Who wrote that?
I just finished reading Ian Grey’s article comparing Tegan and Sara to Aly & AJ `“Tegan and Sara versus Aly & AJ,” Nov. 8`. I don’t even know where to begin. How can talented singer-songwriters already on their fifth studio album even be placed in the same category, let alone hemisphere, as manufactured Disney pop? “The very talented but hipness-
hamstrung Tegan and Sara would benefit greatly by following their lead.”
Um ... what? Apparently Grey took the day off and let his 9-year-old, wannabe music journalist sister write this article.
Vanessa Brewster, Orlando
Vomiting a little
After recoiling in horror seeing Tegan and Sara in the same blurb as Aly and AJ `“Tegan and Sara versus Aly & AJ,” Nov. 8`, I have to say that after reading, “Aly & AJ are less about their expression than your pleasure. Under no pressure to be cool, they’re free to be honest. The very talented but hipness-hamstrung Tegan and Sara would benefit greatly by following their lead,” I think I threw up in my mouth a little.
Tegan and Sara following Aly & AJ’s lead? Hipness-hamstrung? Excuse me? I prefer my music to be honest, real and raw. Not some fabricated pap, thank you very little.
I guess they are alike, except for the fact that Tegan and Sara actually write their own songs. But that’s really not important, right? Original thought doesn’t matter if you’re cute enough, and creativity is totally overrated, anyways.
In all seriousness, Aly & AJ write – excuse me, perform – some pretty good pop songs, and yes, Tegan and Sara can be hard to swallow for some. But in 10 years people will still be listening to The Con. But Insomniatic? Probably not.
From www.orlandoweekly.com
Old men on crack
Um, whoever wrote this must be a 50-year-old man with no social life who just so happens to be on crack `“Tegan and Sara versus Aly & AJ,” Nov. 8`. How can you even compare Tegan and Sara to Aly & AJ? Sure, Aly & AJ have one or two good pop songs. But their songs have no deeper meaning. “Potential Breakup Song,” for one. Catchy, yes; creative, no. Any idiot with half a brain can write a song like that.
Now take a look at a Tegan and Sara song like “The Con” or “I Was Married.” Those are songs that make you think. Tegan and Sara’s songs are genius, while Aly & AJ’s are OK but pale in comparison to the masterpiece known as The Con.
So, what do Tegan and Sara and Aly & AJ have in common? The answer: absolutely nothing, except for the fact that they’re both sisters in a band together.
From www.orlandoweekly.com
Creepy democracy
Billy Manes: Your `Nov. 1` Blister column was one of the best reads I’ve had in awhile. You really brought me back from my escapist wonderland in Chicago to Orlando’s painfully endearing archetypal shit bin of activist activity.
Everything is so right-on, from the “lovable zombie” to “one shaggy participant’s indie low-riders” to “some loud-voiced lawyers of the witty, chant-inducing variety.” I particularly loved the description of the “unfuckable men who have polemical fish to fry.”
I always felt the exact same way about George `Crossley` and Benny `Markeson`. Imagine George decked in a cardigan, cackling like Doc Brown about “this homeless situation” to a bunch of students I’m trying to win over and have them realize, hey, social change ain’t so bad because we roll with this guy. Democracy is in the streets, right? Fuckin’ democracy like that gives me the creeps.
Patrick DeCarlo, via the Internet
God hates Fred
Regarding your blog item on Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church `Nov. 9`: I always took the “freedom” of speech to be the monetary or logistical ease of making one’s message heard, not necessarily the freedom from consequence of one’s message.
From www.orlandoweekly.com
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