extra notes, "Coldplay" commentary
posted 18 July 05









(1) Then again, the cool thing about critics who veer towards absurdly insupportable hyperbole is that you know they're dealing with something inside themselves rather than anything actually in the music. Critics who brandish the phrases "the most" or "the worst" pretty much identify themselves on the spot as people unconsciously airing their own psychological laundry, as it were. This can be kind of fascinating, so long as you take their opinions with a grain or two of (coarse) salt.(Click to return to "Foulplay" commentary.)
















(2) What can moony high-school girls know about worthy music is the implication. Never mind that 40 years ago, another batch of moony (and, okay, screechy) high-school girls helped usher in a musical revolution. I am not at all comparing Coldplay to the Beatles in either substance or effect; I am merely pointing out that making fun of a band for appealing to high school girls is a cheap shot.Click to return to "Foulplay" commentary.)















(3) I for one will never forget the time Andy Rooney saw fit to blast rock as some sort of infantile musical genre on 60 Minutes and did so by putting the lyrics from a then-current Bruce Springsteen song up on a blackboard for examination. The song was "Ain't Got You," from 1987's Tunnel of Love, which included lyrics such as: "Cause I got more good luck honey than old King Farouk/But the only thing I ain't got baby I ain't got you." Ha ha ha. Look at the dumb lyrics. And this Bruce Springsteen is supposed to be such a great artist? Andy Rooney already seemed really old, back in 1987. Holding rock lyrics up to a microscrope was a crotchety old man's argument then and always will be. (Click to return to "Foulplay" commentary.)
















(4) No, I don't suppose I have much patience for pop music critics. For more details on this favorite topic of mine, I'd suggest reading the previous Commentary piece, entitled "The End of Criticism," in which I argue that pop music critics should not really exist.(Click to return to "Foulplay" commentary.)