwraught but absolutely forgivable in the circumstances I think - and authentic in its heroizing impulse.
ReplyDelete