April 23, 2010

Chris Weingarten Slams Blogs for Myriad of Journalistic Sins

Respected music critic Chris Weingarten, who seemingly writes for anyone that everyone may have ever thought was cool, recently spoke at the 140 Character Conference about the effects of real-time internet garbage on music journalism both in print and online — and dude cracked some big truth eggs on everybody. Talk about making a knowledge omelet.

Sure, about 10 percent of what he said was the usual “I’m a music journalist, and I’m whining about how my job is in jeopardy now” stuff, but the substance was still 100 percent truth. His main thrust: No one is brave enough to say anything bad about bands, because Google and the hype machine (both the literal and figurative one) don’t reward it.

At least he has the balls to tell everyone Broken Social Scene‘s new stuff sucks.

29 Responses to “Chris Weingarten Slams Blogs for Myriad of Journalistic Sins”

  1. On 04/23/10 3:39 PM, ko said:

    Just another old writer bitching about new stuff he can’t keep up with. If you want to write about Green Day, do it. But don’t be pissed when others aren’t and people no longer find your writing relevant.

  3. On 04/23/10 3:47 PM, eric p said:

    It’s not WHAT’S being covered it’s HOW it’s being covered. Online music journalism is chasing the same rabbit that cable news did.

  5. On 04/23/10 4:09 PM, Sean Cannon said:

    yeah, weingarten definitely can and does keep up with stuff. he’s “with it” as the kids say. that’s part of the reason he was speaking at the conference.

    he’s just rightfully upset that most online “journalists” are idiots and ass clowns. it’s not like he’s upset that people are talking about “hip” acts like girls or mgmt. it’s that no one has the balls to say they suck.

  7. On 04/23/10 6:04 PM, Sergio Hernandez said:

    There was a time, at the beginning of the dot com boom, that internet writers/journalists/bloggers were not taken seriously.

    A change in guard then occured (it can almost be pinpointed right when the Drudge Report broke the Lewinsky story) when people thought, “Hey, the internet is kind of like a continuous newspaper.” Journalists and journalism students used the new medium to get to a professional level that would have taken years otherwise.

    But the bubble on that has burst too. Anyone can start a blog and everyone has an opinion. More often than not, both suck. Bloggers get press passes and spend the entire time asking people for autographs and then wonder why no one takes them seriously.

  9. On 04/23/10 7:44 PM, Sean Cannon said:

    “Bloggers get press passes and spend the entire time asking people for autographs and then wonder why no one takes them seriously.”

  11. On 04/23/10 8:15 PM, Shaun McK said:

    Agree with Sergio in that the second bubble burst. For me it was the coverage of the Mumbai bombings. Everyone was in a race to get the information out there that a lot of disinformation went out there. According to tweets there were shootings and bombings at every building in the city.
    You need to take a moment to sit back collect and analyze the information properly. Think the idea extends to music journalism, too.

  13. On 04/24/10 5:28 AM, justcheez said:

    Man, i’m more gutted that Broken Social Scene’s new stuff sucks.

  15. On 04/24/10 11:01 AM, Tim said:

    I credit Marshall McLuhan: The medium is the message. The dominant form of media in a society (presumably, emerging as the Internet) dictates to all other forms of media its preferences.

    The Internet prefers clicks, therefore, everything must cater or die.

    Or live outside the mainstream … which is kinda cool, too.

  17. On 04/24/10 9:20 PM, N C said:

    *Ahem* 10% whining? Dude is hung up. I hear his perspective, and yet he fails to own his position. Rather, he just spews out his unchecked insecurity all over the audience. There are multiple perspectives existing out there besides the world you drown in everyday.

    For one, I don’t really write negatively about music, because, why would I waste my time and energy articulating what I don’t like to anyone but myself. Simply, I focus on what has me feel good and what I want to share. If someone asked me an opinion, Id sure be honest about what I didnt like. Im just prolly not going to spend hours writing about it. I might spend some time researching it, but not writing.

    Secondly, the status quo saturates every social norm, and now that everyone has internet and push button pubilshing, guess what? It thrives there too. Ce la vie. Dont take it personally dude.

