Has The War Against Silence been won?

July 29, 2004 10:02 AM

For almost ten years, independent rock critic Glenn Mcdonald has kept a highly personal and elegantly well-written music column, The War Against Silence. He has championed artists popular and obscure, and remembered acts that others might regard as 1980s nostalgia with melancholy and grace. As his past few columns have vacillated between the personal and the musical, he has opted to end his run at the beginning of September.
posted by pxe2000 (16 comments total)

And, suddenly, Thursday became a tragedy when he discovered the fantastic, well-written website about music that he'd always wanted but didn't know he wanted and then found out it was closing shop.

Thanks.

No, really. Thanks. At least there are the archives.
posted by papercake at 10:24 AM on July 29, 2004

I agree with papercake.
posted by soundofsuburbia at 10:27 AM on July 29, 2004

Eight million Big Country reviews, and nothing about Stereolab? Geez...he even managed to fit in something by REO Speedwagon, for crissakes! Still, an interesting read.
posted by The Card Cheat at 11:12 AM on July 29, 2004

wonderful writing, but he seems to like everything. need to read more...
posted by andrew cooke at 11:22 AM on July 29, 2004

andrew: the phoenix (local alt.weekly) interviewed him a few years ago. he said (and i'm blanking on the wording here) that he didn't want to waste space on music he didn't like. he touches on this a little at the end of the recent corrs/julianna hatfield review.
posted by pxe2000 at 11:27 AM on July 29, 2004

What papercake said. Can someone tell my corporate minders that I'll be resuming normal activity only when the archives have been thoroughly plundered?
posted by chandy72 at 11:33 AM on July 29, 2004

but he seems to like everything

Except maybe in it's earliest days, TWAS has always seemed to me to be more about Glenn's own relationship to the music he chooses to write about, than with music criticism in any conventional sense. His taste in music is much narrower than my own, but I've found it a lot more rewarding over the years to read his essays as a sort of novel-in-installments about the life of a guy who really likes pop music. I'll miss it. [exeunt to the strains of "In a big country"]
posted by octobersurprise at 11:58 AM on July 29, 2004

Ooh, incredibly good stuff, despite his 20-year grudge against Paul Weller for breaking up the Jam. (Christ, I've heard of people who've forgiven murderers in less time.) Thanks for a great link!
posted by scody at 12:36 PM on July 29, 2004

He writes in a wonderful way. Reminds me a little bit of Lester Bangs, but much more sedate. Thanks for the link. And the archives.
posted by ashbury at 9:53 PM on July 29, 2004

He's one of hosse reviewers who likes everything but hates (in this case) OK Computer with a special devotion.

Screw him :P
posted by abcde at 10:17 PM on July 29, 2004

Somehow I turned "those" into "hosse."

*bows*
posted by abcde at 10:18 PM on July 29, 2004

Just to improve the balance in this thread between those who've read TWAS for years (off and on in my case, admittedly) and those who just found it: I'll miss him. That December 2001 piece about Big Country said pretty much all I wanted to at the time. (And now Dave Eggers is getting in on the act. Lifelong bagpipe-guitar fans of the world, unite!)
posted by rory at 1:55 AM on July 30, 2004

aww, rory is a big country fan! that is very cute. :)
posted by pxe2000 at 4:55 AM on July 30, 2004

Bummer! I'm a big fan (although only occasional reader) and will miss knowing that he's around.
posted by jennyb at 5:05 AM on July 30, 2004

Hey, they're probably the reason I'm living here. Well, a small part of it, anyway. Their albums may have tailed off in quality in later years (I kept buying 'em all regardless), but their first few were brilliant.

Still, there's always the Proclaimers, Travis and Snow Patrol.
posted by rory at 5:49 AM on July 30, 2004

I'll miss TWAS but it's lovely to see that the sad lonely brilliant guy who proposed to Juliana Hatfield on-line is now getting married and has less time and need to write his wild beautiful "reviews" of the effect of music (and sports, and television) on his so-called life.
posted by nicwolff at 6:58 AM on July 30, 2004