I am curious on people’s thoughts on whether it is ok to comment on a thread if you don’t like an album? It can feel a bit odd - if you don’t like it, what value does saying so do? And why listen? But if you don’t comment the thread can perhaps give an unbalanced view of an album.
I think my position would be to only do so if it is a band that I normally like who have produced a work that I don’t rate. But even then I’m not sure if that negative view is welcome.
Also, how do music magazines and websites allocate reviews? If you give an album to a big fan then you are likely to get an over positive review. And vice versa. I imagine journalist independence can only go so far - for example I can rarely get past the first track for certain genres. Does anyone have direct experience of reviewing?
I think as a long as it’s an open thread for criticism (ie not an appreciation thread) and you aren’t insulting or dismissive to people who do like it then it’s absolutely fine
Don’t mind if people can articulate why they didn’t like something - regardless of whether it’s an artist they know well, or anything - because I also value people saying what they do like about something if I’m struggling to connect
If people are coming into a thread listening to something because they know they’re gonna hate (on) it then it’s far more dull. But that would never happen on DiS!!
yeah it’s fine i think, as long as you’re not a dick about it.
i do a bit of reviewing but it’s for a small publication and essentially a community of volunteers, so i don’t think there’s a huge concern over journalistic independence. with us there’s a spreadsheet and you put your name beside whatever you’re interested in covering. sometimes the editors will contact you directly if there’s something they want covered that they think you might be interested in.
with bigger/international releases it’s free reign really, though i don’t really enjoy writing negative reviews where i can help it. i only tend to take stuff i think i’ll like, so my negative reviews are only ever ones of disappointment, and i try to be fair and balanced. i cannot be bothered covering something i know i won’t like in order to destroy it.
it’s a website that specialises in the Irish indie / DIY scene so i don’t really like negatively reviewing bands from that scene as they will probably read it. bit cowardly maybe but i don’t want to make people feel bad.
Threads on bands/albums tend to fall into two categories. If it’s a thread simply for general discussion and views on something/someone then criticism is absolutely fine as long as it’s reasonable and not needlessly derogatory. But if it’s a thread set up with an OP clearly stating something like ‘[band/album] is brilliant’ and is for people to enthuse, then steaming in and saying how much you dislike that subject is a bit weird and boring imo.
I think it’s OK if you’re mindful of a. how it would come across to others in the same thread, and b. for smaller acts especially, the chances of the artist finding the thread and being upset by what you wrote (echoing what @Icarus-Smicarus said about reviews).
Personally I usually chose not to post if all I’ve got to say is ‘I don’t like it’. I don’t see how that is adding to the discussion and it risks spoiling things for other people. I find posts like that irksome so I try not to add to them.
If I’ve got something more substantial or constructive to say I might get involved in the discussion. An example might be if I’ve liked other records by the same artist and there is something to be said about why this one is different, or if there is one particular aspect of a record that is not working for me. Those sort of conversations can be useful if everyone enters into them in good faith - sometimes they can help you to see things differently.
It’s up to you post of course, so long as you follow the golden rule of not being a dick.
This is important. Criticising a band or album or song is fine and perfectly valid. We can’t all like the same things and it’s good to read differing takes on the subject at hand. What’s not cool is aiming any vitriol you might have for the music at or being dsimissive of the fans - ‘Music For People Who…’ is becoming a bit of a faux-pas round here for a good reason these days. We’ve all been guilty of it and similar, but hopefully we’re learning.
I try really hard not just be dismissive or superior about stuff that other people like but I think is derivative or just plain bad (there’s a lot of that sort of thing about). It’s a really hard rule to stick to though and there are definitely times when I fail to keep my mouth shut.
I do think there are different rules for different types of thread though. Pretty much anything goes on a HGATR thread- the only requirement there in my view is to try to show your workings if you’re going to be critical of something and just to butt out altogether if you genuinely know nothing about the artist (I’ve been doing that a lot recently). On the other hand if someone has started a thread specifically to talk about an artist or a record that they love you’d need a very good reason to be getting involved at all if you disagree.