Music critics

[GivenToFly]

What is your general opinion on music critics?

Do you trust music critics? Would you base your music buying on articles or lists by critics? Do you have any particular people or publications/sites whose opinions you value?

I personally don't give much value to them. My tastes very rarely seem to coincide with professional judgement. I would much rather trust and go by what I read on a fan forum like this than in a magazine or a critic's blog. I have a theory on why this is so: my listening behaviour. I prefer to specialize rather than spread. So I listen to my music a lot, getting to know my favorite artists, albums and songs very well, but keeping their number very low. A critic, on the other hand, by the very nature of his job has to listen to a lot of different music. So he doesn't to know that music very well. He needs to make an assessment after just one or very few listens. How many times have you had a song that you liked exactly as much after repeated listening as the first time you heard it? Most of my favorite songs took a long while to grow on me. Besides, his activity a job. You never feel the same way about something when you do it because you want to as you do because you have to.

Motto: Anyone that would buy our record wouldn't listen to a critic anyway - The Black Crowes

What's your stance?

[maXx]

I prefer to specialize rather than spread. So I listen to my music a lot, getting to know my favorite artists, albums and songs very well, but keeping their number very low. A critic, on the other hand, by the very nature of his job has to listen to a lot of different music. So he doesn't to know that music very well. He needs to make an assessment after just one or very few listens.

excellent observation.

and...

Most of my favorite songs took a long while to grow on me.

a lot of those songs that hit you instantly tend to become annoying soon enough. Very often the better albums are the ones that require more listening to before you can appreciate what the artist was trying to do. i love it when that happens. it's like you're sharing in a well kept secret.

[Guest deleted_19765]

Motto: Anyone that would buy our record wouldn't listen to a critic anyway - The Black Crowes

That's ironic coming from such critical darlings!

Anyway, I raised myself as an allmusic kid, but I've gradually become disillusioned with such rating and review systems. If you have read any literary criticism, you'll know it isn't enough to give a poem or story a star rating and a paragraph of text. Music is not anything concrete enough to have a star rating, its different for everyone and even when opinions differ I still don't see the use in defining it by a number scale. Instead of referring to AMG, I'll read several customer reviews on Amazon, for example, keeping it in mind when the flaws that are cited are usually pluses for me, or something I'm indifferent to.

I think criticism of music has to be put in broader terms that don't commodify it like a lawn mower or dish set that will or will not fulfill certain uses. I have a new rateyourmusic account that I am hoping to start operating under in this mission, in which I will never rate an album. I hope I can get around to writing a few "reviews".

[Lithium]

Subjectivity and objectivity can, and will, be discussed forever. The rating is only worth looking at if you read the reviews as well.

[axlfan88]

I really enjoy reading some classic rock critics like Nick Kent (The Dark Stuff) or Lester Bangs...

Lester Bangs was an incredible writer.

[GivenToFly]

I sometimes go on allmusic.com or whatever and read reviews or look at ratings for stuff that I know, just for fun. And I see, for example, their track picks and think What the hell were these guys thinking

Motto: Anyone that would buy our record wouldn't listen to a critic anyway - The Black Crowes

That's ironic coming from such critical darlings!

The quote is from 1991 or 1992, when they weren't that well seen.

[Jumpin' Jack Flash]

Absolutely not. I do not give a flying fuck what a critic thinks. It's just another persons' opinion, it shouldn't make that much of a difference. Some of the albums I love the most were totally cock-slapped by these "professional-music-listeners"

Don't get me wrong though, with an upcoming release I look forward to reading some reviews prior to the release to get a better perspective on the album; However, I always take it with a grain of salt.

[Shuffle]

A critic's opinion have no more value to me than a poster on a internet forum like this, but hopefully they'll be able to express why they feel that way better than most posters...most critics don't however. There's a few posters on various forums that I'd trust if they recommended me something because I know their tastes, it's similar to how it works with critics - if I know how a critic generally feel about a certain genre I'll be able to evaluate his review and then decide myself. It has happened several times that I've read a review where the album was given like 1,5/5 or so and the writer totally slaughtered it, but he described what he didn't like well enough for me to know that there was a chance I would like it - and sometimes I did, and other times I agreed with the writer.

[LightningBolt]

I don't really use critics at all. I used to use Allmusic, but I don't anymore.

[spunko12345]

Its always interesting to hear other peoples opinions but its never gonna change my own. Also the problem with music critics is that they usually have some kind of agenda and have to go along with the vibe of the publication they are writing for.

[maXx]

Its always interesting to hear other peoples opinions but its never gonna change my own. Also the problem with music critics is that they usually have some kind of agenda and have to go along with the vibe of the publication they are writing for.

this is true

[Pico]

I don't really care for music critics' opinions but I do enjoy reading reviews, especially on AMG and RYM.

Wouldn't mind working as one.

[kevin]

I only listen to what pitchfork tells me to