Sleeping with the NME*

Is the music press a bunch of lick-spittle lackeys who bow to the corporate c*ck?

I have no idea. However, a lively debate touching on the subject is going on over at The Londonist regarding the NME Album of The Year.
Click on the link - it's an interesting tale. Much argy-bargy of the "show your sources!", "why aren't you denying it?" ilk. Nice.

Further reading: the 'I-Sky' column in Private Eye, devoted to instances of shameless cross-plugging in the Murdoch Empire.


*OK, title doesn't really work but it does bring back memories of that Manic Street Preachers B-side to 'Suicide Is Painless' which took the form of an excerpt from a BBC documentary on the NME, transcript here.
It featured such future luminaries as Steve Lamacq ("beginning to stain the carpet"), Mary-Anne Hobbs ("I'm only the scum assistant"), James Brown ("It doesn't say T-Rex"), Andrew Collins ("Print it!") and that Danny Wotsisname who presented that football programme on Channel 5.

Who says the media is just an incestuous old-pals network? (That slur excludes Andrew Collins, because I like him.)