francis

Well, first of all, you have to listen to the album, in any case. From the first to the last song, but you can't start questioning what I write without listening to the individual tracks, that's absurd... then you can decide whether to agree with me or not. This is my interpretation; everyone should form their own opinion.

Sure, if there were 30 people telling me that my review is awful, etc., but with valid reasons, I'd welcome it. But if someone writes to me, "I'll gouge your eyes out, I'll cut your throat, I'll sleep with your sister," what do you want me to say to them? Well, I hope they die, one less idiot, right?

Robbie Williams is the author of all the lyrics and it seems he has composed the melody for at least 4-5 tracks of the new album, including "King Of Bloke & Bird," which is a grand ballad in pure Neil Young style... then the arrangements and the structure of many songs were "created" by Stephen Duffy, a true genius of pop.

So: false modesty disgusts me. I think I am making a grand gesture of humility by writing these things that not many others who are hypocritical would do... so as far as I'm concerned, that's how it is. I believe, for the moment, that I have a certain talent for writing, and sometimes even a bit of genius: but by stating this I am certainly not claiming to be superior, or that someone else couldn’t have my qualities or even better ones... and it doesn't change the fact that I can write shitty reviews, because there are indeed some that I regret.

I want to clarify this because I wouldn’t want to complicate things further: it’s clear that each of us, while writing reviews for this site or while doing anything else that requires not only intellectual effort, has a certain ambition and a certain attention to growing our talent. I challenge any of you to deny that in every review you submit to Debaser, there isn’t the intent to do better, to create something good, to hear that you’re doing well. It’s human, I believe. The difference between me and many others is simply that I make this desire EXPLICIT from the very beginning, just to avoid pulling the wool over the eyes of the readers. If I say "this review I wrote is good," it means that I can also afford to say that the next one I write will be crap (and I’ve done it, check it out, I’ve done it), because I put myself in a position where I can judge my work before being judged by others. Many Debaser users, on the other hand, prefer to send their review and just say: "here it is, I did it," and maybe they let themselves be influenced by the judgment of someone who gives a 1 just because they're in a bad mood, or who might not like the nickname you’ve chosen.

The accusations of egocentrism are simply absurd. The truth is that I am SINCERE and I'm not a meek indie sycophant... I'm not a journalist, I am. If I were egocentric, I would be crazy to write reviews about artists like Williams himself, or Lavigne, or Oasis, who on a site like this are practically opposed from the very beginning. I believe that with my reviews, I only want to suggest reflections, not impose ways of thinking or appreciating music. If I really wanted to win over the debasers, I wouldn't have written what I wrote about "Grace" by Jeff Buckley (which, by the way, was a humorous thing): I write out of passion and for fun.

It’s a battle I’ve been fighting for a long time: you can’t judge a painting if you haven’t seen it, you can’t evaluate an album (and the review of an album) if you don’t listen to it with at least a bit of attention. When I say that "A Place To Crash" is a Rolling Stones-style piece, listen to it before shooting me down, then you can tell me, ok? And what the hell. The issue of "catchy phrases" is also a discriminating factor, and rather a typical characteristic of the debaseriota. What does the average debaseriota do? He takes a record, writes his little thoughts, talks about that song that reminds him of his first kiss, and throws in some lines desperately seeking easy applause.
Be careful, I’m talking about the "average debaseriota," but there are those who, like me, raise this average. Nickghostdrake, or Kosmogabri, and Enkriko too, are among them... we’re not many but we’re in good company.

Anyway, out of 78 delirious comments, I still haven't read one from someone who has actually listened to the album... how can you expect me to have a serious conversation with certain individuals? It's like graduating in law without ever having read the penal code... come back when you're prepared!!!

Tessio, if you're Sardinian like me POBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Even a beggar, I suppose.