Song, by Toad: pwn3d!
I should, retrospectively, have known better than to even bring it up in the first place really. Remember a few weeks back we all had a good laugh at the poor publicity chap who sent the Laura Critchley album to me, of all people, to try? Well I tried to keep it anonymous because, as amusing as the mismatch was, I have a policy on Song, by Toad of not slagging off small artists.
The way I see it, and I’m open to correction on this, if you’re big enough to be in the NME then you’re fair game because honestly why would you care what one lone internet gobshite thinks once you’ve progressed to that level. It’s a different story for small artists of course – they care much more about their own publicity, because there is so much less of it, and the whole thing is altogether more personal. I know it’s a bit false to say that successful groups don’t care about being insulted either, but ultimately they are big enough and ugly enough to look after themselves.
So when I had a laugh at the expense of Laura I was a bit unsure because I didn’t want to explicitly have a dig at someone starting out, but the whole package activated so many of my instant prejudices to such an extent I thought it really was quite funny. Inevitably who I was talking about ended up coming out, unfortunately, and then the poor lass was enthusiastically ripped into by all and sundry. Anyhow, Andrew from Big Print Music found the post and left the following comment, putting me very, very much in my place:
Hey – its always interesting to see things form a different perspective – even if its not what you want to hear… being the bloke thats behind Laura… in a business way that is..!!
Anyhow – quite obviously the PR team didnt send the disc to the right person for reviewing.. so thanks for evening listening to it – I know that people cant be all things to all people…
That said – I thought you might be interested to hear that all the photos you are talking about were done off the cuff – no stylist – no makeup/hair person – photographer was a mate… total budget £0. It was just what we captured on that day – and the reaction was positive which is why we ran with it.
Ho hum… I realise the music is very MOR/Mainstream – but at least she has cowritten all the tracks – and her voice is more than passable… she has worked bloody hard, and is vocally good live as she is on the record.
Anyhow – why am I warbling when the battle here is already lost…!!
Mainly cos I just wanted to put some kind of perspective to this thread… She does deserve some kind of chance in the industry – theres ALOT of other less talented people who have had success… Shes not manufactured… she’s made alot of decisions herself.
Anyhow – time will tell…
(oh – and actually I wanted to sign at least one of her tracks, and had put things into place – before Id even met her, so – no full verticle movement on a meet and greet…!!)
Andrew
So if I didn’t feel badly enough about it before, I certainly do now. So kudos to Andrew for not just calling me a cunt, which he would have been well within his rights to do, and a sheepish apology to Laura for being such a twat. It’s not my kind of music at all, of course it isn’t, but having a dig at someone just starting out, especially coming from a man with absolutely zero musical skills himself, is a bit out of order. When you make Top of the Pops all bets are off, but for now, I am sorry.
You can investigate Laura’s stuff here, if you feel so inclined, and here is a song that seems to be appropriate:
Billy Bragg – This Guitar Says Sorry
Gene – Sick, Sober and Sorry
These internets can be harsh for artists Mr. Toad…sad to say the old Harry Truman adage rings as true today as it did in the ’40s: “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.”
Yet, even with the understanding that if one “puts it out there” to be judged by one’s fellows, it seems that with anonymous posts, comment sections and the like, it would discourage anyone with an ounce of sensitivity (let alone self-respect) to play the game these days. This is why, for the most part, I tend to gravitate to blogs who don’t seem to egg on the “mean vibe.”
While your site is amusing in its bluntness, I never sense a “mean vibe” in your commentary. I feel you are a Toad with very particular tastes, which would be clear to any publicist who took the time to actually fucking read the sites they pitch their shit to.
…and I, as a publicist-type, am offended by the signal-to-noise ratio that has overtaken blogs of late, making them less useful (and interesting to me) as they are bombed with promo of all sorts, rendering the blogger unable to enjoy what I send out.
I can’t say I blame anyone these days for preferring silence.
“Never apologise, never explain.”
Erm…TOTP has finished. Dead. Kaput…
Certainly Wendy even at my level, never mind the big boys, there is a phenomenal amount of stuff thrown at you. It does make it hard to really get into things properly.
And I know TotP has finished, not that I ever watched it anyway. It was used more as a figure of speech. How does ‘When you get into Q Magazine’ work?
Oh, what a fine time to point out that a news headline at Yahoo today declared: “Britain’s toads may face extinction due to deadly fungus.” Serves you right, then!
You know, I’ve gotten really mean feedback from musicians for my negative comments, and it seems publicists always take criticism much more nicely than the musicians themselves. And I feel like it’s those insanely nice publicists who contribute to all the sucking up on blogs these days – I feel awful writing a negative review if an incredibly kind publicist has sent me an album and talked about how hard the artist worked on it, and how much I’ll “absolutely love” it. It’s hard to criticize people you don’t want to personally attack, isn’t it? I can’t tell you how many times I’ve looked up reviews on albums I’ve received and hated, only to find that bloggers (who personally communicate with publicists) tend to look for the good and write neutral or positive commentary, while writers at official publications (who don’t personally interact because their editors do) are more likely to be blunt and critical. I say every blogger hires an intern-as-middle man to solve the problem.
If you use the phrase “a force to be reckoned with” I KNOW you’re lyin’ (whether you are a band, a blog or a promo whore).
WTF does that mean anyway?
(personally, if I ever use that phrase, it means “this band is shite” just tellin ya…not that we are in the spot of working any bands we dislike…)
I don’t know. I think it’s fair to slate bands once they become big enough to take it. Critical assessment is part and parcel of artistic output. But I can’t bring myself to assassinate people just breaking through because it just seems cruel.
The Hoosiers, on the other hand, had it coming…
It all makes for interesting debate…!
I think the main point here is don’t send stuff to people who quite obviously aren’t going to like it.. I didn’t know the PR company had! So maybe it is ultimately my responsibility!! Still we live in a harsh world – I love that Hunter S Thomson Quote..
“The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There’s also a negative side.”
So – you are right – if you cant hack the criticism – don’t get involved…
I actually wrote the message that prompted this article to say that some of the supposition in the following comments after Toads initial (anonymous)article were inaccurate.. that was all. I actually agreed with his statements…!
One sacked PR company later…..
Hunt and KILL! Bunch of muppets that they were anyway. Basically they just saw ‘the blogs’ and carpet-bombed promo CDs like any other media, I get the impression.
I’m not suggesting bloggers deserve special treatment, but if you’re trying to embrace a new publicity model it might pay to consider perhaps altering one’s methods to suit.