    I think Chris does end with some positive suggestions, asking the audience to seek out music by thinking for themselves. Thats wonderful! I personally feel his whole talk would have been more successful had he focused on this education of the public, rather than chastising the very people who most likely lack the capacity to even receive the criticism constructively.

    Chris, I wish you a smooth & peaceful transition in this hard time as the world ventures into new journalistic territory.

  19. On 04/25/10 8:45 AM, Sean Cannon said:

    i think his whole suggestion is that this is not an evolutionary journey into some “new journalistic territory” that he dislikes as much as it is the death of journalism. at least where music criticism is concerned.

    and his concern has little to do with the change of venue for journalism than the fact that people are abandoning it altogether in favor of cozying up to record labels/pr people/bands in an effort to schmooze with them and get to claim they were the first person on the block to post something or like a band.

    sure, that’s always been around when it comes to music criticism, but instead of it being a peripheral aim of media outlets when a band becomes a bona fide success, it has become the dominant theme for any band of any size. that’s what music criticism has evolved into with the prevalence of real time internet: everyone racing to crowd the front of the line, hoping to get the best seats in the house (both figuratively and literally speaking), not “new journalistic territory.”

    and when over 50 percent of “music critics” online are blatantly talking nice about a band not because of quality as much as the opportunity to get clickthroughs, pageviews, help from the label/pr firm or be seen as a “tasetmaker,” it becomes obvious why you need someone in the world of music criticism saying, “wait, this band sucks. why is everyone kowtowing to this garbage?”

    all that said: music is music. we’re not talking life and death here. we aren’t even talking about the people affecting relationships on a person to person basis here, for that matter. so at the end of the day, while music journalists and critics serve a purpose, we need to remember that the purpose isn’t some herculean endeavor to be worshiped in the first place.

  21. On 04/25/10 9:38 AM, N C said:

    @Sean I def hear what youre saying. There is certainly no arguing the lack of filtering for quality in music writing today. While this very concern lies at the center of the blogosphere, I dont feel, however that music journalism is dead. Nothing really ever dies. Its just transformed into something else. And what I mean is, I hold faith that there are individuals and media outlets that continue to uphold critical investigation. Call me an optimist, but lets focus on what you like!

    Now in this context of quality discernment, I do see your case for negative reviews. That makes sense.

    Like you say, music is music. And to me that means, for one, varying opinions and affinities/aversions will always abound. And I think the purpose of music writing is as big and as meaningful as what you make it! Theres potential for greatness and inspiration in any endeavor. I mean, have you seen this guy: http://www.thewendysguy.com/ ? He worked the cashier at my college Wendy’s, and blew everyone away.

    :)

  23. On 04/25/10 11:49 AM, Sean Cannon said:

    i know there are still folks who aren’t hype whores, but they are much more of a minority now than even four years ago. and of those, even fewer are actually interested in critical undertakings and actually doing journalism.

    and i wasn’t saying the music and/or music criticism is fruitless, but at the end of the day, i would say the wendy’s guy made more of a difference in peoples’ lives personally because of his real-world interaction with people than most music websites ever do.

  25. On 04/25/10 1:11 PM, jimmy said:

    but really. it’s difficult to find internet music critics who are actually good writers. as in, good with words, evocative and interesting, not just spouting info. i think that’s important, especially as a discipline.

    and it definitely doesn’t seem to be as important to people. i love the internet for giving everyone a voice, but i wonder if many of your average blogger guys care enough to even attempt writing something beautifully, with heart and passion, and not just “a scoop.”

    sorry if i’m old fashioned, but i like when the review or article, at least in the realm of craftsmanship, skill, and effort, have as much behind them as the music.

  27. On 04/26/10 11:03 AM, Cool dude said:

    “No one is brave enough to say anything bad about bands, because Google and the hype machine (both the literal and figurative one) don’t reward it.”

