Funny Plugged In quote

[Emericana]

[Josh]

*Sigh*

Plugged In is simultaneously laugh-out-loud funny and unspeakably sad. I don't think they ever listen to an album more than once before reviewing it.

That quote is the product of a brain fried by CCM.  =)  

[cbluejays]

[Skrappybiskit]

They're wrong. HT3 inspired me to narcotize myself.



Skraps

[Vlad!]

[Skrappybiskit]

[Josh]

I hate bad language, dammit.

[Skrappybiskit]

Hey, none of that shit here.

Skraps

[bloop]

[RokrantheGreat]

[DvChWi]

These are all from Focus on the Family's online Plugged In magazine.  FYI, they don't like Linkin Park at all either.  In fact, I'm not sure what they really like. [_[  

[Josh]

They didn't even like Jars of Clay.

They like mind-numbing, braincell-killing stuff like Michael W. Smith, Newsboys, and Steven Curtis Chapman.

[RokrantheGreat]

Ok, so they agree with me on one thing.    

[bloop]

[murlough23]

Hardly. Their assessment of Linkin Park was that they were a bunch of young guys that, while not being as angry as Limp Bisquick and those other guys, still needed to cheer up a bit. Basically they told parents, "Sure, you don't have to worry about them swearing, but your kids might be a little bummed out after listening to this." Not nearly as harsh as some of their other reviews, but still not exactly an endorsement.

NP: "California Shore", Grand Incredible

[oneafroboy]

Oh well. It's only a small percent of the population that actually listens to what they have to say.  

Oh yeah, I'll stick up for the Newsboys. Not much. I don't have any of their music on campus. But Take Me to Your Leader was a clever album, in my opinion. But I'm not gonna sit here and recommend their music to anyone. Anyway, Josh describes them well enough.      

[RokrantheGreat]

I wasn't sure where that quote came from. If I'd have known, I probably would have kept my mouth shut . That or said "Well, they got at least one right" or something to that effect.  =)  

[bloop]

I wasn't sure where that quote came from. If I'd have known, I probably would have kept my mouth shut . That or said "Well, they got at least one right" or something to that effect.  =)

As someone who actually really knows the band, they are quite wrong.  I don't even like their Linkin Park review...it's like everything has to be all   =D for them to endorse it.

murlough, I was talking about PI endorsing his opinion on Radiohead, not on Linkin Park.

[Masta_K]

i am thoroughly digusted with this thread. why are u guys dissing the write-ups so much? the tone of this vein is like, "this site/mag is full of holy-rollers who have no true appreciation for music...they don't know what they're talking about..." for starters, while that may be true, let them speak w/o bashing them. and also, be careful what you say: your criticisms are from the basis that they are biased...and so you speak from your bias (e.g., the Rhead comments...they see it as narcotizing, you see it as bootiful... be objective here). and i don't know about you guys, but i read their stuff all the time. a few times, i have balked at what they've said, but it is generally pritty good. and it isn't meant to be an end in itself.... i take the quotes they give, don't bother with their opinions, and think for myself.  

[Josh]

I don't at all want to hurt the feelings of any PI readers or writers. But I want to be honest about the quality of their work.

It's surface-deep stuff, and I never see any indication that they give music serious thought. And music deserves serious thought; in fact, some music requires serious thought to be understood.

 

[Masta_K]

see? you reiterated your same point w/o bashing, and it came across stronger.  

[RokrantheGreat]

Guess what, guys? I downloaded "My Iron Lung" from The Bends... and I actually liked it!    Well, not as much as LP, but I didn't hate it like Kid A.

[Masta_K]

[bloop]

see? you reiterated your same point w/o bashing, and it came across stronger.

I made the same exact arguement, worded similarly.  I never came up with the "Rhead is bootiful, they are morons" approach.  So, what is your problem?

I fail to see where we are bashing as opposed to just being honest.  Your coming in here with the attitude that you're going to straighten us all out, praise be to God, is ridiculous and condescending.  Don't be a hemorroid.

and, please end your signature with [/b][/color], etc.  It'll look nicer.

I AM BATMAN.
^like this

[RokrantheGreat]

[DvChWi]

I still don't like Radiohead. I just found one song that I kind of liked, and thought that it was so amazing, I had better share it. =D

You may like the rest of "The Bends", as well.  Try the title track, Street Spirit(Fade Out), Fake Plastic Trees, and maybe Just.  The Bends is alot more conventional thantheir other albums(never heard PH.)
 

[Skrappybiskit]

I apologize for my rather excitable friend.

