And now, for a little media criticism
Ordinarily, I'm not one to go through all our local media and then spank them all on their asses. There's already a local blog that does that really well. But that blog isn't likely to cover an error by New Times, even one as egregious as this week's Miami New Times cover story.
So, how exactly does Jean Carey, the music editor of a major altweekly, erroneously report that perhaps the biggest DJ act in the world is breaking up -- even when she has an interview with said act? Did it not occur to her in the midst of questioning to ask, "Hey, Tommy, what're your plans now that Daft Punk won't be touring anymore?"
Even the oft-credulous Wikipedia seemed doubtful, quoting Carey, when pressed to identify a source for the info, as saying, "Well, it was announced in the form of a bogus press release through their American publicist, Andrea Greenberg from MSO...I'm actually writing a follow up story about that little escapade."
The funniest thing about that? The publicist's name is Alexandra Greenberg. I'd like to think that was Wikipedia misquoting Carey, but after the breathtakingly massive error in her story, who's to say? The press release from Greenberg's organization announcing Daft Punk's addition to the lineup of the Bang Music Festival didn't mention anything about this being their last show.
Oh, and by the way, for all the harping that we at altweeklies do about the dailies, the Miami Herald put the lie to the Daft Punk break up rumors.
To be fair, every journalist craps out now and again. Lord knows I'm guilty of an error or two in my time. ... OK, maybe not one as huge and easily avoidable as this, but still. What a mess. Can't wait to see that follow-up piece, though. No doubt it will be Bitch-a-riffic.
By the way -- and, really, much more importantly -- if this had been Daft Punk's final performance, the duo would've gone out in style. Easily the best electronica set I have ever seen, and definitely in my Top 10 concerts of all time. Daft Punk's set was the sort of transcendent craziness that almost makes you feel like you've popped a couple rolls, even when you haven't. Phenomenal -- ridiculously, obscenely phenomenal. And, as readers of my column know, I don't go heavy on the praise unless an act really deserves it. Daft Punk was sick -- the sight/sound combination overloaded the senses in the best possible way. If you have a chance to see them, do it. Run don't walk. Do whatever you have to, even if you have to buy it, use it, break it, fix it, trash it, change it, mail- upgrade it, charge it, point it, zoom it, press it, snap it, work it, quick - erase it, write it, cut it, paste it, save it, load it, check it, quick - rewrite it, plug it, play it, burn it, rip it, drag and drop it, zip - unzip it, lock it, fill it, curl it, find it, view it, code it, jam - unlock it, surf it, scroll it, pause it, click it, cross it, crack it, switch - update it, name it, read it, tune it, print it, scan it, send it, fax - rename it, touch it, bring it, pay it, watch it, turn it, leave it, start - format it.
Comments
"buy it, use it, break it, fix it, trash it, change it, mail- upgrade it, charge it, point it, zoom it, press it, snap it, work it, quick - erase it, write it, cut it, paste it, save it, load it, check it, quick - rewrite it, plug it, play it, burn it, rip it, drag and drop it, zip - unzip it, lock it, fill it, curl it, find it, view it, code it, jam - unlock it, surf it, scroll it, pause it, click it, cross it, crack it, switch - update it, name it, read it, tune it, print it, scan it, send it, fax - rename it, touch it, bring it, pay it, watch it, turn it, leave it, start - format it."
TECHNOLOGIC!
Daft Punk was easily one of the best shows I've ever seen, and like you, I've seen a lot of shows.
I found it interesting that the News Times Broward/Palm Beach did not have anything about Bang in last week's issue.
Posted by: scooter | November 16, 2006 12:40 PM