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Reverend Coomers,
Accidently ran onto your hallelujah sermon for all things pure rock and I think that your entire site is a must for all of those about to ROCK! There's more to the true punk spirit than meets the TVEYE....Thanx for your Light and Darkness!
Sin-Cerely,
Oxy Continental
Rev,
Now I've just killed another hour or so on your site, and wow, I have to say thanks. I used to work in this record store where I'd kill time reading old issues of Creem, and, while it made me incredibly happy to read good writing about bands I liked, it was also depressing as hell to think that this was 20 yrs. ago and now I'm stuck with Britney's boobs on the cover of Rolling Stone at least 4 months out of the year (it's contractual, I heard.)
So thank heavens that people are out there still being passionate about rock
and roll and writing about it with humor and smarts and love! Ah, I have
hope!
And tell Dimitri to hang in there, keep yer eyes on the prize. I know where
he's coming from...there's a whole legion of dead-end-job rockers out there,
and someday soon we're all gonna get our acts together and turn this mother
out....we started it, let's take over!!
Best,
Cavale
Dear Reverend,
Ugh! Yer really killin' me here...
Despite liking a large amount of the same stuff, you always have some head- scratchers that I can't figure out why you dig. I knew right away that Local H would be one of 'em. I could tell by your reveiw "Oh boy, this is gonna be one-a those things Phil raves about that I can't stand" and sure enuff, it was. Man, that band sounds like what I turn the radio off to avoid hearing. I hate that kinda what I call "store bought" guitar sound.
Like, if you went to Guitar Center and bought a Marshall stack and some pedals and a Les Paul, you could get the exact same sound. I pretty much agreed with the reviews you quoted, and you portrayed 'em as being way off the mark! But diff'rent strokes, yadda yadda yadda...I was willing to ignore that one.
But man, I gotta put my foot down with you giving the thumbs up to The Drive By Truckers!!!!!! Arrgh! These guys really suck! I saw them do an in-store here and it was one of the most gawd-awful musical experiences of the past year. I mean bad. Wrist-slittingly bad. Horrible. Did I mention bad? Bad. Bad. Terrible. Ugh. They said "one more song" and it was, I shit you not, TWENTY MINUTES LONG! ONE SONG! This song didn't even have a drum solo, either. "Southern Rock Opera"?!?!?!?! Oh, man. Shoot me now. Ugh. Terrible. Makes the Bottle Rockets look like the Velvet Underground. Bleech.
You're killing me, man.
Respectfully yours,
Schooley
John,
Awwwww, you're just grumpy 'cause your new record isn't out yet so as to compete with these boys. Plus, you have an unfair advantage: I stick my neck out for anyone to chop; like Rick in Casablanca, you "stick (yer) neck out for nobody" (though those Sacred Steel records may well be your Ilsa).
Dear Reverend,
Do you want the good news or the bad news? Well, let's go bad, so I can end with the blubbering. To the chase--your review of the Unitas record is maddening--here's why--the music is actually quite good, a mix of REM, Uncle Tupelo and bad emo bands, and gosh duggit, I dig it. But, and here is the rub, I deeply refute the idea that this boy has anything to say. Let's see--whining about his friends, other bands, his hometown, his newspaper, etc. What, god pray, does he offer in the way of a solution? He simply offers up himself as a superior solution without saying anything about what that means. Ok, so drinking and smoking is bad. What does he offer in its place? Excuse the bad pun, but he's just another whine merchant. Everything sucks, but... Well, at least the music is good.
In other news, your story is scarily similar to my own, which half pisses off my pathetic sense of individuality but half restores my faith in the human race. To make a long story shorter, the holy trinity part, which I would have changed to include Dinosaur Jr. rather than the minute boys, a minor point, mirrored so closely my own that I had to check the url to make sure i wasn't reading an old journal. You are obviously an older gentleman, and so, sadly, am I. It's always interesting to hear what the hell happened to our particular generation. While i'm not crazily down with some of your record pics, it's nice to know that there are bastards like you out there, not just changing diapers, keeping it all alive and bringing that 20 years or so of listening experience to the game.
While I go to change another diaper, please know that there are other bastards out here enjoying your shit and relying on it for new info on sounds and hoping to maybe, just maybe, get turned on to some record that might, among all the ho hum discs, change a moment.
Cheers,
Ken
Reverend,
Amen, my brother, amen, and Hallelujah! May God bless and keep you close! I just started working on my church "THE HOLY CHURCH of ROCK and ROLL", I did a web search and there you are!!
Amen my brother.
Great minds think alike. Smoke the weed that grew on Moses's grave! When I get my site up, I'll let you know and by the grace of God, we maybe can share some ideas. Peace for now. Spark it.
Love the commandments.
therealgod1@hotmail.com
Reverend Coomers and Dr. Filth,
Easily, hands down of the best articulated reviews of Love and Theft, if not the most fun and insightful. Third time I listened to the record, I had tears in my eyes just liked when I first heard the harmonica at the end of "Trying to Get to Heaven". Though there are dark clouds everywhere, we have to feel privileged to be alive in the the same age of an artist such as this. I mean.....just look at and think about the body of work. Again, thanks. What a pleasure it was to read.
Elliot Majerczyk
Hello Reverend,
Thanks very much for the well-written, honest review of all of our recent slop of rock & roll. It's so refreshing in this day and age of "serious" rock writings to see someone who writes from the heart and still feels the music. I really enjoy your page--keep up the good work, and that would be killer if one day if ya could get the funds for a print version. But no matter what, ya gotta love the on-line revolution for all us poor, hopeful, lovers of the true spirit and flame of rock & roll!
Keep in touch,
Ricky Rat
Thee Trash Brats
Reverend,
Wow--very nicely done... you're a good writer. Why don't you go to work for
Rolling Stone or somebody and give them some help? God knows they need it.
Anyway you were also dead on about "Weightless"... it was a tough call. We
tracked it for Fight Songs but re-did it for Satellite Rides. It was still the last song
to be added. It was between it and "Singular Girl" or just go with 12 songs.
We decided to toss it in. Some people really like it... some not so much, but
it gives the cd a nice break at that point, along with "Question," to get
ready for the final few cuts.
Personally, I prefer Satellite Rides over Fight Songs. Actually, Fight Songs is far and away my least favorite, but a lot of that has to do with the under-the-hood
stuff. A lot of people really like it so...
Anyway, keep preaching m'man,
cya,
Ken
The Old 97s
Reverend,
Respect & thanks for the words you found for Joey. I swear it brought tears to my eyes. And although I'm one of those atheists you mention: God bless you, man. I know it makes sense to you.
simonon77@netscape.net
Hi
I just stumbled across your website. Hallelujah! If ever there was a church worth being a member of.... this is it. Do you publish a print version? Anyway, it is a very cool site. I was wondering if I could get your mailing address so that I could send you a new CD that we just put out? I saw the review you did on our first release - The BellRays' Grand Fury.
Kind Regards,
Julie
Uppercut Records/Disgruntled Music
T: 323-224-3012
4470 Sunset Blvd. #195
Los Angeles, CA 90027
