ROCK SNOB CONFESSIONS

One of the pitfalls of being a rock journalist is that you don't bond with anything anymore.

Some things go in the "Hell Yeah!" basket...but at the end of the day, you still tossed them in a basket; and after a weeks worth of reviewing, all your baskets look alike.

Don't get me wrong--I'd never be stupid enough to complain. I know my job kicks ass, even when I've written for some less respected publications. Hell, I wish I could do this full time.

The point is that some of us receive so many CD's in a given week--many of which sounding exactly alike--that choosing one to genuinely enjoy becomes almost an arbitrary task.

For instance, I liked It Dies Today when I first heard them; two days later, I had received three other CD's with a nearly identical sound. A day after that, I heard the newest Dead To Fall, which is also quite similar. I totally panned it. And in retrospect, it bugs me, because I wonder whether I would have raved on it like I did It Dies Today, had it merely been blessed with arriving before the others.

When you write some 30+ reviews a month, it all begins to blur together after a while. You forget why you liked some things; and like I hinted earlier, it's quite often the timing.

I look back at some of my older reviews, and I can't remember for the life of me why perfectly ordinary bands like Lust Of Decay or The Black Maria garnered a rave review from me at the time. I just don't see it now. But then, not everybody reviews Brutal Gore Grind groups back to back with melodic Post-Hardcore, either. That gulf between Deicide and Husker Du was put there for a reason, they tell me...

Having diverse tastes can make you a great reviewer; but it can also undo you. I pride myself as being somewhat of an amateur Rock Historian; like every good smug bastard, I own the Rock Snob's Dictionary, and I actually care whether something "preserves or furthers the heritage of its subgenre," fruity as it sounds. I get OCD about the labels we give to things. Truth be told, a band like Schizoid is actually pretty clever if you know your genre history. But none of that will make the spikey-haired Screamo kids enjoy it any more...

And of course, after a while, you begin to believe you've heard it all. Alot of good bands probably get dismissed with a firm wanking motion by many of us critics, because we've seen these cycles pass by from the tracks. Years ago, when a publicist kept bugging me to give Linkin Park a chance, I coughed the words "half-rate-Faith-No-More-cough-cough," excused myself, then put some Immolation on for kicks. When they played me Ra, I asked if they remembered Stick, and yawned...then turned Fields Of The Nephilim back up, because I could.

I guess what this rambling diatribe means to say is this: Fuck the static-genre diehards. Branch out and find new flavors, 'cause your gum's not getting any fresher. And the more frames of reference you have, the more effectively you can mock another's taste. Being a myopic Metal fan is a great way to hate your own music one day; it's better to diversify, so that you can, one day, hate OTHER people's music as well.

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