MUSIC: Scott Stapp's Dirty Purity

THIS PHOTO OF SCOTT STAPP by DCist's Kyle Gustafson is sort of creeping me out. But yet, we all must make sacrifices as journalists/bloggers. The former Creed frontman, who has marketed himself for years as a squeaky clean pseudo-Christian rocker (while engaging behind the scenes in less-than-pure activities) to the adoration of legions of fans, performed to an energized crowd at the 9:30 Club on Tuesday. Do read Jason Linkins' review of Tuesday's show on DCist. It's worth a bundle of chuckles. Again, you must make sacrifices in the name of journalism.

This has all got me thinking: Perhaps Stapp and Pete Doherty should perform as a duo. Their negatives could actually balance out and make them suitable for the general public.

BACK IN MY HALCYON DAYS as an editor at The Michigan Daily, my then-roommate and co-editorial page editor, Nick Woomer, had the privilege of reviewing the latest Creed album, Weathered. For those who know Mr. Woomer, you can probably imagine how caustic it was. But here's a taste:

Sure, Creed is nothing but a watered-down Pearl Jam/Metallica hybrid. Yes, you could probably find a bunch of 10th graders who can write poetry just as "deep" as lead singer Scott Stapp’s lyrics by taking a trip to an introductory creative writing course at Huron High School. (Tell me it'd be hard to find a 15-year-old who couldn't out-write Stapp. The chorus of the album’s title track declares that "Me I'm rusted and weathered/barely holding together/I'm covered with skin that peels and it just won't heal" now that’s suck-tastic!) But these factors alone don't make Creed the worst band to ever walk the earth.

The review was posted on a Creed fan website and as we all found out, you never want to mess with Creed fans. While you might think that Stapp's music might keep them peaceful and level-headed, the opposite is true. They wanted revenge, Old Testament-style. Stapp's defenders flooded the Daily with letters to the editor wanting Woomer's head on a stake. But then they took it one step further. They tracked down the address of our apartment (which would be eventually inherited by Rob Goodspeed, for those familiar with D.C. blogging) and posted a map to our Hobbit Hole on one of Creed's fan sites. While there were some passive threats thrown down by the Stapp-fanatics (Woomer did make fun of Stapp's mother), happily, there was no bloodshed.

Mr. Woomer, I expect you to chime in. Do you still think Stapp's music is on the forefront of "suckcore" ... ?