I Believe

I try to stay positive here, but I hope you'll forgive a little rant: MSNBC has been running a feature called "The Great Disc Debate - A wholly subjective look at the best, and worst, album by an artist or group." I don't know why it is called a debate, considering it is written by one person and no competing opinion is offered, except for the silly "live vote." The latest "debate" is about R.E.M. (see it here), and the writer tells us that "Murmur" is the best album. She also tells us that R.E.M. are not capable of making a "dud," but then goes on to say that everything after "Document" is a dud, but then tells us she is an "indie-rock snob" to let us know that she has to say that. In other words, she's saying, "I don't mean what I'm writing, but I'm writing it anyway because I think that's what I'm supposed to write." This kind of thing drives me nuts. I don't feel it's too much to ask for a critic to write what they think. If you believe everything after "Document" sucks, then say it (a lot of people would agree with you). And if you don't believe that, don't say it. Sheesh.