Leave will screw the music industry, too

While as a nation we try to come to terms with just how self-defeating half of our compatriots are, you might be wondering what it means for music.

Before the vote, Pitchfork warned that it would probably be bad:

British media coverage of EU funding trains a negative focus on all the so-called red tape you have to endure to access it. But there are endless EU programs that benefit the music industry, which Britain excels at securing: In 2012, UK applications (in general, not just for music) had a 46 percent success rate, almost double the average success rate of 24 percent. If the UK leaves the EU, in all likelihood, that funding will no longer be available. The benefits of this money are vast, wide-reaching, and often not obvious to the public. The Village Underground, a well-appointed, 1000-capacity warehouse venue in east London, currently benefits from two EU programs. Liveurope pays them to host emerging European bands support slots on bigger bills, giving these acts the chance to get out of their own countries, and prompting venues to have a more diverse program. Creative Lenses is a four-year investigation into new business models for the cultural sector.

The BPI issued a statement:

“The outcome of the EU Referendum will come as a surprise to many across the music community, who will be concerned by the economic uncertainty that lies ahead and the impact this may have on business prospects.
"However, the UK public has spoken, and once the short-term political and macro-economic consequences have played out, this decision will mean new priorities for the music industry in our work with Government. We will, of course, press the Government to swiftly negotiate trade deals that will ensure unimpeded access to EU markets for our music and our touring artists. Our Government will also now have the opportunity to legislate for stronger domestic copyright rules that encourage investment here in the UK and which will protect UK creators from piracy and from tech platforms siphoning off value through copyright loopholes. We are confident that British music will remain hugely popular across Europe and we will work hard to make sure UK labels are able to capitalise on that demand.”

Embed and breakfast man: Slowdive

Apparently there's a "Pitchfork era", of which Slowdive's Souvlaki is part. (Actually, Souvlaki predated Pitchfork by a year, but that might be quibbling.) Whatever, they've produced an hour long documentary on the record. They being Pitchfork, not Slowdive:

Of course they are

This is, sadly, not satire.

Bookmarks - Internet stuff: Jay Reatard

Pitchfork marks a year since Jay Reatard's too-early death. It's a warm piece, with memories from those who knew with him:

Britt Daniel (Spoon): I think maybe we had to run it by the promoter in Milwaukee, but it was our idea. It was wild. His shows always were. We only ever hung out at shows really, but it was great being around him. Every time I saw him he was talkative and charismatic; sometimes he'd get on funny tangents and sometimes he was kind of chaotic, which was actually fun to be around. He was always friendly. At the New Year's Eve show he actually seemed calmer than I'd ever seen him. He seemed happy and chill and excited about playing. I think they'd driven a long way to get to that show.

[Thanks for the tip to @le_chuckb]

Embed and breakfast man: Camera Obscura

BBC One might have dropped the ball in providing Bank Holiday viewing - Mousehunt? Really? Didn't I order every print of that movie burned after a miserable forty minutes watching it in the pissing rain at Glastonbury before suddenly realising I was giving myself pneumonia to watch something with Lee Evans in it?

So, in order to give you something a bit more worthwhile to watch, here's Camera Obscura doing some good work for Pitchfork:

Bookmarks: Some stuff to read on the internet: Bob Stanley

Pitchfork spend some quality time with Bob Stanley:

Pitchfork: You have a new compilation, London Conversations. You've released quite a few comps-- Too Young to Die, Smash the System, Travel Edition, plus rarities and fan-club releases: Why another one and why now?

BS: Um, yeah, it's slightly embarrassing. For some reason we didn't think anybody would notice there's been about four before [laughs]. We've only done one officially before, which was Too Young to Die. There's been various in between because we've changed labels so many times. The reason we're doing it now is because we wanted to redo the whole catalog with a bonus disc for each album. And this is just a taster for that, I suppose. It makes sense to do one ahead of all the individual albums coming out. It just seems like a suitable time.

You should wait to see what he's got planned for the MusicPass version

Van Morrison prepares a live version of Astral Weeks. Pitchfork don't like the sleeve.

