Cracker

Dear Vladimir, your name is funny. Sincerely, the Happy American

Dear Vladimir, your name is funny. Sincerely, the Happy American

Tim, I looked all over, and I DID have you mixed up with another review. It is me that needs to apologize to your readers. I think it is some inaccuracies in your review that got me to contribute other mistakes to your piece. You know where you made a couple of mistakes, and I need to stop being so passionate about Cracker and CVB. It's a great CD, and I wish Cracker all the best on their tour. Thanks again for responding, and good luck. My mistake (and a couple of yours). It was good to meet you, Tim. I think I'll let the musicians' PR people handle the inaccuracies in reviews, and just start my own blogspot under my own name. Take care, Vladimir Noskov.

Hey guys, I think it is great that we can now have a dialogue. I agree that writing is many times a one way street, though I think both of you seem to have me confused with another writer or with another review. MIchael you said "you didn't piss me off with your review but your implication that to disagree with your opinion we have to be somehow mentally imbalanced is really insulting." Please re-read my post, I make no such implication. I simply clatify that this review is my opinion an opinion I stand by, and not fact. I asked that if people wish to comment that they don't do so hiding behind a screen name. I am willing to put my name on my opinion, if someone wishes to share their opinion they should do the same. Vlad, I am glad you have taken time to introduce yourself. (Though I am a but unclear as to why you keep implying that I must drink so much.) I have been a CVB and Cracker for some time as well, though I don't seem to have the same passion for the band as you. I think you are mixing up my review with another, I never had a line about John Doe and X, and I have always stated this one was their tenth album. You said you have a saved version of the original review you saw on here? I would really like to see that as I think you have my review mixed up with another. Please email what you saved at tnewby9@aol.com. Thanks.

Tim, I waited for your retort, but you probably gave up. Let me tell you something about Cracker. David Lowery and Johnny Hickman knew each other since their teen years in Redlands, Ca (I think). David would go see Johnny's band "Dangers", while Johnny would hang at the gigs of David's band "Box o Laffs". Before David Lowery went off to CVB world, both David and Johnny had a pre-CVB band "The Estonian Gouchos". After the break-up of Camper Van Beethoven (I know, they are back again), Johnny moved to Richmond, VA to write music with his friend David Lowery. They BOTH started the band "Cracker". They both co-wrote songs like "Teen Angst", "Low", "Get Off This", "Eurotrash Girl", etc. All these are hit songs around the Globe. I hope that in the future, whilst you prepare for another review, you'll stay away from Wikipedia. Get the official bios (Cracker has one on www.crackersoul.com). I hope this makes you grow as a writer and a journalist. Feel free to post a reply. I also have fun, and drink a few beers with my friends, but when it's time to work, I give all of me. You are welcome to come visit St. Louis Friday, May 15th to see Cracker play the same venue where Chuck Berry still plays once a month (Blueberry Hill). It may be sold out, but I'll gladly give you my ticket. Sincerely, your new friend Vladimir Noskov from St. Louis, Missouri.

Tim "The first half of the album is dominated by up-tempo rockers played with a youthful energy that seem to belie the band’s more countrified roots." cracker fans are objecting to this. crackers first album starts with teen angst, the second album starts with "low" goes into "movie star". both filled with punk or alternative rock energy. See this album is a return to that. That's what we are digging. we cracker fans have grown tired of reading backhanded compliments and ignorant remarks from journalists. this is our favorite band and probably the most mis-understood and under-rated band in america. your review just seemed another one of these. it seemed from the quoted statement that you didn't know anything about the band's history. everyone is entitled to opinions but that is a very weird opinion of cracker's new record. no offense intended. i can see your frustration. for years music journalism has been a one-way conduit. Now WE get to talk back. your review was just one of several that were picked up on by the cracker fans on the internets. you got a few comments. a couple of reviewers got swarmed. we're not trolls or stalkers. you didn't piss me off with your review but your implication that to disagree with your opinion we have to be somehow mentally imbalanced is really insulting. my name is michael. i live in tucson i'm a software engineer. other than that why do we have to identify ourselves more than you do? vladmir is very real. he's a well know fixture in the cracker world.

