and if you blinked again, you missed yet another revealing expos� on the life in black and white and the writer bring you these words behind the candoor... yes folks, right here I peel the onion yet again to reveal still more layers underneath the skin (no worries, it's not gross or anything)...

and not long before that (oh, say, about ten hours or so), you might have missed priceless words of wisdom (or was that just some more details about the daily life and me forcing me to face the truth about me in my own inimitable way?... well, you can decide if you have the time)...

but in any case, you don't want to miss entries just because you blinked, right?... I mean, that might give blinking a bad name and what would our eyes do then?... get all dry and crusty and that would not be a good thing at all... so click back and read what you missed, for these eyes, man, think about the eyes!... and while you're letting the eyes have it, I'll be posting the rest of this entry...

go ahead, click and read...

this will be here when you get back...

and on an individual shout out note to nf - I'd thank you with a link and comments on your words for catching the last entry and commenting before I uploaded this one, but I don't know where to find your words, so I thank you here...

and before I forget (since you obviously came looking), a drummril is an excessively excited drumroll, kind of like a trill incorportating the rim and the skin in the same manic riff... the origin of the word came from the early days of modern jazz when a jazz drummer named Max "Hot Riff" Sticks was looking for a way to get the attention of a beautiful girl who was a repeat customer in the little bistro where he played on the fringe of the French Quarter of New Orleans (not Paris) and in his excitement to impress her he shivvered and twitched while playing a commanding drumroll and the drummril was born...

and now, finally, on with the entry...

ok, so let's see... this entry was born last week during the heyday of the initial second wave of my Meg and Dia MaDness and was posted over at the MaD forum in response to a review written by someone at pitchfork.com who apparently skimmed Meg's about page and threw in some references but ultimately demonstrated his ignorance about the content and history of Meg, Dia, and their songs... the review was a clear example of how not to be a critic or reviewer... the guy didn't follow the first rule, know what you are writing about...

but wait, you know me... and if you don't you'll likely miss most of my points as almost every word has more than one meaning and my tongue is so often firmly planted in my cheek that even I don't know when I am serious and when I am only joking (like right now, as if I didn't know, or did you, I mean, what's going on here anyway?... who's frog is that and why is it in the punch?)...

aherum...

returning to the decorum of the mask of sanity for just a moment, if only to maintain the guise that anything can happen here and often does, I am very serious in much of the post I quote below and very silly at other moments... I mean, some of my best friends used to be flaming fags, when I had friends, that is... and I certainly do not wish that Zach guy any harm, nor do I wish to immortalize his lack of reviewing skills or potential pedophilic tendencies (I mean, using the he who smelt it dealt it defense is almost as old hat in comedy as is the classic pull my finger, right?)...

no really, take what I write seriously when it is positive and good and take any biting sarcasm (I try not to leave a mark) or scathing insult (those are really just loving teases, no really) as my way of trying to wake up the dead and open sleeping minds... and if you are laughing now or somewhere in the midst of the post soon to be added to this entry, then you just might get me...

everybody else please take a number...

anyway, as I said, the guy's name is Zach and you can find his review at pitchfork or in the MaD forum if you have time and are that interested... I include my response here not so much as a tribute or love letter to the band, but more to remind myself and everyone to stay positive and open to the positivity all around because that is the best defense against the negativity... we empower what we empower, words, music, people, actions... empower the positive and let the rest slip quietly into the past...

and now, the post:

an uneducated opinion

mine, that is... I don't claim to be any sort of expert in anything (not even myself and I've been with me, studying, mocking, laughing at, and generally enjoying me all my life)...

first off, the article by Zach Baron is full of clich� and labels and that usually means the writer reads a lot, mostly skimming for clich�s and labels, and then repeats what he reads in long diatribes that say little and criticize a lot... whether he does it for attention or some other reason, it is certainly not to express any meaningful thoughts about anything for people who actually know something about what he is talking about...

but it's easy to criticize and get facts wrong when skimming a lot of information and writing in clich�s (which is why respected professional media has fact-checkers and presents short reviews that are about the music and artists {or subject} being reviewed and not all over the place labeling and name-dropping like we find in Zach's "article")...

