You know, I don't intentionally go out searching for material from other music journalists to criticse, but it just seems to be open season right now. Check this appalling piece of music journalism:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/dizzee-rascal-i-still-get-the-bullshit-that-black-boys-get-783288.html
Sarcastic? Attempting to inject some comedy into proceedings? Admits he can't be arsed to think up good questions (well, he admits he's going to give up, meaning he hasn't held Dizzee's attention, so the implication is there)? This is terrible.
Now speaking from experience, Dylan Mills isn't an easy interviewee. He does come across as disinterested and rather irritated with the fact that he has to be there in front of you, answering your questions as if under interrogation. He admitted during my interview that he understands the role of the press, and just does it because he has to. Fair enough.
Now, where Cole went wrong (bearing in mind that I definitely understand that sometimes interviewees have bad days) is that he never engaged with Dizzee. He didn't talk about music for a start, and if he did, he didn't follow it up because he wanted something jucier, something more tabloid or sensationalist. Now, this means, that the interview should never have been printed, or even commissioned in the first place. Dizzee Rascal becomes animate, interested and respectful once you're talking about his music, or any music. He lives for music. He can't start his day without it. He is, without a shadow of a doubt, the most passionate musician I've interviewed about music itself. This was our common ground - I enjoyed my time with Dizzee Rascal, and I believe the feeling was mutual. For Cole to get sarcastic because he wasn't getting the responses he wanted is unprofessional and condascending to Independent readers.
Once I get the PDF of my Rascal piece for Playmusic from the relevant people, I will link to it/post it here for comparison. Frankly, my article blows this professional journalist's out of the water. Do we REALLY still want to read shit like this? REALLY??
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