FEEDBACK

You had some outstanding albums on your end-of-year list [“The Top 40 Albums of 2008,” January]. Dear Science is the crowning achievement of TV on the Radio’s career thus far and speaks truthfully to our generation while still inspiring foot tapping. You also had Bon Iver and Okkervil River, for which I give you props. I have yet to figure out how Coldplay and Fleet Foxes made it into the top ten (completely overrated in my opinion), and there is one glaring omission: Have you not listened to Shearwater’s Rook That’s the only explanation I can come up with for why it’s not on your list, let alone in the top ten! It’s outstanding. Shame on you guys.

How quickly you forget. I can’t believe you’d overlook the Hold Steady’s terrific follow-up to an album that graced your list just two years ago!

ANDREW BAILES
Sarasota, Florida

“I’LL TAKE TRAVIS McCOY’S ADVICE
WHEN HE MAKES THE 40 BEST
ALBUMS OF THE YEAR LIST, BUT I’M
NOT HOLDING MY BREATH.”

Power Outage

Brutal Attack’s Ken McLellan says “attitudes are changing” regarding white power bands [“Ugly Hate Machine,” January]. Right. If that statement wasn’t already nullified by Obama’s election, even your average racist isn’t going to tolerate their amateur noisecore.

ERIC MARTIN

Madison, Wisconsin

Vampire Weekend to Metallica. McCoy definitely has a big personality, but it is hard to listen to his advice when he continues to release mediocre hip-hop records. I’ll take his advice when he makes the 40 Best Albums of the Year list, but I’m not holding my breath.

two individuals are, in which
case the article was genius.

IAN GOUDELOCK

San Francisco
Travis McCoy calling Vampire
Weekend’s “Oxford Comma” a
“pussy” song? “Hey, what’s up,
Pot? This is the Kettle.”

MATTHEW RITCHIE

Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
MADDIE
via spin.com

NEAL CARLIN

State College, Pennsylvania

The Kills’ Midnight Boom would have been nice.

ARCADEFIRE030 via spin.com

Numbers 40 through three are spot on, lots of rock and indie rock, but the top three [TV on the Radio, Lil Wayne, and Portishead] kind of puzzle me. I guess I am just not as big of a TV on the Radio fan as everyone else.

Radio Daze

When reading the TV on the Radio “Album of the Year” article, I noticed you said they formed as an “elaborate joke.” In your MGMT article [“Head Games,” November], that band said they formed by accident as well. I sense a trend forming.…

MAX RINTOUL

Portland, Connecticut

Having anyone from Gym Class Heroes or Best Week Ever discuss the biggest songs of the year is like asking Uwe Boll to review the top-grossing movies of 2008. Case in point: slamming Metallica as being equivalent to Nickelback and Creed, but discussing the merits of Buckcherry and Fall Out Boy. Maybe you were just trying to point out how idiotic these

The Old College Try

In the “Late Registration” article [January], you forgot to include Mike Einziger of Incubus going to Harvard. You also forgot the VH1 show from a few years ago Tommy Lee Goes to College. C’mon, that show was great! Well, not really, but you still should’ve included it.

ERIK RUGGAARD
Cleveland, Ohio

BRICK LANE via spin.com

Hung “Jury” January’s “Jukebox Jury” with Travis McCoy and Paul F. Tompkins was unbearable. Not only does McCoy shy away from discussing his girlfriend’s single, but he proceeds to rip on some of the year’s best tracks, from

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14 MARCH 2009 / READ DAILY EDI TORS’ BLOGS AT SPIN.COM