    Oh what the hell is he talking about? I can disprove that right now. Buzzgrinder says bad things about bands plenty, even if it’s not in an obvious way. Ex: MCR, FOB, PATD

  29. On 04/26/10 2:35 PM, Sean Cannon said:

    “but i like when the review or article, at least in the realm of craftsmanship, skill, and effort, have as much behind them as the music.”

  31. On 04/27/10 3:18 PM, Sergio Hernandez said:

    “Oh what the hell is he talking about? I can disprove that right now. Buzzgrinder says bad things about bands plenty, even if it’s not in an obvious way. Ex: MCR, FOB, PATD”

    Those bands are tried-and-true whipping boys though.

    The flavor of the months… the MGMTs, the Passion Pits can seemingly do no wrong and when they do, they’re not called out on it.

  33. On 04/28/10 6:34 AM, All The Things You’ve Been Missing › Beat the Indie Drum said:

    [...] sadly agree with a lot of what Chris Weingarten has to say in this video of a recent speech he gave at a conference which essentially calls out a good portion of the music [...]

  35. On 04/28/10 12:52 PM, A Blogger said:

    Wow! He’s as guilty as the bloggers for whom he has contempt. How many f-bombs and other four-letter words did he drop and WHY?

    Because he’s appealing to the visceral, that’s why. You can be as loud and profane as you want, but you still sound like a moron who presents a fairly imbalanced perspective on the role of music blogs in the consumption of music (aka the music biz).

    Yes, there are a lot of people out there blogging who don’t need to be doing it. And yes, a survey of 20 or so blogs will definitely yield trends on who is popular and who is not. However, I have yet to find a blog that I trust to judge music. They often allow me to “try before I buy” which I appreciate, but that’s about it. For me, music is still about the discovery.

    The blog I manage is really meant to screen through the muck and share what I think is decent with a group of 30 or so friends who are over 40 (like me) and don’t have the time to wade through all the crap that inundates these blogs. I don’t claim to be a music critic or writer, but I think I know what good music is.

    Lastly, I find it ironic that a free-lance who contributes to Rolling Stone and Spin has the balls to criticize music blogs. I wouldn’t trust a review from either of these publications, because they often pander to specific artists (especially RS) and give favorable reviews to recordings that I have to come to regard as crap.

    We are not all mindless automatons incapable of judging what is good and what is not. As a good professor once said to me, “Always keep your bullshit detector on.” Today, mine went off loudly.

  37. On 04/28/10 12:58 PM, Chris said:

    I like “scooping”… I get a kick out of the process, even if only to say that “yeah, I have the first review of Hank III’s new album out there,” or whatever (which isn’t to say that I’m just doing it for that reason). But I haven’t made a pattern of dropping 100 words down just for the sake of doing so. I’m explaining my thoughts as best I can in the process… maybe I can’t detail every emotion with the same clarity as freelancers who work for such illustrious journalistic outlets as “Revolver,” but I try… AND because I’m just some dude with a blog, I don’t have a myriad of deadlines I have to make on a daily basis which lends me the time to listen to an album for a day and a half straight after it leaks and drop some thoughts online about it. Call me a dick for it, criticize the scope of the review, whatever… it’s my blog.

    On the other side of the coin is the mp3 for mp3′s sake sites… but for me to criticize the wave (WAVE) of people who are seeking to get on the Hype Machine or Elbo.ws for that rad mp3 traffic would be a lie. I like it, though I can’t say I get much out of it these days, and had both sites neglected to add CB way back in the day I can almost guarantee that the site would have missed out on some of the growth it received as the aggregators’ popularity blossomed.

    I guess what I’m saying is, if you’re going to go on about how the product, as a whole, is suffering – don’t backtrack in the middle of your speech by saying you’d jump in at any moment if the money were right. (Or did I mishear that momentary stumble?) We’re all just doing whatever we feel like it (for the most part)…

    I’m not criticizing here (honestly) because I enjoy the site, have worked with them, and read it on a daily basis, but on Prefix they make it their business to post “album previews” well in advance of a record’s release regardless if there’s actually any words attached to it at the time of its posting. It’s an SEO thing, and that’s their prerogative. Why get pissy over it?

