bogusman

Hi Mike! I didn't chime in because I've just listened to the album: I like the sound of NIN at times, but I can't stomach Reznor's personality; it feels like a too poorly concealed joke to me, and I also struggle with the way he sings and his melodic taste...

Great review, truly! Perfectly suited for this not-so-perfect album, but one that exudes courage and a willingness to challenge oneself in exemplary ways. With the best tracks (and ideas) from this and the subsequent Lust For Life, I believe it could make Iggy's perfect album, but things turned out differently, and in the end, there's really not much to complain about...

"that’s enough, it’s impossible to establish a dialogue here... I’m out, I have better things to do..." AHA AHA AHA AH AH AH! please! it’s clear you don’t know how to respond to me. well. I also have other reviews to comment on. :-) bye!

tell me when and how I committed the gross mistake of grouping my interlocutors into another YOU...

YOU??????? but YOU who??? I speak for myself, not for others! read again what I wrote, jack frusciante, and let me know where and when I defined myself as "alternative" and in relation to what!!! just because I don’t like dire straits? come on!

I'm also reminded of groups belonging to (or that belonged to) underground scenes that based their experimentation on solid technical foundations, such as Sonic Youth, James Chance, John Zorn, or more recently Tortoise.

Is it really possible that as soon as one states a lack of appreciation for a group that plays flawlessly, they must be labeled as "alternative"? As if no mainstream group (just to be clear) has ever experimented... and as if in the underground scene, they let blindfolded orangutans play the instruments... This, in my opinion, is a witch hunt mentality. Personally, I find the admiration afforded to very talented musicians who rely a bit too much on technical prowess at the expense of a more experimental approach to be exaggerated; there have been (and still are) great bands and musicians who have managed to combine the two approaches, not starve, and not remain "small heroes" (to throw out random examples, the early Roxy Music, or later the Police, or the Pixies who enjoyed a certain visibility and weren’t really that obscure).

I don't know if the PF with Barrett would have produced a better or worse discography than the one they left us, and it's also difficult to determine the actual weight of SYD in the making of this album. What remains is the fact that (beyond SYD's influence) this record possesses an alchemy, a creativity, a taste for the bizarre that could very well be the result of a magical moment that ALL the band members were experiencing. Then history unfolded as it did, Barrett "faded away," and we were left with a handful of albums from a group that did nothing (with infinite class and stylistic rigor) but revolve around the same ideas for at least a decade... Sure, then everyone has their own scale of values, and some see The Wall or DSOTM as the Masterpiece of History, but if one seeks Ideas, surprises, and genuine "epiphanies" in music... well, with this album they almost reached the final destination... :-)

"but if terms like Universality and Perfection are used in relation to them, what terms should be coined for characters like Miles Davis, Frank Zappa, Brian Eno???" and still, no one has answered this question yet.

It seems to me that I understand the negative judgments made, in this case, against Dire Straits, are not so much based on the fact that they sold millions of records, but rather on the notion that their music might sound, to some ears accustomed to certain sounds, shall we say, a bit cold and technical; it’s actually the reviewer (and those who defend them) who considers this data as a guarantee of musical quality. Read the posts carefully. As for "objective" data, I would leave that at home... :-) "You alternatives"???? What does that even mean??? "Commercial," "alternative," and "committed": these are terms that really lack meaning! : D