Any old press won’t do

I am pleased my recent letter to the editor [“Grab Your Yerba, Mateys”, Jan. 24] stirred such response in Mr. Radix Y. Faruq that he felt compelled to “throw in” his “pennies’ worth” [“Review It Yourself,” Jan. 31]. It means he read my letter, at least, if not Ms. Bianchi’s original review. (Ms. Bianchi’s creative response to my letter was excellent, I must say.) My impetus in writing in the first place was to suggest that a reviewer (or, for example, even an editorial letter responder) gather all relevant facts prior to presenting them as truth. I never intimated the divineMAGees were “owed anything”; I just felt the “not-so-favorable” (as Mr. Faruq notes) slant of their review in the “Smart Bets” section seemed like odd placement.

I think it’s naive to continue to believe, in today’s media-gutter glut, that “any press is good press.” As examples, I can list several politicians, movie and television actors and musicians who would vehemently disagree with Mr. Faruq. Unfortunately, in the current music-marketing industry, personality packaging is just as important—and perhaps in some cases even more so—as “performance and sound.”

Thank you, though, Mr. Faruq, for the excellent suggestion on starting my own fanzine publication. I’ll take that into consideration. In the meantime, however, I believe this forum was created as the very best place to address the public mainstream. I, for one, am enjoying the exchange of ideas.