    Also, he gave what was nearly the exact same speech a year ago. I was trying to find it, but the damn googles let me down. Guess it didn’t have enough properly placed keywords, his SEO was off-kilter, or he didn’t say enough “nice” things in it to influence the search engines.

  39. On 04/29/10 9:00 PM, Chris Weingarten’s Harsh Critique Of Music Bloggers | We All Want Someone To Shout For said:

    [...] Sean Cannon over at BuzzGrinder posted a very interesting video of professional music critic Chris Weingarten. The video shows Weingarten speaking at the 140 Character Conference where he basically critiqued took a shit on music bloggers, hypem, twitter, and basically every form of the online blog/hype world. [...]

  41. On 04/30/10 6:59 AM, a musical post on my non-music blog. « Dj Kalkutta said:

    [...] am convinced i did as a profession in a past life. (lol!)  anyway, i digress.  check the video HERE.  (my video plug-in situation is currently being resolved, and you should be able to just check [...]

  43. On 05/3/10 1:03 AM, Chris Weingarten Slams Blogs for Myriad of Journalistic Sins | Fast Food Music said:

    [...] via Chris Weingarten Slams Blogs for Myriad of Journalistic Sins. [...]

  45. On 05/3/10 4:37 PM, Reid said:

    NC nailed it in his comment above. People start music blogs to write about music they like. Why would they bother spending the time writing about music they don’t like? Music magazines review everything so there’s some stuff they like and some stuff they don’t. If I reviewed everything I listened to, I’d give plenty of bad reviews, but I don’t have that kind of time, so I stick to recommending the stuff that I like. But then lazy people like Weingarten interpret that as a lack of bravery.

    I love that we live in a much more positive time. This shows the dinosaur days of Weingarten’s time when music critics flexed their muscles by putting down bands as though saying “U2 sucks” meant anything. In the music blog world, if you don’t like, you don’t write about it, and it’s a lot easier to talk about music without some self-important asshole going on some rant about how “{insert popular band/pop star} IS DESTROYING MUSIC!!”

    One other point that people who rail on all blogs always miss: anyone can start a blog, which means that you have to take some time to filter out the good from the bad. But it also means that people who never would have gotten a single article published because they didn’t know the right people or didn’t have the right experience can now have a voice. And, as someone who grew up with the rock criticism of the 80s, I very much prefer our world now, where people spend time being excited about music, rather than trying to top each other with negativism.

  47. On 05/3/10 5:43 PM, Sean Cannon said:

    the point isn’t just that bloggers should be negative for the sake of being negative. it’s that many folks online are giving bands free passes and knowingly promoting shitty music so they can get more page views.

    and i know for a fact that it does happen. a lot.

  49. On 05/4/10 5:11 AM, N C said:

    @Reid Do you have a music blog?

    & Im a “she” :)

  51. On 05/5/10 11:52 PM, Chris Weingarten Goes Off | The La La Love You Blog said:

    [...] Weingarten Goes Off Posted on May 5, 2010 by lalaloveyoublog Michelle ran across this video over the weekend from rock journalist Chris Weingarten, who Michelle met at this last SXSW. This is [...]

  53. On 05/6/10 12:07 AM, Is SEO killing good writing? « Hudson & Houston said:

    [...] a look at this clip of music journalist Chris Wiengarten at the recent 140 Conference. He believes that SEO (Search [...]

  55. On 05/9/10 11:54 AM, Ryan said:

    No kidding, I actually expected this guy to have a biting argument. Not the case. He comes off like a teenager and an old man at the same time, which is a feat unto itself. His speech just presents another reason why those ailing print magazines need to die out… so guys like him can’t continue to thrive off half-formed arguments. Everyone with a blog is more than capable of that.

  57. On 05/14/10 8:26 PM, John said:

    The guy is good. But good writing is on the way out. Or rather, clarity of thought, and its expression, are on the way out — in long form. I happen to believe texting and tweeting are exceptions to this — used well, they offer opportunities for real precision. But longer forms of writing? Going, going…

    John from The Public Good.

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