However a note is in order here: we're all looking at PI through our rock-snob eyes, expecting it to be something like the Rebel Base, which is quite obviously isn't. On the other hand, it is at least sort of good at doing what it's supposed to do: provide guidance on content for parents. And when it comes to your middle-America jet-set types, most of them happen to favor Steven Curtis and frown at U2. They're just a product of their invironment. Pointless to mock, hard to understand.

Skraps

[bloop]

Forget rock snobbery, this is about basic fairness, pure and simple.  They aren't required to be fair and analyze in a deeper way, but we should discount their opinion if they continue to not do this on movies and albums that really demand that kind of analysis.  

There is nothing wrong with expecting people to do their jobs without their brains tied behind their backs.

[Vlad!]

Forget rock snobbery, this is about basic fairness, pure and simple.  They aren't required to be fair and analyze in a deeper way, but we should discount their opinion if they continue to not do this on movies and albums that really demand that kind of analysis.  

There is nothing wrong with expecting people to do their jobs without their brains tied behind their backs.

Perhaps, but in all fairness I think Skraps has a good point. We fulfill our role; they fulfill theirs. Perhaps if one of their editors were to read some of our reviews, they would take exception to how we may encourage children who are really too young to be exposed to certain things to enjoy media which has those things in it. We certainly don't do it intentionally, but I can see how it could happen. So I'm just saying that maybe a little bit of slack should be cut.

But that's still one darn funny quote.

[Skrappybiskit]

They aren't required to be fair and analyze in a deeper way, but we should discount their opinion if they continue to not do this on movies and albums that really demand that kind of analysis.  

There is nothing wrong with expecting people to do their jobs without their brains tied behind their backs.

Yes, but if their job is catering to the group of people I described above, their brains are being used for other things.

Just run with their presuppositions for a second: clear is good, happy is good, hopeful is good.

"the chicken voices in my head" to you sounds like a line of music that need analysis and understanding, all through an artistic lens. To the PIs, it sounds like mumbled nonsensical garbage that doesn't fit the criteria of clear/happy/hopeful.

Skraps

[Josh]

PI has a different roll than TRB does, and that's fine.

But they don't handle their own roll well, in my opinion. Even if you're just doing simple, easy parental reviews, I still think you should put some time and effort into interpreting the songs correctly rather than just skimming the surface. PI doesn't do that. Period.

And, as Vlad! mentioned in another thread, sometimes violence, sexuality, etc. are appropriate in a movie that has deep and rewarding truths in it. It's still fine to point out the violence in these movies if you're doing the parental review thing, but I wish PI would acknowledge that sometimes such things are fine for mature audiences.

[murlough23]

My view of Plugged In depends on what they are "reviewing". Basically they need to stop calling it "reviewing" because they say little to nothing about the music or artistic value of each album. They should call it a "lyrical analysis", and if they're going to do that, they need to make a deeper commitment to really analyzing it instead of just glossing over the lyric sheet once and assuming it's all doom and gloom.

Reviewing Eminem, Kid Rock, or the Insane Clown Posse is one thing. Those artists tend to be more straightforward in the meanings of their lryics (having not yet discovered more subtle ways of saying "f--- off"). Reviewing Radiohead or Jack Johnson is a different endeavor altogether. A lot of artists tend to veer towards sogns with more obscure meanings and strange subjects, or more of a storytelling approach where just because something happens in the song doesn't mean the artist endorses it. (Makes me wonder what they'd say about Andrew Peterson's "Come Lord Jesus", which mentions a group of picketing fundies carrying signs that say "God hates fags". Oh, wait, they probably think God hates fags anyway, so they'd miss the point altogether.)

I think it's good to be able to say "Hey, here's what the artists talks about on this record. For those of you who don't like swearing, the group swears in the following songs. For those of you who don't like sexual content, this song is about the singer making love to her husband. For those of you who are easily disturbed, this song is about vampires sucking young blood." Those things might not always be absolutely morally wrong, but I think it needs to be left more to us to discern that, and to go in knowing what we're in for. I mean, if Radiohead ever did come out with a song that was straightforward enough in its meaning and endorsed something like suicide, I might think twice about buying their album. (But I listen to almost everything ahead of time, so no worries there). What I think Plugged In doesn't realize is that in a fallen world, especially when most popular artists aren't Christians, it's only natural to sing about the hopelessness and depression that one can often feel without Christ. Heck, even Christians get depressed, and some feel the need to be brutally honest about the world they live in. There's a time and a place for that.

