The world of online music journalism seems like it would consist primarily of nerdy guys and homely women sitting behind laptop computers all day, purposely spreading misinformation in order to advance their own questionable political beliefs, but it's actually way more exciting than you'd think. At times, it's hardly distinguishable from an episode of "COPS."

Critical Beatdown reveals the stories behind the artificially inflated review scores for marginally talented, stereotypical rappers and synthetic, prefabricated pop acts, and the incessant, largely irrelevant op-eds on domestic violence and sexual assault. In the process, it explains how online music journalism is at least partly to blame for the rise of the new fascism.