For The Record- 12. July. 2025

Some (disordered) thoughts on hatchet jobs, honest reviews, and hot takes.

The first time I heard “Wonderwall” was in my car, driving home from an overnight shift at the airport.

There were no reviews, posts, or hot takes to tell me to love or hate it. It was just a stock two-knob stereo in a Honda Civic. There were gatekeepers, of course. The difference between then and now is that we rarely saw them. They were an invisible hand guiding our tastes, and at some point, that hand decided that we should listen to Oasis.

The band is back. And unless you've been under a rock, you have already seen this—a lot. In 2025, the Gatekeeper Industrial Complex has been largely demolished, replaced by an atomized system of indie writers, and self-deigned influencers.

Anyone with a keyboard can join the club, which means there's no shortage of word counts, headlines, and hot takes. Some so over the top, that I have to think they’re a cynical play for clicks. When someone tells you they're moved to tears not after seeing the band, but reading a piece about the show, it makes you wonder. I'm all for finding joy in the world, but c'mon.

There have also been plenty of hate reads and mean takes, too. People have been carrying around some serious feelings about this band, and the Gallagher brothers getting back together have made those resurface.

They might've buried the hatchet, but their reunion unearthed a mountain of contempt. That's a long time to hold a grudge. These, too, can seem like a play for clicks. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Music and physics aren't all that different. We are drowning in content, and spiky takes often serve as a life ring of attention. The algorithm isn't choosy- it likes both stances equally.

A recent essay from Jan Harayda didn't necessarily pile on, but rather used a 2024 write-up of Wonderwall to lament the slow death of the hatchet job itself.

She went on to pose the question many reviewers ask (or should be asking) themselves: Should you write a negative review?

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