My biggest problem with Plugged In - and with most Christians - is that they tend to assume weird is bad. Songs about less savory subject matter shouldn't be played on the radio. Albums with a lot of strange sounds on them must have no other intent than to completely depress or frighten the listener. Other cultures are heathen. Things like that.

[bloop]

There's nothing wrong with feeling sad, Christian or non-Christian.  We're all humans here, so I'm simply dismissing their need for albums to be happy and clear.  It doesn't seem to me to be a legitimate need.  Also, one definitely shouldn't dismiss that which they don't understand.  It just makes the reviewer seem dumber than they are (and I do think the reviews at "Plugged-in" are pretty half-assed anyway).

I don't know what else to add except nothing I've seen posted in their defense, here or anywhere else, has made me reconsider my criticisms of the way they run their website.  I have many more problems with them where this came from, but we'll just stick with the most essential, that is, their illegitimate need for everything to fit their cookiee-cutter ideas of acceptability (murlough's last paragraph in a nutshell, really).

[murlough23]

Pro-Social Content
bloop's review states important truths about humanity's tendency towards depression when living life apart from God, however...

Objectionable Content
...the same paragraph that states those truths is marred with the unnecessary profanity "half-a--ed".

NP: "Unrboken", ZOEgirl

[bloop]

Pro-Social Content
bloop's review states important truths about humanity's tendency towards depression when living life apart from God, however...

Objectionable Content
...the same paragraph that states those truths is marred with the unnecessary profanity "half-a--ed".

NP: "Unrboken", ZOEgirl

Too funny, although, like Plugged-in, a little inaccurate.  I think humanity WITH or without God tends toward sadness in tough times.  It's human, and it isn't inappropriate.

And "half-assed" was an essential part of my "ass"essment of Plugged-In.  You think it's the wrong word to use?  Then re-read what you wrote and then think "I could get paid for this level of effort if I worked for Focus Plugged-In!"

[Skrappybiskit]

Dude, this whole idea that music must make you feel good is *so* deeply ingrained in my circles. As soon as anything is a downer, it's just tossed aside. People that take "inspirational" way too seriously.

I have a foreman at work that--before the "no music" rule--would make me turn off Radiohead for one reason, and one reason alone: "It doesn't make me feel joyful." And THEN the argument began.

Skraps

[Masta_K]

bloop: my message "see? you reiterated your same point w/o bashing, and it came across stronger..." was not for you. seeing as it doesn't chronologically follow YOUR entry, why would you think i am talking to you out of multiple phorum users?

bloop: i am not trying to "straighten [you] all out". sorry if i come across as an annoying parent. i am simply expressing my opinion. i somehow thought that was what forums were for. i didn't realize you were allowed to comment on anything EXCEPT the threads themselves. or is it just that i can't negatively? but i am realizing this IS in fact a rule here, b/c whenever i endeavor to say something of that variety, i get nasty vibes from someone. you people may feel free to tell me to leave and never come bak you know--i would respect that. but while i'm here, i am who i am, and make no apologies for what i say.

bloop: about the signature, that is b/c i suck at computers. that may be evidenced by the fact that i am typing my own quotes here instead of doing it properly. yes, i am hopeless in that area. i apologize for my incompetence.

skraps: assuming your apology was on MY behalf, i would say thanks, but no thanks. i do not need you to be my big brother, my defendant; i am not under your wing simply b/c you brought me here. in the future, i shall apologize for myself when i see fit, thank you.

bloop: i for one, think that the thread following our little disagreement is much more worth it then before. do you see a change for the better as well, or no?

skraps: that's ridiculous about your foreman... :angry:

   

[Vlad!]

Pro-Social Content
bloop's review states important truths about humanity's tendency towards depression when living life apart from God, however...

Objectionable Content
...the same paragraph that states those truths is marred with the unnecessary profanity "half-a--ed".

NP: "Unrboken", ZOEgirl

Heehee

bloop: my message "see? you reiterated your same point w/o bashing, and it came across stronger..." was not for you. seeing as it doesn't chronologically follow YOUR entry, why would you think i am talking to you out of multiple phorum users?

What bloop was saying is that he made a point somewhat like yours earlier in the thread.



 

[murlough23]

Too funny, although, like Plugged-in, a little inaccurate.  I think humanity WITH or without God tends toward sadness in tough times.  It's human, and it isn't inappropriate.

My point was to completely miss the point of your post, thereby making it an accurate parody of Plugged In.

NP: "The Lakes of Canada", The Innocence Mission

[Josh]

NP: "The Lakes of Canada", The Innocence Mission

Now SURELY Plugged In couldn't find anything wrong with THAT album... (yes, they could).