================================================ Subject: my reaction to the mean review From: "Lindsay Hurni" To: Date: Thu 29 Nov 2001 17:08:57 -0500 ================================================ Hey guys...I thought you might like to read this. I sent it to the University of Michigan Daily editor... Dear Mr. Woomer and the The Michigan Daily, First and foremost, I would like to compliment Mr. Woomer for proving a point to the readers of his recent review of the new Creed album, "Weathered." He did not prove the album’s worth or the band’s worth, however, he did prove his worth as a writer. Plain and simple, this guy must not know anything about journalistic ethics, writing skills, or how to write a music review. Coming from a college newspaper that has won many Pacemaker awards, including one last month, I am utterly disappointed that a college newspaper would publish such a disgustlingly opinionated piece of work. I write music reviews. I include opinion…but the one thing I do when I review a CD is listen to the album. Mr. Woomer obviously did not listen to the album, because his review makes no comment about the music. Instead it continues to bash the band, its past and its fans. What is obvious, however, is that Mr. Woomer has an ignorant and immature hate for the band Creed. If someone is this opinionated about a band to begin with, they should not be assigned to the review. The irony of it all is that Creed has debuted at the No. 1 spot on the Billboard charts. It sold over 887,000 albums the first week after the release of "Weathered." This album is only second to N’Sync’s "Celebrity" which is in first for most record sales in a week, beating out Britney Spears’ spot. People are buying this album. Mr. Woomer obviously bought this album, unless he did what I suspect – not even listening to it at all! I will offer you a lesson of advice. Go into a CD review with an open mind. Give every band the benefit of the doubt. And surely don’t use the word "suckcore." I took the time to look the word up in the dictionary and to my surprise it did not exist. Do not make up words, Mr. Woomer. It only ruins your credibility and makes you look foolish. Another point I have to make is that the headline: "Singlehandedly defining new ‘suckcore’ genre: Weathered, Creed; Wind-Up Records," is the most hideous headline I have ever read in the history of my journalism profession. First and foremost, it is not a complete thought…which headlines are supposed to be. Second, the headline contains many errors. 1) Single-handedly – this word is hyphenated. I didn’t even have to look that up. 2) Like I said before, suckcore is not a word. 3) ‘Weathered’ should have appeared with single quotes around it. And I’m not sure why you have a semi-colon before Wind-Up Records. I am not a fan of Britney Spears, but I gave the album the benefit of the doubt. I went in with an open mind. In the end, when the album proved no talent, I decided the grade. I did not give the grade at the beginning before I listened to it. That is unethical. Mr. Woomer wrote: "Tell me it’d be hard to find a 15-year-old who couldn’t out-write Stapp." I’m not so sure a college student like yourself could out-write Scott Stapp. I’m not sure if I missed out on this, but if you use God’s name in your music, does it mean you are a Christian band? If I’m not mistaken, the answer is no. Creed is not a Christian band. If Mr. Woomer had done his background checking, like most professional journalists, he would have known that. What is wrong with having a faith in God anyway? There is obviously something deeply wrong with Mr. Woomer. Call it jealousy, an immature hate, or just plain stupidity, from my point of view, it seems Mr. Woomer could use a little God in his life. Tell me "Woomy", what are YOU so depressed about? From what he writes, he has a profound hate for the world around him. Is Grand Rapids that bad? You lie in the bed you make, Mr. Woomer. If you don’t like your fate, change it! What one needs to realize is that this world is in constant motion and everything within it is changing. We can not expect music to not change with it. If every band that came out wrote songs like Woody Guthrie and Bob Marley, people like Mr. Woomer would be doing the same thing. They’d make the same harsh and rash comments about those artists trying to be like on another as they do with Creed and Pearl Jam. To bash the band, its family, its fans and even Americans who fly American flags from their cars is totally out of line. What is wrong with some unity? It is people like Mr. Woomer that cause hate and violence. I sure hope Mr. Woomer does not hope to pursue a career in journalism. If he does, he has a lot to learn. Even if he did, his recent review of the new Creed album is not even worthy to lie next to a portfolio. Its worth is the bottom of a Dumpster. For a newspaper that is quite small (no one has heard of it), I would expect to see publication with pride. Try to make a name for yourself. That should be everyone’s goal. Creed made a name. Mr. Woomer surely is not helping you make yours. As a journalism student I am aware that Mr. Woomer practiced his writes to the First Amendment. Now I am practicing mine. The difference between him and the rest of the world, is that the latter are tactful. By the way, I am one of the 887,000 FANS that purchased the Creed album at 12 a.m. on Nov. 20. I have never heard an album with such passion and talent. Unfortunately for Mr. Woomer, Creed will be a band his grandchildren hear about years after he fails at his journalism profession. _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp To unsubscribe or change your preferences for the Creed-Discuss list, visit: http://www.winduplist.com/ls/discuss/form.asp