yeah, that's the sort of great article you'd expect from the new yorker. i will read it and expand on it later tonight in my weblog.

http://www.stinkzone.com/weblog/

great music writing should stand on its own as simply good writing. a good music writer focuses as much on the music, as on the role it plays in the community and pop culture. the reality is that most music critics write about music -- not because they can't make music -- but because they can't write.

the best music writers usually write about a wide range of topics, only one of which is music. like Alex Ross -- author of that New Yorker piece -- good music writers tend to have a sociological perspective, which makes the writing enjoyable and relevant to people who don't necessarily listen to the music.

in light of the current situation in hip hop journalism -- jay hit it right on the head -- i have taken it upon myself to partake in some much needed "regulation". i am going to select various articles from different mainstream sources -- ones that strike me as misinformed, self-serving, and/or dogmatic -- then send the writer an open letters inviting them to discuss their articles and related issues at my weblog. it won't be pretty.

of course, most writers will balk at the prospect of accountability. and i will certainly come across as hip hop's biggest asshole... but somebody's got to do it.

i have already written a critique of an article written by author Adam Mansbach, and sent him an open letter to respond to my critique. i doubt he will show up. but at least he knows someone is holding him to a higher standard. hip hop journalists need to regulate themselves.

anyway, keep up the great work jay... oh, and jay... how about hooking me up with a link on your sidebar over there? i ain't going away any time soon. peace....

dude, i actually attended a publicity meeting the other day and the sentence "well, if {some stupid band i'd never heard of} is added to the bill, it's a guaranteed feature article in the new york times. kalefa LOVES them," was uttered in dead seriousness.

i smirked and nodded.

yeah, Kelefa Sanneh. He may be on his way to becoming the new Toure.

the new Toure . . . ROTFL

if only you guys knew.....

i've read some of kelefa's writing, but it seems pretty innocuous. can anyone remember a particularly misguided or ridiculous article he has written?

yeah, simon reynolds (who is actually a pretty good writer) told me about toure -- and that toure's book was a real "mindfuck" -- but when i checked out the book it was like reading a cross between some bad open poetry, standard issue music history, and a loopy horrorscope.

wow, have you seen this? chuck d. vs. toure...

http://www.toure.com/attack.html

i'll bet toure will respond if i dis one of his articles and then call him out.

Eric: I'm half-joking about Sanneh, he's clearly not in the same league as Toure, whose wackness is the stuff of legend.

But the Sanneh pieces I've read in the Times were grasping at straws much like Toure was in that link, describing some new movement or trend that makes for a catchy premise, but failing to convince me that the trend actually exists.

LOL... jay, you are the OG of this gonzo hip hop thang.

gotchya on sanneh. he did seem a little fluffy in the sunday times. but someone's gotta do it, right?... i mean: write sophisticated feature-length ads, that is.

oh yeah... adam mansbach sent me an email and it sounds like he will be down for some discussion on his article and my critique. could be interesting.

this is one of the most interesting posts i have read in quite some time. kind of one of the reasons i myself, though a journalist by trade, often despise music journalism and criticism. i hate reading puff pieces all the time...and often wonder where is the criticism. but i also think you guys are onto some new revelations in this thread...worthy of analysis and discussion. But when I read this in the RS article you pointed to: "It's partly a matter of skills; Eminem can rap circles around the competition." I was just like what the f****!

Keep up the good work you're doing over here jay and if you ever see me half stepping out there in the world of black arts and culture criticism you bring it to my attention. i mean that will all seriousness. i like the way your mind grasps these issues...a lot.

Hi K,

This is your coursin, just lost your contact but please to go through articles and would love you to contact me.

This is Pawusu! from the Gambia.

I love reading your articles, try coming home to do something in the Gambian music scene.

god bless

pawusu

For Kelefa Sanneh

Mr. Kelefa Sanneh,
I just read your 1/18/04 artilce in the NT Times. "The Sweet Sounds of Really Bad Singing". I would love to chanllenge you one of the singers you claim is bad. I will put up the "bad singer" againgst any singer you want in a dozen or so more categories of singing ( love ballad, sea-chanty, narrative, love song, gospel, blues, jazz etc) I will take one singer and you pick another singer and we agree to a a minimum of a dozen formats of singing and see whose singer comes up first. Nice contest, rigtht?

Sincerely,
Michael Trowbidge
michael.trowbridge@verizon.net

lmao at Kalefah saneh. This is what happens when you get eminem groupies in high power places a la neil strauss, robert christgau. Talk about generalising" eminem can rap circles around the competition". So he is not merely the best, but the best by a distance. Whatever. Keep that groupie love in check. I wish writers who studu eminem word for word would do the same with other rappers, cause you know they dont. eminem is a one trick wonder.

Does anybody read Rashod Ollison, the pop music critic at The Baltimore Sun? Any thoughts on his stuff?