Mark, My Words: I agree with Julian Casablancas – technology is becoming a retrogressive force

"Breakthrough acts like Idles or Fontaines D.C. are the result of actual human DJs, writers and tastemakers coming to a rare consensus around a particular band, but their impact is limited now, their chances of cracking the increasingly irrelevant singles chart virtually nil. All thanks to The Algorithm... The result is a musical culture practically bereft of sudden shifts, scenes or movements, but evolving imperceptibly, over an indefinable mush of years, towards the beige middle-ground" - NME's Mark Beaumont writes in his latest blog Mark, My Words.