Wow. I just got home to realize that you've edited the original review. I saved it, thankfully. I see no more X reference. You also edited some other stuff you’ve said. I’ve got you on “Friends” now. Johnny Hickman wrote that one. Not David Lowery. Mr. Newby, did you edit the article? Tell the people. The first version said it was their ninth. Maybe you were right then? Please post the original review. Vladimir Noskov

Tim, You sound like a cool guy. I'm not going to attack you. Just your position on Cracker or Camper Van Beethoven. First, I'm not a blogger who hides under an assumed name. I am Vladimir Noskov, a Jewish immigrant from the USSR as a 14-year-old kid in 1976. Google me + the mad russian. Now that we got that out of the way (I thought that you can see my log-in details), it is not about me. It is about YOUR opinion and knowledge of two of my favorite American bands. I was a youth working for BGP in SF when I first heard CVB. It was my post-punk period. I heard very talented and funny writer-musicians who DON'T want to be put in the box. In CVB I can hear many different styles. If you can't feel it, google it and do some research. Now let's talk Cracker. When you wrote "borrowed riff" from X's Los Angeles, did you know that John Doe of X appears on the "Sunrise in the Land of Milk and Honey"? Did you know that Adam Duritz of Counting Crows and a dozen other great musicians make a cameo on this coming of age Cracker album? I'll look in on you again after you do a little research on Cracker, as well as CVB. Or just email me. This site has my email address. I actually know these guys a little bit. This just might make you famous. To be cont. Vladimir "The Mad Russian" Noskov. PS try not to put Cracker in the box. They will blow your musical mind when you try. I might be wrong (as I don't have to do research to review), but I think this is their tenth album. I'll check when I get off this damn crackberry and log on the big screen. Cheers, bloke!

Vlad, Thanks for taking time to read through my review, feedback is always appreciated, though I am unsure of what facts you feel I have misrepresented. A review is simply one person's opinion, while facts are proveable points. In my opinion, the early songs on Sunrise are reminiscent of the energy which CVB plays with. I never said they were a country band, I said they have counrty roots which I stand by. I think the pacing, style, and Johnny's guitar lend itself towards that. I use the word alt-country as I think that is the best way to explain them to someone who may be unfamiliar with them. Just about everything can be called Rock 'n' Roll, so to try and give a point of reference I use alt-country to mean that they are a rock band, but there is hints of country and americana in what they do. Vlad, there are many faceless trolls who wander the internent willing to drop their opinions and comments behind the safety of a screen-name, who don't have the courage to put their name to something and put it out there for all to see. Please don't you be one. Thanks Tim Newby

As a long-time Cracker fan, I thank you for the positive review you gave "Sunrise." I would, however, like to clarify a couple of things for the record. First, although Cracker readily acknowledges its alt-country influences, its overall style isn't alt-country, and many of its songs, including its biggest hits, "Teen Angst (What the World Needs Now)," "Low," and "Get Off This" are straight-up rock and roll. Second, "Friends" was written by Hickman, and first appeared on Johnny's 2005 solo album "Palmhenge." Hickman performs this song in concert as a duet frequently, both with Lowery, and with Jim Dalton (Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers; Railbenders) as half of the Hickman-Dalton Gang. In the "Sunrise" version, Lowery duets with Patterson Hood of Drive-By Truckers. Thanks again for bringing this great album to the attention of your readers.

Dear reviewer, I know. You had no time to research Cracker for your review. Then you stayed up with your friends drinking and having fun. Then, as any writer you had the ever dreadful deadline sneak up on you. You are not Hunter S. Thompson. You can't just make stuff up, and pass on as if it was the truth. Please find out about the band that you are reviewing. There is a lot at stake here. Cracker is not a country band. There are no songs on "Sunrise" that sound like Camper Van Beethoven (also a great band you may not know about). Your business is full of hacks. Please don't you be one. Listen again, read liner notes, try to understand your mistakes and apologize to your readers. Yours truly, Vladimir.