Writing about Listening: Alternative Discourses in Rock Journalism

Author(s): Chris Atton

Source: Popular Music, Vol. 28, No. 1 (Jan., 2009), pp. 53-67
Published by: Cambridge University Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40212426
Accessed: 21-12-2015 16:46 UTC
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PopularMusic (2009) Volume 28/1. Copyright 2009 CambridgeUniversityPress,pp. 53-67

Printedin theUnited Kingdom
doi:10.1017/S026114300800158X

Writingabout listening:
alternativediscoursesin rock
journalism
CHRIS ATTON
School of CreativeIndustries,Napier University,CraighouseRoad, EdinburghEH10 5LG, UK
E-mail: c.atton@napier.ac.uk

Abstract
'Alternative'publicationschallengetheconventionaldiscoursesofrockjournalism.In particular,
the dominantdiscoursesof authenticity,masculinityand mythologymightbe counteredby
publicationsthatemphasisehistoricaland ( subkultural framing,and thatpresentradicalised
autonomousand semi-autonomous
'. Using Bourdieu'sfieldtheoryto identify
'spaces oflistening'
sitesforrockcriticism,thepapercompareshowa fanzine(the Sound Projector) and whatFrith
has termedan ideologicalmagazine(theWire) constructtheirreviews.Thefindingssuggestthat,
whilstthereis no evidencefor an absolutebreakwith the dominantconventionsof reviewing,
in alternativemusicreviewing.Thepaperemphasisesdiffering
thereis a remarkable
polyglottism
culturaland social practicesin themultipleways thepublicationswriteabout music,and argues
for thevalue ofsuch polyglottism.

Introduction:the dominantideology of rockcriticism

This paper has its originsin SimonFrith'sclaimthat'the ideologyof rock-the
aboutwhatrecordsmean,whatrockis for- has alwaysbeenarticulated
arguments
moreclearlyby fansthanby musicians(or businessmen)'(Frith1983,p. 165). For
notmerely
fansarenotmerely
as forothers,
consumers,
Frith,
passiveaudiences:they
are fanstoo; theroots
ofpopularmusic.Rockjournalists
are themeaning-makers
lie in the1960s,in thespecialistmusicmagazinesoftheUS and
ofrockjournalism
the underground
press of the UK, wherewritersbegan (with manyremaining)
Those thatbecame professionaljournalists
as amateursand non-professionals.
fans'(Gudmundssonet ai. 2002,p. 60). It is
as enlightened
'posit[ed]themselves
fromthisperiodthata dominantideologyofrockcriticism
emerges.Thisideology
a
accountofrock
anddeveloped mythologised
andoriginality,
valorisedauthenticity
role
of
the
criticwas the
musiciansthatconsideredtheirworkas art.The primary
were
both
oftexts(Frith1983,p. 176);musicians
presented as authentic
interpretation
artists.
and as Romantic
spokespeoplefortheirgeneration
was particularly
This accountof popularcreativity
strongin theUS. Frith's
claimthat'Americanrockwritersare mythologists'
(Frith1983,p. 10) proceeds
froman argumentthatsuch criticstakeAmericanhistoryas theirstarting-point,
thefrontier
and independence,
wherethetropesofindividualism
spiritand revolumusic
of
of
rock
as
the
tionproducean 'objective'account
'greatmen' ofa 'great
53
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54

ChrisAtton

nation'.To thiswe mightadd Ray's (2002) conceptof 'overcomprehension',

the
because anything
tendencyto 'praise everything,
mightbe the nextElvis or Sex
Pistols' (Ray 2002,p. 76, originalemphasis).This ideologytakes many forms:
fromGreilMarcus's(2000) positioning
ofElvisPresley,SlyStoneand theBandin
thebroadsweep of Americanculturalhistoryand racialstruggle,
to JonLandis's
ofBruceSpringsteen
as 'thefuture
ofrock'n' roll'.
mythologisation
The discoursearisingfromthisideologyappearsto have remainedstaticand
enduringsincethe1960s,at leastin theUS. McLeod's(2002) analysisofUS album
reviewsoverthreedecades( 1971-1999)findsthatthroughout
thisperiodthewriting
'valorisesseriousmasculine"authentic"rockand dismissestrivial,
feminine
"prefabricated"
pop music' (McLeod 2001,p. 47). McLeod arguesthatthe 'semantic
dimensions'of thismasculinerockcriticism
can be gatheredunderthemasculine
'violence','rawness','authenticity',
'seriousness')and the
('aggressiveintensity',
feminine
Thistendency
('softness','blandness','vapidity','sweetsentimentalism').
is reinforced
by Feigenbaum's(2005) studyofthepresscoverageofAni DiFranco,
whereadjectivalgendermarkers
aredeployedtosimilarends.Shefindsthatmasculine markerstypicallydenoteexcellencein musicianshipand musicalinfluence;
femalemarkers
insteadrefertothevoiceand bodyoftheperformer.
Whiletracesofthisideologycan also be foundin theBritish
musicpress(for
critical
example,intheworkofCharlesShaarMurrayand NickKent),thedominant
intheUK proceedsnotfroma mythologised
andmasculinised
accountof
perspective
the music,but froma sociologicalaccountthatemphasisessubculturesand the
meaningofthemusicforitsaudience(Frith1983,p. 176).

Challenges to the dominantideology

The Britishsubcultural
is foundnotablyin theBritish
music
approachto criticism
withinthe'punkvanguard',there
pressofthelate1970sand early1980s.Beginning
(Frith1983,p. 162).
'developed] a generalaccountofrock'smeansofsignification'
Thiswas takenup bywriters
suchas Paul Morley,Ian Penman,SimonReynoldsand
Simon
JonSavage to develop criticismitselfas a practiceof meaning-making.
forinstance,
invokedpost-structuralism
and post-modernism
to'open up
Reynolds,
music'smeaningsthroughthe gaps and inadequaciesof language'(Kruse 2002,
p. 143). Gudmundssonet al. (2002,p. 55) arguethatPaul Morley'sstyleradically
reworked
thatofBurchill
andParsons,butwe canjustas easilyseehis'carnivalesque
andnarcissistic
suchas KentandMurray.
The
impulses'intheworkofearlierwriters
dominant
critical
ideology,governed(accordingtoKruse2002,p. 136)by'a moreor
less transcendental
was challengedby discursivepracticesthatvalorised
aesthetic',
aboveimmutable
artistic
'truth'.Atthesametime,theaffinities
made
provisionality
to specificsubcultures
enableddiscoursesthatwereconcernedwithsocialrealism,
withtruth
toexperience
ofthecontingency
(Frith1983,p. 161). Anacknowledgement
and mobilityof thisrelationship
was played in the interlinking
of 'fandomand
. . . whichhad driftedapart [at least critically
lifestyle
speaking]since the high
summerofthecounterculture'(Toynbee1993,p. 291).
More recently
thesubculturalapproachitselfhas been subjectto challenge.
the
1990s
there
arose'a growing
conformism
ofjournalistic
During
style'(Laing2006,
in
to
conditionsand comrationalisation,
p. 334) response industrial
employment
in themarketforadult-orientated
rockmagazines.Thisperiod
petition,
particularly
was characterised
ofwritingstyles,whereeventhe
by an increasing
homogeneity

