Brent DiCrescenzo is a journalist, known for his writings as published on the popular music webzine, Pitchfork Media. He is noted for his 'conceptual' reviews which are the subject of much criticism from fans and other critics alike for its rampant fanboy bias and use of shock value, and led to his eventual firing from Pitchfork.

Review of 'To The 5 Boroughs'

In 2004 his original review of the Beastie Boys' album To the 5 Boroughs was formally withdrawn with an apology by Pitchfork and replaced with an edited version. It had supposedly contained offensive and libellous material about the group's PR company, Nasty Little Man.

Link: Original text of review, posted by fan on Beastie Boys website forum.

Link: discussion of events and reproduction of Pitchfork's withdrawal and apology.

Other reviews

DiCrescenzo is noted for his low reviews of Metallica's St. Anger and Tool's Lateralus, but also for his high reviews of Radiohead's Kid A and Franz Ferdinand's self-titled album. He is known to only give either extremely high or extremely low reviews on Pitchfork in an effort to differentiate himself from other reviewers and garner attention. Many have openly criticised DiCrescenzo's reviews, calling them immature and unprofessional. He is no longer affiliated with Pitchfork Media.

Link: 'An Open Letter to Pitchforkmedia', by Tom Johnson (blog entry)

Link: 'Review of Brent Dicrescenzo’s Review of Franz Ferdinand by Franz Ferdinand', by Sam Hamilton (Deek Magazine).