Caspa responds to Simon Reynolds' Guardian blog

[dr h]

simon reynolds always did annoy me a bit. energy flash is an ok read, but he always comes across as a bit of an egotistical tit and if you're ever watched modulations, this is only confirmed. he tries too hard. fucking music journalists!

"writing about music is like dancing about architecture" etc

for what its worth though, i don't like caspa either and retorting with threats of physical violence against a nerdy guy who just proclaimed dubstep to be overly masculine/aggressive doesn't exactly do him any favours.

the best artists just ignore all the press and do what they've always done - make good music.

[dubstee]

u need to look at the criticism in context - Reynolds has a lot of knowledge but does write some total nonsense - for instance his 'energy flash' book is full of personal opinions presented as historical truths.

and its not just caspa he moans about, he even takes shots at mala and loe do i don't know why capsa would be bothered about the article -

is being guy richie so bad ? he was married to the biggest pop star in the world, makes populist stuff that many people love, and brings in loads of cash. i don't rate his films (or madonna) but i'm sure he's happy.

Where have you been? They are separated ffs. Get your facts straight at least.

[cdoubledub]

I hate it when people say all these kids don't know the real scene like we do and all they like is the main stream shit blah blah.

To be honest i don't care what they like as long as they turn up to the nights. Id prefer to go to a dub night where there's a thousand people enjoying themselves than 20 people who think they know dubstep and its scene better than anyone else arguing about it.

Get over it and enjoy it.

[dreamizm]

he references attending a rave in New York which is as significant as 95% of the nights in London.

LOL if you really think that, ur lost bruv.

[dubstee]

I hate it when people say all these kids don't know the real scene like we do and all they like is the main stream shit blah blah.

To be honest i don't care what they like as long as they turn up to the nights. Id prefer to go to a dub night where there's a thousand people enjoying themselves than 20 people who think they know dubstep and its scene better than anyone else arguing about it.

Get over it and enjoy it.

Just because a certain type of person enjoys a night and there are lots of them at said night does not make it a good night. In fact you could argue that the number of people at a night has an inverse correlation to how good that night is (when a certain % threshold has been passed of venue capacity of course).

[dubstee]

he references attending a rave in New York which is as significant as 95% of the nights in London.

LOL if you really think that, ur lost bruv.

There is a lot more to dubstep than London. If you think Dub War isn't more significant in the scene than all the nights in London except Forward, DMZ and possibly one or two others then it is you who is lost I'm afraid, and I presume you haven't attended Dub War yourself (which makes your point pretty much invalid anyway).

[dreamizm]

95% of the nights in London.

except Forward, DMZ and possibly one or two others

Do your maths bruv.

Also my initial point was abt "nights in Ldn" ie. across all related genres (as that is what SR tends to talk abt). U replied to me so I presumed u were including same

and LOL at tellin man i need to go to dubwar to talk abt LDN

Out to all my ppl goin dances round town that dont need to ramp on a forum to feel like they're 'part of a scene'

[dubstee]

95% of the nights in London.

except Forward, DMZ and possibly one or two others

Do your maths bruv.

Also my initial point was abt "nights in Ldn" ie. across all related genres (as that is what SR tends to talk abt). U replied to me so I presumed u were including same

and LOL at tellin man i need to go to dubwar to talk abt LDN

Out to all my ppl goin dances round town that dont need to ramp on a forum to feel like they're 'part of a scene'

There's tons of dubstep nights in London.

You need to go to dubwar to talk about dubwar, in relative terms or otherwise, which you were. Your initial point was about going to nights in London, but it's an international scene whether you like it or not. The problem with London is that people seem to think it's where things begin and finish. Talking specifically about dubstep, it's at least 3 years since the true creative epicentre of the scene was in London. There's better music being made elsewhere and better nights happening elsewhere.

[raffia]

u need to look at the criticism in context - Reynolds has a lot of knowledge but does write some total nonsense - for instance his 'energy flash' book is full of personal opinions presented as historical truths.

and its not just caspa he moans about, he even takes shots at mala and loe do i don't know why capsa would be bothered about the article -

is being guy richie so bad ? he was married to the biggest pop star in the world, makes populist stuff that many people love, and brings in loads of cash. i don't rate his films (or madonna) but i'm sure he's happy.

Where have you been? They are separated ffs. Get your facts straight at least.

i know this. learn to read ffs ?

[deamonds]

Rhea, anyone who comments on dubstep as a whole based solely on hearing caspa sets would be a wasteman anyway.

understand this, and also your point you made about how annoying it is too see more & more articles saying that...but...surely you have got to be a wasteman to judge his music based souly on that article? I know you have said that you are speaking generally about many articles, but does that not tell you something?? The fact that there are so many articles??

Also aswell, from some of the articles/comments I have read discussing Caspa & his music, this one is hardly one of the worser, granted, it has got a wider publication, but its hardly the worst. His response made me laugh though...

[dubstee]

u need to look at the criticism in context - Reynolds has a lot of knowledge but does write some total nonsense - for instance his 'energy flash' book is full of personal opinions presented as historical truths.

and its not just caspa he moans about, he even takes shots at mala and loe do i don't know why capsa would be bothered about the article -

is being guy richie so bad ? he was married to the biggest pop star in the world, makes populist stuff that many people love, and brings in loads of cash. i don't rate his films (or madonna) but i'm sure he's happy.

