THE BEAT GOES ON
NEW YORK/DETROIT — While we're busy celebrating 25 years of rock 'n' roll, let us not forget that this year also commemorates the first quarter century of rock criticism. That's right, rock critics the world over have their own drum to bang this year— and, if we expect today's musicians to produce bigger and better music during the next 25 years, there's no reason why they can't also be expected to assist today's rock critics as they make an equal effort to upgrade the state of their art a couple of notches before 2004 rolls around.
THE BEAT GOES ON
Court Clears Critics
NEW YORK—Hey Fernbacher! You can come up out of your basement now. All is forgiven.
The New York State Supreme Court has finally ruled that critics can not be charged with libel for bad reviews. Justice Israel Rubin an nounced in the landmark case of Rex Reed vs. Jerry Orbach that a nasty review was not libelous "no matter how SEVERE, HOSTILE, ROUGH, CAUSTIC, BITTER, SARCASTIC OR SATIRICAL" it read.
Reed had merely stated that songbird Orbach was a "tone-deaf mediocrity" and a
"non -prof essional embar rassment." Gimme babies! -that would have been a compliment in the pages of CREEM. But Jerry-whose voice actually sounds like the whining of horseflies around a particularly luscious cowpie -insisted on bringing., suit, leading Justice Rubin to de clare that "criticism can be said to be part of an enter tainer's life." Just like his eventual death!
OK, guys, got your pens ready? Severe, hostile, rough, caustic, bitter. . ah, where's that Joni Mitchell album?
Rick Johnson
A Rock Star's Guide To .Rock Criticism