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RTÉ News
12-07-2025
- Entertainment
- RTÉ News
Lana vs. the critics: should musicians clap back at bad reviews?
Who'd be a critic, eh? You're out there, just doing your job and sharing your opinion when all of a sudden an unruly tide of pitchfork-waving fans is unleashed upon you. It's happened to me on numerous occasions, and given how dominant social media is in our lives, I'd be willing to bet that it's happened to most journalists and critics at some point (I'll have to tell you about that Jedward story another time.) You can't please 'em all, as the saying goes. I was reminded of critics being criticised last week, when Lana Del Rey responded to an Irish Times review of her recent gig at Dublin's Aviva Stadium. Journalist Ed Power had given the gig a largely positive review, praising her quirky performance but questioning the comparatively brief running time of her setlist; most people would agree that 80 minutes does seem like a short set for a stadium gig. Lana wasn't having it: "Ooh I think this is the wrong take on the angle for the story" she wrote on Instagram, as thousands of her fans piled into the comments to agree with her (not all of them in such diplomatic terms, mind you.) Of course, Del Rey has form in such matters and doesn't seem to take criticism, even when it's constructive, too well. In 2019, when NPR critic Ann Powers posted a scathing review of her album Norman F**king Rockwell!, calling her lyrics "uncooked" and accusing her of assuming a 'persona', she responded in kind. "I don't even relate to one observation you made about the music," she wrote. "There's nothing uncooked about me. To write about me is nothing like it is to be with me. Never had a persona. Never needed one. Never will. So don't call yourself a fan like you did in the article and don't count your editor one either." Oof. She's not alone: Charli XCX clapped back at critics of her recent Glastonbury set who pointed out her use of - or perhaps reliance upon - AutoTune. "Like the idea that singing with deliberate autotune makes you a fraud or that not having a traditional band suddenly means you must not be a "real artist" is like, the most boring take ever. yawn sorry just fell asleep xx" she wrote on X the following day, adding that she found the comments had a "boomer vibe". Still, she didn't hesitate to post The Guardian's 5-star review of her set, either. It also brings to light an issue on the wrong critics being sent to the wrong kind of gigs. Should someone with a passion for rock be sent to a pop gig? Should a bona fide pop fan be sent to a death metal concert? It does raise an important question, though: should artists hold their heads high and maintain a dignified silence, or should they be allowed to bite back? You could argue like they're fully entitled to defend themselves against criticism, like anyone else in any other job. And critics should be challenged - it's part of the job description (which makes it all the more imperative that a critic should be steadfast, informed and well-researched in their opinions.) The difference, I suppose, is that a postman, or a nurse, or a teacher, or an office worker generally does not willingly enter a career knowing that their creative output is going to be judged by the public as a matter of course. If you're lucky, lots of people will like it; it's how to manage your reaction to those who don't that is important. And when you're an artist of Lana Del Rey's stature - literally one of the most important pop artists of her time - what some critic writes about your gig in an Irish newspaper shouldn't really matter. Besides, what's wrong with taking some well-intentioned feedback on board? Musicians aren't hauled into their boss's office for performance reviews (at least not in the traditional sense) - so why shouldn't it be fair game to point out what they can improve upon? It also brings to light an issue on the wrong critics being sent to the wrong kind of gigs. Should someone with a passion for rock be sent to a pop gig? Should a bona fide pop fan be sent to a death metal concert? The onus is on a critic to have a broad-spanning knowledge base and at least be open to various genres, but the reality is that critics are also fans and are more inclined to respond positively to a band or artist they don't have preconceived ideas about. Who'd be a critic? If AI has anything to do with it, nobody - it's coming for all our jobs, after all, and the streaming revolution means that music fans can bypass the professionals and go straight to the source to make up their own mind. Nevertheless, although I may be biased, I reckon a good critic is worth their weight in gold; to point you towards the stuff that matters and advise you to give the stuff that doesn't matter a wide berth. To unearth hidden gems that don't get picked up by the Spotify algorithm for whatever reason. To question artists' motives, even in the face of a blinkered fandom. To challenge opinions and ideals and offer an alternative way of seeing, hearing or thinking about something. Without critics or dissenting voices, the industry would be a fairly anodyne place, populated by music made by bands like (shudder) Imagine Dragons and artists like Jedward. Filled with music that some bot on a streamer thinks that you'd like on your playlist. Crammed with artists who think 80 minutes is an acceptable length set for a stadium gig. (If you're reading this, hi Lana!) The best approach, it seems, is to shrug it off - just as the late, great Lou Reed did after his album with Metallica, Lulu, was roundly panned. "I don't have any fans left," he said. "After Metal Machine Music, they all fled. Who cares? I'm essentially in this for the fun of it." As I mentioned earlier, and as Lou noted, you can't please 'em all. Lana Del Rey has every right to respond to criticism, of course, but she would do well to take that saying on board. And if she can't, as an artist who's clearly affected by less-than-glowing reviews, maybe she should simply stop reading them.
