THE READERS WRITE BACK!

(About the Carpenters)

Everyone knows about the "authorized" TV-movie about Karen Carpenter, where her anorexia is treated as one of those bolts from a clear blue sky - "when bad things happen to good people" - basically, the whole issue is swept under the rug.

Let me point out that there's another version of her story out, a low-budget indie film, whose name escapes me. Characters are portrayed using Barbie dolls, so it's imaginative and low-budget. The film argues that society generates enormous pressures on women to stay thin, and that Karen Carpenter was one of those who could not handle it. Amusing (?) aspect of the film: to show Karen losing weight, the Barbie doll representing her is progressively mutilated, as she progressively mutilated herself.

How could Martin Bate POSSIBLY think, after writing that review of Nirvana Unplugged, that Kurt was at his best with the "noisy stuff?" Is Martin a schizophrenic? He spends the rest of his review lauding the more acoustic stuff "letting the Beatles influence shine through" and "sounding like a frustrated angel." Why do people feel like they HAVE to be hard-asses all the time and say they like the "tougher" music? Are they afraid of seeming wimpy?