I've been waiting anxiously for the new Angels & Airwaves CD to come out, and now it's out, and it was totally worth the wait.

Unfortunately, the AMG review of it, by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, is probably the snottiest rock review I've ever read, and that's saying a lot, because rock critics tend to be a particularly snot-nosed bunch. My reaction is, Gee, Mr. Rock Critic, if you know so much, why aren't YOU the one making records? Huh? Huh?!?

(Maybe it's because YOU'VE got no talent.)

Oh, and Mr. Rock Critic, if it's "maturity" you're concerned about (a big deal was made of "maturity" in the review), I'm going to be 45 in 2 weeks and I have a Master's degree in musicology, with a specialy in choral/vocal music of the 15th and 16th centuries. And I happen to love Angels and Airwaves. If it's "mature" enough for me, then what have you got to complain about?

Anyway, the thing I've noticed about rock critics is that they simultaneously want the music they're reviewing to be totally and completely original, like nothing ever heard before in the history of mankind, AND to exactly match their preconceived ideas of what it should sound like. Which, if you think about it for a minute, is not really possible.

So, in short, awesome album, I highly recommend it.