If you don't know, I hate it when music journalist don't do their job right. I used to be a music journalist, and I did a damn good job and worked my ass of to get everything perfect and accurate. Even alcohol is not an exceptional excuse for what
Sara Cardace at the New York Magazine online has done. See for yourself
here.Her article about Lily Allen's show last night...is not entirely true...in fact there are at least seven valid discrepancies with her article. Either Ms. Cardace has not done her proper research, she was drunk when she wrote the article, or she failed as a journalist by barely managing to tell the majority of events in the exact or even, the acceptable, "slightly tweaked" order in which they occurred. But then again going to a free concert as a journalist is so blissful...it's hard to remember everything, huh?
1. She forgot to mention the B&T crowd, especially the creepy guys in scrappy jeans and t-shirts who charged the stage after the show, pushing innocent petite women, to snatch any paper in sight (even if it was not a set list...say like the champagne glass Lily was drinking out of)...in hopes of getting a piece of Ms. Allen. But this is extra information I'd cut for obvious reasons, but good water-cooler conversation.
2. Your use of "awesome"-ness. Are you at a loss for words? Get a dictionary and a thesaurus. You write for New York Magazine! I don't think awesomeness is exceptional unless you write for Nickelodeon Magazine. And if you had to use "awesomeness" don't hyphenate it and put it all in quotations marks. If you can't use the word properly, don't use it at all.
3. There was no guitarist on stage while Lily performed...were you hallucinating? There was a BASSIST though. I don't even think any of Allen's songs have a guitar in it. Learn your instrument names. There was also a keyboardist/mixer guy onstage too if you didn't notice--he had on a snazzy tie.
4. I don't think I'd call Lily's dress hipster-appropriate. Personally, I think she'd sock you in the head if you told her that. She tends to like to wear a variety of "party" dresses when she performs...at times with trainers (British slang for "sneakers")..but on this occasion she was rockin' some nice off-white heels.
5. Ska-tinged...not the word to describe what you should have called "calypso inspired 'LDN'". Overall I think her songs especially "Knock Em Out" has a dancehall vibe to it more than a ska vibe...especially since ska became way overrated and lost its essence after the 2000 fad.
6. What you call "Window Shop" is actually "Nan You're a Window Shopper"...which is a parody of 50 Cent's "Window Shopper" (really it's wonders what wikipedia can tell you)
7. How the hell did you know that Mark Ronson's nickname is "the Cobra Snake" but you didn't know "Nan You're a Window Shopper"? I think that's a little more important that talking about if his "It Girl" is there.
8. Ronson did not DJ after Lily Allen left the stage...Aaron LaCrate did...and the "Sweet Dreams" beat was played during his first set, not at the end of the show.
9. Why did you not mention Domino at all? They were spectacular! Among other fabulous things.
10. I would have subtly included that the show was slightly short with just seven songs and one encore...but since you like to sugar-coat things and mess them up, then obviously you would overlook it.
11. I wish you had a better image taken of Lily, because that image makes her look pudgey...when she really looked fab!
I wish I had time to write a better formatted letter complaining to New York Magazine online about Ms. Cardace's journalistic problems...but I have better things to do. But maybe I'll take some time off the thesis to do it. Cross your fingers!
Take this as a lesson kiddies,
if you want to be a music journalist just because you like watching bands and like to listen to good music...beware...do it right or else I will find your article and tear it shreds...because I was the best of the best...and if I wanted to continue in journalism...it'd be the next Matt Pinfield.
Here's an image of the article..sans Lily's picture and the sad article title of "Lily Allen, Hero at Hiro" (we are not still writing for the highschool newspaper are we?)
