Strands #301 “Festival Of Lights...
Quizzes & Puzzles8 mins ago
Pete Doherty
16 Answers
I have been a music fanatic for over forty years, and have read the NME for almost all that time.
I fully appreciate that it is no longer talking to me - it's current 'comic' format for the hard-of-thinking runs no risk of impinging on its readership's three-second attention span - but I buy it because as a music freelance, it features bands in whom I have an interest.
But do they really need to slaver over that whey-faced loon that is Pete Doherty/ They trumpet about being ownders of the car he chose to exit from Wormwood Scrubs, and then devote three pages, mostly to his dodgy 'art', but also to his pointless boring ramblings.
Is this The Emperor's new Clothes? The guy sells very few records, he is as physically appealing as a tramp - those fingernails! - and he talks like what he is, a bewildered smack-head chancer who believes the constant nonsense dripped in his ears by the 'cool' people that he is the musical and literary equivalent of John Lennon.
Someone tell this man to stop pandering to the disgraceful needs of sewer jorunalism, write - if able - some decent songs, and justify at least part of the acreage of newprint he attracts by showing some vestige of artistic merit.
The difference between this scruffy sub-literate fop and a musician like Amy Winehouse is - she doesn't go looking for the coverage of her trainwreck life - how many interviews has she given in the last year?
Doherty has his 'fame', his scruffy clothes, his spotty face and his dirty nails, and precius little else.
Thank God pop stars are not role models!
I fully appreciate that it is no longer talking to me - it's current 'comic' format for the hard-of-thinking runs no risk of impinging on its readership's three-second attention span - but I buy it because as a music freelance, it features bands in whom I have an interest.
But do they really need to slaver over that whey-faced loon that is Pete Doherty/ They trumpet about being ownders of the car he chose to exit from Wormwood Scrubs, and then devote three pages, mostly to his dodgy 'art', but also to his pointless boring ramblings.
Is this The Emperor's new Clothes? The guy sells very few records, he is as physically appealing as a tramp - those fingernails! - and he talks like what he is, a bewildered smack-head chancer who believes the constant nonsense dripped in his ears by the 'cool' people that he is the musical and literary equivalent of John Lennon.
Someone tell this man to stop pandering to the disgraceful needs of sewer jorunalism, write - if able - some decent songs, and justify at least part of the acreage of newprint he attracts by showing some vestige of artistic merit.
The difference between this scruffy sub-literate fop and a musician like Amy Winehouse is - she doesn't go looking for the coverage of her trainwreck life - how many interviews has she given in the last year?
Doherty has his 'fame', his scruffy clothes, his spotty face and his dirty nails, and precius little else.
Thank God pop stars are not role models!
Answers
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Here here! I can't stand the guy! How ANYONE could ever think about sleeping with him, with his dirty fingernails, bad teeth, bad breath, looking like he needs a good wash is beyond me.
I had never heard of him or his 'music' until he started dating Kate and I still never have had the 'pleasure' of hearing his music played on radio, only when he's busy making a complete arse of himself at whichever festival he's been invited to play at.
As an aside, why is your name at the bottom of a strange AB link I posted in Technology?
I had never heard of him or his 'music' until he started dating Kate and I still never have had the 'pleasure' of hearing his music played on radio, only when he's busy making a complete arse of himself at whichever festival he's been invited to play at.
As an aside, why is your name at the bottom of a strange AB link I posted in Technology?
I'd bet all I'm worth Pete Doherty can write better songs than you ever could. He can also string a much more coherent sentence together and his writing doesn't send the average reader to sleep.
I always thought popstar bashing was a right reserved only to the redtops, musical publications have every right to tell the artists side of a story. I reckon you should maybe follow Wu's advice and find a publication more suited to your needs.
I always thought popstar bashing was a right reserved only to the redtops, musical publications have every right to tell the artists side of a story. I reckon you should maybe follow Wu's advice and find a publication more suited to your needs.
Screecheeboy - since you are thus far the lone voice of dissent on this thread concerning PD - I feel I must answer to you first -
Your point about his songwriting versus mine is open to serioud debate. As for the coherence, or lack of it, of his sentence construction versus my own, and the implication that my sentences send the average (is there such a thing) reader to sleep - i should point out that I was writing for the NME before Pete Docherty was born, and I have enough framed covers on my walls and money from writing fees in the bank to know that 'average' readers find my writing on the subject of pop musicperfectly acceptable thank you.