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Writingaboutlistening

55

ofpreviousdecades(suchas NickKent)wereobligedtowrite
journalists
personality
and individualmannerby
ina house-style
farremovedfromthehighlypersonalised
functioned
as a
whichtheycame to prominence
(Forde 2001). Thishomogeneity
and to themeaning-making
bothto individualism
practicesof
counter-challenge
whilethemusicpresshas alwaysincludedelements
British
'subcultural'
journalism;
of theconsumerguide,the 1990ssaw thispracticeconsolidatedto a remarkable
degree.
The precedingaccountsuggestsa historyof rockjournalismthathas been
dominatedby a particularideologyof universalcriticalvalues and onlybriefly
in relativised
Wheremight
'culturalstudies'journalism.
challengedbyexperiments
further
we findcritical
challengesor evenestablishnew spaces?
practicesthatoffer
Foundedin 1982,
theWireas a siteforsuchchallenges.
haveidentified
Somewriters
theWirehas emergedas theonlycommercial
monthly
magazinein Britaindealing
musicof a wide rangeof genres:rock,jazz,
and experimental
withavant-garde
music,rock,sound installation
classical,hip-hop,electronic
(what themagazine's
as is its
calls'adventuresin modernmusic').Itscoverageis international,
strapline
lie less in criticalideologythanin
distribution.
Accordingto Forde,whoseinterests
theWireis a sitefor
ofthewriter,
on theautonomy
theimpactofindustrial
practices
sector'
and ideologicalapproachat themarginsofthepublishing
a radical'stylistic
of the magazinelies in its continuing
(Forde 2001,p. 38). For him,the strength
in itspages. The magazine'sautonomyhas also been
of 'polyglottism'
promotion
to
etal. (2002,p. 42),whodrawon Bourdieu'sfieldtheory
arguedbyGudmundsson
field
of
rock
place the Wireat the autonomouspole withina 'semi-autonomous
journalism'.At theoppositepole of thisfieldwe can place Forde's'monoglottal',
ofthe1990s.
brandedand professionalised
journalism

Bourdieu's fieldtheory

and theiractivities
Bourdieu'snotionoftwopolesbetweenwhichculturalproducers
cultural
At
one
some
elaboration.
needs
be
activitymaybe
pole
positioned
may
takesplaceina 'mixed'context
Hereculturalproduction
heteronomous.
considered
thatbringstogethera varietyof culturaldeterminants:
namelyan emphasison
economicsand culturalworthjudged by public
large-scalemeansof production,
The
and professionalised
success.In short,thisis a commercialised
pole ofactivity.
on
smalland is 'focused
autonomous
opposestheheteronomous
poleofproduction
scale,artisanalmethodsand populatedlargelybyautodidacts'( Atton2004,p. 142).
fieldis thestatusoftherockcritic,
a semi-autonomous
Whatmakesrockjournalism
an autodidact,
whilstremaining
Theprofessional
consideredhistorically.
journalist,
in
of
the
activities
an 'enlightened
fan',is at thesametimeprofessionally
implicated
is
to
rock
This conceptionof a fieldparticular
the musicindustry.
journalism a
of
solutiontotheproblemsraisedbyBourdieu's(1997) formulation a singlefieldof
and too
As Marliere( 1998,p. 223) has shown,thisis tooundifferentiated
journalism.
and
'to providea realisticaccountofa plural
monolithic
reality'of
heterogeneous
For
to
them.
Marliere,
dominantjournalisticpractices,let alone alternatives
a seriesofunifiedbeliefstoitsplayers... [itis] a
'attributes
Bourdieu'sformulation
field'{ibid.,p. 224).
veryunitary
as Toynbee
We mightsimilarly
proposea fieldofpopularmusicalproduction,
with
avantbe
concerned
would
(2000) has done.Theautonomouspole ofthisfield
Bourdieu's
(1993)
Although
popularmusicalproduction.
gardeand experimental

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56

ChrisAlton

these
artistic
fieldofcultural
a spaceforavant-garde
activities,
production
recognises
and must
withrestricted
takeplacewithina sectorofthefieldconcerned
production
Bourdieu'sfield
be distinguished
froman opposingsectoroflarge-scale
production.
Withinpopularmusicproducseemsinhospitable
toparticular
notionsofradicality.
and
ofrestricted
thedichotomy
thatconfound
tiontherearenumerousavant-gardes
and avantsuchas freeimprovisation
sectors.Minority
musicalpractices
large-scale
artistic
rockmightbe thought
ofas democratised
versionsofrestricted
production,
eliteand popular.Theyareelitein the
wheremusicalproduction
is simultaneously
senseofsmallnumbersofcreators
and audiences,and theneedforspecialistknowlhave
edgeto 'appreciate'themusic.Theyarepopularin thattheirculturalpractices
developedfrompopularand inclusiveformssuchas jazz and rock;theireconomic
practices(such as recordproduction)are drawnfromthepracticesof large-scale
Itis theseminority
thata magazineliketheWire
cultural
musicalpractices
production.
discoursesustainedby
Thecritical
(and fanzinesthatshareitsconcerns)is exploring.
such 'marginal'publicationsmaybe understoodas arisingfromtherelationship
and those
betweenpracticesat theautonomouspole ofthefieldofrockjournalism
withinthefieldofavant-garde
Thetwo
and experimental
popularmusicproduction.
and
amateur
fieldssharethreesignificant
characteristics.
First,theybothprivilege
exclude
autodidactic
methodsofculturalproduction,
thoughtheydo notnecessarily
ofculturalagency
methods.Second,thereis a blurring
ofcategories
professionalised
withinand acrosseachfield.As inalternative
readers
mediapractice,
('consumers')
oftenbecomewriters;theymightalso becomemusicians.Musiciansmayalso be
writers
ofrolesandtheir
and,ofcourse,readers( Atton2002,2004). Third,thisfluidity
in
a
of
cultural
close
relationship
ensuinginterdependence
suggest community
agents
withone another.

