In response to Dan Buyanovsky

Dear Mr. Buyanovsky,

I am very disappointed at your ignorance as to what makes for a good performance. As the EDGE editor I would expect you to realize that being mainstream or famous does not instantly ensure that you will have an entertaining performance. Rather, it is energy and talent that provide entertainment, and I would be absolutely astonished if you were to disagree that N*E*R*D did not explode on that stage with an insane amount of energy, and I would undoubtedly call for your resignation as EDGE editor if you denied that N*E*R*D was not incredibly talented and innovative.

Additionally, there is no artist that is famous enough to make every single UM student happy. I’m not sure if you’re aware, but we have an incredibly diverse student population who more than likely enjoy all different types of music. I can guarantee you that if T.I. or Chris Brown played next year’s homecoming concert there would still be people leaving the concert discontented.

Now I’d like to make it clear that I am not N*E*R*D’s biggest fan, in fact I only own one of their CDs, but please consider what would happen if Chris Brown or Kanye West (infinitely more famous to be sure) had played at homecoming. Would either of them have encouraged crowd surfing and then pulled these people on stage and danced with them throughout the concert? Would anyone more famous have been shouting “U” over and over and been so intent on arousing our school spirit? I doubt it.

I definitely agree with you that N*E*R*D is not the most famous band around. But they put on a great show. It was high-energy, incredibly entertaining and, in my opinion, they put way more effort into this show than any other artist who may have been more famous would have. And most importantly, I’d like to point out that the homecoming concert is completely free to students, so what right do you have complaining that N*E*R*D is not famous enough? I mean come on Dan, stop being so negative and appreciate what your fellow students are accomplishing for your entertainment.

-Danielle Annon
Sophomore, International Studies