Rob Sawyer : Come Our Way

epic tan lines.

Hey Amelia, this isn't a review it's a pitchfork. Rob Sawyer is not a 'country pop artist' which, if it were correct, would have been the only relevant information in these two sentences of malevolent tripe. The rest, as I said, is an ugly and uninformed personal attack, and a very long way from telling it like it is. I am sick to death of reading the ignorant musings of bitter muso wannabes throwing their anonymous weight around. I know you don't get paid but at least attempt some integrity and stick to actually reviewing (harshly or otherwise). I'm sure you'll feel better for it.

Well I do know. A review is supposed to be an informed opinion about the music of a particular artist, not a smug, content-free slagfest. None of this 'review' is directed to the music. As the reviewer herself said 'I don't know who Rob Sawyer is'. Perhaps, then, she should acquaint herself with the work of the person whose music she is supposed to be reviewing before stating that his management is on crack, or that he is a country pop artist which he patently isn't.

If, as you suggest (drawing a rather long bow), she was saying that his style of music (which she got wrong in any case) isn't the same as Willy Nelson, the Cranberries or whichever other bands he has supported, well that is just irrelevant, and certainly doesn't justify or support her foul conclusions. Are you saying there is a law that support bands must play similar music to their headliners? If you and Simone are saying that, then you are in the wrong industry.

This 'review' was misleading and ignorant, like so many others I have read. Beat should really keep an eye on standards.

Wasn't Rob Sawyer the name of the dude from Lost?

your original point was that before anyone writes anything about somebody in the public domain, whether it be paid writing or not, they should research that person first.
i'm pointing out that you're being hypocritical by not researching Amelia before you make comments about her in the public domain.
I'm mostly just being facetious, but you are over reacting so it's hard to take all this seriously.
this article has been read 401 times as i write this, which isn't bad for one paragraph of text!

to kjmeer - who designated you the voice of authority as to what beat should and shouldn't publish? i read simone's reviews every week for the very reason that they're sometimes vitriolic and often tongue-in-cheek. I think it's fun. If you don't see the fun in it then fair enough, but surely you can acknowledge that an informal approach doesn't always mean bad reading...?

and where do you work? i assume as a staff member of wherever that may be, that everything you write here represents the views of that establishment by default.

Aaaaahahahahaa! This is hilarious. Fuck "personal attacks" - the whole industry's run on personal relationships - which can ONLY explain why our man Rob supported Al Green and Willie Nelson. As for this whingey poster bitching about anonymity - you're the only one hanging behind an avatar so far, buddy.

Miss Simone never said he was a country pop artist. She said the track "showcases the talents" of one. Nice song, sure enough, but if you think this is the type of shit that an un-connected young muso would use as leverage to support The Reverend, you are off your head.

Either you're mates with Rob - or working for him, in which case, well done: you got a bit of traffic here, love - or you ARE Rob, in which case, have a look at your resume, thank your fucking lucky stars you don't have to worry about Beat reviews, stop fucking around and go write some more music. Sheesh.

First-initials basis.

Amelia/Simone/whoever Simone is, your reviews quite often say nothing about the song, this is the point. This, like so many others was a content-free put down for the sake of it – you didn’t like it but couldn’t say why so thought it fine to just discredit it entirely with no basis. In fact you couldn’t even identify the genre, so wrongly labelled it and the artist country pop. Who wants to listen to country pop? That was just plain nasty.

Beat reviews small time artists who are in most cases on the bones of their arses, without management, and in many cases really talented – whether you like the music or not. ‘Reviews’ like this and many of your others would be funny, as you say, if they were about, say, Bono or Dylan or Sting. But struggling lesser or unknown known talent really don’t need such a catty and uncalled-for kick in the teeth from a publication like Beat. Nobody said you need to go to a library to research an artist to do the job properly, and nobody said the review has to be favourable. It just should be an actual review.. Actually listening to the song and reviewing it by providing relevant info to punters would, I would have thought, be the least a reviewer could do. You certainly wouldn’t find anything remotely like this in Rolling Stone, or even the Herald Sun which itself isn't exactly a bastion of journalistic integrity. Perhaps it’s part of the reason street press is apparently struggling to stay viable now – the sheer commitment to the lowest common denominator. It's certainly why I stopped reading it many years ago. I caught this when I picked up the mag last week out of boredom. Unfortunately things haven't changed.

David, in short, yes. If I speak publicly on issues relevant to the org I work for (music is not a relevant issue for my particular work place), it can and will be taken to be the views of my org. Similarly (for example), if you speak to a customer service rep about an order you placed for some product, and it has taken months to arrive, and that customer service rep says they’ll give you a refund for shipping, you can rely on that even though you don’t honestly think the rep you're talking to is the actual person shipping it to you. It’s stuff a base level uni ethics course will tell you. Don’t blame me, I didn’t invent it.

And our word of the day prize goes to David for his use of the word "extrapolating". Congratulations, David. Please visit any shop and tell them that you used it on the internet.

i don't see why bono can be slagged but joe amateur can't be. simone treats all music equally and slags them all off equally. that's fair: music is music. 
more importantly - it's just her opinion. that's all a review is. i'm happy to publish her opinion and not agree with it; it happens often. that's how reviews work!

lol

Defamation law relates to false imputation. There has to be an identifiable plaintiff and the statement must be false. Check out the Brisbane Times today, for example. John Birmingham referred to Andrew Bolt as a ‘worthless blood clot’, Bolt’s column as a ‘septic wound’ and Bolt’s readers as ‘a veritable legion of mouth-breathing pinheads and shambling inbred fools’. Not even this qualifies as defamation.

Imputations about Rob Sawyer’s management (if he actually has any) being on crack would far more easily be caught by defamation law because, provided management (the plaintiff) exists, there is an imputation (management on crack), and the claim is probably false. Is crack addiction big in Australia? I don’t know. In reality though, defamation law is out of reach of ordinary folk because of prohibitive costs. Really it’s just the domain of politicians and massive corporations.

Agree on the tall poppy comment, it’s out of control in this country! The reason I conceded these sorts of things might be funny in relation to a few massive rock stars is because they fly around in private jets, flog American Express or handbags, engage from time to time in extreme ego-fuelled wanker acts, make more money than anyone can really imagine, and no doubt couldn’t care less what street press says. It’s all about context.

How's the ratio now? peehee

I honestly don't think I'm ready for this jelly.

Watch it Richard! I'll seriously take you to court in the UK system because this is the interwebs! My lawyer, Dennis Denuto says I stand a good chance of winning because of the vibe. He is extrapolating our case as we speak. Take heed of this ethical truism.