Jim DeRogatis published my letter to him on his blog (the one directly under his article trashing Oasis, not the article about Oasis fans, which is separate of his trash article).
blogs.suntimes.com/derogatis/2008/10/oasis_dig_out_your_soul_repris.htmlBasically I've blasted his lack of credibility, competency, and work ethic all supported by a compelling case.
I've nicknamed him Jimbo Slice after Kimbo Slice. I think the nickname is really good, and maybe we should try to get it to stick with him. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?
For those of you not in the states, Kimbo Slice is a street fighter that appeared on mixed martial arts fights on CBS. The network touted him as being a top league mixed martial arts fighter when in reality he was a total hack. Anyway, he got knocked out in less than a minute in his final fight which aired in prime time.
Kimbo Slice is now a label for a total phony.
Check out Jim DeRogatis on Conan O'Brien on Youtube. He doesn't deny that he intentionally gives bad reviews to stoke anger and get negative attention.
I've pasted my letter below. Since Jim "Jimbo Slice" DeRogatis evokes the Beatles in his review, I defend Oasis in a way that may seem insensitive to Beatles fans. Therefore, I have omitted those passages out of respect for the members of this forum.
Jim DeRogatis,
I find your review of the new Oasis album eye opening on multiple fronts. First, your review is not an accurate appraisal of the seventh studio album from Oasis. Secondly, there is great evidence to suggest that you may not have even listened to the album but instead opted to steal from your colleagues, the growing practice of comatose journalism. Thirdly, your review indicates that you may be ignorant of the historical backgrounds of the artists you review. Perhaps you are unfit for the position you hold at the Chicago Sun Times as you appear to lack musical expertise making you the newspaper’s Kimbo Slice. Lastly, regardless of how you cooked up this review, the irrelevant content deployed, lack of substance, and overall shortness makes this publication unprofessional for a major newspaper. One could find a better review in an elementary school newspaper. Think about it Jimbo Kimbo.
Your review begins by bizarrely comparing Oasis to Lenny Kravitz for supposedly both failing to be “concerned with stretching (his) artistic horizons”. Jim DeRogatis, you fail to elaborate how either Lenny Kravitz or Oasis has failed to progress as music artists. Serving up a random Noel Gallagher quote as innuendo alone does not suffice. What’s more is that your review makes no substantive mention of Don’t Believe The Truth, the sixth studio album by Oasis. How can it be said that there was no progress when you haven’t even mentioned the previous interval on the Oasis line of progression? Perhaps you’ve never listened to Don’t Believe The Truth.
Jim DeRogatis, you then go on to say that Lenny “never wrote a classic-rock rip-off/homage as powerful as those on "(What's the Story) Morning Glory?”. (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? shortly elevated Oasis to an international superstardom rivaled by none other, not even the Beatles. Note that I am not claiming that Oasis ever sustained popularity as the Beatles did, but they did reach a higher mark for a brief moment. Oasis is from England; it is the population of England that propelled Oasis to the top. How could this have happened in the homeland of the Beatles if what you say is true and Oasis were “rip-off” artists? The English would not have had it. They would have boycotted the next album, Be Here Now. We all know that Be Here Now is the fastest selling album of all time. Think about it Jimbo Kimbo.
There is homage paid in (What’s The Story) Morning Glory?, and this does not diminish Oasis in any way. As for “rip-offs”, there are none Jimmy Boy. Just because Oasis introduced the song Don’t Look Back In Anger with a Lennon piano tune, doesn’t mean that the song was a “rip-off”. The song itself, is in no way similar to anything of the Beatles. Writing a song about the movie-industry coined Wonder wall (that George Harrison happened to write the soundtrack for) does not make the song in any way less unique. Jim DeRogatis, your problem is that you are deaf to substance. You are only good for hitting up wikipedia, browsing album song titles, and, when you have to write a review, scouring through other reviews that suit your tone.
Also Jim, I find it very convenient that you only mention songs from (What’s The Story) Morning Glory?. How come you never mention Live Forever? Is it because you know that Live Forever consistently ranks as one of the greatest songs of all time regardless of who is conducting the survey? This information would undermine any credibility of your review. I imagine you already figured this into the equation, huh Jimmy Baby? Pardon me for using the term imagine in my last sentence. I hope you won’t label my a thief.
