Music critics?!

Regarding the question of whether critics need to be well-versed in every musical genre—I suppose they really ought to be educated in them, at least when it comes to classical music. That seems like a rather demanding standard to meet...
As for modern genres, I don't have much of an issue with someone writing about them if they've spent years collecting and listening to records and CDs and actually possess some depth of knowledge. Though, I guess people like that aren't exactly common... 😁

Bryan Barrett said:Specific person or what...? 😁

you get two guesses! he's got a good heart though, if nothing else.

I don't take music reviews—or pretty much any other kind of criticism—too seriously. I don't let them dictate my tastes. That said, criticism is its own literary art form, and some critics are actually a joy to read, even if I find myself disagreeing with their takes 🙂

Michael Mitchell said:Hey, you've got two shots at guessing! But hey, if nothing else, the guy's got a good soul.

Since I don't follow things all that closely, my first thought was actually just... Ante Perković's kids... 🤔>

urbannomad30 said:Yeah, totally. If you go after someone who's attacking your family, you're just as bad as they are.

It’s tricky because in American English—just like in a few other languages—a double negative can sometimes just act like a single negation (like saying "I don't have anything," which really just means you have nothing).

👎 we're talking about a fundamental dialectical law here... this isn't some linguistic "game"... 👎

What's even the point of reading foreign critics when they obviously just play favorites anyway...
Rolling Stone
Q
Spin...
I mean, fine, I guess they really are the best at this.🙂

Why do critics end up being worse than the stuff they’re tearing apart?
I swear their "expertise" just holds them back. They can't even create anything from the heart—they're too busy spotting references everywhere. Like, "Oh, that riff sounds like something Eric Clapton did," or "That lyric is just a rip-off of some old B-side..." man, it's exhausting. Their own job basically becomes their worst enemy.
They can't make the music, and because they're stuck looking for all those connections, they can't even enjoy the tunes like us regular folks.
Their bar for what's actually good is way too high. Some people need half a candy bar to feel good, while a critic needs a glowing review just to get moving.
And if you're out there making music just to chase a positive review, then you aren't doing it for the right reasons. You should be doing it for yourself, right? But if you're a critic and you try to do things for yourself, who are you even working for? You can't really separate your identity from the critique.

dustyscout53 said:If critics of critics are being called out for just being failed musicians themselves, then what does that make those critics of the critics? Doesn't that make them even worse than the original critics?

Mathematically speaking, you'd be looking at frustrated (failed musicians), which means frustrated^2 musicians. It’s a nasty thought.

Personally, I can't think of any critic who actually plays music, aside from A. Perković and E. Davidson (formerly of New Bomb Turks). 😕

np napalm Death - Unchallenged hate

Honestly, I haven't bothered with critics for ages... most of what they babble about is just pathetic. But this Perković guy has popped up in front of me a few times lately and he actually seems legit. Are we talking about the same person though? Is he the one from the Saturday Morning News?... Because if he is... I had no idea he was a musician too. That's proof right there... shows he actually "gets" music.

😁

Kevin Chavez3 said:If you look at the math, we’re talking about frustrated musicians—as in, they're already fed up—so that makes them doubly frustrated musicians!

😕 😕 😕 😕 😕

Karl Marx said:Music critics—just like any other type of critic, really—are people capable of spotting quality, originality, and true talent within a musical work.

I guess that's one way to look at it. But honestly? They're just regular people offering their own take on an album—because quality, much like beauty, is subjective. If things worked the way you're suggesting, wouldn't every critic on the planet have the exact same opinion on every single CD? They don't. Which just proves they're sharing personal views—unless, of course, they're all just being paid to write rave reviews!

Look, if you want a critic to actually provide some credible feedback... they first need to actually know who the hell they're talking to.

But who actually has the time for that? Who's got the bandwidth to go around getting to know every single critic out there?
If you don't, just hit up a record store—or heaven forbid, just look it up online—and listen to whatever catches your ear.
I trust my own ears above anyone else's.
I'm not going to pester anyone, and I'm certainly not letting anyone pester me.
. (<--period)

Jose Chase2 said:Don't be ridiculous. Just like any sane person, they give their personal take on an album because beauty and quality are subjective. If things worked the way you claim, every critic on the planet would have the exact same opinion on every single record. They don't. That proves they're just sharing their own views—unless, of course, they're all getting paid to write fluff pieces.

