The Good outweighs the bad

 

 

               A lot of times, the bad outweighs the good in Music Criticism. For example, someone saying that The Rolling Stones are not as good as they used to be or The Rolling Stones haven’t made a good album in 30 years. OK, well, the thing is you are comparing them directly to how good they used to be, which is saying they are no longer making the insane amount of great music that they made between 1966 and 1972.  That is true but that’s not how you judge an artist of any kind. You judge them on their successes not their failures. No one talks about Martin Scorsese and says, “Well he made Boxcar Bertha I hate him” or Alfred Hitchcock, “That Jamaican Inn movie sure was horrible.” People are supposed to be judged on their best work and forgiven or looked over for their bad. If a great artist stumbles and makes a bad record, we should encourage them to not try again and do better. The aim of the reviews on the site are positive in nature. Aiming for perfection? Sure. But positive in nature. Celebrate good music.

 

Concentrate on music, not personal life details

 

               I can’t tell you how may reviews I read or websites I stumble upon and have people describe personal life details of the people making or creating the music. Thy lived here when they made such and such. This person is in jail now, so I hate everything good they ever did. So-and-so was dating so and so, which they wrote this song about. Some people may love this style of writing, but I don’t. Any good lyric or melody should have 100 different interpretations not just one specific one. And pretending to know things about people you can’t feel or touch or will never know personally…who are you to judge them? Maybe some people like including personal details about the artists in the reviews but I find it tacky and redundant and pretentious, and will TRY to avoid it unless absolutely necessary.

 

 

My Reviews are Companion Pieces to Other Reviews

 

I do my best to collect who produced which album or which guy played what and when, but honestly all of that stuff bores me most bands have so many collaborators it is ridiculous. There are plenty of other sites for background information on albums and artists; go to Wikipedia or Google if you care that much. Please don’t send me multiple emails pointing out minor details about who played that certain guitar solo that I got wrong, unless it is a major error that you think I would like fixed. I have proofread the page many times believe it or not and I don’t need the entire world to join in :)

Also, please read these reviews of your favorite artists or acts as ONE MAN’S OPINION. My favorite band (which has been Sonic Youth since I was 16 years old) is probably not your favorite band. I have no personal vendettas against anyone, and if I bother to review them on the site it is because I like something of theirs. This is not a hate site, if i don’t love at least one album by a person, I wil not review them on my site. I’m not a fan of current pop music anything, so I’m going to let you “guess” who i am referring to. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and I would love to hear anyone’s different opinions! These reviews should be looked at as companion pieces to others. I also love lists, so send me all the lists you want and we will post them up on the site on the corresponding page under Reader Responses.

Will I review Every Album by Every Artist?

Lemme tell you, that is ALWAYS the goal, but it will be an ongoing process. I can tell you my structure: If i review more than 3 albums by a rock artist, I will also Create a Bio at the beginning and have the Members, biggest influences, best album and chronology at the top. IT is hard to do that for someone just starting up or if I am just getting familiar with that artist. I will always play catch up during the year for discographies that have grown because everybody is Constantly making new albums! Including myself….life is so busy don’t ya know.

-Trevor e.y.