Critic of Critics: Jim Harrington Is At It Again

You might remember the discrepancy between my review of Damien Rice's Oakland performance and the review that Inside Bay Area staff writer Jim Harrington came up with. Well, supposedly he was at the Keane show Saturday night, and he's back with a review that is mostly not about the performance but rather all the things he doesn't like about Keane, but considering the crowd was loud and on their feet screaming along to the songs, I don't know when he left. I know I'm not going to agree with all journalists, nor do I expect them all to give positive reviews, but I think as a professional you are held to a higher standard than a sloppy review where all you do is rip everything about the band and it's members. Hey, Jim, I'll be at the Glen Phillips show on Feb 9, let's compare reviews, shall we? We might actually agree though when the Decemberists come to town in April (he's apparently a fan). He did enjoy Brian Wilson, and Coldplay (sort of), two former Floyds in Roger Waters and David Gilmour, Streisand, and Lionel Richie. I'm sure we can agree to disagree on musical preference, but whether I enjoy a band or not, I would much rather focus on reviewing the music and the performance rather than attacking the performers...especially if my employer were paying for me to attend.