| Glad you guys had such a constructive response to this review. Really contributing to the dialogue on the site. Well, certainly an inconsequential record, but a decent review. A couple of things. You seem like you're probably a young guy, maybe just getting underway as a reviewer. Good luck. Some advice, though. Skip all of the bullshit about having cred, losing cred, making light of your tastes etc. Nobody needs to read sheepish, self-deprecating record reviews. As far as I know TAN! (what a stupid name, tells you everything you need to know about this band) has never really rated a critical backlash, as the only place that really seemed to give a shit was Pitchfork and the Les Savy camp as well. You shouldn't be ashamed of liking what you like, especially as a critic. Loud and proud, Matt. The idea of something being a knockoff shouldn't really be an issue either, as the Fav dudes went and signed the band to their label and all. I don't really care for either band, but that is neither here nor there. So, back to the comments. Weezer reference really week, as again, TAN! aren't really on anyone's radar anyway, so who is gonna be offended that you liked their last record? Inches was essentially a greatest hits comp of all of Sav's 7"s, so not the best thing to compare a regular full-length release to. Randy Moss joke pretty bad but true, certainly helps destroy your "cred" more than admitting that you liked the previous TAN! record to make a lame sports analogy, though. Finally, while you may think Neil Young is a steaming pile of turd with nothing left to say, I would think there might be a better example at hand to use to make your point. A desperate attempt to again insert humor into the piece and one that seems a little extreme for what you are going for. Opinions over Mr. Young's recent output are not going to be hotly debated by me here or anywhere else, but compared to almost anyone else from his generation Neil remains a pretty interesting guy. Pretty safe to say that Neil is way more likely to have a great record in him in the future than 90% of the bands reviewed on this site. Most likely no one will listen to Les Savvy Fav in ten years, but they sure as hell will listen to Neil. So, the comment basically comes off as a lazy cheap shot made by a green reviewer and music fan. I really love Stylus because of the interactive nature of the site and the broad nature of the music it covers, but this type of stuff doesn't help the cause. Stick to talking about the music, Matt, and you will serve yourself and the site much better. |