Another angle on this deal -- and I'll be short because all this talk
about Malaysian food is making me hungry -- is the boy who cried wolf
phenomenon. With a lot of these crappy alt.country bands -- fill in the blanks
-- there's an inverse proportion between all the self-generated hype and
the actual talent and inspiration therein. So if you go see a band, or
pick up their record, based on, for instance, overheated praise that
appears in their press material, or their ad in ND, and the band's not
very good, you're likely to react even more negatively than if there'd
been no hype to start with. I can't count the times that I've gotten
excited about hearing a record, based on overblown bullshit spewed forth
by the label or the band, and then listen, and think, Jesus, they play OK
for having just stumbled upon their instruments four or five days ago. --
Terry Smith
