Dwyer Strikes Again
It’s been a little while since I last had cause to indulge in some Michael Dwyer bagging. Sadly, due to yet another cynical little article that appeared in last Friday’s EG, he’s backed me into a corner and I’ve been forced to briefly hop back onto my soapbox.
After reading Dwyer’s article on Coldplay, I was (as I’m now accustomed to) left scratching my head as to what exactly he was getting at. Full points for doing some thorough preliminary research though – which seems to have involved finding a handful of scathing reviews of the band’s records that nevertheless gave them a favourable rating. Dwyer goes on to imply that Coldplay are boring (doing so in the safety of another critic’s words) and harks back to their last Melbourne show, apparently containing an entire hour of “guitar-piano placebos”. Funnily enough, he asks, “Why were we there?” Well, he was getting paid to. But I’d also like to ask the great man why he bothers with music journalism.
In this article, he seems to be suggesting (well, it’s really anyone’s guess) that bands as safe, clean and un-edgy as the likes of Coldplay perhaps wouldn’t be quite so successful if it weren’t for the crazy times in which we’re now living. Yeah, when I switch off the telly after hearing about even more awful things happening in the world, I simply put on a benign CD and feel heaps better? Music has always been important to me, but never solely as a source of comfort or reassurance. However, I have to admit that I was sitting at Rod Laver Arena last night, thinking about how positive and comforting Coldplay’s music can be – and the same can be said of the wonderful Mercury Rev. Dare I say it though, neither band uses their apparent good-natured status as a gimmick anyway. That’s just the way they are. I know there might be others out there who disagree, but if that’s the case, just let the music talk to you (or not, if you don’t like it), rather than following the media hype. I also think Dwyer is seriously underestimating people’s intelligence if he thinks that the type of music we listen to is just part of “herd-like consumerism” and “celebrity fixations”. What????
As I was saying to my friends last night, if Dwyer’s so hung up on intellectualising and over-analysing music, why doesn’t he keep on writing? Yesiree, and compile everything into a PhD thesis. At least that way, only a couple of people will have to read it.
After reading Dwyer’s article on Coldplay, I was (as I’m now accustomed to) left scratching my head as to what exactly he was getting at. Full points for doing some thorough preliminary research though – which seems to have involved finding a handful of scathing reviews of the band’s records that nevertheless gave them a favourable rating. Dwyer goes on to imply that Coldplay are boring (doing so in the safety of another critic’s words) and harks back to their last Melbourne show, apparently containing an entire hour of “guitar-piano placebos”. Funnily enough, he asks, “Why were we there?” Well, he was getting paid to. But I’d also like to ask the great man why he bothers with music journalism.
In this article, he seems to be suggesting (well, it’s really anyone’s guess) that bands as safe, clean and un-edgy as the likes of Coldplay perhaps wouldn’t be quite so successful if it weren’t for the crazy times in which we’re now living. Yeah, when I switch off the telly after hearing about even more awful things happening in the world, I simply put on a benign CD and feel heaps better? Music has always been important to me, but never solely as a source of comfort or reassurance. However, I have to admit that I was sitting at Rod Laver Arena last night, thinking about how positive and comforting Coldplay’s music can be – and the same can be said of the wonderful Mercury Rev. Dare I say it though, neither band uses their apparent good-natured status as a gimmick anyway. That’s just the way they are. I know there might be others out there who disagree, but if that’s the case, just let the music talk to you (or not, if you don’t like it), rather than following the media hype. I also think Dwyer is seriously underestimating people’s intelligence if he thinks that the type of music we listen to is just part of “herd-like consumerism” and “celebrity fixations”. What????
As I was saying to my friends last night, if Dwyer’s so hung up on intellectualising and over-analysing music, why doesn’t he keep on writing? Yesiree, and compile everything into a PhD thesis. At least that way, only a couple of people will have to read it.
posted by yossarian | 10:04 PM
3 Comments:
Can you imagine what crime the poor souls whose punshiment is to read Dwyer's thesis?
Couldn't help but have a go at him too- sheesh that article was dribble and to quote a very wise friend of mine '...bummer so much space was dedicated to Dwyer's cynical comments about Coldplay'!
couldn't agree with you more yossarian! it's mighty rich to try to maintain this too-cool-for-school stance on the band when he has to pilfer the opinions of someone else to write that sort of drivel...what was he saying about 'herd-like consumerism'?
the passage referring to 'herd-like consumerism' went a little over my head. but i think he was trying to say that the band is a manufactured product, and the quality of the music comes second. all up, it made about as much sense to me as describing coldplay as being at 'the vanguard of reducing music from art to digital something-or-other'. wtf?
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