Nov
18th
Tue
18th
I wasn’t bummed out necessarily that they gave it a bad review. I was bummed that they gave it such a thoughtless review. My attitude about this record is that you don’t have to like it or enjoy listening to it, but you have to acknowledge that it’s an exceptional record. If you can’t, then you’re an idiot. You’re just small-minded and you should feel ashamed.
— Kevin Barnes, on his response to some of the negative reviews of Skeletal Lamping in the Denver Post. He’s right, of course. Maybe a bit entitled/arrogant, but right. The problem with the Pitchfork review isn’t that Adam Moerder didn’t enjoy the record, but rather that he put very little thought into writing about the work. When confronted with this smart, perverse, incredibly unique album, he just didn’t engage with it, which is very disappointing. It would have been far more interesting to have someone dive in, and make a case against it that didn’t boil down to “aaahhhh, it’s too much.” (via Merry Swankster)
