Collins Attacks Corner

Katy Corner is not only incapable of reviewing LPs, but she is also incapable of understanding criticisms of the silly reviews (which she manages to churn out in great quantity), as can be seen from both her letter (on page 20) and her rock review (on page 13) of the last issue.

The fundamental question that I was asking of Katy and alt your reviewers was "What makes a rock record, a play or a film a great piece of art?". Is this based on personal feelings, such as Katy's comments on "Can't Get Over You" from the NRPS album, or is it based on the part a particular group plays in society? Or doesn't society matter? Are rock bands above the people they're playing for, and are the ideas being communicated through this art unrelated to what is going on in society?

However, I feel that Katy is not even concerned about finding out the purpose of art and trying to access whether any particular piece liver up to that. As she states in her NRPS review the thing she looks for in any particular track is whether she'll be able "to pick it out to play to an interested party when I (rarely) play bits and pieces" or she's willing to play it again for "nostalgia's sake". It seems that the world is experiencing all kinds of changes, revolutions and national passions, but rock and Katy Corner blighly float above them thinking only of keeping up the hip-cool image that is turning sections of rock into the haunt of a pampered [unclear: elite], rather than opening it up to the mass of young people.

Katy Corner's total introversion is seen by her answers to the points I made in my last letter. She fails to see the total inadequacy of her reviews. "Is it just because they're different?" she says innocently. Each review is of a band that has "moved my life so far in what I consider to be a good direction" Tell this to your psychiatrist Katy, I would rather hear an explanation for the popularity of a particular band as related to the social and hence musical conditions of our time.

My heart really does pump custard for you though Katy, for you lake everything so hard. I even sensed a moment of self-criticism when you devulged that "musicis my life", and admitted a lack of specificity, but it was merely to tug the heartstrings for the next plug for US imperialism in the form of your "feelings" about music. If I feel that Abba are good and you feel that they are bad, does that make them good or bad? Surely a question that can't be argued unless you put forward a reasoned argument as to why you feel they are bad, which can be debated out with the contrary argument.

But, nowhere in your latest piece of garbage do you ever get beyond the feeling stage. And so; perhaps you should either take up music reviewing fulltime, or go and work for the Nazi Party - but activities will help to yield the same result. I recommend that you take a packet of American camels and go and race off to the Roval Tiger - at least you're miles away from the Salient review pages.