Wow! A couple recent reviews are really helping to reinforce the fact that music is purely subjective and that there is a huge difference between a good music critic and a bad one.
In a recent Village Voice review for Vampire Weekend‘s debut album, Julianne Shepherd jumps on the backlash bandwagon and reaffirms her love for 80′s punk. Unfortunately, it seems that Julianne is airing out her own baggage with trust-fund boys she knew in college and overusing the term steez, whatever that may be. Take a read and see what you think?
Julianne Shepherd’s Vampire Weekend review in the Voice
I don’t work with or for Vampire Weekend and I couldn’t care less what direction their career goes, but it annoys me to see people who think they know all about music rip into bands for the wrong reasons. And why is Paul Simon (and even Peter Gabriel, as I’ve seen in other negative reviews) an originator of African music? Is it because he could actually afford to pay to fly out the whole Ladysmith Black Mambazo to Nashville and use them on his album? How punk rock is that!? There is lots of African music before Graceland, Julianne. Paul Simon stole another culture’s steez! And why are you talking about punk rock? It’s like talking about Big Band music when you’re reviewing a Radiohead album, or ‘dancing about architecture’, even. Oh yeah, and you’re so punk rock that you think these guys are stupid for reading sheet music!? Maybe if you read sheet music, you’d make a better music critic, Julianne. Hang up your hangups before you start trashing someone else’s art.
Another awful review comes to us from Maxim, and here it is…
*review photo courtesy of Scotty B at Hidden Track
Not inherently evil, but what we find out is that this reviewer, David Peisner, never even heard the record, as no advances were given out AT ALL! Meaning that he was probably only judging the album on the one single that has been released. The Black Crowes fought back.
So, a big NewmRadio SHAME ON YOU to David Peisner and Julianne Shepherd.
What do you guys think? Am I too hard on these two?
