The Book of Woe

[Corpsey]

Must have bought this on Kindle a while back but I saw it on Amazon today and realised I'd just not downloaded it.

I've only dipped my toes in so far but it's brilliant.

Great to see luminaries such as Luke Davies and Oliver Craner getting shouted out in the intro too.

 

[Corpsey]

I actually didn't realise your blog was THIS good

In my mind it was something "worthier". More polished and professorial. It's actually really funny and fun to read.

How much else don't I know?

 

[droid]

I loved Matt's blog back in the day. Heartfelt, funny, erudite. I still remember the night I read his Flex retrospective and getting the feeling that if such a thing could exist then there must be some good in this world.

 

[version]

 

[Woebot]

I actually didn't realise your blog was THIS good

In my mind it was something "worthier". More polished and professorial. It's actually really funny and fun to read.

How much else don't I know?

thanks corpsey. yeah i was larking about essentially. plus ca change.

 

[luka]

Must have bought this on Kindle a while back but I saw it on Amazon today and realised I'd just not downloaded it.

I've only dipped my toes in so far but it's brilliant.

Great to see luminaries such as Luke Davies and Oliver Craner getting shouted out in the intro too.

Craner always misspells my name in the wrong 'Welsh' way which I tolerate because he's Welsh but don't you start Corpsey

 

[luka]

Matthews blog was massive. Hundreds and hundreds of views each day. It was a subcultural phenomenon.

 

[Corpsey]

I love your account of eski dance written on your blackberry on the way home. Was Luka with you? There's a mention of "Davis" rolling his eyes at you realising Grime is about excitement.

And some nice attacks on journos such as Petridis.

It's really cool to read about grime "as it happened" and also to get that sense of how noteworthy your blog obviously was at the time.

 

[Mr. Tea]

This "Woe-bot" character sounds altogether a lot cheerier than you'd expect from his name.

 

[Corpsey]

Now reading about woebot and Luka visiting still illegal Rinse FM and meeting Wiley "who seems to telescope in stature at times during the evening (you could swear he was eight foot tall)".

 

[Corpsey]

It's delightful. But it makes me sad - where are the woebots now? Where's that new music exciting people?

Maybe it's a relic of music which was (just about) pre digital/internet.

Or maybe I'm just totally unaware of what's going on.

It's important, writing like this, cos music isn't in a vacuum, ever. Except perhaps on the internet, where the context can sometimes be just the internet.

 

[Corpsey]

"Grime MCs are very much like superheroes in the Marvel comics vein, put five or more together and their magnificence increases exponentially, each of their special powers complimenting the others..."

 

[Corpsey]

Remembered this too!

 

[Corpsey]

Now he's got me listening to Skinnyman!

It's a trip down memory lane for me, despite me being so distanced from most of it as it happened.

 

[craner]

The saddest bit in the book is the liner notes Matt wrote for a Juice Box retrospective. Not because the piece is sad, it’s not it’s great, but because the compilation never came out. You get this feeling like Gerald is cursed.

 

[Corpsey]

I kept wondering reading this what woebot makes of contemporary music, particularly grime and UK rap.

 

[luka]

It's delightful. But it makes me sad - where are the woebots now? Where's that new music exciting people?

Maybe it's a relic of music which was (just about) pre digital/internet.

Or maybe I'm just totally unaware of what's going on.

It's important, writing like this, cos music isn't in a vacuum, ever. Except perhaps on the internet, where the context can sometimes be just the internet.

Thirdform and Barty and mvuent are all in their twenties and are far more knowledgable about music than anyone of my generation, and are much, much smarter too.

 

[luka]

Matthew went to Eskimo Dance on his own! Even more amazing!

 

[luka]

I think it's very interesting to compare the generations. What it means in terms of knowledge etc to be a music nerd. Corpsey, your micro-generation get stuck in the middle, none of you lot know fuck all, but you get the venerable greybeard record collectors, like Woebot and Reynolds, and compare them to the Internet reared likes of third and Barty and mvuent and etc it's very interesting.

The new generation have been able to make their own histories, whereas the elders always had theirs handed down to them because there simply wasn't enough access to primary sources. Both approaches have their advantages and limitations but I think broadly speaking I'm much more excited by the new lot. They all have huge blind spots and gaps in their knowledge but who doesn't?

 

[craner]

Thirrdform's List was the definitive confirmation of that.