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Best Posts: How much value remains with music critics?

  1. Poohdini
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    Poohdini MVP MVP

    Jul 12, 2018
    I’ll check a handful after I listen to a project just to see how different people are reacting to it but that’s about it
     
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  2. Mike Tyson
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    Mike Tyson big cuntry's alias

    Jul 12, 2018
    An example of reviews I do still value: video games. If I'ma drop $60 USD (and $80 CAD) on a video game, I'm hesitant until I see how it's generally received. But if video games shifted to a subscription service where I could just try every game for myself and decide, then I would never check a review again in my life.

    With music though, I don't care what a n----- with twitter clout says about it. My opinion on a project is roughly decided before reviews even come out.
     
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  3. Lil Squeed
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    Lil Squeed French Montana Stan

    Jul 12, 2018
    tbh I'm only ever interested in Fantano, Big Quint (even though calling him a "critic" is a reach), and Pitchfork ratings

    but I check them more out of curiosity than actually deciding whether I like something or not
     
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  4. Mike Tyson
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    Mike Tyson big cuntry's alias

    Jul 12, 2018
    The landscape of music has shifted dramatically over the last decade, with the both the blog era and streaming era coming back to back. What happened as a result of this shift was that the cost, and barriers to access music were diminished in to an affordable subscription service. So we're now in an era where the consumer can instantly listen to a project themselves, rather than to rely on the long winded opinion of another to see if it's worth their investment.

    Rap blogs are now dying (and dead moving forward) as well, and even established publications like Complex recognize the shift in landscape, and have started developing daily video content. The stock on this type of content delivery is up and rising. That's why we are now in a situation where the most influential critic in rap is... Anthony Fantano?

    So I guess my question is, how much do you value music critics now, as compared to previous? Do you rely on them to see whether or not you should check for a project, or do you go ahead and listen to decide for yourself if you like it?
     
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  5. lil uzi vert stan
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    lil uzi vert stan

    Jul 13, 2018
    wait, dude -- what?

    guys, sorry, but if you're questioning whether criticism/thoughtful music writing even needs a solid appreciation of the culture, of an artists or genres history in context.... well then reading --- or thinking about music intelligently ---maybe isnt for you. there's been a few good points to be made about the role of criticism rn, but there's a lot of dumbasses just spouting off bc theyre too thick to understand the writing on the wall. and thats ok! not everyone needs to be pauline kael or lester bangs or whatever. but understand your own limitations ffs
     
    #193
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  6. Fire Squad
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    Fire Squad Boss Don Biggavel

    Jul 12, 2018
    I have a great deal of respect for our resident writers here, most of the time I end up learning something new or they would challenge my own opinion which I believe is the biggest reward I'd get from reading music criticism. I perhaps wouldn't have been as salient as I am about music in general if it wasn't for reading all those online publications ages ago.

    I never look at the score since you just can't put a number on the value of music, that's my biggest issue with people that put weight on criticism; context & retrospect are just bigger than that
     
    #108
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  7. WPG
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    WPG sxn80 Rory Gilmore

    Jul 12, 2018
    criticism as criticism is crucial and always will be. critics and traditional magazines haven't been the key gatekeepers since like '05. good reviews are still key to get artists booking agents, management, and indie deals, but far fewer magazines than ever have vigorous criticism sections, which means there's very little institutional power behind an outlet saying "we [the outlet] are the final say in rap music."

    i think the people who care seriously about arts criticism follow specific critics more than magazines, which has always been the case to a degree, but is true now more than ever.
     
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  8. reservoirGod
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    reservoirGod reckless adventurer.

    Jul 12, 2018
    I bet fantono lurked on D12world.
     
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  9. Vahn
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    Vahn butterfly jewels beauty

    Jul 12, 2018


    I genuinely want people who are saying baseless things about Young Thug to listen to this song. If you come away with the same opinion, then clearly you have a serious mental processing problem so there’s no need to further value your opinion or you just might find that you were speaking on things you don’t know about and now you have a new artist to listen to and appreciate :)
     
    #127
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  10. Vahn
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    Vahn butterfly jewels beauty

    Jul 12, 2018
    The only thing that holds value in music is SEX
     
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  11. Allis Mines
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    Allis Mines

    Jul 12, 2018
    I ussually just skip to what they rated the album, then abuse them if I disagree with it.
     
