Idaho music Message boardSlate posted a pretty good piece about him today. Note that Slate is primarily known for its political reporting.
Still nothing or not a lot from those outlets you would expect to recognize Peel's contributions.
one of the newspapers here in canuckistan reported his death in a short item, refering to him as a 'disc jockey', which seemed a little demeaning, considering his contribution, by equating him with those huckster motormouths on the radio. shitty way to report his demise, imho.
Thanks, c.
Love the last line of the Pitchfork piss-off: "He remained there until his death." That's like saying, "He hung around, made some good tea. One day he dropped."
Idiots. Goobers.
And you know, no matter what they may be planning now in terms of coverage or appreciation, it won't make up for the fact that essentially they "missed" his death. This is a guy you want to have an obit ready for -- he's a major dude.
Reminds me of that weird week back in the '80s when Muddy Waters and George Ballanchine both died around the same time. Time magazine, in its cultural wisdom and soothsayer status, ran a major piece on Ballanchine (who? you ask -- he was a pioneer in modern dance) and a significantly smaller one on Waters. Now, who, pray tell, had the larger impact on American culture? I mean, REAL American culture. There's no question. Waters was known and loved by hundreds of thousands -- perhaps millions from many walks of life -- while Ballanchine was idolized by a subset of a Fifth Avenue subset. But ... the latter was a purveyor of the "fine" arts.
And Peel was just a DJ.
Really Jeff? when?
You've got a good point there, Chris. But Pitchfork sucks ass, and I wouldn't expect any better of them.
Here's what's distressing:
Peel's passing rates at least four stories on NME's website, including plans for his memorial, bands that have stepped up to honor his life and achievements, even a piece on the ultimate fate of his unfinished autobiography. All this on the day after he died.
Contrast that with America's allegedly premier music site, Pitchfork: In the three days since Peel's death they have had literally nothing but an insignificant brief about it.
(Even old Rolling Stone paid tribute to Peel on its site.)
This is shamefully ignorant on Pitchfork's part. Peel changed indie music in a huge way. He set the stage for a massive onslaught of non-corporate, DIY bands. This is a guy who had everybody from Hendrix to Franz Ferdinand (uh, the latter perhaps not the best example of his skills and taste) in the studio. He was the ultimate MUSIC fan -- not some guy who just hung on to a handful of bands he used to really like but now he only occasionally plays their CDs in the car and....
In other words, Peel was a role model. Read about him -- you'll see what I mean.
What is wrong with American music journalism? Yes, Peel was a Brit, but he did so much that impacted American music too. Consider that Idaho nearly had a Peel session.
Let's hope these hipper-than-thou writers (can't really call 'em reporters) get the hint, read up on their music history, and do something proper on the legendary John Peel.
we came really close to doing a john peel session i think......
Much agreed. That's sad news.
The man was a legend and totally unique. Miss him already.
Legendary British disc jockey John Peel died of a heart attack last night suffered while on vacation in Cuzco, Peru. Peel died at 65 and is survived by his wife Sheila and their four children, William, Alexandra, Thomas and Florence. The music giant will also be missed by countless others around the world.
Peel, born John Robert Parker Ravenscroft near Liverpool in 1939, began his radio career in America; in 1965, he played European imports on a late night R&B show for Dallas station WRR, a job he claimed he was offered at the height of Beatlemania based mainly on his nationality. After stints at a handful of other U.S. stations, he went back to his homeland in 1967, where he adopted his now-famous alias and worked for a pirate radio station, broadcasting from a boat moored off the shore of England. At the time, listening to the pirates was the only way to hear pop music on British airwaves, which were otherwise controlled by the BBC and slow to change. Later in 1967, when the government passed the Marine Offences Act, outlawing pirate radio, the BBC created the pop-oriented Radio 1 to fill the gap. John Peel was hired as one of the station's first presenters, and remained there until his death.
http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/news/04-10/26.shtml
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