Popstar bashing by the red tops is usually confined to irrelavent nonsense about their perceived 'impact' on young people. My point is - Pete Docherty has little impact at allon anyone, certainly nothing like the proprtions that demand the coverage given over to him in NME this week - including the bumping of the advertised cover feature to next week's issue.
As for your final point - NME does uit my needs. As a freelance music wreiter, they offer me paid employment periodically, and their concert adverts are second-to-none, which is vital information for me to fulful my commitments.
Thank you for your input.
Your point about his songwriting versus mine is open to serioud debate. As for the coherence, or lack of it, of his sentence construction versus my own, and the implication that my sentences send the average (is there such a thing) reader to sleep - i should point out that I was writing for the NME before Pete Docherty was born, and I have enough framed covers on my walls and money from writing fees in the bank to know that 'average' readers find my writing on the subject of pop musicperfectly acceptable thank you.
Popstar bashing by the red tops is usually confined to irrelavent nonsense about their perceived 'impact' on young people. My point is - Pete Docherty has little impact at allon anyone, certainly nothing like the proprtions that demand the coverage given over to him in NME this week - including the bumping of the advertised cover feature to next week's issue.
As for your final point - NME does uit my needs. As a freelance music wreiter, they offer me paid employment periodically, and their concert adverts are second-to-none, which is vital information for me to fulful my commitments.
Thank you for your input.
Andy, whilst I agree he's a pretty pathetic character with questionable talent, I don't really think he's guilty of seeking the attention. He never asked to be hounded by tabloid scumbags 24 hours a day, and regarding any interviews or other promotion he's done for music papers, surely that's just part of the job of being a 'pop star' isn't it?
The problem is he's become such a sort of joke figure that the tabloids still report his every action even though he's not going out with Kate Moss any more and hardly anyone can name a song he's written in the last 5 years.
He's not actively pursuing that coverage in a Peter and Katie kind of way though is he? I never read the NME so can't comment on its coverage of him and whether it differs from what's in the tabloids.
The problem is he's become such a sort of joke figure that the tabloids still report his every action even though he's not going out with Kate Moss any more and hardly anyone can name a song he's written in the last 5 years.
He's not actively pursuing that coverage in a Peter and Katie kind of way though is he? I never read the NME so can't comment on its coverage of him and whether it differs from what's in the tabloids.
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I totally agree but I can't say too much as my job consists of selling their music. But I rationalise my selling crap by also being able to sell great great works of of album art. NME has unfortunatlel never appealed to me and I am 24, im not much of a modern muso more of a classic. Doherty has a massive following but I dont see the appeal myself. Im glad your still around Andy, its nice to know theres still some sanity around in the music side of life.
Zacmaster - thanks for your kind words.
I have no issue at all with any generation wanting their own bands and artists - Amy Winehouse is today's Dusty Springfield, Dusty was that generation's Billie Halliday, and so on and so forth. For the record, I enjoy most new bands, simply because they are new and exciting, and singing to people who are just discovering the wonderful magic of music, and I wish all of them well.
My rant about Doherty is that the NME devote a ludicrous amount of space - and a cover - to his childish scribblings and his tedious conversation, when as an artist and a musician, he serves neither.
The way they ramble on about the fact that Doherty chose to ride in their photographer's car, rather than go with a pap - massive choice there then! Why didn;t his record label, or any of his 'friends' turn up to meet him? He's a moderately talented musician with dreadful personal hygene and a reputation for drug intake that far outstrips any adoration for his self-pitying overblown musical output.
There are very many artists out there deserving of the coverage he got today - NME should be looking to foster genuine talent and individuality, not pandering to an immature youth with a seriously distorted view of his own relevence to the world of music. I'd have had a lot more respect if Doherty had told the NME he would be interviewed when he had some new music to talk about - as in already made - not simply thought about and demo'd by his band.
I have no issue at all with any generation wanting their own bands and artists - Amy Winehouse is today's Dusty Springfield, Dusty was that generation's Billie Halliday, and so on and so forth. For the record, I enjoy most new bands, simply because they are new and exciting, and singing to people who are just discovering the wonderful magic of music, and I wish all of them well.