Where have you been? They are separated ffs. Get your facts straight at least.

i know this. learn to read ffs ?

LOL

This forum is the worst place on earth tbh.

[joeki]

I think he makes a few good points in that article.

He also misses the ball completely on a few others.
But overall I think it was a good read and caspa's reaction to it well, I'm not one to judge but I saw little personal attacks in that article, just quotations...

Point of the matter : I was not impressed with Caspa's album and indeed the description "gabba on cough medicine" came to my mind as well. I too feel that wobble like this is being played too much, but to go and state that all wobble is "mainstream dubstep" and therefore opposes a so called "dubstep on the fringes" is just bollocks.

That being said : Let's not be overly hypocritical : if "My Pet Monster" gets rinsed at a party and I've done a good bit of sloshing you'll see me going apeshit just the same.

I guess the tunes that got you into a certain musc genre in a big way define what new evolutions/sounds you will like and which you will not.
Indeed of "Spongebob" was your intro to dubstep, I can assume you will like the sounds of caspa and the lot. As for me and my opinion on wobble : My first hint at dubstep were Scorn and Techno Animal (Kevin martin aka the bug & JK Broadrick from Godflesh/jesu)

[tribute]

90% of music journalists are bitter, failed musicians.

thats a bit much, but i'd ask you this....where would this scene of ours be without press, critics and reviews?

its fine to gun them all down if you want, as that is the nature of the blog/journalistic business, but realize that they've played an integral (whether you like it or not) role to the "business" half of this scene. there's a lot of people flying around the world and living their musical dreams with the help of journalists and the hype machine that they feed.

as much as i don't agree with the comments by SR in this case, i'm willing to see them in the context of all his other blogs over the years. he's not one to waiver from his stance very often, and this is what always pushes peoples buttons.

as dq said, we all know how long caspa's been in this, and one blog don't change it. carry on bro!

I agree with you.

BUT music journalists must give a balanced view. His article would have carried more weight if he'd written about a few positives aswell. It was so one sided that it came across as a personal attack rather than an honest critique of the Casps's music.

[dreamizm]

95% of the nights in London.

except Forward, DMZ and possibly one or two others

Do your maths bruv.

Also my initial point was abt "nights in Ldn" ie. across all related genres (as that is what SR tends to talk abt). U replied to me so I presumed u were including same

and LOL at tellin man i need to go to dubwar to talk abt LDN

Out to all my ppl goin dances round town that dont need to ramp on a forum to feel like they're 'part of a scene'

Talking specifically about dubstep, it's at least 3 years since the true creative epicentre of the scene was in London.

ur right still

[milanese]

Plastician said it well and i agree... some discussion is always fine and people should always feel they can express their opinions.

But we've reached a stage now where we seem to be having a discussion about a discussion over an article that discusses how much discussion there was about someone's album, that album was itself called Everybody's Talking, Nobody's Listening... classic.

[uncle bill]

Plastician said it well and i agree... some discussion is always fine and people should always feel they can express their opinions.

But we've reached a stage now where we seem to be having a discussion about a discussion over an article that discusses how much discussion there was about someone's album, that album was itself called Everybody's Talking, Nobody's Listening... classic.

This is the right answer.

[seckle]

The problem with London is that people seem to think it's where things begin and finish.

well, the fact of the matter is that the UK, has been the center of underground dance music since the late 80's. even with detroit techno being a huge global influence, its impossible to ignore how many scene's have come out of the uk in the last 15 years. imo, isolating music geographically is very important, because there's a cultural foundation attached to the music. for example, new york hip hop in its inception, was originally built for new yorkers to party to. it wasn't built for the rest of the world. afrika bambaataa, grandmaster flash...have made that point for years and years. the point that hip hop couldn't have been created anywhere else on the planet, and that you can't completely understand hip hop until you've walked new york streets, etc.

same way that you can't understand biggie smalls lyrics completely till you've walked bedford-stuyvesant. same way that you can't understand capelton and sizzla verses till you've taken in kingston.

[dubstee]

The problem with London is that people seem to think it's where things begin and finish.

well, the fact of the matter is that the UK, has been the center of underground dance music since the late 80's. even with detroit techno being a huge global influence, its impossible to ignore how many scene's have come out of the uk in the last 15 years. imo, isolating music geographically is very important, because there's a cultural foundation attached to the music. for example, new york hip hop in its inception, was originally built for new yorkers to party to. it wasn't built for the rest of the world. afrika bambaataa, grandmaster flash...have made that point for years and years. the point that hip hop couldn't have been created anywhere else on the planet, and that you can't completely understand hip hop until you've walked new york streets, etc.

same way that you can't understand biggie smalls lyrics completely till you've walked bedford-stuyvesant. same way that you can't understand capelton and sizzla verses till you've taken in kingston.

I agree with you, and I'm not trying to talk down the significance of London being an important musical centre. My point was that people who live there too often see it as the be all and end all of music.

[mechabot 01]

Also:

You're from Brooklyn, and I can imagine you haven't witnessed the kind of mainstream form Dubstep has taken here in the UK. In till you've done that, I wouldn't make so many judgements.

FAIL, I'm from south east london, I moved here 18 months ago.

[q23]

Near the end of that article it stated:

Caspa's Everybody's Talking, Nobody's Listening album is out now.

That album title sums it right up: -> The whole arguement, this thread, and many of the things happening in the scene in general.