The ideological magazine

TheWireisnottheonlypossiblesiteforchallenges
we mightalso
tocritical
orthodoxy:
considerthefanzine.As SimonFrithhasnoted,thefanzinemaybe 'themosteffective
newtasteand ideologicalmusicalcommunities'
(Frith2002,
wayofputting
together
p. 240). He termsthesepublications
'ideologicalmagazines'.It is notonlyfanzines
thathavethisideologicalrole:FritharguesthattheWirealsobelongstothiscategory,
it a 'semi-fanzine'
of thefanzine,
(ibid.).He also proposesa sub-category
terming
the'personalmagazine',whichenablesa 'democratic
conversation
betweenmusic
ofa particular
kindofmusicalattention
and commitment'
lovers,a socialcelebration
241
a
This
is
useful
setofclaimsforthepresent
itrecognises
( ibid.,
First,
).
p.
argument.
theaffinities
betweenthefanzineand thespecialistmagazinein termsofideology.
Thepotential
forideologicalaffinity
acrosspublications,
as we haveseeninthecaseof
theBritishmusicpress,has itsrootsin thedevelopment
and movement
of rock's
critical
movefromtheamateur,
ideology,as itsjournalists
underground
pressofthe
late1960sto thecommercial
thesimiweeklymusicpress.Second,itacknowledges
writeras fan.Thissaysmuch
laritybetweenthefanas writerand theprofessional
aboutexpertculturein rockcriticism,
whereknowledgeand authority
proceednot
fromformal,
educationalor professional
butprimarily
fromautodidactic,
training
amateurenthusiasm.
Fritharguesthat'criticsofpopularforms(TV,filmandtosome
extent
need
know
aboutsuchforms
theirskillis to
pop)
nothing
exceptas consumers;
be able to writeaboutordinary
n.
experience'(Frith1996,p. 38, 40). Third,despite
theirideologicaland culturalsimilarities,
itindicatesthatat thisautonomous
pole of

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Writingaboutlistening

57

fordiversity,
at least in termsof the
culturalproductionthereis the possibility
The ways in whichthesetwo
economicsof productionand professionalisation.
workto present
typesofideologicalmagazine(thefanzineand the'semi-fanzine')
critical
discoursesis thefocusoftherestofthispaper.
alternative
in how thesecriticaldiscoursesbothchallenge
I am particularly
interested
forms
ofcriticism
tositalongside,
andoffer
alternative
forexample,
critical
orthodoxy
SuchdiscourseswouldchallengemascuPenmanandReynolds.
theworkofMorley,
and violence,
liniseddiscoursesand adjectivalapproachesthatprivilegeaggression
In addition,if the work of
'seriousness'and over-comprehension.
authenticity,
theirreaderswithdifferent
waystoapproachmusicby
Morleyand otherspresented
toitssurfaceandhowfansmightuse thissurface,
mightnottherebe
payingattention
andtheacknowledgement
of
otheralternatives?
paidtofanzines
Despitetheattention
littleattention
has beenpaid to the
theWireas a siteforautonomousrockcriticism,
ofAtton2001).
critical
discourses(withtheexception
detailofthesepublications'

Method
researchforthisstudyexploresthe'ideologicalmagazine'as a sitefor
Theprimary
ofpopularmusic
thatchallengestheorthodoxies
ofmusiccriticism
thedevelopment
thatthiscategoryofpublication
TakingintoaccountFrith'sargument
journalism.
to selectpubliitwas important
includesbothcommercial
magazinesand fanzines,
Itwas evidentthattherewouldbe onlyonecandidatefor
bothcategories.
cationsfrom
was
the Wire.The SoundProjector
in the commercialsub-category:
consideration
thefanzine.Firstpublishedin 1996,ithas emergedas a major
chosento represent
fanzinethatcoversthesame genresas the Wire.For such a specialistfanzineits
whilstitpublishesonlyannually,each issuetypically
is surprising;
publongevity
and interlished250-300reviewsofrecordings,
reviews,features
alongwithconcert
as
eachmonth,
mainreviewsofrecordings
views.(The Wiretypically
publishesfifty
wellas capsulereviewsorganisedby genre.) Thereare,however,otherfanzinesin
was foundedeleven
Forexample,Rubberneck
thisareathatpredatetheSoundProjector.
yearsearlier.It movedto web-onlypublishingin 2000buthas notpublishednew
it has
not onlypublishesregularly,
materialsinceJune2005.The SoundProjector
from
and receivesmanyofitsrecordings
a coreofcontributors
established
directly
recordlabels,insimilarfashiontocommercial
publications.
The unitofanalysiswas therecordreview.Thiswas chosenfortworeasons.
has focusedon thereview;to
First,previousresearchin popularmusiccriticism
Second,
continuethatfocusis to improvethevalidityofcross-research
comparison.
fewerincomis likelyto introduce
thanthefeaturearticle,
thereview,beingbriefer
ofa reviewis to providean accountand an
parablevariables.Thatis,thefunction
On the
to assistreadersin decisionsaboutpurchasing.
evaluationoftherecording,
more
diffuse.
are
and
interviews
offeatures
otherhand,theaimsand content
reviewsofthesamerecordacrossthetwopublications,
To achievecomparison
that
ideologicalaffinity
ingwerepaired.Thisenableda nuancedanalysis recognised
in writingstyle,addressand purpose(for
of difference
as well as thepossibility
example,the emphasison the social experiencewe mightexpectin a fanzine).
level.WhilsttheclaimsmadeforBritish
ata discursive
Analysistookplaceprimarily
been
havenever
musicjournalism
subcultural
exploredindepth,theseclaimssuggest
and diversity
Theprofusion
and
thatareheterogeneous polyglottic.
critical
practices
an
be
more
voiceslikelytoemergewill
ofcritical
exploredby analysisat
thoroughly

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58

ChrisAtton

thediscursive
level.If,as we haveseen,alternative
musicjournalism
is a siteforthe
and
makingof meaningand forpostmodern
practicesthatsuggestprovisionality
we wouldexpecta rangeofdiscoursestoemerge.To capturethislikely
experiment,
of criticalapproachesrequiresanalysisthatgoes beyondtheadjectival
instability
methodsemployedin theworkofFeigenbaum
and McLeod.Analysisat thediscursivelevelalso enablestheidentification
of'socialrealism'in alternative
journalism,
thatis, thepresenceofa discoursethatconnectsthemusicunderdiscussionto its
of identityand
experienceby an audience.This mightinvolvethe construction
ofthepersonalbythewriter;
itmightalso entaildirectaddressestothe
explorations
reader.Together
thesetwopracticesrepresent
thedominantfeatures
offanzineand
zine discourse:identity
and community
(Duncombe1997).The discourseof each
aboutthedominantcritical
publicationwas also comparedwithresearchfindings
with its emphasison masculinity,
and a mythologised
orthodoxy,
authenticity
accountofthehistory
andgeniusofperformers.
Thismethodology
doesnotintendto
settleon a reductive
ofeithermagazine'scritical
insteaditis to
description
practices;
testand explorethevalidityand consequencesofthebroadclaimsthathave been
madeforthem.
Thedetailrequiredbydiscourseanalysis,
withconstraints
onresources
together
forresearch,
a longitudinal
prevented
study.A singleyearwas takenatrandomand
Theannualpublication
oftheSoundProjector
meantthat
pairsofreviewsidentified.
therewas oftena delaybetweena reviewappearingin theWireand a reviewofthe
in theSoundProjector.
samerecording
The selectedyearfortheSoundProjector
was
2003,withthereviewsofitsfeatured
recordings
appearingin theissuesoftheWire
for2002.A corpusof twenty-two
was
reviewedby bothpublications
recordings
identified.
Whilea corpusderivedfromrecordings
recognisedby genreor artist
would have been muchlarger,the principleof comparingreviewsof the same
enabledmuchclosercomparison.
In whatfollows,six ofthesepairsare
recording
indetail.Theyhavebeenchosentorepresent
a rangeofgenres(avant-rock,
presented
electronic
and freeimprovisation)
musicand sampling,
contemporary
composition,
and a rangeofwriters
andpractising
freelancers
writers,
musicians).
(includingstaff
hereas representative
ofthegeneralfindings
fromtheanalysisof
Theyarepresented
thetwenty-two
reviewedwere:TheHandsofCaravaggio
pairs.The six recordings
and
LSD (ButtholeSurfers);
IAO: Musicin
(MIMEO
JohnTilbury);Humpty
Dumpty
SacredLight(JohnZorn);Locks(KaffeMatthews
and AndyMoor);A TasteofMerzbow
(Merzbow);and SheerHellishMiasma(KevinDrumm).

