DA’s Letter to Reviewer Melissa Maerz at Blender

Posted by chesterfrench on Sunday, April 19th, 2009

In: CF
Comment!

Hey guys…

I was really dissapointed to see that one of our favorite publications, Blender Magazine, gave “Love The Future” a one star review.

But I was even more upset that they accused us of being sexist pigs! Check out their review, by Melissa Maerz:

For a couple of geniuses, these Harvard grads sure need a smack in the head. Yes, they’re overachievers: Their demo sparked a bidding war between Pharrell Williams’ and Kanye West’s labels, and their full-length debut—anchored by sunny ’60s-style pop festooned with strings and heavy-handed synths—also includes a Portugese track, a classical-music interlude and (enough already!) a tap-dance routine. But singer D.A. Wallach wants you to know that, despite his precociousness, he still gets laid as much as the next lunkhead. “I’ve been waiting so long that it hurts,” he admits, and Love the Future is loaded with that special misogyny reserved for late-blooming geeks. These guys love hearing a good “porn-star tale,” scoring with “drunk and high girls” and hiring “a first-rate whore,” but they’re “not tryin’ to mess with no sluts.” Lucky sluts—at least they get off the hook.

So I sent her a note, that I’m going to share with you guys, that we hope reaches her on Facebook. Check it out:

Hey Melissa-
I just read your 1-star review of our record on Blender’s site and felt awful – not just because you clearly didn’t enjoy our record – but because I worry that my lyrics came across the wrong way in several instances. “I’ve been waiting so long that it hurts” is an admission of geekiness prefaced by my saying that I’ve been “locked up in school,” basically failing with girls. The “pornstar tail” lyric (which you cite as “porn star tale”) is making fun of hollywood agent-types who brag about their flirtations with those types of girls. “Drunk and hot (not high, as you cite it)” girls is a reference to Kanye’s song “Drunk and hot girls,” to which I reply that I’m looking for a girl who “doesn’t need to shop at Dior.” “The Jimmy Choo’s, the final song you mention, is an indictment of overly materialistic girls, not a celebration of “first rate whores.” In the other, free album that we just released, you’ll find this same spirit expressed in a song we did with our friend Janelle Monae called “Nerd Girl:” http://hypem.com/track/796421/Chester+French+f+Janelle+Monae+-+Nerd+Girl . If anything, the message I want to convey is that it’s hip to be square, and that girls shouldn’t be so caught-up in the games of status and style. As someone raised by his mom who even chose to do a tutorial in college on feminist theory, I really fear after reading your review that people will get the wrong idea about our motives. Our goals have never been anything but to make thoughtful music and entertain. I’m sorry that we failed on both counts in your listening, but shall hope that we can win your support with our future efforts. I hope that this note find you well, and that you’ll take another listen and find that we’re not the misogynist pigs you heard on the first spin!
xoxo,
D.A.

Phew. Had to get that off my chest. Okay everyone… TWO DAYS till “Love The Future” hits stores!

-DA

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