Cutting The Music Critics Down To Size

Brian Raftery | May 9, 2007 5:50 am
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Everywhere you go–and this is assuming you go to a lot of dive bars and conference rooms–you hear the same complaint from music writers: “Dude, nobody gives you the big word-count real estate anymore! Review spaces are shrinking. Feature wells are taken up with goddamn charticles and sidebars and charticles that explain the sidebars! Where can I possibly publish my Bangs-ian 7,000-word piece on the new wave of new-wave?” Good points, yes–but have you ever considered that maybe it’s a good thing for some stories to run short, or maybe even not run at all? After the click-through, some recent music pieces that could have dealt with some prudent pruning.

THE STORY: Sunday’s New York Times piece on the role nostalgia plays in reunion-tour mania. THE GIST: Remember when you liked that band? Seeing them again will remind you of that time. PUBLISHED LENGTH: 986 words. NECESSARY LENGTH: 200 words. Or maybe just a quick email.

THE STORY: Today’s Wall Street Journal piece on British artists. THE GIST: You know how sometimes people say there’s a new British invasion? There isn’t. But boy, that Amy Winehouse! PUBLISHED LENGTH: 1,295 words NECESSARY LENGTH: 12.95 words

THE STORY: Today’s Guardian Music Blog post on the possibility of a new Blur vs. Oasis reunion. THE GIST: There’s a possibility of a Blur vs. Oasis reunion. Maybe. PUBLISHED LENGTH: 613 words NECESSARY LENGTH: One word: “Blur.”