Before I plunge into this, I'd just like to say that I've never really been a fan of Journey. Oh sure, they've had the odd moment. I think "Separate Ways" was a great single -- and featured an unintentionally hilarious video, but they've never been a band I've given a damn about, much less owned any albums by. But despite appearances, this post isn't really about Journey. It's about the New York Times.
After I put the kids to bed tonight, I finally got to crack open a beer and page through today's Times. One of the lead articles in the "Arts" section, as it turned out, was a review of Journey's new album (you can read it by clicking here). Again, it's Journey -- who gives a damn? But reading further, the Times alludes to Journey's new lead singer, Arnel Pineda, as sounding "a lot like the group's first one, Steve Perry." This isn't exactly shocking. Since Perry's acrimonious departure, the band has tried in vain to replicate his signature hoary pipes. Who can blame them for trying to jump-start their flagging career, even if only for the nostalgia dollar?
My problem here is simply that Steve Perry was not, in fact, Journey's first singer. Their first singer was keyboardist Gregg Rolie. I'm not suggesting that this insanely pedantic, anal-retentive rock geek point is in any way even remotely important -- again, fuck Journey -- but it's just that if I can act on a hunch and simply look up this fact on Allmusic.com, so could have one of the FOUR (!!!!!) people who contributed to this article. Again, it's not about Journey, it's about raising the bar. YOU'RE THE NEW YORK TIMES, for cryin' out loud! HOW ABOUT A LITTLE FACT- CHECKING?
It just makes ya kinda wonder what else they get wrong.
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