Findingsand analysis
Beforeturning
tothethematic
somegeneralremarks
analysisofthesampledreviews,
arenecessary.
Firstwe mustnotethedifferences
inlengthbetweenreviewsinthetwo
Theaveragelengthofreviewsinthesampleis around450wordsinthe
publications.
Wireand around650wordsintheSoundProjector.
Thisis due inparttothechanging
size oftheSoundProjector
(ithas doubledinlengthsinceitsfirst
issue),comparedto
thefixedpagination
oftheWire(currently
108pagespermonth).Itis also explained
theeditoroftheSoundProjector
nevereditscopytofitthepages;
byeditingpractices:
thereis littleevidenceofanycopy-editing
tothemagazinefor
( theauthorcontributed
a fewyearsandonoccasionfounduncorrected
andgrammatical
errors
typographical
on thepage). Reviewlengths
intheWire:twoofthereviews
reproduced
varygreatly
in thesamplearepartoflongerreviewsofworkby thesameartist;theseextracted

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Writingaboutlistening

59

reviewsaretheshortest
(between150and 480words).ThelongestarethoseofIAO
and TheHandsofCaravaggio
Thevariation
(around720and 800words,respectively).
in lengthmightbe seen as an indicatorof theperceivedstatusof theworkunder
review(also possiblythestatusofthereviewer).Thereis lessvariationin theSound
all thereviewsinthesampleexceed500words.Neverwithoneexception,
Projector;
ofstatusmightbe at workherealso:bothpublications
theless,
lengthas an indicator
(IAO and TheHandsof
publishtheirlongestreviewsforthesame two recordings
The Wire'sreviewofIAO is a littleover800 words,thatin theSound
Caravaggio).
is almost
around950. In the Wire,thereviewof TheHandsofCaravaggio
Projector
itis around650.
750words;in theSoundProjector
theissuesraisedin theliterature
The following
analysisexploresthematically
discourses
ofidentity
andsociality
thatwe canthinkof
review.Itbeginsbyexamining
offanzinediscourse(thissectionfocusesontheSoundProjector).
as beingemblematic
in
Itthengoesontoexaminetheextenttowhichacademicdiscoursecanbe identified
thesetwosections
theideologicalmagazine(herethefocusis on theWire).Together
formsof theideologicalmagazine
abouthow different
developways of thinking
the musicand its creators.The analysisthenturnsto the use of more
construct
frompopularmusiccriticism:
discursivefeatures
conventional
questionsofauthenand masculinised
as wellas theuse ofcanonisation
and mythology,
originality
ticity,
vocabularies.Finallyit explorestheconsequencesof thesediscursivepracticesfor
writingaboutthemusic:to whatextentand in whatways do theseresponsesto
tellus aboutthemusicitself?
listening

Identityand the social

andcallstothesocialaretypicaloffanzineand
ofpersonalidentity
Giventhatmatters
in theSoundProjector's
thattheseoccurfrequently
it is notsurprising
zine writing,
in different
review.Theydo, however,findexpression
ways.First,thewriter'sown
In Harley
themusicalexperience.
maybe a sourceforcontextualising
experiences
reviewofHumpty
Richardson's
LSD, thewriter
beginsbytellingus thatthis
Dumpty
'is theonlyCD I've boughtfroma certainonlinemusicstore'.A detailof
recording
is used heretocritiquethe'commonresponse'bycriticsthat
consumption
personal
beatnikjokers'.Thisis prompted
are'a bunchofimmature
Surfers
theButthole
bya
thepurchasethatbegins'we know
e-mailfromthemusicstorefollowing
promotional
the
to thiscritique,
returns
examining
you likecomedy. . .'. The reviewfrequently
musicin thelightof thegenericassumptionsmade aboutit by othercritics.This
thereader,in oppositionto
also places thewriter,thefanzineand,by extension,
wisdom.
critical
conventional
its criticalresponsesas personal
constructs
In general,the SoundProjector
theexplicituse ofpersonalpronouns('I'm continually
whetherthrough
responses,
engaged ... and intrigued' Rik Rawlingon Zorn) or throughdeclarationsof
Hor on Merzbow).Such
individual,emotionalresponse('Whooppee!'- Jennifer
responsesare, however,oftenmore subtlypersonalised.Hor, writingboth on
thatmightbe
Merzbowand Drumm,adoptsan affective
approachusingmetaphor
an
but also as
not only as personallycontingent,
experiencethatis
interpreted
Forexample,shewritesofMerzbow'slayersofnoise
tootherlisteners.
universalisable
that'theyexplodeeven morebraincellsthantheynormallydo' and of Drumm's
music'excavatingholes in yourbrain'.Here the writerdescribesan individual
critical
butonethatappearsdefinitive.
Elsewhere,
responsesare
experience,
listening

