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Last Post 6/19/2006 6:05 PM by Protein biscuit

Fooled

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Protein biscuit

Basic Member
Posts:364

6/19/2006 6:05 PM
Not as wonderful as the "wouldn't it be great if it was true" hoax that was doin' the rounds about Pete Doherty really being a former Buddy Holly impersonator called Trevor McDermott who fabricated the whole Dohery myth but, it is mildly amusing. Like Q magazine is mildy entertaining. http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/music/news/article1090387.ece

comet

Basic Member
Posts:485

6/19/2006 6:18 PM
interesting alright although that headline is a bit over the top "Great rock'n'roll swindle fools the father of Britpop"!! "By accessing the pages of trendy bands like Babyshambles, and the Subways, Hope Against Hope were able to get in contact with influential "friends" like Radio One DJ Zane Lowe. After a week, they were signed up as "friends" of successful groups like Editors." I presume they mean here that the friend request were initiated by Editors and the other groups??

Protein biscuit

Basic Member
Posts:364

6/19/2006 6:24 PM
Yeah. "Great rock 'n' roll swindle" is a bit over the top too. Now that i think of it, wonder if The Independent and Q have any kind of a relationship with each other? Still wish Pete Dohery was Trevor McDermott though.

vandala

Basic Member
Posts:267

6/19/2006 8:39 PM
Stupid, sloppy journalism. The journalist seems to think that becoming a "friend" of a "super-group" like Editors actually has some kudos, while obviously it's just a simple matter of adding the friend to your list. And 600 friends? A "devoted fan base"?!!! A 9 year old kid could probably rack up about 1000 in a week if he/she hit enough "friend requests". Where's the story here? That Alan McGee heard a demo he liked and thus offered the "band" a GIG? I seriously doubt having 600 friends is going to sway somebody like McGee. "Indie band in McGee likes their demo shock!" A demo is still a demo regardless of whether the band Hope Against Hope existed or not. So just who is this Jonathan Brown and why the hell is he so out of touch? Fooled? 'Tis just foolish.

Protein biscuit

Basic Member
Posts:364

6/20/2006 11:22 AM
Much better article about it below. "The difference is that Hope Against Hope are a scam, a spoof indie band "with no talent whatsoever" invented by Q magazine in order to prove that the Rupert Murdoch-owned site is now just another cog in the older industry phenomenon of hype." http://arts.guardian.co.uk/features/story/0,,1801705,00.html

aidan

Advanced Member
Posts:638

6/20/2006 12:08 PM
as a sidebar to this spoof story - what's the problem with hype? are bands not allowed to promote themselves, create interest/excitement/buzz? why is it always seen as somehow being inherently dishonest? it seems that if you hate a band their promotion is hype (negative), but if you love a band the same type of promotion is recognition/opportunity (positive) 'hype' will always be a four-letter-word in the dictionary, but I wish it would stop being used as a dirty word in music.

nerraw

Basic Member
Posts:475

6/20/2006 12:41 PM
quote: Originally posted by vandala Stupid, sloppy journalism. The journalist seems to think that becoming a "friend" of a "super-group" like Editors actually has some kudos, while obviously it's just a simple matter of adding the friend to your list. And 600 friends? A "devoted fan base"?!!! A 9 year old kid could probably rack up about 1000 in a week if he/she hit enough "friend requests". Where's the story here? That Alan McGee heard a demo he liked and thus offered the "band" a GIG? I seriously doubt having 600 friends is going to sway somebody like McGee. "Indie band in McGee likes their demo shock!" A demo is still a demo regardless of whether the band Hope Against Hope existed or not. So just who is this Jonathan Brown and why the hell is he so out of touch? Fooled? 'Tis just foolish. I think you're missing the point. A band that doesn't exist is able to create so much hype that Alan McGee wants to book them regardless of quality. That myspace site is s**te with everyone trying to outdo one another with more exotic bands that disappear over the course of a week.

Protein biscuit

Basic Member
Posts:364

6/20/2006 1:16 PM
quote: Originally posted by aidan as a sidebar to this spoof story - what's the problem with hype? are bands not allowed to promote themselves, create interest/excitement/buzz? Yeah, sure it's cool for bands to promote themselves and try to generate interest in their music. The problem with "hype" is that while in some cases it's genuine in other cases it's a fabrication, a false symptom created to groundlessly convince the record-buying masses that the cause of the symptom has a basis. As far as i know "hype" is short for "hyperbole" which is an entirely more appropriate description in a myriad of cases despite the deviation in defnition.

vandala

Basic Member
Posts:267

6/20/2006 6:57 PM
quote: Originally posted by nerraw quote: Originally posted by vandala Stupid, sloppy journalism. The journalist seems to think that becoming a "friend" of a "super-group" like Editors actually has some kudos, while obviously it's just a simple matter of adding the friend to your list. And 600 friends? A "devoted fan base"?!!! A 9 year old kid could probably rack up about 1000 in a week if he/she hit enough "friend requests". Where's the story here? That Alan McGee heard a demo he liked and thus offered the "band" a GIG? I seriously doubt having 600 friends is going to sway somebody like McGee. "Indie band in McGee likes their demo shock!" A demo is still a demo regardless of whether the band Hope Against Hope existed or not. So just who is this Jonathan Brown and why the hell is he so out of touch? Fooled? 'Tis just foolish. I think you're missing the point. A band that doesn't exist is able to create so much hype that Alan McGee wants to book them regardless of quality. That myspace site is s**te with everyone trying to outdo one another with more exotic bands that disappear over the course of a week. Missing the point? Perhaps. Maybe I'm just being pedantic. I will say this, though: 1) The fact that the band doesn't exist is irrelevant. In as much as a website exists, a demo on the site exists, a photograph exists, and a "fanbase" exists, the band exists. I'm suggesting if McGee heard the demo and thought it was a load of tosh, I seriously doubt he would have put his career on the line by booking a band to play a gig. 2) Having 600 friends in myspace does not constitute being on the verge of stardom. 3)Having Alan McGee book a gig for you does not constitute being on the verge of stardom. What I'm arguing is this: if "the band" had collected 20,000 fans, scored a major label record deal and a top ten single in the UK charts, and THEN it transpired that they "did not exist", that would be worthy of a story. The newsworthiness of a hoax can only be measured by the impact it makes. This sorry tale's a damp squib.

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