...Brent DiCrescenzo?Much derided critic of the pre-saccharine Pitchfork(media), legend to few, Brent DiCrescenzo was the most interesting thing to happen music criticism since... forever. Now, this is no criticism to Pitchfork, which remains a source of excellent music and has spawned an entire generation of slowly circling blog-hawks (ourselves included) that seek to feed off the scraps... but, and there is always a but, there was a time when the writing had a little more veracity. And that, primarily, was due to Brent DiCrescenzo.
At the time of his libellous To The 5 Boroughs review (now edited - you can read the original here), for which Pitchfork was subsequently pursued with legal action, Brent DiCrescenzo was the subject of a lot hate articles (eg the above and, for example), especially in relation to the fact that the article contained false (hence libellous) information and was not a conventional album review.
Well, fuck all that. This guy was one of the only writers (and it wasn't just him) who was able to make you actually feel the record. Know what it was like. You know, show, don't tell. If metaphor as a linguistic device is acceptable for critique in literature, then I don't really see why it can't be so in music criticism. OK, he wasn't perfect but the boy has charisma.
I used to read those reviews for fun. And now, if I am honest, I can't really remember the last time I read every word of a Pitchfork review. One of my favourites was actually by Nick Sylvester but please tell me if these don't tell you exactly how these records sound.
Nick Sylvester : Audioslave - Out of Exile
Brent DiCrescenzo : Nine Inch Nails - The Fragile
Way way back in January 2006, he wrote an article predicting the rise and rise of 60s girl pop. Ahead-of-the-curve. So, we (and I assume Ben is with me) the few, salute you. Oh, and check these Best Coast/Dum Dum Girls/Vivian Girls tracks, they are SWEEEEET!
Best Coast : Something in the Way
Dum Dum Girls : Jail La La
Vivian Girls : He's Gone
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