Jarvis Cocker has been commenting on Sheffield bands. He quite likes Arctic Monkeys, apparently, but not The Long Blondes or Little Man Tate. Which I find somewhat surprising. Cocker's from Sheffield, by the way, just in case you forgot that.
Asked about his hometown's current spate of music success stories, Cocker told Pitchfork: "I'm glad that Sheffield's got some attention. I mean just because somebody's in Sheffield doesn't mean it's good. I think the Arctic Monkeys are pretty good, I heard the new track by them the other day, which I liked".
He continued: "The Long Blondes, I can't listen to more than about three songs. They're nice people, but there's just something about the frequency of their voice. In a way it reminds me of Barbara Streisand. You know how Barbara Streisand obviously has technically got a great voice, but she's a master of the held note, so you've got a note that will last about eight seconds, and it fucking drives me insane. And it makes you feel out of breath as well. And somehow Kate [Jackson, singer] seems a little bit like that. There are some good songs on that record, but I can't listen to the whole album".
And finally, he doesn't mince his words on Little Man Tate: "There's a group called Little Man Tate, who are an absolute pile of shit."
Ouch...