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60

ChrisAlton

attributed
to theimaginedreader:'long-time
fansno doubtwillbe enthralled'
(Hor
on Merzbow);'some people will be disappointed'(Hor on Drumm).As well as
intheSoundProjector
readers'tastes,writers
makeclaimsabout
predicting
frequently
an artist's
intentions.
Merzbow'delightsinpummelling
theaudience';Zornis clearly
'someoneso engagedin art[thathe] is goingto have [his]radaron'; JohnTilbury
'fearsforhislife'duringtherecording
withMIMEO.Theseappear
ofhisperformance
withoutanyexplicitevidence;rathertheyaretakenforgrantedas partoftheartist's
musicalmethods.
Writers
fortheSoundProjector
seemto derivethisknowledgefromtheirclose
Their'commonsense'approach
personalexperienceofthemusicand itscreators.
It requiresno
mightequallybe consideredas an autodidactic
displayofexpertise.
culturalapparatusorcitation:
theSoundProjector
derivesitsclaimsfroman expertise
basedondetailedlistening,
andoncareful
andsustainedconsumption
ofthemusic.It
is fromtheseprocessesthatthemusicaland socialvaluesofartistare derived.The
SoundProjector's
criticsare therefore
thatare
writingfrompositionsof authority
(based on similarlistening
arguablysimilarto thedisplaysofauthority
processes)
thatwe findinmainstream
Whatis different,
andwhattheSoundProjector
journalism.
shareswithotherfanzines,
is howthisauthority
is displayed.In theenditis derived
froma personalexperience
ofthemusic,an experience
thatalso takesintoaccount
socialexperiences
and thatis effectively
subcultural.
Thepersonaland thesocialare
a demoticstyle,albeitone thatis at times,perhapssurprisingly,
displayedthrough
(thisis discussedbelow).
capableofpoeticexpression
Suchpersonalauthority
is rareintheWire.Fromthesample,onlyCliveBelland
EdwinPounceyemphasisetheirpersonalresponsestothemusic(in waysnotfound
in the otherreviewsin the Wire).As in the SoundProjector,
theseare expressed
Bell's
review
of
Locks
a
includes
brief
selection
of
whathe calls 'my
colloquially.
favourite
moments'.
Elsewherehe findsMatthews'selectronic
ofMoor's
treatments
in'.
sets
of
Sheer
Hellish
Miasma
is similar
review
guitarrepetitive:
'loopitis
Pouncey's
initslanguagetothatofJennifer
HorintheSoundProjector.
Bothemphasisesavagery
in themusic(forPounceyithas a 'raw savagebeauty';forHorthemusic'[bears]its
fangs'and the'animalsareoutofthecage'.Theyemploysimilartropes:shehearsthe
music'excavating
holesinyourbrain';he findsit'likea hotcoal in thebackofyour
skull'with'awesome,craniumcrushingpower'.Justas Hor attributes
feelingsto
tells
us
that
Drumm
'wants
to
blow
his
audience
'disappointed'fans,Pouncey
away'.
In general,though,writers
fortheWiretendtopresentevaluationnotas personally
butas based on historical
and culturalclaimsabouttheartistsand their
contingent,
bodiesofwork.

Culturaland historicalframing

On theonehand,theSoundProjector
dealsinresponsesthatarebroadlyderivedfrom
a personal,affective
with
the musicand witha community
of likeengagement
mindedlisteners
whom
it
On
the
other
the
Wire
hand,
(of
appearsaware).
(pacethe
of
Bell
and
tends
to
in
frame
the
cultural
music
and
historical
examples
Pouncey)
(whether
settings.This framingshiftsthe evaluativemethodfromthe affective
toothers)and theintentional
personalorattributed
('the artistis doingthisbecause
. . .') tothecontextual,
wherecritiqueoperatesat an explicitly
intellectual
level.This
us
with
an
to
test
the
rather
claims
about
provides
opportunity
unspecific
ideological

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Writingaboutlistening

61

and cultural
musiccriticism,
namely,its philosophicaldebtsto post-modernism
studies.
withthebrevity
It wouldbe unreasonable
to expectanypieceofwriting
ofa
ofwhatare,intheiracademic
recordreviewtoexhibit
exposition
anythoroughgoing
areasthatencompassoftenirreconcilable
practices
expansiveand contested
settings,
and methodological
Neitheris it possibleto
of conceptual,theoretical
thinking.
without
to
a singlepost-modern
or'culturalstudies'styleofwriting
resorting
identify
withintellecNevertheless
caricature.
manyreviewsintheWiredisplaya fascination
fromthesetwoareas
as deriving
tualapproachestoculturethatmightbe considered
of thinking.
BleddynButcher'sreviewof HumptyDumptyLSD is framedby a
and
of naming:'What's in a name? Everything
meditationon the significance
nothing'.The reviewmakessenseof themusicof theButtholeSurfersin termsof
theirname,one that'practicallyensuresthattheywould onlyever appeal to a
Butcher
Names'conferidentity',
namingthatwe
argues,and itis through
minority'.
butalso intent.Thisanalysisis notundertaken
notonlydifference
can understand
in a consistentdiscursivestyle,however.The writermoves froman academic
styleto highlycolloquialexpressionsin thesame paragraph,even at timesin the
a convenientmeans of distinguishing
same sentence:'Names are elementary,
towards
Thereis also a measureofscepticism
fromthingummyjig'.
whatchamacallit
for'half-assed
intellectual
approvalofthegroup'spreference
analysis,inthewriter's
intheplaceofculturalcritique'.
attitude
DavidToop'sreviewofZorn'sIAO is lesseclectic.
Verylittleofhisreviewdeals
InsteadToop uses themusic'sprimary
withthemusicon therecording.
inspiration
natureof
andtheoften-controversial
( Aleister
Crowley) toexamineZorn'sintentions
He
finds
his
music.
of
hiswork,as wellas tochallengeotherinterpretations
parallels
betweenthe receptionof the 'transgressive
expression'in theworkof Zorn and
than
rather
's dictumthattheruleofthemind'is Necessity
andcitesCrowley
Crowley,
at
the
necessitydrivingthe
Prejudice'.He argues,thatlikeCrowley,Zorn'[looks]
Whilstthereis
of
anti-Semitism.
accused
work'.Toopnotesthatbothmenhavebeen
accuse
Zorn'sdetractors,
muchevidenceforCrowley'sprejudice,
arguesToop,falsely
behaviour
social
between
a
rhetoric,
themusicianofthesame,'invit[ing] confusion
on theother'.
and desire... on theonehand,and unconscious
expression
for
an
as
apologist Crowley;insteadhe
Toop is carefulnot to cast himself
withwhich [Crowley]
and
thoroughness intensity
emphasises'the consistency,
a culturalcompariThis
becomes
real'.
the
of
hisownversion
toconstruct
attempted
artistdriven
Romantic
as
the
sonthatplacesZornintheroleofcontroversial
creator,
These
ensue.
that
social
to compose,despitethepersonalor
might
consequences
artist
about
dealingwith
any
generalclaimsaboutZorntheartist(and, arguably,
detail
ofZorn's
to
the
attention
sustained
not
areexemplified byany
transgression)
of
and
work
life
the
to
music,butthrough
Crowley.Toop cites:a
specificreferences
a
demon
in
ritualstagedatCaxtonHall 1910;Chorizon,
allegedlyevokedbyCrowley
andCrowley'srelationship
this
without
explanation);
(thoughonlythenameis cited
IAO
is
as
withVictorNeuberg.Just
ToopalsodrawsonCrowley
byCrowley,
inspired
Zorn's
of
thewellspring
tounderstand
corpus.
reviewof TheHandsofCaravaggio.
A similarimpulsedrivesJohnCratchley's
music
the
not
Here he seeks to understand
itself,but the ideologicaland social
a
is
common
it.
This
approachinreviewsoffreeimprovisation
processesthatunderlie
as
betweenmusicians,
the
an
is example): socialinteraction
(ofwhichthisrecording
is
of
such
collective
and
well as the non-hierarchical
performances,
possibilities

