John Robb gave us a mention on his personal blog after reading FUC51's Guardian piece. It was only a matter of time wasn't it?
He wrote: "I don’t know if anyone saw that rant in the Guardian about Manchester living in the past by Fuc51 but day by day I’m hearing band after band that proves this rather elevated pub rant wrong."
John has a point. There are loads of cool things going on in the city.
However, the irony doesn't escape us when being chided by someone who fawned over Freebass recently and gave us the literary delights of 'The Stone Roses And The Resurrection Of British Pop', 'The Charlatans: We Are Rock', 'The Nineties: What The Fuck Was That All About' and 'The North Will Rise Again- Manchester Music City 1976-1996'. Oh, and that lovely article about vital new Manchester act Rowetta in the Guardian.
Death To Trad Rock, eh?
He's a cock - the worst of all Madchester dinosaurs and the one that has milked it more consistently than anyone else.
ReplyDeleteBe assured - wherever there is a cliched cockswaggering Manc band that's threating to break the NME, John Robb is down there fellating them hard.
Goldblade are fucking rubbish too.
i remember a bit he wrote for City Life in which he tried to re-brand the stretch from Big Hands and Kro to The Temple and Central Library...(drum roll)...(ready?)...
ReplyDeleteThe Southern Quarter...
didn't really stick though did it?
I'm sick of people knocking Gold Blend. Here's their world cup single, ye of little faith!!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyMIXn9Sh0U
We built this City on cock and dole...
ReplyDeleteI recently saw him wanking off over WU LYF on facebook. Another cunt jumping on the bandwagon!
ReplyDeleteWU LYF...for those that don't know, are Manchester's most exciting underground band. They are ignoring the press, and selling cds to the hordes of A&R men for indecent amounts of money. Good on em'
I go to as many DIY nights as I can possibly go to during the week, and I never see John Robb.
Probably because he's too busy being a Manchester "commentator"
Just discovered your blog - after seeing the Guardian article.
ReplyDeleteThing I have to ask myself is: why you need to define yourself with anti-Factism! Can't you just do your own thing instead? Just seems like you're actually giving Factism a backhanded compliment. I'm not a Factist myself, I moved on a long time ago, so why don't you?
"Factist".........Lets just drop that one right now please. This blog is mint! It's almost as though people in bands in Manchester are afraid to say "look that period was an amazing period creatively but were talented and creative enough to start something else that doesn't involve former glories!. It's fuckers like Robb that keep cunts like Shaun Ryder and co on tour milking every last drop from the Mancunion cash cow!
ReplyDeleteHow odd you seem to have edited out all the pro Robb replies out from this non debate!
ReplyDeleteI go to a lot of DIY gigs and gigs in Manchester and I see a lot more of the likes of Robb there than any other writers. If you want to call him giving a band he likes a good review 'wanking' then that's your confusion! I think Robb trades a lot less on Madchester than, let's say, Dave Haslam and your dear self who seems to be obsessed by the period.
Thank fuck for writers like him and younger writers like Kelly Murray and David Sue who don't hide behind screens (although we know who you are) and write about what they like instead of bitter ramblings.
Wu Lyf's site's a bit Trashbat tho, innit?
ReplyDeleteHi anon - we've definitely not edited any pro-Robb replies - what would be the point? You'll see plenty of negative / opposing views in the comments throughout the blog
ReplyDeleteHe wasn't giving them a good "review" - he was namedropping WU LYF to seem cool.
ReplyDeleteIf he liked them that much, why stop at a facebook comment, why not not do a guardian piece on them? oh.. he's too busy writing about rowetta!
WU lYF don't need the backing of cunts like John Robb...they are laughing at all these industry types. and rightly so.
One day WU LYF will have to show themselves, then the world will realise there's nothing much there worth hearing and they're not the next Funkadelic, Spacemen 3, Sly and the Family Stone, Wu Tang Clan, MC5 etc etc whatever, just some overrated kids with not much to say.
ReplyDelete...Laughing all the way to this week's NME. Funny that. "Buy shit, yeah?"
ReplyDeleteWU LYF might be "some overrated kids with nothing to say" ...or maybe they'll go on to release one of the albums of the decade.
ReplyDeleteLets wait and see.
The Manchester music scene is incredible right now - a wealth of talented artists making music not in the least bit influenced by factory. or madchester. and yet every fucking lazy journalist manages to mention the past. somehow.
which is why fuc51 is vital, its like one big fucYou to the old guard - the manchester mafia, determined to hang around like a bad smell.
its a fucYou to all the people that will happily spend money on that shitty parklife yawnfest.. but never take the chance to go see Airship, or Young British Artists, or Mazes.
I don't buy into this argument that fuc51 should be talking about the future - plenty of other great manchester blogs do that (pigeon post for example) - this one exists primarily to attack the nostalgia trip.
and the fact that so many people comment on here. and get angry. and talk about it in pubs, it clearly serves a purpose, whatever position you take.
Good post, anonymous - we agree.
ReplyDeleteAnd yeah - if anyone wants to know what's good out there, try hitting the likes of Pigeon Post et al and seeing where they take you, it's not our job...
I'm not sure why there has to be a 'FucYou' to the old guard as you call them, the old and the new can sit side by side and people can go and see and buy whomever and whatever they please. I'd say a big 'FucYou' to anyone that tries to tell me different.
ReplyDeleteAs far as I can tell the point of this blog is to call out the journalists who reference Manchester's past continually, not to tell the 'old guard' they have to leave the party and retire. They have a right to do what they please, and certainly a right to exist and still make music or whatever.
One thing worth mentioning, if the next gen are so outraged by Manchester's past being repeated etc, then isn't the past also serving a purpose in firing up the younger lot to rebel against it? An inspiration in some ways?
'One day WU LYF will have to show themselves, then the world will realise there's nothing much there worth hearing and they're not the next Funkadelic, Spacemen 3, Sly and the Family Stone, Wu Tang Clan, MC5 etc etc whatever, just some overrated kids with not much to say. '
ReplyDeleteBang on, plenty of bands around doing far more ambitious, coherent work that pisses all over these jokers from a high distance. If these were a normal looking group of lads from somewhere like Burnley rather than a hoody wearing up their own arse set of pricks from Manchester there'd be no audience.
I wandered onto here by mistake after reading the Guardian blog. It was a poorly written article but it somehow piqued my interest. I thought maybe there was some humour involved but it seems to be a hornet's nest of jealousy and a lack of ideas from the usual clutch of losers you find in any city.
ReplyDeleteI checked John Robb's blog and as with most of his stuff I found it articulate, interesting and inspiring and enthusiastic about new bands which is something that could not be said about this blog which offers nothing contructive just badly aimed rants.
Robb also seems to have broader music taste than just Manchester and whistle I don't like all the music he writes about like many people I enjoy his slant on it.
I think its really sad that being enthusiastic about a new band and writing about is called 'fellating'. It's a word that you seem to be obsessed with, it's kind of telling really.
Until you come up with something contructive, or interesting or even to dare put your name to your words you will be very difficult to take seriously. Just another coward with nothing to say hiding in blog world.
James Milner
I wonder what this blog is like on mushrooms.
ReplyDeleteJohn Robb, the ubiquituous guest of Radio 5 Live shows.
ReplyDeleteWhen he turned up on Nicky Campbells' R5 Live phone-in after Malcolm McLaren's death I nearly choked on my cornflakes.
I'm not from Bury but I quite like this blog.
THE James Milner?
ReplyDelete'(although we know who you are)'
ReplyDeleteha ha.