MovieChat Forums > Gary Numan Discussion > Why do we no longer see the kind of vile...

Why do we no longer see the kind of vile, hostile music journalism that Numan received?

posted 7 months ago by BlackMass (696)
2 replies | jump to latest

I've been reading through old '79/'80 music mags at the library, and you'd think these journos were actively trying to drive Numan to suicide because he was making music they didn't like. The shit they were writing was fucking horrible. Numan's old pals and '79 support act, OMD, took quite a beating as well.

Anyway, these guys won. They managed to weather the scathing press and are today recognised as influential, forward-thinking acts, while the masturbatory pen-pushers fade into obscurity. Many of them are dead now, buried and forgotten with no legacy to mention.

I guess critics today wouldn't dare try the shit they did on Numan, because of social media. The journos know that an artist need only share an insult that's been directed their way, and the cult fanbase will then make the writer wish they'd never been born.

[–] Mrmojo4700 (20500) 7 months ago

I don’t know anything about his critics, but I did see him in concert earlier this year and the guy put on a hell of a show.

[–] OnanTheBarbarian (10462) 7 months ago

I remember reading a Rolling Stone review of Numan which referred to him as a "second-rate mannerist". Lol. I never quite understood their point. What's a "mannerist" in terms of rock?

Numan made electronic synthesized music accessible to the masses. That's how I remember him. Great stuff.