Discerning critic at Film.com first with inevitable comparison
November 14th, 2008 by jjbtags: wilco, if all goes wrong, movies and film, criticism
Shawn “Drake Lelane” Anderson reaches oh-so-far to find someone and something against which Billy Corgan and If All Goes Wrong could never, ever measure up:
It’s telling that we see nearly as much of Corgan in a bathrobe writing songs as we do of him on stage playing them, showing that he wanted to give access to his artistic process. But in the end, he comes off more of an egomaniac than what he probably was hoping to convey. Perhaps he saw himself like Jeff Tweedy in the Wilco documentary I Am Trying to Break Your Heart, but Corgan seems far more aware of the camera. The idea of writing a song during the day and debuting it later that night at a show is kind of cool in theory, but that’s only if the songs will resonate, and, for the most part, they don’t.
November 14th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
Did anyone in print media say anything nice about the Pumpkins or Billy this week, out of curiosity? Is there anything nice to end the week with?
November 14th, 2008 at 2:29 pm
exactly, I was thinking the same thing
November 14th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
Any press is good press! At least there being talked about after not playing for 7-8 years!
November 14th, 2008 at 3:07 pm
This seems to be how it always happens. Good reviews out of the gates, then the tides turn. MSOTS got alright reviews upon release, then ended up on all sorts of year-end “worst” lists. TFE got decent reviews and is today ubiquitously considered terrible. And the Black Sunshine set had some good press in the summer.
Music critics don’t react to music, they react to other critics.
November 14th, 2008 at 6:03 pm
drbenway: in many ways you are absolutely right, sad part being: most of the peolpe behave like that in every little comment/decision/way to speak themself every day.
November 15th, 2008 at 5:07 pm
I don’t think TFE was terrible. I loved it.