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62

ChrisAtton

andrisk.Cratchley
examinedbyaskingquestionsaboutpurpose,intention
frequently
setoutby KeithRowe,thefounderofMIMEO.
employsan ideologicalframework
between' theworld
Rowe( alongwithCratchley
) viewstheprojectas oneofa struggle
of scarcity'(the hand-madeelectronics
of some of themusicians)and 'the one of
ofthisframing
). Thesocialandpoliticalimplications
plenty'( Powerbook
improvisers
and
'tacticalstruggle'
dominatethereview:therearereferences
to'factional
struggle',
to
artistic
andlinguistic
addressestheseinrelation
issues'.Cratchley
'tactical,
directly
For
JohnTilbury'sroleas solo pianistin a largegroupof electronic
improvisers.
withrisk',wherethe
thisis 'a dangerousperformance
scenariofraught
Cratchley
soloistand theothermusiciansneed'to suspendego forthecommongood'.
and
thatis provisional
assessment
is ofa processofmusic-making
Cratchley's
of the
unfinished.
at least,thesocialand creativecontingencies
Yet,forCratchley
processresultnotonlyin an exampleoftheprocess(manyreviewsoffreeimprovisationconsidertherecording
as documentation
ofa processoranevent),but
merely
in
also 'a landmarkworkofgreatsignificance
. . . nothingshortofa miracle'.This
suggeststhatthereare criteriaat workotherthanthoseconcernedwithprocess,
Thereare,however,
neverpinsthemdownmusically.
thoughthecritical
exposition
hintsaboutthisin thefinalparagraphofthereview,whereRowe is recognisedas
someonewho 'metamorphosed
. . . thecollectiveunconsciousness
ofthe[guitar]in
and whereRowedescribestherecording
as a concerto.
perpetuity'
Layingaside the
questionof how a guitar(or any instrument)
mightbe said to have a collective
thisis an authoritative
absolutist
claimthat,alongwithCratchley's
unconsciousness,
assessment
ofthepiece,seemstocontradict
on
To
hisearlieremphasis contingency.
the
as
a
a
term
reserved
for
classical
concerto,
accept piece
composition,
mostly
yetto
consideritsprocessas democratic
andcollective,
is tosetup a tensionthat,evenifitis
ofdiscoursesaboutcreativity.
deliberate,
speakstoa confusion

Authenticity,
mythologyand masculinity

So farwe haveemphasiseddiscursive
stylesthatsetthetwopublications
apartfrom
the conventions
of muchpopularmusicjournalism.However,we have already
noticedoccasionswhenwriters
makeclaimsabouttheauthenticity
and originality
of
a workin ways similarto rock'sdominantcriticaldiscourse,such as Cratchley's
assessmentof theMIMEO recording
and thehyberbolic
languagecommonin the
SoundProjector.
Whilethe Wiresituatesartistssuchas Zorn,Rowe and Tilburyin
socialand culturalcontexts
toenablerelativised
on occasionthemagazine's
critique,
reviewssuggesta mythologising
of theseartistsas
(or at leastan authorisation)
Romantic
creativeacts.Theredoes existspace
individuals,
capableofextraordinary
for'weakness',however.TheMIMEO reviewshowsthisinitsemphasison risk(and
yettheoutcomeis success).Onlyone of thereviewsfromthe Wireengageswith
failureandmediocrity
LSD,despiteitsempha(Locks);thereviewoiHumpty
Dumpty
sis on 'epic underachievement'
in theend findsthisa welcome,almostendearing,
trait.
Claimsaboutauthenticity
and originality
arealso foundin theSoundProjector.
In thecase ofEd Pinsent'sreviewofMIMEO,theseclaimsare based on thesame
evaluativecriteria
as thoseofCratchley's
reviewintheWire:theideologicalimpulses
ofscarcity
and plenty;theemphasison risk;Pinsentevenuses thesamequotefrom
ofthetwelve-piece
as does the
ensemble,
Tilbury(as wellas listingall themembers
Pinsent
writes
about
the
workof thegroup,albeitin his own,
Wire).
absolutely

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aboutlistening
Writing

63

fractured
ofmodernistic
colloquialstyle('a blockbuster
group-wise
playing).Simiis 'greatart... actingas a trigger
forfurther
larly,Zorn's1AO,fortheSoundProjector,
oftheself. Onlyin one instancedo themagazinesdiverge.Wherethe
exploration
Wiresees onlythe'grotesquerie
ofthesurface[with]no rollingemotionaldepths'in
theSoundProjector
theworkoftheButthole
findstheoppositein a similar
Surfers,
and imagination
'there'sintelligence
tobe foundifyoudaredivebeyond
metaphor:
thereis a generalcongruence
thesmellyand obnoxioussurface'.Nevertheless
sugandprovisionality,
a canon
that,despitedisplaysofindividualism,
autonomy
gesting
ofartists
(Zorn,MIMEO/Tilbury/
significance
emergeswhoseworkis ofparticular
however:thecritical
evaluationsoftheworkof
Rowe).Thiscanonis notimmutable,
at leastas candidates.
Drummand Merzbowsuggestthem,ifnotas members,
discoursein theWire'sreviews.Only
Thereis littleevidenceofmasculinised
use
Pouncey's reviewof SheerHellishMiasmaand Cratchley'sTheHandsofCaravaggio

inrockmusic.In
termsfromthelexiconofviolencetoexpresspowerand excitement
'theatre
ofengagement'
and'battle
casehisuseoftermssuchas 'struggle',
Cratchley's
of the
forsupremacy'are betterunderstoodin thecontextof Rowe's conceptions
group;theyreflectRowe's own analogies,ratherthanestablishthewriter'sown
discourse.On theotherhand,PounceywritesaboutKevinDrumm'sworkin a less
rock'n'
elaboratedform:he callsit'theveryessenceofrock'and 'adrenaline-driven
roll'.At timesthisapproachesparody(at leastin thecontextoftheWire)whenhe
all the way up'. That it is
imaginesDrumm'turninghis guitarand electronics
of
intendedas parodyis unlikely,though,forelsewherehe writesadmiringly
betweenDrumm'smusic,
Motorhead's'classic aural assault',findingsimilarities
is
Music.Reed'sdoublealbumoffeedback
heavymetalandLou Reed'sMetalMachine
TheSoundProjector's
also a lodestoneforthereviewofDrummintheSoundProjector.
ofviolence,especiallywhentheydiscussthe
use ofmetaphors
makegreater
writers
whatwe can
'noisemusic'ofMerzbowand Drumm.In general,though,theyprefer
ofsimileand metaphorical
thinkofas 'demoticpoetry':colloquialflights
fancyto
the
listener.
This
on
captureboththenatureofthesoundsbeingheardandtheireffect
about
the
music
tell
us
leadsus tothefinalphaseoftheanalysis:whatdo thesereviews
itselfand howdo thewriters
experiences?
presenttheirlistening

Writingabout listening

reviewerspresenthighlypersonaland
We have seen how the SoundProjector's
an expertisederivedfromdetailed
from
derive
that
music
to
affective
responses
and worksthataregenerically
review
under
the
artists
of
the
to
both
corpus
listening
tellus
intermsofwhatthewriters
is theresultofthislistening,
related.What,though,
seemsto
aboutthemusicitself?The generallydemoticstylein theSoundProjector
determineits analyticaldiscourse.This demotic-poetic
approachoftenemploys
Hor
todescribethemusic.Forexample,Jennifer
in an attempt
sustainedmetaphors
Miasma
to
Hellish
Sheer
on
a
compares piece
thedifferent
a steadytravelogue
partsofhellwiththeirown setsofanimals. . . the
through
whatit'sliketobe reallyfreeso all theycando
animalsareoutofthecagebutthey'veforgotten
is snarland roara lotbutnotmuchelse.

