Idolator
(UPDATE: Managing Editor Scott Plagenhoef has sent a statement on Sylvester's resurgence at Pitchfork, which you can find after the jump).
You won't find it on the site's masthead, but we hear that fallen fact-fudger Nick Sylvester has been doing some editing work on Pitchfork's singles-review section for the last few weeks. Sylvester, in case you've forgotten, was the pipsqueak dismissed from the Village Voice earlier this year for fabricating parts of a cover story (he's also now working for The Colbert Report's web site, where his "fake news" credentials are no doubt welcomed).
Look, we're not saying Sylvester should never be employed again; we're just saying that maybe he shouldn't be part of the journalism game, where people "report" "facts," and don't just write about their friends. The real guilty party here is the 'Fork, who severed ties with Sylvester in March, and who have made a conscious decision to keep his role a secret; apparently, they don't think their readers deserve to know they have a kinda-admitted fabulist working for them. Didn't anyone over there learn a lesson from the Brent DiCrescenzo/Beastie Boys kerfuffle? Do they care at all about editorial integrity, or is it just a bunch of barely supervised Malkmus addicts going crazy with thesaurus.com?
And, last but not least, they gave the Wolf Eyes album an 8.2? WTF?? That thing technically doesn't even count as music.
UPDATE: A statement from Pitchfork Managing Editor Scott Plagenhoef:
Nick Sylvester is on our staff for a probationary period while we determine whether there is a role for him at our site; if there is, he'll be reinstated to our masthead, but there is no attempt on Pitchfork's part to keep his potential full-time return to the staff a secret from our readers.Nick was a valuable and loyal Pitchfork contributor for three years, he's a talented writer and humorist, and despite his grievous misjudgment at The Village Voice and subsequent dismissal from both our editorial board and staff we remain proud of his writing for our site. We have a familial, tight-knit group of contributors and believe in giving second chances as a reward for loyalty and good work— as we've done in the past for others, and are considering doing with Nick.
So there you go: Everyone gets a second chance at Pitchfork. We can't wait to see what they think of the next Travis Morrison album.
Comments
We are worried about the Wolf Eyes review? What about 8+ for Timberlake and 3.5 stars given to Paris Hilton? Are they not worthy of scorn? Is Paris Hilton now to be considered a musician?
Back to the subject at hand -- considering that the VV incident turned out to be a tipping point for the sheer collapse of the place, it's just a bad sign all around.
Wait a minute, Wolf eyes are a [i]band[/i]?
Oh shit, i thought they were just an elaborate internet joke. You know, like Jet.
Indie kids behaving like a *clique*? I'm shocked, I tell you, shocked.
And I thought Pitchfork was hitting a new low with Ryan Scrieber's column in the latest Allure...
Is there such a thing as a disjunctive "and?" Since when is fabrication considered good work?
Like I care. I stopped reading Pitchfork somewhere during its incessant Arcade Firegasm.
I'm not sure I'm seeing how this is so controversial. Is Pitchfork really "journalism", especially if he's writing about the new JoJo single?
he's got a good hustle going. he writes a lot of dfa's press materials as well. so that astounding bio of hot chip probably came from him...
i hope I get to witness a sylvestergate 2.0
Pitchfork loves to give bad music good reviews and good music bad reviews. It's rule no. 167 in the Hipster Bible: "always disagree with the popular consensus, no matter how asinine a contrary opinion would be. Use vague facts and dime-store professor-speak to bolster your point."
Bummed to find out Idolator hates Wolf Eyes.
Though on a funnier note, I heard this past weekend that Nick Sylvester's actually employed at The Colbert Report these days. Pretty awesome that he got hired at a fake news show, no?
the last sentence in the first paragraph of this post scooped ya, joel.
Sylvester could run but he can't hide. I won't believe him when he gives the Wolfpants album an 8.3.
All you do to me is talk talk...Nick is one of the strongest young culture writers going; he and Bowers are so far over Pitchfork's head, it's embarrassing they have to stoop to this level for exposure. Can you guys crosslink a few of their pieces with Slate, so they know what they're missing?
Love Scottpl's "very official press release" email - yeah dude, you're a real business! Why doesn't IDLTR do some digging on this sales position they have open. Always a good sign when your sales guy holds the book hostage; Kaskie either sees the writing on the wall and is out of there, or he gets to hire someone to do his job as a reward for services rendered.
As for you minxes: spare me the self-righteous indignation re: the Village Voice laff riot - OMG THE NEXT STEPHEN GLASS, WOTTA SCOOP! Watching the NY-1 briefing during their 5 o'clock that day was top shelf. Here's a question: Does anyone actually understand the substance of that incident? The guy who got Nick fired was a (much) older (fellow) Harvard alum; Nick was lampooning him (ahhh I'm so good) as the type of guy who'd use a pickup line. Fair game: his mistake was saying Lookner was in New York City at a certain point, when he wasn't. An apology-n-retraction should have been sufficient if it was a hassle - "See honey, I wasn't in New York City that weekend" - but Lookner went into legalese hysterics, and as Ned points out, the VV's spine had already telescoped by that point; they weren't going to bat for anyone.
I don't know why you gotta be hating on wolf eyes. They are a sonic masterforce of pain. They are carrying on a tradition started by sonically abrasive and imaginatively brutal bands that have flowed on the underground as long as 10 minute drum solos and amateurish guitar playing. To dismiss wolf eyes as "non-music" is to make a huge mistake and to disregard a prominent force in the musical world.
"...a sonic masterforce of pain." There's a job waiting for you at pitchfork...
And this was hilarious: "Do they care at all about editorial integrity, or is it just a bunch of barely supervised Malkmus addicts going crazy with thesaurus.com?"
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