I wonder, when reading Zach, if he even listened to the CD, no less heard the words, no less read them (it's obvious he didn't take a good listen to the music, just as it's obvious he skimmed this website for a few ideas he could toss in haphazardly)... I wonder if he saw Meg and Dia on Warped Tour this summer, and if he did, if he sat in the tent and experienced their art, feel their music, see their sweat and devotion to performance, or if he just walked by everything, missing the opportunity to learn something about what he chose to claim he knows something about...

now I am demonstrating how I can prejudge and assume things based on a few words Zach wrote here, but to me, his words read like someone old and jaded and secretly lusting after teenagers while condemning people like himself for being a sleazy pedophile (he should really look up the meaning of words before he uses them)... maybe Zach has emotional issues he avoids by criticizing artists who, while just starting out, offer more meaning, depth, and creativity in their first efforts than he has achieved in his adult lifetime... and maybe he just doesn't like beautiful young girls who challenge his manhood by being sexy, intelligent, and talented...

I won't go as far as suggesting he's a flaming fag, because, after all, I don't know, and that would be insulting flaming fags...

of course I never met the man, if he is a man (online, who knows) so I may be totally off base in my wondering (but at least I am wondering and not claiming to know he is or is not one thing or another... and besides, I'm openly admitting right here and now that I don't take what he wrote seriously {often I don't take what I write seriously, like even some of this} because there was no content worth mentioning)... and besides, any critic on any level leaves him or herself open to the same level of superficial critique (and the flagrant innuendo and subtle mockery that he himself served up)...

maybe he's an impotent untalented ignorant frustrated old man living in a closet who resents youth, talent, sensuality, insight, and the courage to come out on stage and live life through art and music...

but seriously, at least he took the time to write about Meg and Dia, which means they are reaching well beyond those who appreciate them and into the mainstream of pop culture where his kind feed... the good side is - that is how to become successful in the business... the bad side is having to be deal with guys like him who offer nothing to music or art except rhetoric and the obvious need to be heard even though he has nothing new or meaningful to say...

I suggest we read such reviews and closet critics with respect and dignity they deserve... as I've tried to here... and especially remember that no one can diminish or take away your enjoyment or faith... so don't give away any of the pleasure Meg and Dia bring by spending time focused on meaningless critics (as opposed to a good constructive critic who studies what he is criticizing and offers insight and meaningful suggestions)...

and laugh... laughter is essential to survival in any business that attracts bottom feeders who go to public sites and splash negativity in our faces through old clich�s, ignorance, obvious misrepresentations, and a deeper psychological agenda that suggests their therapy isn't working...

hopefully I'm not turning into one J



PS... I mean no offense or harm and I love to ramble and my rambling is full of tongue-in-cheek teasing and silly nonsense, so if anyone, including Zach, takes offense to anything I write ever, please check the oil on your sense of humor engine because it might be gumming up your ability to see the positivity in things (and laugh)... on the other hand, f-k'em if they can't take a joke...

PSS... most seriously - I hope Meg and Dia and the band and anyone who cares about them remain as sensitive and beautiful as you are, but please don't let the words of a stranger spit out into the air (and not even close to being said to your face or written directly to you) mean much, especially when they are negative...

the world is full of sad little people who are afraid to be real and hide behind anonymity and distance in order to vent, project, and transfer their personal frustrations and private problems on to others... all the more on to complete strangers in the public eye... trust those who look you in the eye and tell you what is in their heart... trust those who believe in you... don't give anybody else power to bring you down...

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. o O ( NOTES ARE THE NEW HAPPY PILL ) O o .
(just let me know you were here)