The Guardian
01-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Jungle Trouble review – utterly charmless kiddie cartoon patches together corpses of animations past
With a supremely annoying lead character called Mohsen, here is a jungle adventure that feels sewn together like a cruddy Frankenstein's monster from the corpses of other shoddy animations – which themselves are patched together from far better films. The plot takes in the antics of various interchangeably charmless critters, but none more unappealing than Mohsen, a child with a grating voice who wants to be a superhero despite being basically unsuited to the job description. Everything here is so far down the ladder of what family animation can offer at its best. The script is perhaps the worst offender, with the ugly character design running a close second. Maybe it worked better in the original Persian, but you can tell without checking that it's been poorly translated into English. The lyrics of the limp Auto-Tuned songs barely scan, and rightly or wrongly you suspect the hidden hand of AI or Google Translate. If a flesh-and-blood person was responsible, you'd think they would be ashamed of the lines such as: 'As we ran and played through our fun and exciting escapades, we listened to the story of the kind man's special ways.' It's a toss-up whether the songs or spoken dialogue are worse. The characters spend most of the time either bickering in tiresome quip-coded back-and-forths, or else having utterly unearned heartfelt moments where they say things like: 'I wish he wouldn't go extinct.' There's a lot of bad animated stuff out there, and in some ways this is only the latest and dumbest. But only by banding together and sticking to watching the well-made stuff over the slop can audiences convince producers to stop slinging this kind of slop our way. Vote with your eyeballs; look away now. Jungle Trouble is in UK and Irish cinemas from 4 July.
Miami Herald
30-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Miami Herald
Pop Star Responds To ‘Boomers' Criticizing Her for Using AutoTune Live
Not everyone was feeling so "brat" after Charli XCX's performance at the Glastonbury Music Festival. The beloved U.K. music festival showcased a diverse range of music and acts-from classic rock to punk, hip-hop, and EDM-but apparently, some fans took offense at Charli's lack of a backing band and her extensive use of AutoTune during her set on June 28. "Really enjoying these boomer vibe comments on my Glastonbury performance," tweeted Charli on Sunday. "It's super fascinating to me. Like the idea that singing with deliberate autotune makes you a fraud or that not having a traditional band suddenly means you must not be a 'real artist' is like, the most boring take ever." "Yawn sorry just fell asleep xx," she added, exaggerating how she was over it. The 32-year-old singer-whose album, brat, elevated her to a new level of fame and became a part of the pop culture landscape last year-said she honestly "enjoys the discourse" surrounding her work. "[In my opinion]," tweeted Charli, "the best art is divisive and confrontational and often evolves into truly interesting culture rather than being like kind of ok, easily understood and sort of forgettable." Charli appeared to close the book on her brat era at the end of her Glastonbury set, as her signature lime-green curtain went up in flames while she danced. Later, she was spotted watching Gracie Abrams' set. Stereogum notes that Charli still has a few more European festival appearances lined up over the summer (including an appearance at South Korea's One Universe Festival in mid-August), so fans can still feel very brat a few more times before it's all over. Along with Charli's AutoTune, Glastonbury had something for everyone. The massive festival featured an appearance by Sir Ian McKellen during the Scissor Sisters' set, the return of The 1975, and a surprise collaboration between Olivia Rodrigo and goth rock icon Robert Smith of The Cure. Related: Rock Legend, 66, Makes Shocking Appearance With Pop Star at Glastonbury Copyright 2025 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved
The Independent
30-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
‘Art is divisive': Charli XCX responds to Glastonbury set criticism
Charli XCX responded to accusations of being a 'fraud' following backlash over her Glastonbury Festival performance. Viewers criticised the singer for her use of Auto-Tune and her dancing style during the BBC's coverage of the festival. Charli XCX defended her artistic choices, stating that deliberate Auto-Tune does not make an artist a 'fraud' and that 'the best art is divisive and confrontational'. She has previously admitted to using Auto-Tune, even intentionally making her album 'pitchy' to incorporate a 'human mistake element'. The Independent's review of Charli XCX's Glastonbury performance awarded it four stars, praising her commanding stage presence.
