Must see article and "Letter to the President" vid

[Darek]

Graciously pointed out by J Ward in the Media thread, a great new article in the Portland Press Herald with links to the brand new video for Letter to the President!

Article

The link to the video is in the grey box on the left side. I couldn't get the WMP version to work (is that just me by the way or is it not working at all) so I had to use Quicktime. Anybody want to try and get it downloadable for us?

Thanks for the heads up J! When are you guys posting this up on Youtube?

[Nuphus]

Good stuff.

Great to see the guys smiling again.

;D

[kevbag]

That's a outstanding video for an ok song. It was fun to watch, but I still can't get over how corny the lyrics are. Dave's great lyricism is one of the things I've always loved about the Tones, but this tune is kinda weak. Regardless, great job by the directors - J holding the xylophone made me laugh.

[font]

I can only speak for myself, but I think Letter to the President is a very powerful song and beautifully done. There's nothing worse than war, yet it has littered the history of man. I don't see how the thought of dying and never getting to see your loved ones again could be "corny." It's a harsh reality of what people...people our age, who are very much like us...are dealing with today.

I love the video.

[Jeff]

Wasn't "Letter" written by somebody else? My case is in my car I think, so I can't verify that, but I'm pretty certain it wasn't them. I too think it's a "beautiful" song, ukuleles seem to have that effect

It's certainly a change from the norm for Rustic style and lyric-wise, but they could have done far, far worse.

LOVE the video. Great execution of a simplistic concept

[kevbag]

Corny:
Pronunciation: \ˈkȯr-nç\
Function: adjective
Inflected Form(s): corn·i·er; corn·i·est

1: of or relating to corn
2: mawkishly old-fashioned : tiresomely simple and sentimental

I'd say that pretty much hits the nail on the head.

I just think that Dave has always had a way of approaching a song from an angle you'd be hard pressed to do on your own (e.g. "Man Without a Mouth," "Girl Germs," "Black Leather Bag," etc...the list is pretty much endless)

The lyrics and rhyming schemes on this tune are really simple and seem aimed at the lowest common denominator of listner. Simple can be good, but when you totally dumb down your message I think you turn off a lot of people who don't need things spoon fed to them.

[Darek]

I agree with Font from a message standpoint, but I can see what Kevbag is saying. I don't think anyone would argue the message, it's just quite a stylistic and lyrical departure, like Jeff pointed out. Part of what makes Rustic great are all the layers that their music holds, both sonically and lyrically, and when everything gets laid out on the table and paired down, it looses a certain something.

When it comes down to it I've always been pretty much indifferent about the song, but I think the video is awesome!

And Jeff is right by the way, Leonard Dillon did at least some of the writing for Letter to the President.

[Jeff]

Ugh, I've got a few utilities but can't get any of them to copy/download that video from streaming format. Will have to check out some other things or wait til it goes on youtube as the article said or maybe the rustic myspace, that would be nice *cough*

At least despite opinions (which we are all entitled to) on the song, we all agree the vid is great

[Jeff]

Found a bunch of referrals in the r-o statistics from a blog posted on the Fayetteville Observer website.

Rebekah Sanderlin was set up for an interview with Dave and shared her thoughts. The comments are rather disapproving, mostly due to it's creation despite the lack of a "connection to the military."

check it out here.

I have mixed feelings on it, I certainly understand and respect the arguments presented, but just as well I can understand the artistic side as well.

Just one example, but who would write a song and make up a division that doesn't exist, or one most people have never heard of? It's music, they are attempting to reach an audience, not necessarily make an accurate historic representation.

I'm just an average guy somewhere in upstate NY, though. These people are all (presumed) from the Fayetteville area, perhaps with daily interactions with the military or friends/family that do. I know people in the service but without knowing much about it myself, I thought it was relatable and could see the thought process.

[jeff]

The comments read like a bunch of people who can't tell the difference between a work of fiction and a documentary. It's a story, written from the perspective of a fictional soldier. I've never heard anyone from the band claim that it's a true story. That said, I expect they'd get similar comments around here (college campuses aside). This is a "red state", as is NC, and it shows.

[Rachel]

A lot of those comments are painful. Eesh. Admittedly it's not their best work in terms of lyrics, but I hate seeing it get torn apart. It especially bothers me that they're seeing it as an insincere/commercialized attempt to relate to people... RO's nothing if not sincere, as a whole and individually.

I've definitely known a lot of people affected by the war, and I don't find LttP remotely offensive... granted I'm not deeply embroiled in the politics of it all.

Press is press, I guess, but that's the worst press I've seen since RbtH was getting dinged for being too 'dark'.

[mpb]

Wow those comments are pretty brutal, and while Letter isn't my favorite song, it seems to me they are making a big deal over nothing. It's just a song trying to empathize with soldiers...