To be fair, it does look like a flier for a Mike Reid gig. But what would Pitchfork have suggested instead? (Actually, how about creating a new version of the old one?)

I know what you look like, so don't ever come near Stroud

Pitchfork, it's fair to say, isn't fond of the Airbourne Toxic Event and their self-titled album. It's not that that the site couldn't find any value in it; only that it found 1.6 marks' worth of value.

In a bid to try and look like they're taking it in good part, TATE sent an open letter in response.

It tries to adopt a "couldn't care less" attitude:

Thanks for your review of our record. It’s clear that you are a good writer and it’s clear that you took a lot of time giving us a thorough slagging on the site. We are fans of Pitchfork. And it’s fun to slag off bands. It’s like a sport — kind of part of the deal when you decide to be in a rock band. (That review of Jet where the monkey pees in his own mouth was about the funniest piece of band-slagging we’ve ever seen.)

We decided a long time ago not to take reviews too seriously. For one, they tend to involve a whole lot of projection, generally saying more about the writer than the band. Sort of a musical Rorschach test. And for another, reading them makes you too damned self-conscious, like the world is looking over your shoulder when the truth is you’re not a genius or a moron. You’re just a person in a band.

They forget, though, that "water off a duck's back" wouldn't have become a metaphor if the water splashed noisily into the pond chuntering away about how bloody brilliant it is to roll off a back and how, really, it's more about the duck than about the water.

We love indie rock and we know full well that Pitchfork doesn’t so much critique bands as critique a band’s ability to match a certain indie rock aesthetic. We don’t match it.

If this is meant to be a shrugging off, it misfires - it's like watching someone try to shrug off a rubber minidress.

It’s also true that the record isn’t ironic or quirky or fey or disinterested or buried beneath mountains of guitar noodling.

If 'Pitchfork bands' are so genre-bound (and, indeed, they may well be) and TATE aren't that sort of band, one might wonder why they're taking so much time to object to the review. Would, say, Miley Cyrus spend much time crying over a cold shoulder from Mojo?

Nobody likes to be slagged off (except for that small subset who find a sexual thrill) but, really, the way to change people's minds - if you want to - is probably to record a better record next time round.

Pitchfork goes televisual

Can't people leave their brands unextended for five bloody minutes these days? Pitchfork has just announced it's getting into television, if you can call an online channel television. (We've read that supplement from the Guardian yesterday twice, and we're still not sure.)

The idea is a little more high concept than NME TV:

As a visual extension of the music coverage Pitchfork has provided for more than a decade, and a means of updating and advancing the music television format, the online channel will bring you closer to the artists you love: through original mini-documentaries, secret rooftop and basement sessions, full concerts, exclusive interviews, and the most carefully curated selection of music videos online.

In addition, Pitchfork.tv will become the first online video channel to screen full-length feature films, vintage concerts, and music DVDs free of charge. From the Pixies' 2004 reunion tour film LoudQuietLoud and Todd Phillips' notorious GG Allin documentary Hated, to Jimmy Joe Roche & Dan Deacon's acid-drenched visual art piece Ultimate Reality, Pitchfork.tv will highlight a different film each week in its entirety.

In other words, it's going to be an attempt to actually transfer the Pitchfork ethos into a video channel, rather than just choosing one or two of its most popular bands, playing their videos over and over, and slapping on a logo.

Dead man liked dead man: Coincidence? Erm... yes

As conspiracy theories go, we're not sure that Heath Ledger liking Nick Drake quite justifies Pitchfork's "startling dimension" description. Nor, come to that, that a love of a musician Ledger mentioned in a 2007 MTV interview can count as a "revelation", come to that.

Indeed, attempting to both have its macabre cake and eat it, Pitchfork even tuts at the very speculation it's indulging in:

these alarming parallels have no doubt sparked rampant speculation

concludes the 'Fork on an article headlined

The Heath Ledger/Nick Drake Connection
Actor claims obsession with Drake, simulates suicide on 2007 video to Drake's music

Not, of course, that it would speculate rampantly.

Daniel Johnston to tour

This is one of those times when you really are better off being American: Daniel Johnston is plotting a US tour, says Pitchfork, which which also has the dates.