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Ye Surprise Drops ‘Bully' Album Via Short Wrestling Film Starring Son Saint West
After months of teases, Ye surprise released his Bully album on Tuesday night (March 18) in three different versions. Though at press time only one of those versions appeared to be live, the short film that is available was directed by West and edited by famed hip-hop video master Hype Williams and stars the rapper's son, Saint West, in a series of bizarre grappling-themed visuals. The black and white film opens with Saint banging a toy hammer on the head of a professional Japanese wrestler as his dad raps, 'Nobody finna to extort me/ Even when they record me/ I'mma keep it more g/ Hand me a drink before I get more deep.' The song harkens back to classic West compositions, with the MC rapping over a loop of Kden Drip's 'Preacher Man.' More from Billboard Ye Calls Out Playboi Carti for Alleged 'Music' Album Snub, Says He 'Hated' Kendrick Lamar's 'Not Like Us' Lady Gaga Hops on the 'Zombieboy' Dance Trend Dax Shepard Says Sabrina Carpenter's NSFW Lyrics Led to an Awkward Talk With His 10-Year-Old Daughter While Ye hyped the 'screening version,' the post Hype version' and the 'post post Hype version,' at press time it appeared that only the first iteration was available to screen using the free software The visual continues with Saint swinging his plastic hammer at a series of other wrestlers, laying them out as his dad croons over the album's spare, soul-flecked compositions, including a glitchy lament in which West interpolates the Carpenters' '(They Long To Be) Close To You,' crooning the song's lyrics through AutoTune. On the next untitled song West sings in Spanish over a mariachi-like backing track, followed by a song that interpolates the Supremes' 'You Can't Hurry Love.' The sound of the album harkens back to West's most experimental, creatively lauded period in the early 2000s, when he released 808s & Heartbreak (2008) and My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010) back-to-back. West first teased Bully in September 2024 during a show in China where he premiered the song 'Beauty and the Beast.' At press time there were no credits available for the album and it did not appear to be available on any of the major music streaming platforms, or YouTube, with West saying on X that he was purposely avoiding that route in his latest antisemitic rant against Jewish people. 'I may stop using DSPs cause streams are fake and the French and Jewish record labels treat artists like prostitutes,' he wrote, teasing that he might next release a sequel to his 2021 Donda album, Donda 2. The surprise release came amidst yet another spree of offensive tweets from West on Tuesday, including the use of an ableist slur in which he denigrated Jay-Z and Beyoncé's children, made claims of domestic abuse against Playboi Carti — whom he also hit with hateful homophobic slurs — as well as homophobic tweets aimed at Drake. The album drop followed on the heels of a 'Lonely Roads Still Go To Sunshine,' which Ye released on X last week, seemingly featuring vocals from imprisoned hip-hop mogul Sean 'Diddy' Combs, as well as Ye's daughter, North West, and Combs' son, King Combs. The nearly five-minute song opens with what sounds like a recoded phone conversation between Ye and Diddy, who is currently incarcerated and facing multiple felony charges, including sex trafficking, racketeering, forced labor and more. Around that same time, West posted an image of what he said was going to be the cover of his next album, an image of a red Nazi swastika against a black background, just the latest amplification by the rapper of the antisemitic tropes and images that have flooded his X account over the past few months. Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart
