The Writers' Lament

As last week's cover story detailed, Fashion Police writers are still striking — more than a year after they first walked off the job (“It's No Joke,” by Danielle Paquette).

Gregorama writes, “I find it appalling and disgusting that this selfish, cretinous old crone (along with her talentless, spectacularly unappealing daughter) have the gall to issue the statement, 'Joan Rivers has always been very supportive of the writers.' Is that so? In what way would that be, Joan/Melissa? By stabbing them in the back, squashing their attempts at paying them equitably and then trashing them in the media? Now that the curtain's been ripped aside, how can anyone find humor in that unwatchably hateful show?”

Bolsh2000 disagrees, quoting from the story: “Todd Masterson wakes at noon to the usual alarm clock.” He writes, “This is the epitome of the problem. Writers in L.A. come and go, and there's 1,000 people willing — no, not just willing, praying — to get a shot at their job. You're telling me this schmuck hasn't worked in a year and he's still waking up at noon? He should be busting his ass, waking up at 6 a.m. and working toward his next gig. I know way too many people like this in L.A. They come here and land a gig, and when it runs out, they think they are owed another job just like it. Go shave and get a job.”

Mare agrees. “My opinion is that the writers are a bunch of whiny bitches who don't appreciate the bread they got buttered. This woman has fought racial and gender stereotypes and has splattered her public life for the world to see and laugh on. They should feel lucky to be part of her crew.”

Roll Over, KROQ

Artemis Thomas-Hansard's April 25 piece questioned whether KROQ still, well, rocks (“Roq and Roll“). Writes Suchasiam, “My biggest complaint is KROQ does not let me like a song more than a week, because they play it all the time. Now you hear the same songs every hour and every day.”

Countxero writes, “Just before Coachella this year, I pulled down the station's playlist for the past month from their website. Of the 166 bands at Coachella, KROQ played a grand total of 12 of them.

“The issue with KROQ isn't really that they occasionally play a band that is 'off book'; it's that they play the hell out of acts that have surveyed well in the past. To give an example, right now, 50 percent of KROQ's playlist is comprised of only 16 bands — 16 bands across the entire songbook of alt and indie rock. KROQ has failed me as a source of new music, especially alt and indie trends.”

Corrections

Last week, our Squid Ink section credited a profile of Patina's Charles Olalia to the wrong writer. It was written by Sean J. Miller. Also, our story about a troubled teacher (“Westside Parents vs. LAUSD Teacher“) contained incorrect information about one of his critics. Warner Takaki had a teaching certificate at one point, but it is no longer current. We regret both errors.

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