Similarly,forHarley Richardson
tunnelandontothebackof
intoan underground
[the]openingtrackofLocksdropsus straight
.
.
.
to
tracks
start
at
a trainwhichis thundering
snap,pingandcoilup beneath
along topspeed
thetrain. . .

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64

ChrisAtton

Theseimpressionistic
accountsencouragethereaderofthereviewto'hear'themusic
Thisapproachis
as a narrative;
thewriter
is organising
thesoundsprogrammatically.
notuniquetothefanzine,
post-modern
thoughitappearstobe rareinthepost-punk,
autonomous
characterisation
ofthelanguageoftheideological,
magazine.Instead,it
suchas LesterBangsand
'riffs'ofwriters
has morein commonwiththejournalistic
howdoes
Itis an approachthataddressesthreeproblems:
CharlesShaarMurray.
first,
there
isno
a demoticapproachtomusiccriticism
dealwithmusicalanalysis?After
all,
in
musical
have any formaltraining
evidencethatwritersfortheSoundProjector
ofpopular
theysharewithalmostallcritics
analysis.( Ofcourse,thisis a characteristic
the
abletodeployformal
music.) Second,evenwerethewriters
techniques,
analytical
lack
the
resultswouldnotbe usefulforreaderswho(we assume)
interpretnecessary
would
ativeskillstomakesenseofformal
analysis.Third,thenatureofthemusicitself
itself.
The
on
the
music
a
that
is
centred
testthelimitsof formalmusicalanalysis
and
musicsunderreviewherearevariouslyfreely
extremely
repetitive
improvised,
andnoharmonic
thereis oftennoobviousstructure,
notonality
progresavant-garde;
sion. To generatea narrativefromsuch music,ratherthanfocuson its internal
avoidstheproblemsaroundmusicalanalysis.On itsown,however,this
workings,
solutionwouldbe a verylimitedandrepetitive
critical
response.How else,then,apart
critics
abletotell
fromaffective
andprogrammatic
the
Sound
are
Projector's
responses,
us abouttheirlistening
experiences?
Thereis some evidencethatthefanzine'swritersdo attemptto addressthe
Hor's
musicinmoreconventional
analytical
ways( modestthoughtheseare). Jennifer
devicewithin
reviewof Merzbowarguesforthe use of rhythm
as a structuring
otherwise
chaoticsoundscapes.Forher,thisdevicenotonlyhasan aesthetic
function,
it also makesthemusic' "accessible"to new ears'.Writers
to
also makereference
othermusicalstyles(a convention
IAO
Zorn's
ofmostpopularmusiccriticism).
John
is consideredto be variouslyreminiscent
of deathmetal,klezmer,dub, 'subdued
ambient'and 'surfthrash';JohnTilbury's
is
pianoplayingon theMIMEO recording
characterised
dissonances'.
Whatever
the
of
these
references,
by 'Cagean
simplicity
whoseinterests
are consideredto be as broadas
theyat leastindicatea readership
thoseof the writers.Some writersgive criticalevaluationsthatdemonstrate
an
in the compositional
interest
of
the
music.
Hor
advises
Kevin
Jennifer
processes
Drummthathisworkmighthavebeenimproved
by'vary[ing]thespeedandvolume
levels. . . and [by]theadditionofa noisybackground... to unifytheelements. . .
strucsound,pacingand texture'.
HarleyRichardson
emphasisesnottheapparently
turelesschaosofa typicalButthole
Surfers
but
that
the
undersong,
group's'songs
wenta longgestation
process. . . sketchedoutin thestudio,thenhonedforseveral
in thehistory
oftherecording,
to the
yearson stage'.Ed Pinsentis also interested
extent
thatheliststhethreerecording
for
and
MIMEO
'the
of
engineers
praises clarity
therecording'
because it enables'the listener... to separateout each partof the
orchestra
withpinpoint
Thesevariousapproachesallseektofindsomesort
accuracy'.
ofstructure
inthemusic,whether
itis a narrative,
an attention
in
tomusicalelements
a work,genrecomparisonor recording
These
devices
history.
structuring
appear
toaugmentthemoreindividualand emotional
necessary
responseswe havealready
noted.
Do theWire'swriters
havesimilarapproachestocapturing
thelistening
experienceofits'adventuresin modernmusic'?Whilethereis littleconsideration
ofthe
musicas programmatic,
thereis some interest
in structural
analysis.JimHaynes
sharesJennifer
Hor's focuson the structuring
in the musicof
power of rhythm

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Writingaboutlistening

65

as 'a case studyinhowMerzbowcontrols

Merzbow.Haynesconsiderstherecording
is also a concernofCliveBellinhisreviewofLocks.Here,
noise'.Structure
rhythmic
ofindividualpieces,aboutwhich
itisnottoexaminetheinternal
organisation
though,
hehaslittletosay.Perhapsthisisbecausethereis verylittletosayaboutmusicwhere
of one bar ofguitar'and where
'we are condemnedto severalminutes'repetition
Insteadhelooksoutsidethepiecesto
avoiddevelopment'.
'severaltracksdeliberately
momentsare actuallythe
considerhow theyare orderedon theCD: 'myfavourite
whichdon'toccurinthepieces
suddentransitions
hardeditedjumpstothenexttrack,
mostsignificantly
madetoothermusicalstyles,
Therearefewreferences
themselves'.
in thereviewofKevinDrumm'swork,whereEdwinPounceymakescomparison
withmanyshades of 'metal' (black,deathand nu), as well as withtheworkof
Bell
La MonteYoungand Lou Reed.Earlierwe identified
Whitehouse,
Motorhead,
herewe see them(and
oftheWire'swriters;
and Pounceyas themost'fanzine-like'
Haynes)engaginginmusicalanalysisthatagainis similartothatfoundintheSound
Projector.

