Chad hath brought the chest plague home from his dealings with John Q Public – meaning we’re all on Z-packs to ward off illness…

which… makes me feel icky…Sooooo…. I just went up and nabbed a breakfast sandwich to put something in my stomach besides high-power antibiotics and coffee.

While waiting for my food I flipped through the current issue of The University News, the student mouthpiece for neighboring Saint Louis University. In it I stumbled upon a review of some recent Green Day dvd…

I paused for a read since GD-mash-ups have been on heavy rotation lately in my iTunes.

The kid writing the story really had an axe to grind… Which is alright – not all reviews can be good right? – And the review itself “is” the opinion of the reviewer right?

But since when have partisan political pokes been a necessary component to a friggin music review?

*Punk, even PUNKâ„¢ – by it’s very nature and roots is activist and politically oriented.

soooo.. if you were going to write an objective review, (or at least create the illusion that you were),… Wouldn’t you use descriptions like; “Politically Charged”… or “Controversially Critical of American Policy”…

…. not “Anti-American”.

Can the already endangered critter called “objectivity” be suspended in the case of music / film / arts reviews?

I realize my questions boil down to simple syntax.. Buuuhaaw! There lies the power, beauty and divisive potential of (our) language.

Sure… this is a review written by some kid who’s probably not even a journalism major at a Catholic University… Conservatism I’d say should be expected – but at the expense of objectivity?

I’m just amazed that this made it past the noses of the editors…. and more importantly the supervising faculty.

Yes… I’m being the old crotchety bastard bitching about some poor kid’s word choice.

But… here I go again sounding like my dad… it’s the “principle”

If this kid goes into media when he grows up – what will his standards be?

Will it matter? I suspect we will see, (are seeing), a complete de-rez of the “media” industry in the decades to come anyway.

Speaking of which – my mom sent me this interesting link… It’s good convo-topic fodder about the nature of where media “could” go.

Meanwhile – this isn’t a blog… it’s some tree-hugging, freedom-hating anti-family bastard pecking his thoughts out in his journal instead of firing off angry letters to newspaper editors.