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When I took on the Bob for his pathetic reviewing and pretty much demoralized those reviews, I never thought I'd get more ammo. Well, I have. I recently received an email in response to one I sent to them. (Those of you at the FDG will recognize it as almost the same one that Wark received.) Basically as lazy they are with reviewing, I really shouldn't be surprised that they don't really bother to actually answer an email with any effort or thought placed into it. I don't know how they can literally think they are doing something good.
The whole email only has ONE paragraph that was written just for my response.
"We appreciate your honest reaction to the music reviews in the _Plugged In_ section of our Web site. Although you seem somewhat familiar with our perspective after reading the response we gave to one of your friends, we are more than happy to clarify the reasoning behind our reviews. Basically, our ministry evaluates music based on the values it communicates, not on whether it is Christian or secular. Further, we have always chosen to focus more on the lyrical content of popular songs rather than the musicianship or talent of the songwriters. We realize that other individuals or organizations take this aspect into consideration, but we've chosen to concentrate more on the
message being communicated rather than the artistic presentation or the "history" behind the song. We also try to keep in mind how teens might perceive the music, not necessarily what the band intends to convey."
Oh wait. It seems that they have only changed the first paragraph slightly. What is WRONG with these people?? Are they THAT poor that they can't take any time to write anything with some type of thought? I'm a college student! Do you think I'm being paid to sit on my ass and write this for you right now? NO! I'm doing this for free and because I believe the power of words is important to pass on information. Obviously these people just don't CARE. I'm not surprised.
Here is the first paragraph from Wark's email.
"We appreciate your honest reaction to the music reviews in the _Plugged In_ section of our Web site. To better understand the reasoning behind our reviews, perhaps it will help if you keep in mind that our ministry evaluates music based on the values it communicates, not on whether it is Christian or secular. We critique new releases, outline positive and objectionable content, and offer an advisory based on our observations. If the message given by an artist or a song is immoral in nature, we've never been shy about offering a pointed warning. If, on the other hand, a secular piece of music conveys a positive thought or attitude, we're just as quick to draw attention to those constructive elements. The final decision about what to listen to or purchase is left up to the individual. Bear in mind that _Plugged In_ was originally created in newsletter form to keep Christian parents informed of the culture their kids were facing each day. Now that much of the same content is available online, anyone with a computer and modem has access to our findings."
Okay, there are some big differences, but still, they didn't say anything new. Not a thing that made me go, "ohhh I see what you are doing. I get it now." They simply paraphrased their entire first email. Now is where the fun stuff comes into play.
This is the end of Wark's email:
"Furthermore, as a non-profit ministry supported by private gifts from our listeners, we are not required to be "objective" with the content of our Web site. Like every other entity on the Web, we are free to express our worldview freely and openly. As our statement of faith and guiding principles explain, Focus on the Family's values regarding family life, sexual morality, music, movies, and other issues are grounded in the teachings of the Bible rather than the changing opinions of contemporary society. (Different translations do not necessarily change the basic meaning of the Greek and Hebrew texts.) Please be assured that we do not wish to condemn or alienate those who disagree with biblical principles. However, in our efforts to reach out and minister to hurting people, we cannot compromise our beliefs or change the direction of our ministry simply to accommodate differing views.
Again, thank you for expressing your opinions so honestly. Although specific disagreement may remain, know that the effort you've invested in opening a dialogue with us is much appreciated. God's grace and peace to you in the days ahead.
Tessa Camp
Focus on the Family "
And this is the end of mine:
"Furthermore, as a non-profit ministry supported by private gifts from our listeners, we are not required to be "objective" with the content of our Web site. Like every other entity on the Web, we are free to express our worldview freely and openly. As our statement of faith and guiding principles explain, Focus on the Family's values regarding family life, sexual morality, music, movies, and other issues are grounded in the teachings of the Bible rather than the changing opinions of contemporary society. Please be assured that we do not wish to condemn or alienate those who disagree with biblical principles. However, in our efforts to reach out and minister to hurting people, we cannot compromise our beliefs or change the direction of our ministry simply to accommodate differing views. [As for the interpretation of lyrics, we realize that many artists use their music to express strong feelings of anger and rebellion and many teens relate to their experiences. While this may be an emotional release for both the artist and the listeners, we believe these musicians also have a social responsibility to the wide audience they reach. While not all teens will immediately go out and duplicate the actions described in a particularly violent song, history has proven that some do take the lyrics literally and act on them in tragic ways. In our concern for all young people, we think it's wise to express caution in this area.]
Again, thank you for expressing your opinions so honestly, Allison. Although specific disagreement remains, know that the effort you've invested in opening a dialogue with us is much appreciated. God's grace and peace to you in the days ahead. "
The part I put in [ ] is the part that they added just for MY email! Gotta love 'em. Still, lazy of them to so blatently copy and paste a whole section of an email into a new one because of supposed cash flow problems. As if. Man, that's got be the lamest excuse I've ever heard.
To use a word of theirs: Furthermore, shouldn't that whole "not all teens" bit really say most? I have a funny feeling that looneys of all ages do not, will not, and will NEVER need the media to make them do some type of action. So they listen to a song. Either they're homicdial, sucidial or whatever to begin with. Just doesn't make sense to blame the media for every little thing.
Here's a quote from Richard on a letter that a fan wrote before committing suicide.
"I wrote a song: 'Hey Man Nice Shot,'" Patrick explained. "You know, I got a suicide letter in the mail. It was horrible. But I also got a picture of the person that did it, and the person had a joint in one hand, beer in the other, and a cigarette in their mouth."
He added, "If it were my song, you know, today, it would have been a cheeseburger tomorrow. I mean, if [that person] wants to kill herself, she's gonna kill herself. Whether or not my song triggered that or not, that's all in her mind. And unfortunately she needed therapy. She needed psychological help. And no one gave it to her" (Columbine's Wake MTV Online).
See? If a person is already thinking such thoughts, the media had nothing to do with it! I get so fucking pissed when I hear all the time that this tradgey or that tradgey occurred because someone saw something on TV, listened to some song, or saw a movie. Please! If that were true, we'd all go kill someone or ourselves from listening or seeing such things. Get real.
I guess the fact that everyone points their finger at any type of medium they have on hand is the cause of the problem. It just really irks me off that these people think that they can just simply be cliched in the lazy manners of not only one word sentence reviews, but also seriously respond to feedback with as much effort. That's just lame!
Having read some of these reviews, I can only come to one conclusion. Bob isn't really a grown man who reviews things. He's really a five year old with someone who types in his reactions! Think about the former rant about Bob. That review of Title of Record and that review of the Fragile says it all. "Bitter. Despair." Did I mention that Bob has a high vocab for a five year old?
The way they review something is the way a fifth grader would. "I don't like this song because it is scary. The music is sucky and it makes me sad." Sounds like Focus on the Family's rationale to me. Some people are just LAZY fucks who need a kick in the ass. They can't seriously believe that anyone can actually make a decision on something off of those reviews, can they?
Don't even get me started on that fucking blow chunks lie of not enough money. Bull shit. It's not that hard to post something to the internet. (Look at what I'm doing right now!) I just don't get pathetically lazy people. Like I say, condemn Filter or NIN to hell, just give me a good reason why.
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