MORE ON NEW MUSIC SEMINAR '94
Fashion, Fickleness and Foolish (reviewers) a
- Bob Gajarsky
(A continuation of the report of NMS '94. Last issue looked at some of the hot bands and news from the Seminar. This week focuses more on editorial content)
The two tones for the evening's fashion show were both set in the past. One, the (continued) grunge look, reflects the boom of the Northwest. With an obvious mismatch between sneakers, pants and shirt, the tone of independence and rebellion for the evening was set. One of the models appeared, looking like Kurt Cobain, with a woman. The catch? Both were wearing a white bridal outfit, identical except for the shoes. An interesting little twist...
The other trend which was offered for the evening was a throwback to the early 60's - bright colors and skirts similar to the musical girl groups of the era. Orange, turquoise, yellow and lime green were all proudly worn by the evening's models in a technicolor splash. These also tended to have skirts rising a few inches higher on the leg than the current fads.
A personal moment for me, reflecting on the perceived fickleness of the clothing industry, occurred when I was waiting for the models to enter the runaway. I had procured a front row space when the woman to my left started a conversation with, "You got a good spot; what magazine do you work for?" I answered "Consumable" and the snobbish look on her face echoed her words, "Oh - I've never heard of THAT" and turned away. For my own curiousity, I asked what magazine she worked for (it was a fashion magazine that won't be mentioned here) - and it hit me. There's a good chance, through the on-line subscriptions and newsgroups that Consumable Online hits, that our "unknown" circulation is larger than hers. And, that simply because it wasn't a chance to move up in her perceived world, that I (or other Consumable reporters) weren't worth talking to. Did her ego need to be stroked? Possibly.
Which leads to the next topic. There were numerous music 'zines included with admission to the show. So, in between seminars and running around New York City, I took the opportunity to read reviews offered by others. I made the simple assumption that I was an average person who knew nothing of the band in question, but something about *some* bands in music.
The level of the reviews astounded me. There were far too many reviews that didn't even attempt to tell you what a band's music was like, but seemed an egotistical way for the reviewer to use as many descriptive adjectives as possible in 250 words. I found myself not wanting to learn more about *any* of these bands, because a reviewer just didn't give an indication of what the group was about. If it's an indie band, there's a real good chance no one has heard of them - so making the only comparison to its previous, 1000 copies pressed single really won't do anything to further the group's career. A notable exception to this is the CMJ New Music Monthly magazine; they present reviews in an easy-to-read, informative format that neither insults the dedicated music fan or discards the casual alternative fan. Between the self-absorbed world of the woman from the fashion magazine and some of these music reviewers is a message. Something about not taking yourself too seriously. Of course, I'm sure some of our reviews (including my own) don't go up to snuff, but that's the way it goes.
Oh, don't get me wrong - the NMS had some wonderful bands, exciting industry news and a brilliant keynote speaker in Danny Goldberg, Atlantic Records president. Goldberg's speech actually sent chills down my spine - he touched on Kurt Cobain and the freedom to express yourself, touched on the fact that there IS racism in the music industry and why we (everyone - not blacks, whites, or any other ethnic background) must join together to fight it and how the music industry has a social responsibility to help others. And it was a lot of fun. But, sometimes, it's fun to try and look at the world through someone else's eyes - and not your own.
