h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

http://www.h2g2.com/A469433

Well, it's a page about the band "The Beautiful South", complete with discography, and other miscellaneous bits. It ended up a bit longer than I was intending...

Now I'm going to go to bed, because all of this typing has given me a headache .


Cheers,
Req

Hmm.
I'd suggest scrapping the discography - it's not terribly interesting for casual browsers such as those in h2g2 - if people want that they can go to the official site, right?

Instead, try to give a bit more detail about what the albums are like - do they have different themes? What is widely regarded as the best song? those songs which have made the top ten - what sort of styles are they?

I'd say a little bit about each album, and a little bit about each top ten single, to replace the discography - then it'd be the same length, but it'd encourage more people to read it, and more people to buy the music...

Hi,

Yeah - those are good points. I don't think I meant to have that massive discography... it just kind of appeared (at the same time as an hour or two disappeared!). I can't really remember writing it - there's just a hazy memory of eating chocolate and doing lots of typing... so much typing

I've actually got some free time now, so I'll make a few changes over the weekend. Thanks for the suggestions!

Cheers,

Req

Actually, whenever I look for a band on the Web, a discography's the first thing I look for. I agree that a complete list of songs isn't the most important thing in the entry, but the entry's not terribly long yet anyway.

But I also agree, a bit of description of the music would be useful. Personally, I find the Beautiful South's early albums bland, and haven't listened since; have they changed?

Personally I think the page could do with a bit more 'discussion' and less dry facts about the band. Perhaps mention a bit about the stand-out songs on each album instead of having just the discography. Also in terms of formatting, maybe make 'A Deeper Meaning' a subheader rather than a header so as to avoid having two headers in a row.

I think I have to agree that more discussion is required - less of the dryness - more of the comments from the fan I know req is...

Req... Req! Is this thing on? *tap* *tap* *tap*

Oh well - another for the workshop?

I'm still here, just without my LAN internet connection. Having to work at 56K after using a T1 connection isn't a lot of fun I'll get round to making some changes to the entry in a week or two - when I get all of the other work I need to do out of the way...


Cheers,

Req

real life is a bitch, isn't it?

Just a heretical question: Is there any rule for sizes of h2g2 entries (comparing with 'sizilian napkins' which was two paras in size)?

Anyway, I'd want to read something about the genre/type of music. I hardly ever pay attention to the lyrics, but what does it sound like: the beatles? Rock? Pop? German Schlager?

To reply to Bossel - no, there's no rule. The trend *is* towards longer entries, but that's just a trend, and I'm not sure how or where it started. We've had a definate movement on the Scouts to try and make sure we include short-but-comprehensive entries in our picks.

My rule would be: make sure you touch on everything. It need only be a single sentence, but make sure you at least mention such things. That way, someone else can write the detail in a seperate entry, and we can link it all together, which is all good...

I agree with the above posters that this one needs some work. Unfortunately, Req doesn't seem to have been around as of late. Writing Workshop, anyone?


Mikey

I does need a lot more to it - I second MDS - WW.

However, I disagree with the deletion of the discography. I don't mind seeing a discography in an entry, although I would probably place it near the bottom of the entry, as it's not essential reading.

Sorry, not MDS, but really Mikey!

Although Req hints at this in one section, I do think that more needs to be made of the contrast between The Beautiful South's words and their music. Right through their career, they've set vicious, bizarre and/or hilarious lyrics to pretty, gentle tunes, and that's really a big part of the point of the band. This tactic has enabled them to get some pretty unlikely subject matter into the charts: e.g. "Old Red Eyes Is Back", a hit song about someone dying of alcoholism!
Another example is the wonderful "Don't Marry Her" - a bouncy little tune sung with perfect folky clarity by Jacqui Abbott. It sounds such a sweet, innocent little ditty, and then you notice that the lyric is a withering attack on domesticity and that the chorus keeps repeating the line: "Don't marry her, f**k me"!
Of course, they had to do a "moderated" version for airplay. But that just made it all the more fun to play the proper version on pub jukeboxes and watch people's reactions when it got to that chorus...

Editorial Note: This conversation has been moved from 'Peer Review' to 'The h2g2 Writing Workshop'.

So what happens now, in the absence of the original Entry's author? I can happily add some more thoughts on what should be in a revised version, but how does the rewriting actually get done?

Hi Guys,

Sorry to have been away for so long, but I've been stressed out with work and moving into my new house (still, at least I've got broadband internet now ). TBH I'd totally forgotton about the entry until I heard from Ormondroyd this evening.

I've got no problem at all with people finishing off the article (let's face it - the chances of me being able to sit down for long enough to finish it ATM are rather slim!), and I'll try to make a little time to help out.

OK, guys - let's see if we can get this thing finished (preferably within a year of me starting it! )


Cheers,

Req

Oh yeah - when I removed the discography I refused to throw it away, and stuck it in a corner (as I tend to do with everything I'm supposed to be throwing away). It's over here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A488711 (just so I don't have to keep leaping over to My Space to find the link).

Cheers,

Req

It took a while, but I can now present:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A624089

The Beautiful South Entry version 2.0.

As there seemed to be mixed feelings over the idea of the discography, at the moment I'm compromising and keeping the album discography but not including the singles. All the band's major hit singles are mentioned in the text.

So, what do you think? And if you like the new version, should I ask for this thread to be moved back to Peer Review, or start a new one?

looks great

I'd say, make a new PR thread and post to the Scouts eGroup to have *this* thread moved back to er,... the v1.0 entry, so that people who stumble over it are made aware of the v2.0 entry.