on not being chumps about the charts

[dubdobdee.livejournal.com]

me semi-defending elvis costello's biggest hit: not sure i'm making a particularly remarkable general point, but there you go

Comments

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Well "rather skewed" is "10 years since I read it"!

I think at the time I first read it (when it first came out, or just after), being very keen on the UK stuff he is rubbish on, I took away the idea that he was a grumpy old sod when it came to cleverness and the rock scene after punk. This stayed with me for my second reading, when I was getting into all the old soul stuff he really loves and paying less attention to the wrong bits.

I do think that's his not-so-secret argument - I like the way he gives the chart position of every entry!

[dubdobdee.livejournal.com]

i think he's very conflicted -- he is certainly very anti "prog" in the old-skool or the glam or the popu sense, but his favourite band EVBER is the who, and what he likes is townshend's intelligence

maybe it's "intelligence" vs "cleverness"? (and i think he's sort of right, but his tastes and prejudices somewhat obscure how he's right)