The press release is really excited about these guys. I'm not. I'd be suprised if they made it through another 2 albums before someone in the band realizes that it's not exciting music and quits or O.D.s.

-Harold

To read the Harold-sponsored positive review of Perfect Self, Click Here

And then the Stereomud fan club got ahold of poor Harold...

I completely disagree with the review posted on your site about Stereomud and their debut album "Perfect Self". This album if by far one of the most dynamic rock albums that I have come to find in a very long time. It is one of the very few cds that I can put in my cd player and rock out to every single song and never feel the need to skip over one of them. Not to mention their live performance! I have never seen a band where every band memeber puts forth so much emotion in every single performance. They rock the entire house wether they are in front of 20 people or 2000! These guys really love what they do and it shows by the way they perform and the way they mingle with the fans after every show. They aren't "too good" to be ordinary guys, they are just fortunate to have very extrordinary jobs, and they know that. Their intensity is real, their love for the fans is real, the music is phenomenal, and the whole mud family can and will more than back me up.

Sincerely,
Lynea T.

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Harold responds:

There's no condom for the cancer of bad taste. If there were, the State would go broke outfitting our highschools with sufficient protection.

If this disc is even in the top 100 most dynamic rock albums that you have come to find in a very long time, you should look harder. Next time theexcuse needs a review of a Stereomud concert, we know to come to you. Unfortunately, that is not what I was reviewing, so it had no impact on my thoughts on the CD.
-Harold

i am totally against what that other guy said the cd is awesome the guys are nice and i doubt that any of them would O.D or quit............... what the other guy said yes he has his own oppion but i have mine to and it is the exact opposite of it

Klara

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Harold responds:

Thank you for having your own oppion Klara. Enjoy Stereomud while they're around.
-Harold

I STRONGLY disagree with this dude.. This new band is going to make it. His statement is totally absurd, and cannot be called a review of Perfect Self

We will be seeing Stereomud at the TOP!

CreedLuvrXX@aol.com

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Harold responds:

If my review of Perfect Self cannot be called a review of Perfect Self, what CAN it be called? My vote is that we call it a review of Perfect Self.
-Harold

I disagree with you! What an aweful thing to write about anyone! Do you feel ok? At least it got your attention enough to write about. Have a great day!

Jill

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Harold responds:

I feel fine. It is theexcuse.com's policy to review everything that comes through the door no matter if it catches our attention or not. I'm sorry that I'm such an aweful person. Maybe if everything wasn't so awe-inspiring, I'd be less aweful.
-Harold

Subject: you have NO right!!!!!

that is a HORRIBLE review, and VERY uncalled for. As a very large Stereomud fan, I take offense to that posting. Saying that one member should OD??? That is not at all needed.

-A STEREOMUD FAN

(entire emission sic) | This fan sent the same email again three hours later.

Harold responds:

I'm sorry that you didn't enjoy the review. I'm also sorry that you are large. Please re-read the review and you'll see that I didn't say that a member SHOULD O.D., just that i thought one WOULD.
-Harold

My Dear Sir,

I was curious where you got your musical knowledge at, a box of cracker jacks? Yes, everyone is entitled the their own opinion but yours is obviously from the blind and deaf side. These guys if you knew them on a more personal level you would realize that an OD is WAY out of the park and that these guys are in for the long haul with this and will be here for a long time to come.

As far as being excited about them .... well its ok if you are not because there is plenty and more out there that are.

Spreading For Mud Jill- Chattanooga Tn

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Harold responds:

I would be really happy for these guys if they succeeded (which they have to some extent). Not enough garage bands make it to the big time. When we review CDs, we get a disc and a press release. Sometimes we get an 8x10 glossy to go with them. There is no way for us to know the artists on a more personal level, so we have to review the MUSIC, not what they tell their fans about drug use. What was the Back Street Boys' official alcohol stance? Not one of advocation, I guarantee. Keep spreading for mud, but use protection.
-Harold

Dear Chauvinist ass,

Your ridiculous annotation about Stereomud is so incapacitated! Obviously you do not know your music well, so why the hell are you one to have the privilege to review an album like ŒPerfect Selfı! This album is not only one of the best but its raw grit with undeniable melodic hooks that are catchy without being ordinary or gimmicky is some of the best work ever performed! So yes Harold, you are aloud your opinion, but here is mine about you: Get a life you despairing, pessimistic, clueless, distasteful, revolting, asshole! I hope you O.D!

truely stereomuds, Jessica Reynolds

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Harold responds:

