art, music, society

Media Watch

I spent this weekend in Liverpool, and despite it’s City of Culture status for 2008, I can’t help but concur with the Wombats’ sentiments in the first line of this song:

Anyway, the hours I spent traveling allowed me to dissect the weekend’s written media content and by Jeebus was there some Toss drizzled with waffle and a side portion of blah. Here’s a snippet of some of the clangers I spotted…

First up, I had to laugh at NME this week. Firstly because they seemingly did a ram-raiding job on our site i.e. drove their shitty little Ford Fiesta of a journalist into our palatial site and brain-raped us! As you will know, we did a review of the Pepys the other week and waxed lyrically about the Nu New Cross scene and low-and-pilferers-behold, NME run an identi-kit article this month.

Secondly, I spotted this comedy gold in the NME Ad section: “Drummer required for London-based punk rock band 18-25. Influences Kings of Leon, The Fratellis and Oasis“. I have only one thing to say to this…

The second publication that I trawled through was Private Eye…whilst the thought of Ian Hislop makes me judder and convulse in disgust, I have to admit that I chortle like a German at Oktoberfest with two wenches on his lap when I read Hislop’s 6th form-esque, finger-pointing and general sarky bastard of a magazine. This issue I particularly enjoyed this tracking of the Daily Mail’s top drawer and consistent reporting:

“Low-energy light bulbs can trigger epilepsy” – Daily Mail 25 June 2007

“Energy-saving light bulbs can cause migraines” – Daily Mail 2 Jan 2008

“Low-energy light bulbs ‘can damage your skin’” – Daily Mail 5 Jan 2008

“Free gifts for every reader – 2 free energy-saving light bulbs” – Daily Mail 19 Jan 2008.

Finally, I turn my attention to Dave Sexton of the Evening Standard (which for those who aren’t in the know, is the bulked out version of the London Lite). Anyway, Mr Sexton made a comment relating to the near record sale of a painting by Francis Bacon at Christies. I doubt Bacon will be losing too much sleep over it in his grave as he already holds the record with another of his paintings. He highlighted Bacon’s quote (apparently albeit this is not a quote that I can find anywhere on the internet), and I paraphrase, that ‘we come from nothing and we die as nothing’ and alluded that to sell a painting for £23.6m is hardly nothing.

Whilst I accept that Sexton’s comment is indirect praise for Bacon’s “violent” work, I think he’s missing the point. I think that if he understood Bacon’s wider thoughts on life and especially wealth, that Bacon would probably be disgusted with some uber-rich tosser buying his work to hang in private, away from the prying eyes of the public. Secondly, on a pedantic note, the fact that Bacon’s dead means that he can hardly dive into the sales proceeds like Scrooge McDuck can he Sexton?

There was an article about the Colony Room (one of Bacon’s favourite haunts) in Timeout the other week, but don’t read that…read this instead, it’s much better on the same topic (it also smells a bit like Timeout may have robbed that site I have linked to for their article!.

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