Already know plenty about Fugazi (one of my all-time favourite bands) but that primer was immense.
Love looking at the job section. âYes, I think I will apply for the role of [squints] CEO of the World Bankâ
Yeaaaaaahhhheehhhh
Jazz sections in Wire
One of my favourite discoveries from The Wire
Pick up a copy every now and then, had a digital subscription at one point and would carefully work through the reviews section listening to each. I gave up on it because although there were undoubtedly some gems, the majority of artists covered seem to be ambient and avant jazz, which just isnât for me.
I was reading a pretty old back issue there the other day from around 2003. What struck me, particularly leafing through the reviews where there wasnât much of anything that interested me, is that the magazine has definitely become a lot more expansive, probably hand-in-hand with the fact that most of/a lot of its writers come from very âonlineâ origins, or indeed have become more âonlineâ (was also surprised at seeing some very familiar names on the bylines, didnât think theyâd been writing for the magazine so long).
Back in 2003 it seems to me that it was very much covering music along the lines of Fennesz, or Ambarchi, or Jim OâRourke - whereas now you really donât know what youâre getting genre-wise from page to page, and itâs a lot more interesting and less narrow imo - and also probably partially accounts for why it seems less obscure than before.
I could be talking complete bollocks here. Iâm only basing it on one issue, from a time that I wasnât as plugged in to new music. But by god, it was a bit boring.
I have
have I listened to any of the interesting records I circled? um
Ended up reading it actually. Actually found loads more from the adverts in the mag than the reviews
the cartoonâs the worst bit, comfortably
I have at least 82 copies of Wire
most of which I have read, up until the last two years during which I have been too sad
I can no longer afford to buy it so Iâm working through the back issues.
like this lots
canât place where itâs even from, which is ace
the second half! I didnât expect it to get all pretty and drifty
ÂŁ5.95! I guess they must be paying people properly
I try to keep up with buying it, but reading it and digesting it is harder in recent times for personal reasons
discovered a wealth of brilliant stuff in it through the years, tho
remember being put off by it in 2006 or whenever it was I first bought a copy. there was a bit in the Melvins interview about âwallowing in the filth of existenceâ, and I was triggered because I was a sensitive boy and going through some mortal dread depression
(I also sold my friend my copy of âNothingâ by Meshuggah because the lyrics gave me the same death chills)
but the aspects that repelled me ended up fascinating me more and more
I think itâs closer to a tenner in Ireland when you add in taxes or postage or whatever
I want to say Belgium?
Yeah itâs great innit. A delightfully more-ish track.
ooft! thatâs a bit rubs
suppose itâs digital as well now? no?
not quite the same, though. canât circle stuff in biro.
ah okay! I though maybe former French or Belgium colony because of the language + the sound, but okay
gonna get on it for defs
also feel renewed in my urge to go through back issues looking for gold
Ah yeah. Last thing I need is more time staring at a screen!
Nah i donât want to sound like Iâm complaining about the price of the mag as such - itâs a good magazine and itâs not an unreasonable price at all, especially with the precarious position of most music publications. And Irish prices being a bit higher is nothing new.
Itâs just me, Iâve had to cut discretionary expenditure wherever I can of late.
Iâm actually enjoying reading the old mags more. Less of a feeling of trying to stay up-to-date, and itâs interesting seeing how things were greeted a few years back. Read a scathing LCD Soundsystem review there last night, it made my evening which admittedly isnât saying much.
ah yeah, thatâs what I wanted to do, what with all the spare time. properly digest it, try and give stuff a listen?
always found it curious when stuff like that popped up. I feel like a vaguely remember that review? was it the third album?
It was a review of the live album from 2014. Wasnât really slagging off the music so much as the self-regard of the project by that point.