Most Overrated Message Board Theme

Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
Also, I'm content to read minimal responses like "it sucks" on a chatboard. If I want real music journalism, the 9:30 board is certainly not somewhere I'm going to turn to.

Real music journalism sucks. ;) Or it would suck, if there were any such thing–that's one of those terms like "French military victory."

In a community of people whose tastes you have some handle on, all it takes is a few words about why someone liked or disliked a CD, concert, song, or whatever. I don't need an easay to figure out whether someone's reaction has predictive value for my own. Just plain "sucks," though, is almost devoid of informational content. Notwithstanding your protestations, I think your own commentary here often contains enough substance to be quite useful.

That's why I tend not to get into music dialogues on this board because that's what ends up happening? People start saying something sucks, and that's it. There are many types of music out there that bring many people joy and pleasure. Leave it at that. However, I think there have been a couple of times where I have been guilty of this just because I reached my boiling point. But it hasn't been very often.

Originally posted by Liberte:
No. What I actually said was that among people in this forum who are constantly bitching about how this or that band sucks (almost always a commercially successful band, almost always without specifying what "sucks" means or how they came to that opinion), one of those two factors appeared to be operating. Repeat, since the first two times seem to have blown right past you, in this forum. I will stand by that observation.

Actually, nothing blew right by me, I assumed you were speaking about this forum and I never stated otherwise. Perhaps it's time to work on your reading comprehension. You admitt my assessment of you position is correct. I say that is way off.

Originally posted by Liberte:
What a terrible affliction it must be to have such rarefied tastes that only 5% of the music you give a serious listen to gives you pleasure. My deepest condolences to both of you.

Actually, you are rewriting Rhett's quote ("95% of music flat out sucks") to include "serious listen". Again, the reading comprehension thing. I don't have to give Justin Timberlake (for example) a serious listen to know the music sucks. A cursory listen can reveal that. Go through the radio dial one day, same thing. Everytime I do I'm deeply disappointed but not surprised. Regardless, even at a 95% suckage rate for music that is being produced today, I still have more good music available to me than I can possibly buy. So, no condolances necessary.