A Discussion

[daicerio_blue]

So, how do you guys feel about music reviews

Comments

[alibee]

I rarely read them, unless they're about an artist I already have an opinion about, because I find that no matter how someone describes music, it never sounds the same way to me... unless I know it when I'm reading what they've written, and then it makes more sense.

[daicerio_blue]

Yeah, I think reviewers who try to describe what an album sounds like have a pretty hard time of it. The best they can do is discuss the instrumentation, style, and relation to similar artists.

[alibee]

Well, even when they do that, I don't hear it. I don't think that Crowded House sounds like Del Amitri. I don't think that The Cure sounds like Depeche Mode. (I am not sure anyone has ever made that comparison, but you know what I mean.)

I'm difficult.:P

[psych0tron]

Personally, I prefer to read interviews from a band rather then a review. Creating music is/should be a personal creative endeavour, and I think gaining insight into that from the creator's words rather then someone else's perspective or interpretation of it is more meaningfull.

[daicerio_blue]

That's definitely true. It doesn't help that most reviewers think that readers care about their opinions. A reader want to know what they'll think of an album, not what the reviewer thinks of it.

there's no accounting for taste.

[day_walker]

it depends on who is writing them. one man's trash is another man's treasure.

there are certain critics i can always count on to steer me the right way, and other critics who don't know their ass from a hole in the ground.

that being said, i read any review with a grain of salt.

Re: there's no accounting for taste.

[daicerio_blue]

Pop music is probably the most difficult thing to review because it's so subjective, like you say. It seems like you can either give an album a good/bad rating and attract an audience with similar opinions, or you can be more descriptivist and hope you're helping the reader make their own decisions. I have mixed feelings about both.

Re: there's no accounting for taste.

[day_walker]

and i think being a descriptivist music reviewer is lazy. too many music journalists take the easy out of using similar bands to describe a band's sound. if i have to hear one more band described as sounding like gang of 4/my bloody valentine/wire/joy division i am going to eat my fucking hat.

do you like lester bangs?

Re: there's no accounting for taste.

[daicerio_blue]

Lester is pretty much the only reason why I think it's possible to write engaging music criticism.

I think direct comparison to other bands is usually misleading and always boring. By descriptivist, I mean more like a discussion of the instruments used, the feeling of the music, the composition, or the technical quality. You can say "you can hear an influence from X, because they use Y in such-and-such a way," but if you say "sounds like X," you need to get poked with a spork.

[djunderfoot]

Wholly dependant on the reviewer, and the reputation of the publication.

It's so easy to just find clips of stuff online -- you can ultimately be the judge.

[daicerio_blue]

I often wonder whether music criticism is even relevant these days, when clips are so available.

[dubnobasswithme]

for the record, i would love to read what you had to say about an album.

i can see that if you know the band personally, it might be tricky to give certain criticisms, but i think it can be done tactfully.

i would avoid using the onion "letter grade" system or the pitchforkmedia "0.0 to 10.0" scale and instead just say what you liked and didn't like about the album. also, don't feel like you have to come up with something on a regular basis. it might be good to only do it when you feel like you have something to say about a particular album.

[daicerio_blue]

Yeah, I hate those systems. Unfortunately, the publications I could write for would require something similar, but I think there are ways to reduce the importance of those systems in the writing. I hope there are, anyway.

The hardest thing would be to write a review for something you find to be boring. What is there to say, then?

Ironically, the hardest thing about reviewing bands I know personally would be that I often like their music a lot more than I normally would because it reminds me of them. But maybe that's a good thing.

[dubnobasswithme]

I think you should replace the standard rating system (letter grades, 1-10) with something completely non-linear. Like giving out fruit ratings. Who's to say apples are better than peaches?

-Nate