To be honest, it’s been years since we bothered to pick up a copy of the New York Press, a barely existent alt-weekly staffed by a bunch of claptrappy contrarian cranks. But we were urged over the weekend to check out their recent cover story on MySpace and the so-called “corporate takeover of online independent music,” and so we did. And now our brain hurts, as this is one of the worst pieces of speculative, ill-informed writing we can remember. Among its many crimes:
- Arguing (we think) that a band member who plugs his or her MySpace page has somehow signed a pact with the devil.
- Positing the theory that Rupert Murdoch’s purchase of MySpace–which is hardly a secret–is somehow a “stealth” takeover that’s unwittingly duping the site’s users.
- Making the claim that “MySpace has also made single releases and CDs practically irrelevant,” and then citing M.I.A.’s recent posting of her “XR2″ track as an example. Whosit what irrelevant now?
- Basing this absurd premise on interviews with a publicist for Friendster, the guy who runs FreeMySpace.com, and someone from Takka Takka.
- Somehow tying the Dixie Chicks into this.
- Actually printing the following sentence: “It then becomes clear that this beautifully independent music world is about as untouched as a Friday night hooker.”
The list goes on and on. We don’t usually harp on one story like this, but this is a stinker of otherworldly proportions. We know they give this rag away for free, but we still want our money back.
TheirSpace [NY Press]
You guys are SO on the 50 Most Loathsome New Yorkers list.
lest we forget…..the great Jim Knipfel wrote for the NYP.
Because, you know, no musicians in the “beautifully independent music world” ever had dreams of major labels and stardom in their heads before that dastardly Rupert Murdoch bought up MySpace and ruined everything.
Hell, I want MY money back just for that cover image. I’ll be needing years of therapy to get rid of that thing.
I keep thinking ‘German engineering’ when I see that cover. The story is awful and even worse is the smug ‘How To’ page. Not funny in any way.
wow, and somehow that ‘how to’ bit needed three people to write it.
“a barely existent alt-weekly staffed by a bunch of claptrappy contrarian cranks.”
This line warmed my heart. I love that I’m not the only one that thinks this way about the loathsome NY Press.