then you hate freedom and the troops and various other things that are good. Read what Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black had to say on the matter in a 1960 Supreme Court case that declared it unconstitutional for a state to require anonymous writers to reveal their identities:

"Anonymous pamphlets, leaflets, brochures and even books have
played an important role in the progress of mankind. Persecuted
groups and sects from time to time throughout history have been able
to criticize oppressive practices and laws either anonymously or not
at all. The obnoxious press licensing law of England, which was also
enforced on the Colonies was due in part to the knowledge that
exposure of the names of printers, writers and distributors would
lessen the circulation of literature critical of the government. The
old seditious libel cases in England show the lengths to which
government had to go to find out who was responsible for books that
were obnoxious to the rulers. John Lilburne was whipped, pilloried
and fined for refusing to answer questions designed to get evidence
to convict him or someone else for the secret distribution of books
in England. Two Puritan Ministers, John Penry and John Udal, were
sentenced to death on charges that they were responsible for writing,
printing or publishing books. n6 Before the Revolutionary War
colonial patriots frequently had to conceal their authorship or
distribution of literature that easily could have brought down on
them prosecutions by English-controlled courts. Along about that
time the Letters of Junius were written and the identity of their
author is unknown to this day. n7 Even the Federalist Papers, written
in favor of the adoption of our Constitution, were published under
fictitious names. It is plain that anonymity has sometimes been
assumed for the most constructive purposes."

You see that, we're heroes! So in the spirit of helping mankind progress, all I have to say is Boo yeah motherfucker!

i really like that poem too

haha. boo yeah. i love my life once again.

hey stonedranger - thanks for taking to the time to write that out.

i think i can understand the pressure... i play in a band locally and it's about impossible to get honest feedback from friends. i mean most of the time people are like, "yeah it was a great set" but you never know if they're just saying that or what.

i guess folks coming out to shows (or not) is probably all the feedback you need some of the time. but it's nice to have a forum to be honest about what you really think.

there are several bands that we've played with over the years that i've thought, "man, someone should just tell them that they're heading in the wrong direction" - not in a mean way but in a way that could possibly be constructive.

anyway - thanks again man. keep it up.

well I agree with pretty much everything you say, and although we do joke on here and talk a little shit for kicks, the vast majority of the time I take it very seriously and try my best to give the most honest and thoughtful criticism that I possibly can.

I have talked about why I am anonymous quite a bit already (this post was really jost a joke anyway), but I will say, since you took the time to ask, that I do it because I don't want this website to affect my personal life, and I don't want to get caught in the trap of being friends with a bunch of bands and then start to feel bad if I want to write a negative show or album review. I thought I could reduce conflicts of interest as much as possible that way while also giving me more freedom to write what I want AND to not have my name plastered all over the place in the process. I realize that there are problems with this approach, but it is what works best for me. It also reduces the "cult of personality" aspect of the whole thing, which I think is good. I admire some of the local journalists who have stuck their asses out on the line and pissed people off, but I think a lot of times their work ends up being about them... not necessarily because of what they write, but just because people tend to look at it that way. The fewer people that know things about me, the less likely this site will become about me instead of about music.

i don't hate WSJR for any reason and i like the idea of creating a place where you can constructively critique art and music. AND mostly that's what i've seen here on this website for the past month or so i've been a reader.

that being said there is quite a responsibility for WSJR to be thoughtful and intelligent in this critique and to not missuse the power your anonymity gives you.

the criticism that some people have had is that it's easy for you to be a dick about bands you don't like when you're anonymous. and i can understand that sentiment.

i guess often times it's difficult to tell if WSJR is being the thoughtful (but tough) critic or just being the asshole anonymity lets you be.

also there is the question of what you are accomplishing by being anonymous that others who are not anonymous have been unable to accomplish? the internet is full of anonymous dicks fullfilling their desires to be a dick without consequences. so WSJR is not special in this regard - it his however special in that it is a-for the most part well written and b- openly has a "shit list" of local bands it doesn't like

while i like the fact that you're able to say that you think the Polyphonic Spree sucks i still don't get why you need to be anonymous to do it. zac, sam and sarah all made plenty of people mad during their time at the DO and they were in the "public eye"... so i guess i'm curious about the distinction.

(btw - you may have addressed all of this in a previous post i missed so if that's the case, sorry.)

Letters of Junius - didnt that come straight out of the Emo band name generator?

BOO_YAH

I really like that poem.

thanks for saying boo yeah motherfucker. made my 2:24 minute so much better.

The naming of cats is a difficult matter,
It isn't just one of your holiday games;
You may think at first I'm mad as a hatter
When I tell you a cat must have three
different names.

First of all, there's the name
that the family use daily,
Such as Victor, or Jonathan,
George or Bill Bailey--
All of them sensible everyday names.
There are fancier names
if you think they sound sweeter,
Some for the gentlemen,
some for the dames;
Such as Plato, Admetus,
Electra, Demeter--
But all of them sensible everyday names.

But I tell you,
a cat needs a name that's particular,
A name that is peculiar, and more dignified,
Else how can he
keep up his tail perpendicular,
Or spread out his whiskers,
or cherish his pride?

Of names of this kind,
I can give you a quorum,
Such as Munkustrap, Quazo or Coripat,
Such as Bombalurina, or else Jellyrum--
Names that never belong
to more than one cat.

But above and beyond
there's still one name left over,
And that is the name that you will never guess;
The name
that no human research can discover--
But The Cat Himself Knows,
and will never confess.

When you notice a cat in profound meditation,
The reason, I tell you, is always the same:
His mind is engaged in rapt contemplation
Of the thought, of the thought,
of the thought of his name:
His ineffable effable
Effanineffable
Deep and inscrutable singular Name.

no furious anonymous posts yet?

FUCK Y'ALL!
that's bullshit

get yer asses up and stir the fire a bit.