music reviewers are allowed to have opinions. full stop.

ok, so a big part of what I do in my spare time is review music. the keys to being a good reviewer are:

1) having an opinion in the first place. meaning being a wishy-washy waffler does not do you any good.

2) being passionate about music. it's pointless not to feel strongly one way or another in this business, b/c the whole point of music reviewing is to offer your opinion to other people who want to know about a release. seriously, what would the music world be like, if we all liked the same kind of music? I think we all agree it would be v. boring indeed.

there are plenty of reviewers I respect that I've disagreed with one time or another. it's called personal preference. do I hate Stuart Maconie for loving Florence and the Machine, even though I can barely tolerate her? or him steadfastly insisting that he's played Friendly Fires on Radcliffe/Maconie? (I highly doubt they have, because I am a regular listener.) no. disagreements happen. if it wasn't for criticism, bands wouldn't get better, would they?

I follow actor/DJ/music lover Mathew Horne (@mfhorne) on Twitter. he's a funny guy. also pretty nice, judging by the fact that he'll actually respond to fans' queries. we have similar music tastes (we both like We Were Promised Jetpacks, the Joy Formidable, Friendly Fires, and the Pains of Being Pure at Heart, just for example), and we're about the same age as well, so it's nice to "talk" to someone like that.

as I stated on Twitter this evening, I am not a fan of the new Foals single, 'Spanish Sahara' - it was one of 7 items reviewed on Roundtable last night. not only is the title an anachronism (the Sahara Desert is NOT in Spain, or even the Continent, so poor UK geography teachers have an uphill battle), I just don't like it, the melody reminds me of 'Jetstream' by Doves, a far superior track. that's my opinion and I offered it, just like the people on Lammo's Roundtable do each week. Mat Horne likes it:

mfhorne
Fuckadoodledo the new Foals single is compelling. Welcome back boys @foals

I decided to post my own opinion, not even in response directly to him OR insulting him or Foals. it was just an opinion.

theprintedword

unlike @mfhorne, I'm thoroughly unimpressed by Foals' newest single. sounds like Doves. I think they'll have to find new playmates soon

however, I was not expecting this exchange:

mfhorne

@theprintedword it does not sound like fucking Doves!

(calm down man, no need to swear. or throw a temper tantrum.)

theprintedword
@mfhorne can we agree to disagree, please? if it makes you feel any better, I didn't like the new Doves song either.

after a bit of reflection, I decided to post this, to prevent any Twitter flaming from the Foals-loving faction of Mat's fanbase:

theprintedword
oh dear, I didn't mean to start a war about this new Foals single. forget I mentioned it...

to which Mr. Horne replied:

mfhorne

@theprintedword thank the lord for that

I still have no cotton pickin' idea what that last Tweet means. frankly, I'm annoyed by the whole thing. interestingly, a friend of a friend had a similar incident with Mat last week, in which Mat dogged him as well. seriously, WTF? yes, I get you're an actor and you're famous, unlike the rest of us. but geez, I don't care who you are, temper tantrums are for 2 year olds.

I really doubt my opinion about a single matters to that many people. it's not like I'm Steve Lamacq. anything he says practically makes or breaks a band in the UK. unless Mat knows something I don't...! Foals have been around for a long while and have mates in high places so to speak (that was my intention mentioning 'playmates' of theirs I'm aware of that might be confused about the direction they've decided to go, away from 'Cassius' for one), so it's highly unlikely my one slag-off on them is going to do anything to their reputation.

in any event, it was a low blow. and as I stated yesterday on Twitter, I doubt Sean Adams of Drowned in Sound ever gets challenged and slagged off in public like I did.