In general,though,the Wire'swritersappear more interestedin broader

orcomparative
notin internal
and culturalcontextualisation,
historical
descriptions
havevery
ofthemusicitself.
Indeed,apartfromBelland Pouncey,theWire'swriters
littleto say aboutthemusicitselfand evenless to say abouttheirresponsesto itas
even
music.Toop's reviewonlydealswiththemusicofIAO in itsfinalparagraphs;
is interrupted:
heretheassessment
a senseofwhatCrowley
andperhaps
chords
. . . withgongsandorgan
Thealbum
might
begins
oftheRitesofEleusisatCaxton
forhisself-confessedly
haveimagined
unsatisfactory
staging
Hallin1910.
(the
Elsewhere,
Toop's analyticallanguageis similarto thatof theSoundProjector
chatter'and a 'metalscream').The
femalechorusis 'gorgeous';thereis 'electronic
about
Wire'sreviewof HumptyDumptyLSD containsonly two half-sentences
of
'.
.
.
a
dissolute
themusic,whichmakeonlygeneralobservations:
amalgam riffBasses
noise.
stonerhumouranddistorted
drivennonsense,
rumble,
guitarsbleatlike
individual
discusses
review
theSoundProjector's
geese,drumspound. . .' Bycontrast
and
and
vocal
describesinstrumental
tracks,
techniques attempts
quotesfromlyrics,
ofthegroup'swork('Hammerhorrororgansoundtracks,
tocapturetheeclecticism
piano,recitalsand heavymetal').The
avant-garde
speedcore,country'n' western,
MIMEOreview.As
is Cratchley's
critical
Wire's
mostextreme
practice
exampleofthe
in
the
interested
is
we havealreadyseen,thisreview mostly
'dangerousperformance
oftherecordedmusicsavefor
scenario';inover700wordsthereis no directmention
ofsound'.
forest
toan 'electronic
a briefreference
toits
topresentthelistening
wants
ItseemsthattheSoundProjector
experience
Wire
the
of
The
and
a
social
as a personal
readersprimarily
suggests
activity. emphasis
Belland Pounceypresenta
theopposite,thatitis primarily
(thoughnotexclusively:
notmerelyin the
in thevalue of themusicin context,
interested
counter-balance)
isnottosaythat
This
act
of
as
an
less
even
musicas anexperience
).
( and
consumption
are
There
this
themagazine'sreadersuniformly
complaints
frequent
accept approach.
Two
inthemagazine'sletters
pagesfromreaderswhofindthereviewsunsatisfactory.
that
some
comments
reader
One
issues
in
the
analysed.
sample
examplesappear
themagazine'sreviewcomicparodies',anothercastigates
reviewsread'as brilliant
like'.(The Sound
sound
the
records
what
as
to
hints
'without
ers forwriting
any
is
not
a
so
readers'
does notpublish
letters, comparison
possible.)
Projector

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66

ChrisAlton

Conclusion
The rangeofdiscoursesidentified
in theWireprovidesevidenceforForde'sclaim
aboutthepolyglottism
ofthemagazine.Acrossthereviewssampledwe findwriting
thatis culturally
andhistorically
situatedand thatseekstodiscussthemusicinterms
of its culturalconsequences,its historicalantecedents(thoughnot always from
musicalhistory,
as inthecase ofMO) and itssocialpractices.
Within
reviewswe also
findmultiple
voices,theblendingorcollisionofthecolloquialwiththeacademic,the
affective
withthe rational.These discoursestakeplace withina professionalised
environment:
theWireis a commercially
successful
magazinewithan international
audience.Withinthisframework
itsreviewing
practicesfitwellwithinGudmundsson et al.'s (2002) semi-autonomous
fieldof rockjournalism.Thereare,however,
featuresthatseem betterlocatedeven further
towardstheautonomouspole: the
ofBelland Pounceyis almostentirely
concernedwithpersonal,emotional
writing
responsesand is moresuggestiveoffanzinediscourse.It is in theSoundProjector,
wherewe findtheselatter
atwork.Herethelength
inevitably,
impulsesmoststrongly
of reviewsdoes not necessarilyindicatethe statusof the recording,
ratherthey
accommodate
theless disciplinedand morefreewheeling
styleofpersonalreaction
familiarto us notonlyfromthehistoryof thefanzinebut also fromtheworkof
likeBangsand Murray.
personality
journalists
Both magazinesoccasionallyemployothertechniquesfromthe dominant
ofrockjournalism,
suchas thelexiconofviolence,thenotionoftheRomantic
history
ofa canon.Thesefeatures,
however,appearalongside
geniusand theestablishing
moreindividualapproaches,resulting
notin a reproduction
but
ofpastdiscourses,
theirhybridisation
withmoreradicalapproaches.Despitethisindividualism,
there
are commonfeaturesin the SoundProjector's
reviews:a preference
forcolloquial
theuse ofextendedsimileand metaphor;
claimsabouttheintentions
of
expression;
and predictions
aboutotherlisteners'
artists;
responses.Itis in theWirethatwe find
thegreatest
rangeofindividualresponsesand discoursesemployedtocommunicate
thoseresponses.The reasonsforthiscannotbe identified
withinthelimitsof the
ofmuchfanzinewriting,
presentstudy,butcould include:theanti-intellectualism
whichsets limitson how themusicmightbe discussed;the differing
habitusof
reviewers(the Wire'scontributors
includeprofessional
critics,musicians,artists
and occasionallyfanzinewriters);the editorialdirectionof the magazine(the
SoundProjector
seemsto have littleinterest
in shapingreviews,eitherin termsof
or
editorial
and
the
of diversity
as a comcopy-editing
guidelines);
recognition
mercialresponseto thebranded,monoglottal
musicjournalismthatdominatesthe
musicpress.
professional
Itis perhapsthisfinalsuggestion
thatprovidesthestrongest
forthe
argument
value
of
music
that
in itsdiscontinuing
journalism is (at least) semi-autonomous
courseand itsindustrial
We havenotfoundtheextreme
relativism
thatsome
setting.
discussionsof post-punk,
musicjournalismsuggest,wherethereis a
postmodern
forsurfaces,
and an acknowledgement
oftheinadequacy
predilection
provisionality
ofsayinganything
aboutmusic.We have,ofcourse,notedthattheWire'sreviewers
oftensay littleabout themusicitself(certainlyin contrastto thosein the Sound
but thisis arguablynotdue to any perceiveddifficulty;
it is an
rather,
Projector),
decision.
ideological
itselfas an ideological
Finally,we mightconsiderthepracticeofpolyglottism
rather
than
as
a
'natural'
state
that
all
has
but
choice,
disappearedin the

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Writingaboutlistening

67

musicpress.The privileging
commercial
of an arrayof individual
contemporary,
voicesmightbe seen in termsof a post-modern
of theauthority
of the
fracturing
in popular
masternarrative.
Whilethisworksagainstan essentialising
ofcriticism
itcanjustas easilyrepresent
an individualisation
musicaldiscourse,
ofinterpretation
ofa sharedcriticalframework.
thatworksagainsttheformation
We have observed
inthefanzine,
accountsconnecttosocialexperience
how,particularly
personalcritical
ofwriters
and fans.Thesignificance
and totheformation
ofa critical
of
community
forthefanzine:thatsomereadersoftheWireare
is notonlyimportant
community
ofthemagazine'sreviewssuggeststhateven
dissatisfied
withthestyleand content
mighthaveitslimits.
polyglottism
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