Paulie Mississippi Posted August 16, 2007 Share Posted August 16, 2007 People like this critic are pretty much trying to make a name for themselves. When 99% of the reviews are positive, they try to stand out. Probably if the album sucked and everybody hated the band, he'd be singing their praises... just to be heard...Or maybe it's just that Cleveland still doesn't realize what they have (had). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hollies65 Posted August 16, 2007 Author Share Posted August 16, 2007 Ha! Mr Farrar feels the wrath of pauliemississippi! Cleveland DOES get and loves the Raspberries...at least the people I know...this includes Mike Hudson from The Pagans...Anton Fier from The Feelies and Golden Palominos...Tony and Allen from Pere Ubu...Kevin McMahon ...from Lucky Pierre and Prick and Every member of The Rubber City Rebels and The Wild Giraffes. Also Steve Jochum from Wild Horses...Dave Swanson and Robert Pollard from Guided By Voices....I could go on and on. These are people whose music opinions I respect...They all love the Berries...they are all Clevelanders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny S. Posted August 16, 2007 Share Posted August 16, 2007 Raspbernie said: It is kinda odd that the only reviews with anything negative to say happen to come out of Cleveland in free newspapers, isn't it? Hmmm… Those "Free papers" are so biased anyway, It doesnt suprise me one bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Carmen Posted August 16, 2007 Share Posted August 16, 2007 I happen to like Badfinger, but the lyrics of "No Matter What" could hardly be thought of as "clever" and "edgy" or whatever that nimrod said. "Day After Day" isn't exactly Dylan either. I listened to "Royal Trux" and laughed my ass off. They reminded me a lot of Babes In Toyland's cover of "All By Myself." If people who shoot heroin and can't sing are what our little friend at the free local rag likes, well, whatever. Why they would give this guy a word processor and a column is another question. His whole review struck me as a desperate cry for attention. As if. ec Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hollies65 Posted August 16, 2007 Author Share Posted August 16, 2007 I read his other reviews...his total lack of understanding of rock history is frightning! He is one of these guys who thinks Gram Parsons is the greatest thing ever without mentioning the far superior Gene Clark once.I am somewhat dismayed that the two Cleveland weekly papers were in a competiton to see who could post the absolute crummiest Raspberries review.And yes for some weird reason he always is refering to music as "Country/rock thru a maze of cocaine and heroin" Huh? Totaly worthless. That Anastasia girl who wrote for the Plain Dealer was a HUGE Raspberries fan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hollies65 Posted August 16, 2007 Author Share Posted August 16, 2007 Ha! I not only love the Dictators but The Del-Lords as well. The thing with this guy is...he is giving props to the other great power pop groups [Who deserve them] yet downplaying the influence of the Berries and slamming the the voice of the guy [Eric] with the best pipes of any of the groups mentioned. Weird. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pierson Posted August 16, 2007 Share Posted August 16, 2007 well, the thing about all THREE groups are the MAJOR singers:Alex ChiltonPete Ham Eric Carmen(not mention the other guys: Chris Bell, Jody Stephens, Dave Smalley, Wally Bryson, Joey Molland, Tom Evans)....in each case, the band has a singer of MONUMENTAL importance....Alex Chilton's vocals on the Big Star albums (especially "Radio City") is unmatched... but very personal...Pete Ham's voice is one of the all-time most beautiful creations... and of course Eric's which even goes a step further and delivers this Steve Marriott-esque punch that neither of those 2 could muster... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ira Posted August 16, 2007 Share Posted August 16, 2007 Ya know as a teacher...sometimes after a teaching period with the WORST kid....I'll think..."His parents have him 24/7 FOREVER and me.... after 43 minutes...I'm done"!This jerk-Farrar's wife has to put up with him till she wises up...and his friends have to listen to this blowhard too.To quote Andrew Dice Clay's sensitive(?) portrayal of his feelings after an intimate encounter (sarcasm fully intended)...(1 minute after reading this idiot's review)..."I"M DONE"!Why even discuss this sensationalism-seeking moron?-Ira. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pierson Posted August 16, 2007 Share Posted August 16, 2007 ira said: (sarcasm fully intended)... Why even discuss this sensationalism-seeking moron?