THEORIES, RANTS, ETC.

Editor-in-Chief & Associate Publisher Phil Alexander Deputy Editor Andrew Male Senior Editor Danny Eccleston Art Editor Mark Wagstaff Reviews Editor Jenny Bulley Associate Editor (Production) Geoff Brown Deputy Art Editor Russell Moorcroft Associate Editor (News) Ian Harrison Picture Editor Matt Turner Picture Researcher Ian Whent Contributing Editors Sylvie Simmons, Keith Cameron Contributing Editor (US) Ben Edmonds 313 897 2053 For mojo4music.com contact Danny Eccleston Ver y much enjoyed Keith Cameron’s brush with Iggy Pop and his new band in MOJO 269, but I am bit worried Iggy has been hanging out with the wrong people when he visits Sheffield. Iggy told Keith that his new drummer Matt Helders, him out of the Arctic Monkeys, “doesn’t really waste a lot of chitter-chatter. He reminds me of other people I know from that part of England.” I think you’ve been going to the wrong places Mr Pop. We tend to love a good natter in these parts, as I believe MOJO firmly established a few months back when you sent Roddy Doyle up here to inter view Richard Hawley. That chat went on for a good while, it seemed. Next time you’re in town Iggy, I’d suggest grabbing a pew in one of our many fine pubs and just tr y shooting the breeze with the locals, there will be “chitter-chatter” aplenty. Michael Robinson, Heeley, Sheffield Just finished your excellent feature on Iggy in MOJO 269 in which you mention Michael Erlewine. According to him, he gave Jim Osterberg the name “Iggy”. But his other claim to fame is that he started the All Music Guide. Just thought you’d like to know. A Guy Who Used To Know Michael Erlewine, The Promised Land, USA Thank you for David Fricke’s excellent feature on Joni Mitchell’s jazz albums in MOJO 269. The Hissing Of Summer Lawns was the first Mitchell album I ever owned, having fallen for the cover art in a charity shop in Woolwich in the late ’80s. I was a 19-year-old student at the time and like most people, I knew Blue almost by osmosis, but not well enough to be shocked by The Hissing… or even realise just how radical it really was. It was great to see Joni Mitchell portrayed as someone enjoying life and having a sense of humour as well. Too often we read about how difficult and irritable she is, which I often suspect is down to the double standards applied to female artists. It seems much easier for us to separate the artist from the person when they’re men. Women are too often required to be ‘nice’ people as well as great artists. And where on earth did you find that photo of her blacked-up at a Halloween party?! Now that is shocking. Caroline Buckingham, Bedford At last! Some proper coverage of a proper band in your pages! I am, of course, referring to MOJO 269’s How To Buy article on the legendar y Magma – a combo that are long overdue some genuine exposure in MOJO. I am sure that selecting 10 albums by the band was an arduous task for Kris Needs. It is hard to argue with Mëkanik Dëstructïw Kömmandöh at Number 1. But equally, I would argue that you need to commission a proper piece on the making of that Zeuhl masterpiece! I mean, how many other bands do you know that have succeeded in inventing their own language? I rest my case, MOJO… and will await for you to sort