LEGENDARY British music critic Everett True has rankled the local music industry with a scathing attack on Australian street press.
True accused local writers of going too soft on Aussie bands and slammed some of our best known bands - including Silverchair and The Vines - as "musical abominations".
Writing his online blog for Britain's The Guardian newspaper, True - who relocated to Brisbane in June - claims the idea that street-press journalists criticise Aussie bands is "heresy" and says the music industry suffers as a result.
A former scribe for Melody Maker during the height of the '90s grunge movement, True is best known by many music fans as the man who introduced Courtney Love to Kurt Cobain in 1991. He is scheduled to speak at the Big Sound Music Summit.
"Australians don't have much respect for the music press - it runs counter to their culture. Australian rock is all about 'Good on ya, mate - well done for getting up on stage and switching that amplifier on'," True writes in his blog.
"The idea of anyone actually daring to criticise musicians for the sound they make is almost heresy.
"Everyone is treated equally, which means no knocking anyone back, however great the temptation (that'll be why Australian rock is best known to the outside world for such musical abominations as Silverchair, The Vines and Savage Garden)."
Queensland's music press has hit back, with one editor of a local music newspaper dismissing the British music guru as "irrelevant".
"It's a really poor piece of journalism from a music writer who once had relevance and influence, but now he's living in Australia, he doesn't really have the knowledge or experience of the local industry to back up his opinions," said the industry source.
"It's just a shame he gets to hide under the masthead of The Guardian, which gives him credence where none is due."
Music industry analyst Rob Collings has also dismissed the blog as "nonsense" and has taken a swipe back at the British press, which he claims is overly critical.
"I think there are parts of the British press that seem to enjoy denigrating their subjects," he said.
But Colin Rankin, publisher of Brisbane's Rave magazine, claims True has a valid point and admits there are pockets of the Australian music press that are reluctant to "tread on toes".
"But I certainly don't think it is something that happens all the time."
True, meanwhile, says part of his motivation for the article was to see if there was any passion left in the street-press: "Judging by the response . . . obviously there is, which is nice."
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