Jim DeRogatis, in what little you wrote, there are multiple instances of misrepresentation and cheap-shot innuendo. You dishonestly mislead the reader into thinking Dig Out Your Soul track I’m Outta Time is a Lennon rip-off by claiming that Oasis has sampled John Lennon. In truth, Oasis has sampled a John Lennon quote from John Lennon’s last interview. The quote is less than 10 seconds long, and it does not come in the form of song lyrics. This is hardly relevant to the equity of the music. You say that Oasis today stands “17 years after it emerged during the heyday of Britpop”. Oasis didn’t release their first album until 1994. They reached the peak of their fame around 1994 to 1996. This is when they emerged. Seventeen years ago was when the band was founded. Either you are off base on dates, or this is another case of innuendo- trying to make the band seem old in your review. Your mention to “the heyday of Britpop” is your way of implying that it was a crazy time when anything flew, and Oasis emerged by circumstance rather than talent. Shame on you Jimbo Slice!
Jim, when it comes to reviewing the tracks, you stand in stark contrast with many critics. You call Liam Gallagher penned I’m Outta Time and Gem Archer penned To Be Where There’s Life (by the way, did you mention this track because the long title would help you fill up your column) eminently dismissible. Although I will only point out how wrongly you’ve portrayed these two songs, you have nonetheless done the same with others on Dig Out Your Soul.
Pete Paphides of The Times raves that “Gem Archer’s sole compositional contribution, To Be Where There’s Life, charges along on a bassline, played by Bell, that may push Paul McCartney’s eyebrows up into the realms of physical implausibility”. Freelance journalist Marvin J Marcus states that "To Be Where There's Life" is another highlight. Sitar + great groove + stunning bass line = awesome. And once again it doesn't sound quite like anything Oasis has recorded before”. The Cleveland Leader says “the track has a gritty Liam Gallagher vocal, a mean bass line, a sitar, and bravely forgoes the use of a guitar” in a review titled “A Lot to Dig on New Oasis Album 'Dig Out Your Soul’”. Gigwise proclaims of To Be Where There’s Life that “the plunge back into the verse and the scream of “Dig Out Your Soul” is the intelligent equivalent of an hour listening to Stephen Fry”.
Of I’m Outta Time the Cleveland Leader says “when Yoko Ono, a known admirer of the Gallagher brothers, hears the track it will likely bring a tear to her eye and she will likely be proud of Liam's most solid songwriting effort to date”. As many Oasis fans initially thought I’m Outta Time was written by Noel Gallagher, Marvin J Marcus calls the Liam Gallagher hit “a true standout track”. Gigwise calls it “one of the most talked about tracks” that “does not disappoint”. The song “showcases Liam for the great songwriter he has finally become”.
Jim, it is untrue to say that Dig Out You Soul’s rhythms are “too enervated to rise above the bombast of the wall of guitars” and “the melodic drones not nearly melodic enough”. This same argument has been used against past albums by Oasis, but no other critic is saying so about the new album. They are saying the opposite. What’s interesting is that if you search for “Dig Out Your Soul bombast” in Google, every result will be a review of the new album. They do not use the term bombast in a negative way toward Oasis as you have. Did the word “bombast” make it into your hit job against oasis because it was in your consciousness via the scanning of reviews in order to squirt out your own review?
Jim, you call the album lyrics laughable, and then you mention a bunch of them by writing "Love is a litany, a magical mystery"; "Gotta get me a doctor with a remedy / I'm gonna take a walk with the Monkey Man!"; "I hear your soul song singing from a fire in the sky." What’s wrong with those lyrics? They look fine to me.
You say that Get off Your High Horse (Lady) has the vibe of the Beatle’s White Album. In reality, the rhythm is a standard jazz rhythm used by all jazz artists. I don’t know how one can evoke White Album. Lets face it Jim, the Beatles didn’t invent the guitar. They didn’t invent rock in roll. They don’t hold a patent on the genre or the instruments of the genre.
Oasis is back. Oasis is greater than ever!