Friday, April 08, 2005

Why do I keep buying this shite on the recommendation of music magazines? Am I still a teenager or something?

I'm a Bird Now, by Anthony & the Johnsons:

serene and fragile songs of delicate intimacy?

Or irritating and precious overhyped, overtremulous tat?

Decide for yourself. I already have. But at a price.

5 comments:

Lisa Rullsenberg said...

Sorry you had to go through the pain, but thanks for saving me some money - I too was beginning to get seduced by all the comments I read. Borrowing to listen sounds like a better option. Nowt wrong with being a teenager though: just as long as you aren't taking your music cues from Radio One (or should that be radio 2 these days? shudder)

John said...

Hi Lisa,

thanks for commiserating. It isn't just the pain of listening, it's the humiliation of being a sucker again at such a late age.

Over and over, I kept reading about yer man's distinctive and unique voice; fool that I was, I should have listened to a couple of samples on Amazon or something, but no, I had to rush straight in so I could be au courant.

What an eejit, eh?

Lisa Rullsenberg said...

John,
Given that most of the technology I have access to has limited ability to cope with music/moving images etc. Amazon snippets would scarcely help me. It's always a shame you can't get more access to snippets and tasters without feeling like you have committed some heinous crime against the independent music scene.

But you're never an eejit. Who would want to be so stuck in their ways that they never take risks? So what if sometimes it doesn't work? We got the Efterklang CD on the basis on the ever-informative stickers in Selectadisc and THEN there was the review in the Guardian "On the Edge" section: and that was an awesome find.

John said...

just excuse me while I go check it out.

Anonymous said...

Haha, my partner would be one of the peops responsible. He's a music journalist, and has the album on constantly. He's of the "Man's a genius" camp.

Personally I swing between genius and over-tremulous. I have a strong suspicion that it all depends on whether I'm stoned or not.