[kevbag]

I agree that those people are taking it way too seriously. I also think that for every person who completely misses the point, there will be people who are curious to see what the fervor is about and will get it.

Oh well. You can't please everybody.

Oh, and that repoter said "peaked my interest" instead of "piqued my interest." She loses instant credibility in my eyes.

[Darek]

Thanks for the heads up Jeff.

I read the article but after reading the comments here, i didn't bother reading the comments on it. I've heard the story about how this song came about a few times and understand the place it comes from. I think it's a great example of a "protest song" (for lack of a better term) that doesn't stray into being preachy. Any time you put out a song about war, politics, religion or the like, you'll end up with the kind of criticism that I'm sure is THICK in the comments to the Observer article.

Being someone who's been attacked for writing something a particular part of society didn't exactly feel was accurate (I had a run in with some Apple fanboys a few years back. For the record, I actually had nothing to do with the caption in question but it was attached to my article) I'm sure people not only dissed RO but also took shots at the article's author as well. I'm in agreement with most of the comments here, the commenters are people who have a very passionate opinion about the subject matter and are directly tied to it and they take offense at any "outsider" trying to put their two cents in.

Points to Rustic for putting Letter out there knowing there'd be a strong reaction to it. I think any of us who have seen it performed can attest to how passionately it's delivered and the genuine place it comes from so I don't give any of the negative comments any credibility or feel like wasting my time even reading them.

[donna]

Mar 17, 2008 14:57:15 GMT -5 kevbag said:

Corny:
Pronunciation: \ˈkȯr-nç\
Function: adjective
Inflected Form(s): corn·i·er; corn·i·est

1: of or relating to corn
2: mawkishly old-fashioned : tiresomely simple and sentimental

I'd say that pretty much hits the nail on the head.

I just think that Dave has always had a way of approaching a song from an angle you'd be hard pressed to do on your own (e.g. "Man Without a Mouth," "Girl Germs," "Black Leather Bag," etc...the list is pretty much endless)

The lyrics and rhyming schemes on this tune are really simple and seem aimed at the lowest common denominator of listner. Simple can be good, but when you totally dumb down your message I think you turn off a lot of people who don't need things spoon fed to them.

Just weighing in on this one....

I haven't read many articles about how they wrote this song, but this is how it sits with me:

While I agree that 'Letter' is stylistically different than what Gutter typically writes, I would also say-- that's kinda the point. Its a point of view issue. This isn't Gutter's story...they've created a character. When writers write a character, they show who that character is by the things they make the character do and say...the writers want people (listeners, in this case) to feel they "know" the character, and can empathize with them. And I would say that they nailed it. When I hear this song, Dave almost disappears. I see a soldier, in my mind's eye. To me, the song gives voice to an average joe facing something many of us can't even begin to imagine.

This song is resonating with people, for better or worse...and that's what good writing does.

[Darek]

The video is finally up on Youtube here.

[jasonward]

The comments on Letter To The President are interesting, especially from the fine folks in Fayetteville (Fort Bragg, home of the 82nd Airborne Division, is near Fayetteville, so the somewhat hostile reaction is probably to be expected).

I think that it’s great that people are talking about the song, both positively and negatively. That’s usually a good sign that you’ve got something—Great art can illicit a strong reaction and prompt people to think. That's something that's not as prevalent in homogenized music you hear so much of on the radio.

When I first heard Dave’s rough demo of the song the immediate response I had was “protest song”, but then you realize that it’s not that—all you have to do is read the lyrics.

But people draw their own conclusion on what they hear. The Canadian music critic Carl Wilson said that many people don’t look for emotion on the surface of music, but rather they find emotion and insert themselves in it. This is definitely that case by some of those reactions, and I think that it’s good that it’s being talked about. And no, you’re not hurting my feelings if you don't like the song.

[Darek]

Take this with a grain of salt since it is the internet, but someone at least claiming to be Dave commented on the article. I thought it was interesting and he basically says what we all know to be true about the song.

"Comment by davegutter [Friday, April 11, 2008 at 07:21 PM]
hello my name is Dave Gutter, and I wrote the song Letter to the president. It is a work of fiction. It is not biographical or autobiographical. It is a form of my own personal expression. I have close friends that are currently in Iraq and my late grandfather was a decorated P.O.W.. You are correct that I did not research the everyday life of soldiers, because my intent was not to explain someone elses feelings. Ignorant? Maybe, but it's only a movie. The monster isn't real. It's a piece of fiction. If it mirrors your life so closely you take offense; then maybe I struck a chord accidentally. Thank you for breathing life into my fairytale. Music is the soul of the working man. I am a writer not a protagonist, soldier, or politician. I am sorry that you find the main character so unlikeable."

[jasonward]

Dave confirmed to me that he wrote it.

J.

[Darek]

Thanks J

[mara1129]

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[mara1129]

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