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| | It is reassuring to know that when there's a band with an unoriginal, second-rate sound and cheap literary pretension in their lyrics, there'll always be a Mathers to appreciate them. |
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| | It is reassuring to know that you'll always be too shallow to get anything out of any music that's not on your small, sad list of bands that you've decided it's okay to admit you like. |
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| | It is reassuring to know that Stylus has readers as open-minded, friendly, non-condescending and unpretensious as the writers for Pitchfork are. |
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| | I am reassured. Really, I am. Despite my sadness, and my collection of music spanning over seven hundred different artists, I find myself chastened by the pithy wisdom of Ian Mathers. Pop bullshit is what's shallow, my good man, not surrounding yourself with towers of vinyl, cassettes, and compact discs. What might be termed shallow is failing to recognize my utter and absolute love for music...but that fact is lost among the trendchasers and onanists that write for this rag. I spend half of my salary on music, and most of my nights out seeing it--there's no single person at Stylus who can make the same claim, sitting on piles of free music and going to festivals on press credentials. |
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| | Damn, raskolnikov, you nail it everytime. Such a perfect encapsulation of what I often find distasteful at Stylus. Like you, I have a great passion for music and spend thousands on purchasing it and seeing it live. True believers have a sensitive bulsshit detector. Ironically then, I find than Ian Mathers is one of the better critics here. Anyone who loves Wire is okay in my book. Anyway, please keep on writing, raskolnikov. |
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| | Ian Mathers and Nick Southall are the two worst critics on Stylus, bro. |
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| | Sometimes being a bad critic can be a good thing, though, so don't feel bad, Ian. Hell, I just gave Southy props a minute ago! |
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| | It really is sad that the collection of trendchasers and onanists who have managed to chase off most (although not all) of the good, intelligent commenters we used to get here think their shoddily expressed opinions have any effect on any of the writers at Stylus, save giving us something to laugh about. |
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| | such hostility over a review of a pop song. I quite like it, it moves me and I think it's a sweet song. tell you what...when I am feeling those pangs of love..it's bands like the stars that might be more satisfying than say the latest nurse with wound/coil split. makes me want to hear the acid house kings!!! |
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| | Have a good cry, Mr. Mathers. You'll feel better after a nap and a diaper change. |
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| | First of all, I admire Ian for giving us an insight into his own musical experience and emotions. I think it is really brave to show to the world ones feelings in this way, and for that reason alone I applaude him. The “Seconds” column is one of my favorites on stylus, because it tries to achieve the impossible act of translating musical experiences. Second, love for music is really, really not measured by the amount of money and time you spend on it. Being an ‘absolute’ music lover, you should really understand this. So if you don’t love the same music that Ian does, don’t accuse him of having a gratuit opinion. It shows a lack of empathy rather than good taste. And last but in no way least, one who argues on the internet over such subjective things, in my view only succeeds to point to some of his own frustrations. |
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| | Regarding love for music: time is an accurate measure of such a thing, not money. And rummaging through the cutout bin to praise schlock like Lupine Wolf, Space Needle, and Stars at the expense of Sonic Youth and Husker Du shows a writer to be a fool, not a critic. Mathers has a long-established problem with understanding bands that are unique and original, preferring instead to heap praise on those who imitate. That is not good critical writing, or even decent critical thinking. His bitchy pugnacity only underscores his ignorance. |
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