-Ira. well, mainly because he's in print, and because it's part of the "dialogue" no matter how far off base it is... his is worse, because it's in the context of the bands the Raspberries are peers with and equal too... to try and rewrite or stir up the pot (especially in a Cleveland paper) is something that needs to be taken to task... fans do tend to be hyberbolic, and history does get out of perspective... so certain crap gets thrown into public debate... as a response or as something to f'k sh*t up... the one thing the Raspberries achieved w/ the reunion and this DVD was their proper place as the creators of power pop and definitely one of the most influential bands of the early 1970s... whether or not Kiss or Motley Crap sound a thing like them... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don_Krider Posted August 16, 2007 Share Posted August 16, 2007 Let's see, Justin F. Farrar is music editor of Cleveland Scene, and he gets the album title wrong. He uses the words "dudes" and "dude" in a review --- my college journalism professor would have strangled him. He ignores the fact that Cleveland Scene was once one of the band's biggest supporters. I'm done. He's entitled to his opinion. One poorly written "review" by a guy who doesn't like the band, amid dozens of great reviews by people who know what they are talking about, will be little noticed nor long remembered. If nothing else, let that one bad review stimulate our little "cult," as that writer calls us (does he include the 1.3 million people who bought "Go All The Way" or the 50 million people who have bought something with an Eric Carmen song on it among the members of that "cult"?), to promote this album even more. As fans of "Jericho" like Paulie and I will remember, when CBS-TV cancelled that series, thousands of fans shipped "nuts" to the network (based on a word, "nuts," that the American commander at Bastogne said to the German commander who demanded his surrender during the Battle of the Bulge in World War II, a saying that was quoted in the series). CBS got so many "nuts" shipped to them that they renewed the series. Perhaps if we shipped baskets of fresh raspberries to Justin F. Farrar at Cleveland Scene we could show our support for the band... might be fun... besides, his writing indicates that he needs more Raspberries in his diet... Don Krider Long live the Raspberries cult, dudes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnO Posted August 16, 2007 Share Posted August 16, 2007 Hey, it's just one guy whose opinion differs from ours....and it's not as if we'd be able to change his mind about this....so, as Ira says, it's best to just ignore him. (Also, it's not as if this was a national, widely-circulated publication!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Argee Posted August 16, 2007 Share Posted August 16, 2007 Cleveland does not get it?What other city had the first comeback concert on the front page of the states largest newspaper?What other city had members of the band appear on the top 4 TV stations?What other city has a radio station that has the SUNSET STRIP album in its on air play rotation?What other city had band members in studio live on the air to talk about the new release?What other city had the band as grand marshalls of a Christmas (or any other) parade.I think there are a hell of lot more areas in the country that "don't get it".You people act as if the band is selling out stadiums outside of Cleveland.The bands base is and always has been Cleveland. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raspbernie Posted August 16, 2007 Share Posted August 16, 2007 Argee,You have a point there. Raspberries have *always* packed clubs and sold out shows in Cleveland. The fans have *always* been there. If anything, it's the Cleveland critics who have been slow to on board. Perhaps they have a hard time acknowledging something great in their own backyard. Who knows? But you're absolutely right on all of your points—Cleveland fans have never abandoned the band, they were and still are in Raspberries' corner.Bernie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WC1215 Posted August 16, 2007 Share Posted August 16, 2007 If this guy is such an authority why isn't he working for a national publication and not some free rag in Cleveland? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al K Posted August 16, 2007 Share Posted August 16, 2007 Business 101. Free Weekly rags have just one source of income - advertising. The more people who pick up the free rag and page through it, the more advertising revenue is generated. So if one of the "journalists" or "editors" comes up with an idea - a "hot button", to spark emotion, controversy, etc. and in turn increase "circulation" and therefore attract more advertisers, the powers that be are all over it. So...the best way to make 'em pay is to hit 'em where it hurts. By all means write letters and post your opinions to their online comments section, but better yet, contact Mr. Farrar's boss - the editor / publisher of the rag, and simply let him or her know that this unprofessional, irresponsible, uneducated form of "journalism has done was to make your mind up not to ever pick up one of their "magazines" again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al K Posted August 16, 2007 Share Posted August 16, 2007 excuse