On one hand, I can't believe that this slaughterhouse of the English language is really written by someone other than a heckler who has jumped on the bandwagon. On the other hand, I really wouldn't be surprised that someone who likes this exceedingly boring band would not have the basic mastery of our national language required to graduate high school. The day that you can find anything "chauvinist" on this page is the day Stereomud gains the skills that are required to play more than a handful of chords. Jessica (if that's your real name. I'd bet that you also go by Angel James every once in a while) - you must have a class that is teaching you some new vocabulary words this week. I'd suggest that you bone up on them before the big test next week. You don't know what chauvinism is. An annotation is NOT the same thing as a review. If you read the response to another letter on this page, you'd see the reason I was forced to listen to this drek and crank out a review. "Some of the best work ever performed" my ass. My opinion is "aloud," but not allowed? It's typed. I think maybe you misspoke. Your opinion about me is not an opinion, but a command. I am straight-edge and too broke for any sort of habit except for food, so the chances of me O.D.ing are nil. I just attacked every single sentence of your letter, and feel like I wasted 5 minutes of my life. Thank you for your input.
-Harold

Subject: What!

I completely disagree with your review of the "Perfect Self" album. I'm actually curious as to what you don't like about the album. Besides the fact that you are not excited about it, what bothers you so much about it? The singer has so much talent. The way Erik and Corey harmonize is amazing! The drums and guitar riffs are so driving you can't sit still while it drives you. To make a possibly long email short, Stereomud is a great band who deserves respect. And lastly, for you to insinuate that the band would quit or OD (by the way they don't do drugs) is completely besides the point. They make great music and anyone who thinks otherwise is just another pop music follower.

Tleigh666@aol.com

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Harold responds:

You are entitled to your opinion, so I'm not going to attack the fact that you believe that Stereomud makes "great" music (although I seem to be the object of plenty of attack for my views this week). However, I have to point out that anyone who thinks that the shinola Stereomud dumps on their adoring masses is boring, trite, hackneyed, overused, redundant and trite is probably NOT a pop music follower. You are curious as to what I don't like about the album. It's boring. Boring music has no place in my CD Player. I never said that they were bad musicians or singers, just that the music isn't exciting. If I'm going to use brainpower to listen to music for pleasure, it's not going to be because I want to listen to an unexciting band. No matter how good the musicians in the band are, if the music bores me, I choose not to listen to it, and I refuse to recommend it to others. Thank you for disagreeing with my review. I need to be humbled every once in a while.
-Harold

P.S. The word "what" (in your subject line) should probably have a question mark after it.

I've never heard the band, but judging from the fact that all of their fans who have written in seem to be mildly retarded, I think I will make sure to never listen to them.

k8 orangek8.com

Harold responds:

Thank you for seeing the truth "K8" (if that's your real name). But maybe you shouldn't be so quick to dismiss the band based solely on a personal problem you have with the fans. After all, that's part of the reason that bands like Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dogg don't get bought by white american suburbanites. They don't want to be associated with gangbangers. You should go waste $15 on the disc and decide for yourself if Stereomud is worth cluttering your brain with.
-Harold

Harold -

To start with - you are a funny guy. Seriously. I found myself more inclined to agree with you than all the fans on the reveiw site, and I laughed quietly to myself at the fact that you could 'shoot them down' so easily. If they don't know what they are on about they shouldn't even post a message.

But your reveiw leaves something to be desired. You could have said why you disliked the band, or why you think one of them should die. Personally I think the band is great, but that's the music I'm into. I am particularly impressed by the vocal array (possibly computer edited) of the lead singer and songs that really get me excited. Especcially down at the bottom of the world (New Zealand) where only the larger of bands from the states manage to get heard. I have never heard of any of the band member's previous bands. (Probably a good thing).

But then that's me. I would have been more likely to accept your reveiw if it had been a little more balanced.

Now, I really hope I haven't screwed this up or I am sure you will give me stick as well.

Anyway - cheers!
Sir Smith

Harold responds:

Sir Smith:

Flattery will get you almost anywhere. However, it won't get you into my reviewing pants (if you know what I mean). I know that my review leaves something to be desired, but to tell you the truth, I really didn't think that the music deserved more of a review than it got. If i get a CD in for review that is GREAT, I review the shit out of it. Praise, description, recommendation, even spellchecking. When I get a CD in for review that is so bad that it pisses me off, it gets a long, sarcastic review. When i get a CD in for review that is as unimpressive as this one, I refuse to spend time telling people why they shouldn't buy it. So take heed, Promotions people. Send me good or bad music if you want a long review.