My rant about Doherty is that the NME devote a ludicrous amount of space - and a cover - to his childish scribblings and his tedious conversation, when as an artist and a musician, he serves neither.
The way they ramble on about the fact that Doherty chose to ride in their photographer's car, rather than go with a pap - massive choice there then! Why didn;t his record label, or any of his 'friends' turn up to meet him? He's a moderately talented musician with dreadful personal hygene and a reputation for drug intake that far outstrips any adoration for his self-pitying overblown musical output.
There are very many artists out there deserving of the coverage he got today - NME should be looking to foster genuine talent and individuality, not pandering to an immature youth with a seriously distorted view of his own relevence to the world of music. I'd have had a lot more respect if Doherty had told the NME he would be interviewed when he had some new music to talk about - as in already made - not simply thought about and demo'd by his band.
Greedyfly - thank you also for your kind words.
I have to call it as i see it - in conversation, in print, and on here - and I have absolutely no time for Pete Doherty and his non-career. He is the very worst kind of 'celebrity' - being famous for very little, and today simply underlines my opinion of him. When he cleans up, as a drug addict, and as a human being, I will be delighted to re-assess my view.
I have to call it as i see it - in conversation, in print, and on here - and I have absolutely no time for Pete Doherty and his non-career. He is the very worst kind of 'celebrity' - being famous for very little, and today simply underlines my opinion of him. When he cleans up, as a drug addict, and as a human being, I will be delighted to re-assess my view.
Since I don't have to, I don't read the NME and haven't since about 2000. When I last saw a copy, I was appalled at how terrible it had become.
I stick to The Word and Classic Rock these days, with an occasional Q. Q's gone downhill a lot in the last few years (top 100 top 100 lists, anyone?) and Classic Rock does quite often annoy me with its lazy recycling of cover stars and overly musically conservative way. Being completely honest, I generally get better info on bands online than in print these days.
Pete Doherty... Well, I forced myself to listen to a whole song once, and couldn't believe how imcompetant it was. It's not just that I don't like it, it's actually musically inept.
I stick to The Word and Classic Rock these days, with an occasional Q. Q's gone downhill a lot in the last few years (top 100 top 100 lists, anyone?) and Classic Rock does quite often annoy me with its lazy recycling of cover stars and overly musically conservative way. Being completely honest, I generally get better info on bands online than in print these days.
Pete Doherty... Well, I forced myself to listen to a whole song once, and couldn't believe how imcompetant it was. It's not just that I don't like it, it's actually musically inept.
I'm still reading the NME every week at the age of 27 even though I like you Andy am aware that it is no longer designed to appeal to me. What I find slightly peculiar these days is that whilst the layout has become increasingly comic like with an emphasis on soundbite journalism, the actual breadth of music has become wider. Whilst the latest haircut band is still fawned over as it ever was, your much more likely to see reviews and comment on noise bands like F*ck Buttons, or the latest folk Americana from the foothills of the Appalachian mountains.
Doherty though. It's a tricky one. He's probably the first of the teenage idols to exist in a time when celebrity pop culture defines their lives. Your Cobains and Morrisons never had to deal with a media that was quite as rabid and calculating as it is now, otherwise I daresay they would have been in the same boat.
I think his music has a certain wide eyed charm and deserves recognition, but it is his appeal to the Indie youth and his freewheeling fame that is more interesting. They can't hear enough about him, and NME are as in debt to the new celebrity culture as Heat or OK. I wouldn't give him as many column inches, but then my original comment was that I don't believe the NME is aimed at me anymore, so can i find that entirely surprising?
Doherty though. It's a tricky one. He's probably the first of the teenage idols to exist in a time when celebrity pop culture defines their lives. Your Cobains and Morrisons never had to deal with a media that was quite as rabid and calculating as it is now, otherwise I daresay they would have been in the same boat.
I think his music has a certain wide eyed charm and deserves recognition, but it is his appeal to the Indie youth and his freewheeling fame that is more interesting. They can't hear enough about him, and NME are as in debt to the new celebrity culture as Heat or OK. I wouldn't give him as many column inches, but then my original comment was that I don't believe the NME is aimed at me anymore, so can i find that entirely surprising?
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