Look, unlike your average Joe listener, a critic is actually expected to know a thing or two about music since they've supposedly put in the hours. For instance, whose recommendation would you actually trust more: someone who’s heard five albums in their life, or someone who’s spun five thousand?

Sure, maybe the person with five albums happens to share your specific taste, but that's why people find critics whose perspectives actually resonate with them and follow their lead.

It's the same deal when you look at time: my own musical taste and preferences back when I was 13 versus now at 23. I know more about music today; I can better spot actual quality, originality, creativity, and raw talent in a band or artist.

By the way, who ever said all critics need to have the same taste? Or that they're always right? But, just like any other expert, when it comes to their field, they should be right more often than some random amateur.

I'm talking about how things *should* be in an ideal world. In reality, any idiot can take music (or movie) criticism to heart, but that's a different story... 😢

3 steps ahead said:What do you guys think? Can a single music critic really be expected to judge every single genre, the way it constantly happens in our local newspapers?
In my view, they just can't offer a professional opinion on music they don't even listen to normally...
They don't actually know what works and what doesn't because, to them, it all sounds pretty much the same.
As a result, they end up misjudging and mischaracterizing certain styles far too often.

Here in America, anything seems possible. We've reached a point where seeing one person juggle a dozen different roles they aren't even qualified for has become our reality.
While others are out there struggling through the grind just to make ends meet—people who actually possess the necessary musical expertise—they find themselves stuck in a total drought.
A single critic shouldn't be tasked with evaluating every style. They technically *can*, but then you lose the quality and objectivity of the critique itself, which is the last thing any of us want...

urbannomad30 said:😕 😕 😕 😕 😕

Honestly, I bet you're better at grammar than you are at math. 😁

I find myself wading through reviews from ten different critics, and after finishing the last one, I’m left even more clueless than when I started—it seems everyone just wants to spout their own little monologue. Honestly, shouldn't they be focusing on the actual quality of the music rather than just offering up their own subjective whims and trivial observations? It's frankly exhausting how everyone insists on doing things their own way without any consistency!
Then I suppose I could just call myself a critic too!

Bryan Barrett said:I bet your grammar and spelling skills are doing a lot better than your math skills right now. 😁

Listen, if there’s one thing I actually have a handle on, it’s definitely math... I just wanted to point out how confusing it gets when people start throwing around "mathematical" logic in random conversations! Like, you know how it goes—people will be mid-sentence and go, "Well, a mathematician would say this is a common denominator here..." WTF???

Heraclitus, man, I think you might have completely lost your place in the universe... 😁

placidwalker53, whenever your take doesn't line up with what the critics are saying, you just shrug and call it "subjective," right? But then, suddenly, your own opinion becomes the absolute objective truth! I can't remember exactly who coined that bit of irony, but seriously—can we even talk about objectivity in music???

Take it easy, it was just a joke. I'm pretty sure the math won't hold a grudge... 😉

np Budweiser - Slap

urbannomad30 said:Math is pretty much the only thing I’m actually good at... I just wanted to point out how confusing it gets when people start throwing around "mathematical" logic in random conversations. Like, you hear people say stuff like, "A mathematician would call this a common denominator..." WTF???

Heraklit—I think you might be overthinking the whole universe here... 😁

placidwalker53, whenever your take doesn't line up with the critics, you just label it "subjective." Meanwhile, your own opinion? That’s obviously objective. I can't remember who coined that one. But really—objectivity in music???

That's what I'm talking about!

I used to have a decent amount of respect for critics—you know, they actually get the music and understand the nuances, though whether they listen to the same stuff I do was always a tossup. That changed when one of them wrote in a daily newspaper that 'Morphine' had some great saxophonist named Dan Colley... 😠 ...honestly, I lost my mind. I spent the entire afternoon calling the newsroom trying to get him on the phone, but luckily for him, I never did reach him...