I'm funny and you're smart. We should have a big team-up. Thanks for writing, etc. etc., and if you're looking for some good American music, why not try Tom Waits, The Old 97's, Morphine, Dave Hudson, Spencer Bohren, or Lyle Lovett? You can find reviews of most of these guys on theexcuse.com...
-Harold

hello,
this is to harold the guy who knows everything about music in this world, it is your opinion not to like stereomud and thats fine but, its your opinion and what right have you to criticize someone elses opinion and alot of people like let alone love stereomud how many are on the street team alone, lets see i think it is in the thousands by now! but lets say this if you don't like stereomud who do you like, lets put their music up for review and they have to be a fairly new band and one that is part of the rock or metal genre, you cant say black sabbath or hendrix, they are already gods of their proffesions, you have to pick some one up and comming, becuase they have as much chance as stereomud ?

rickshoneybunnyk@netscape.net

Harold responds:

thanks honeybunny i really am glad that you took the time out of your busy but, not too busy schedule to read my opinion and criticize it however your mastery of the english language is lacking in the punctuation and sentence formation department. i guess that this could be attributable to the fact that you listen to stereomud but i won't make that sort of generalization mostly because i finally did receive one intelligent email accompanied by a stellar review of the album that didn't impress me but apparently it is important enough to a lot of kids (and maybe even some adults) to waste their time sending me "scathing" emails angry with me because i don't think that their band is great. as far as who i like, check out the above email even though some of them are not rock and none of them are metal that should tell you a thing or two about what real music is.

Runonsentence Harold

I just heard about Stereomud in the past few weeks, and I happened to come across your review of their CD recently. I just have a few comments.

First off, if this quality of reviews are what I'm going to see on the site, shouldn't you throw "lousy" in front of all that to warn people away from your site??That might spare people from taking the time to tell you what an idiot you are, since they would be less likely to read it. [do you put a sticker on your CD collection that says "shitty music"? That might spare people from taking the time to bother looking at when they come over to visit - H] The review you wrote has no points whatsoever to consider it good reading material [In my opinion, the CD had just enough merit to write what I wrote. How's YOUR review site going? How are your reviews of Tom Waits? The Slumdwellaz? The 3 Twins? Dave Hudson? James Hunter? - H] , and every one of your responses to peoples opinions on the review inevitably focus more on attacking the people [It's called reciprocity. look it up. - H] than responding to points they bring up. This, in my opinion, is the mark of a low grade reviewer, and decidedly juvenile in its own way [I revel in juvenility. It's nice to see that you have an opinion. So do I. Stereomud isn't worth my time. - H].

Second point. You seem to be living in the past [If I could figure out how to do that, I wouldn't be writing for a living, I'd be selling guided tours of the past. - H]. You seem to be one of those people who doesn't want to see the truth - the people this music will appeal to are the disgruntled youth of America. Probably at least 80% of Stereomud's fans are in the teens and early twenties [Probably a lot more than that. I don't care who this music may appeal to, I was totally unimpressed. - H]. This group isn't happy with the problems left to them by older generations, such as the one you seem to come from, by your insultingly pompous and "I have the wisdom of the ages" manner [Yeah. I'm 24. I am ancient. - H]. Look to reality. The music of the older generations may be considered good in new quarters, but new sounds are good too. I am a great fan of some of the bands of the 50's and 60's, even up into the 70's [First of all, the apostrophe goes before the number, not after it. Second of all, you must be the hero of all of your peers. I'll bet they go to you when they have a question about music from the last fifty years. I'm a fan of all kinds of music from the 1900s all the way to a lot of brand-spankin' new stuff. I am NOT a fan of Stereomud. Excuse the shit out of me. Maybe I should go kill myself because I'm obviously an inferior reviewer with bad taste. - H]. I am also a great fan of the 90's alternative rock and grunge rock music [My apologies. I wonder if you'll still be into it when you're 80. - H]. It's all right for you to leave your protective shell that keeps you happy so you can explore new things [I don't even know what the fuck you're talking about here. - H].

Now, for a point about Stereomud. Everyone seems to be calling the nu-metal genre repetitive and samey. Maybe that's because artists are trying to get a point across that things need to change [If this is the case (and I don't think it is), this is a ridiculous way to battle the problem. It's like taking the stance that child pornography is an awful thing, and deciding to battle the problem by making and distributing your own brand of kiddie porn. I have a feeling that a more plausible reason that the genre is repetitive is that most of the generation (musicians and audience) has been raised on the tripe spoonfed to us by television, and our collective imagination has been beaten with the retarded stick since we were old enough to understand commercial messages. - H]. This is a new world, and new things are required for a new age. We can't live in the past, and that's what much of the new sounds comes from. Maybe one day reviewers like you will finally come to realize that and actually applaud the bands for some of the messages they carry [Maybe one day retarded music fans like you will finally come to realize that there is nothing behind what these bands are saying, and that you should have been paying more attention to the music of the past instead of wasting your time with boring CDs like Stereomud. - H].