the grammar faux pas - but you get the idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnniekNY Posted August 16, 2007 Share Posted August 16, 2007 I agree, Argee - I think when you read "Cleveland doesn't get it" it means "cleveland critics." That's always the way i take it but it wasn't clear. Thanks for the clarification Bernie.My hubby bought a copy of the deluxe version and sent to to Scott Shannon, the Program director and DJ on WPLJ in New York City - Scott was at the sunday show and we both like him very much. We think he'll do a great job of talking up the CD because he gets the difference between rap and Raspberries Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sterling Posted August 16, 2007 Share Posted August 16, 2007 I agree with Ira. Good point my friend. I have been there many times myself. A few expressions I have heard over the years could be appropriate here concerning this individual:The lights are on but nobody's homeThe wheel is turning but the hamster is deadHe is about 5 fries short of a Happy MealHe is definitely 100 bricks short of a loadPhil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hollies65 Posted August 16, 2007 Author Share Posted August 16, 2007 The great thing is this: The review was posted yesterday evening and there are already 10 posts defending the Berries including one by Cheese Borger who run the Clepunk website! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poor4Life Posted August 16, 2007 Share Posted August 16, 2007 I should've added in my earliar post, that seeing as that this guy is from Cleveland, he's trying to attract attention by slamming the hometown boys.Someone mentioned "why isnt he working for a bigger publication?"Probably because these guys can't. DeRogitis at one point a few years ago left the Sun-Times and started to write for Rolling Stone. Within a couple of years he came back to Chicago with his tail between his legs at the Sun-Times. He claimed he had "creative differences" over a review with Jann Wenner. If that was the case, why did he come back to Chicago, and not with another publication. These so called "critics" are a dime a dozen.Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raspathens Posted August 16, 2007 Share Posted August 16, 2007 I think that music critics, as a group, are generally behind the curve. Whenever I want a good laugh, I pull a Stereo Review from early 1964 and read initial Beatles reviews. Only after Aaron Copeland expressed his admiration for the group did the guys at that magazine do an about face. Here, we can't dismiss criticism simply because we disagree with it. However, the problem with this particular review is that it lacks depth or insight. Nothing is offered of value. It's stupid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnO Posted August 16, 2007 Share Posted August 16, 2007 This thread, which started out as lambasting one particular gentleman with bad taste in music, seems to taken on a life of its own now, as bashing critics in general. Interesting, as practically 100% of all critics' writeups I've seen of the reunited 'Berries have been overwhelmingly positive!Yeah, there are bad critics...for example, Rolling Stone tends to reinvent its own history repeatedly, assigning 5 star reviews in "down memory lane" reviews of old classics - usually albums that they bashed when they were released. On the other hand, that magazine in the 70s was one of the only ones where "Starting Over" was recognized as the masterpiece it was!My point? That, for the most part, critics have been very kind to our boys over the past several years, and the positive reviews can only help them. Will there be an occasional bad writeup? Sure! It's a damn shame that it happened in the city where their first reunion show sold out in minutes, but it's not like it's going to be read by all that many people....and it certainly won't stop (I hope) anyone from supporting the band or buying the new CD! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hollies65 Posted August 16, 2007 Author Share Posted August 16, 2007 Yeah...that's what got me started...The Scene critic [i've read Scene for over 30 years] spouting unfounded crap. As a lifelong Cleveland area resident and Berries fan I had to vent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raspyrock Posted August 16, 2007 Share Posted August 16, 2007 We may hAve fallen into the trap of giving this reviewer the attention he sought. I think this was calculated. Sounds like a bunch of hoo-haa spouted out by a Big Star mega-fan. He did get the last part right THOUGH: RASPBERRIES: "PURE FUN" -------- ( AND MORE!!!!!!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJ Posted August 16, 2007 Share Posted August 16, 2007 There's always a bad berrie in the bunch - let's track him down and force him to listen to The Choir, Cyrus Erie, and every song on every Raspberries album lol. He can be converted to our way of thinking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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