Anon Ymous

Harold responds some more:

I want to cry for my generation. One thing that I think that Anon (if that's his/her real name) doesn't realize is that fans of N'Sync or the Backstreet Boys would defend their waste of natural resources necessitated by the manufacture of unlistenable crap.
Whatever. Enjoy your life of poorly-chosen music.
-Harold

I'm not a kid, I'm an old lady. I have eclectic tastes in music, everything from Buddy Guy to Le Mystere Des Voix Bulgares. Current bands I like include Linkin Park, P.O.D., Green Day, Alicia Keyes. Even SUM41 and AAF. More mellow stuff I like: J.J. Cale (pretty sure you've heard of him), Ernestine Anderson, and old, old school like Chet Baker and Sam Cooke. My all-time favorite band is probably Social Distortion. I bought Led Zep I at age 12 and liked metal ever since. There is some music that is intellectual and some that is visceral. Metal isn't meant to be Dostoyevsky. If you don't like metal, say that up front so people know where you're coming from. And it's a cheap shot to criticize people's grammar and spelling when you don't have any ideas about the music, except that you hate the genre. I like "Perfect Self" a lot. The bass grooves are great and the lyrics are howling, dire! ct, and succinct. No navel-gazing, dissipated diddling with this band. And on a (barely) related note: Erik Rogers is gorgeous. YOWZA!! So there! I think I'll go listen to "Pain" again. Pffft to you.

DianaWCompton@aol.com

Harold responds yet again:

Pffft to me indeed. Your letter has changed my mind. I love Stereomud now. I take back everything I said on this page. Except for the grammar corrections. Grammar is very important to us non-metal fans (Sorry. That wasn't directed to you, just to the ignorant masses).
-Harold

Praise the Lord! Someone intelligent found Harold's review and supplied their own...

Greetings,

If there is more to the review of Stereomud's new release, Perfect Self, I cannot find it on your site. I cannot seem to find any information as to the qualifications of "Harold" anywhere on your site either. Judging from the three lines of text I did find, Harold is not even remotely qualified to pen a review of a rock and roll album. As for my review of Harold, through his responses to some of the posters who disagreed with his "non-review", he solidified my view of him as a hack.

I could not find one mention of any of the specific tracks, production values or even what genre the album is in. He did not seem to care to find out any information about the group. He alluded to the fact that this is their first album, and even called them a garage band. The truth in the matter is that Stereomud is comprised of former members of "Life of Agony", and "Stuck Mojo". If memory serves me, together these bands have released four albums, each with moderate commercial success and critical acclaim. A good review, by a seasoned journalist would have probably compared this album to those of their respective previous bands. If that had been done a clear progression and some growth musically could have been shown. Also there was no mention as to the collaboration of Clint Lowery (Sevendust guitarist), and brother of Corey Lowery (Stereomud bassist). Listeners will definitely here a bit of Sevendust in this album, and mention of the use of an SD founder in the production of the album would have been helpful, if a real review of this album was truly intended. What about mention of the single, Pain? This is getting rotation on MTV, and a lot of airplay around the country. In all I would say that this was a half-assed review by a half-assed neuvo journalist. Just more of the swill we are rapidly growing tired of on the Internet.

As for the album, It's been a long road to their Loud/Columbia Records debut album "Perfect Self". This disk rocks. The collaboration between these "Veteran" rockers is two steps ahead of their previous outings with Life of Agony and Stuck Mojo. The production is clean, and the sound is far away from the Korn-Bizkit NU-metal barrage we have seen in the past twelve months. The lyrics on this album are dark, and exude the anger and angst we hear from their past albums with a clean melodic tone and hard driving bass lines. While there is not nearly as much RAP on this album as we have come to expect from this genre, there is a few lines that will get Bizkit, and Linkin Park fans going. The current single off the album is "Pain", this is a great track, and is getting solid airplay on MTV and radio, several other tracks stand out. "Don't be Afraid", is a gritty anthem for all of the freaks of the world and is well laid out musically with fantastic lyrics. "Down from Here", well just listen to this cut twice, and your hooked. My favorite track is definitely number two, "Leave" (backup) a love song for the ages.

Corey Lowery is a big standout, he is doing a lot of progressive things with the bass on this album, and the bass lines on this disk are booming. You are drawn into the groove on several tracks, as he and drummer Dan Richardson lay down a gauntlet of thunder underneath the searing guitars of Joey Z and John Fattarusso. On top of it all is a beautifully strong and powerful performance by vocalist Eric Rodgers. Some songs that Mud fans were accustomed to last summer have changed slightly but I think they are now better than ever! The track listing is, well odd in the way things are numbered. Interludes are strewn between songs, nothing new to the industry, but seldom used as effectively as Stereomud and producer Don Gilmore have done here.

"Perfect Self" is the perfect disk for anyone who finds himself switching between TooL, Godsmack, Linkin Park, and Sevendust. This album does not disappoint, if you are one of those who want the hard driving in your face rock and roll sound.

Thanks JB

Harold responds:

Okay, I'm busted. I didn't do my research, and I have no credentials besides being a fan of good music. I obviously don't have what it takes to write about this kind of music, so I'll roll the review rights of Stereomud over to JB.
-Harold

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