    #121
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  12. DKC
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    DKC shortygonletmecrush

    Jul 12, 2018
    ^lives in bumfuck PA; only listens to 6ix9ine and drake; has never actually listened to the i came from nothing tapes and is basing this off nothing
     
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  13. DKC
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    DKC shortygonletmecrush

    Jul 12, 2018
    @Big Dangerous

    He talks about how Kanye's wrote the album really fast so he's unfiltered and raw like he didn't also write most of yeezus and TLOP three days before they came out

    He says that the production on ye is similar to Daytona :ummmm:

    He says "it's the most intimate and unguarded he's been since the college dropout"

    On "All Mine":
    "ye still sounds like a TOTAL MONSTER on the track" like what 12 year old wrote this
    "this is the first time he's really talked about his sex addiction" sdgalylgwfualgskdg

    Every time he "talks about the music" it's just adjective vomit like "the glamorous keys are tasteful" ok cool what does that mean or say about anything

    He just referred to kid cudi as "the cudster" :shmurda:

    "people who are fans the person/artist are gonna enjoy this, people who are more into his music for the image he puts up and illusions of grandeur will be disappointed." what the f--- does this even mean with regard to kanye's output?

    "kanye doesn't try to be anyone but the broken troubled person that he is" like....when has this NOT been true? Has fantano EVER listened to another kanye album? Because a lot of what he says in this review in general just...isn't true? It's at the very least a bad take by someone who hasn't spent enough time with his catalogue to make these judgements.

    And so I listened to this review and...what am I left with? Did this make me think about the album differently, or life, or culture, or music, or anything? Was there any substance here that I didn't take in from listening to it myself? Did I learn anything (aside from the fact that Fantano hasn't listened to a Kanye album before)? Did it make me think...at all?
     
    #70
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  14. DKC
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    DKC shortygonletmecrush

    Jul 12, 2018
    I never ever in my life have read music reviews as a means to decide whether or not I was gonna listen to an album. Like @Mike Tyson said I might read a video game review because that's a $60 investment, and I'll look at the consensus on rotten tomatoes when deciding between movies to see in theaters, but other than that I'd never read a full review of any piece of media before I watched/read/listened to it unless it was something I had no interest in consuming in the first place. I try to not even read opinions on twitter or forums because I like to go in with only my own expectations (or lack thereof).

    People here always complain about how reviews "never talk about the music" and I've never understood that because the context, culture, and history surrounding any piece of art is an important lens to read it by and if you're thinking critically about art at all you can't really remove the context from it. What do yall even mean when people say "they don't talk about the music"? Do you want them to talk about chord progression and music theory? I don't get it.
     
    #45
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  15. WPG
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    WPG sxn80 Rory Gilmore

    Jul 12, 2018
    sure, fantano does ~criticism~ but no one who thinks seriously about music or about criticism thinks there's any depth there. he's popular! but he isn't particularly good.
     
    #37
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  16. Mike Tyson
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    Mike Tyson big cuntry's alias

    Jul 12, 2018
    stilll a classic :narshdab:

    Screen Shot 2018-07-12 at 10.40.20 a.m..png

    @Poohdini
     
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  17. Enigma
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    Enigma Civil liberties > Police safety

    Jul 12, 2018
    Pretty much what y’all said. I only read reviews after i’ve listened to a project just to get different perspectives. I try to stay away from people’s opinions about projects before I listen for myself.
     
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  18. gavin
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    gavin I go fishing, alot.. https://catchpedia.com

    Jul 14, 2018
    Rap Blogs have been dying for years and years coming from someone who owns and operates some of the leading ones even for non critique outlets. This isn't because the community is interested in less reviews but because the ease of the project for such a low price makes it so they're able to stream it themselves and depict a review based on their own opinions. Before we had to purchase albums, singles, eps, cds whatever the case may be and when purchasing anything you want to know the quality of it before hand.

    You don't just go on amazon and purchase a product without knowing first what it is, or secondly what the response of the product is. This is the same thing that applies with music now, the streaming industry has made these things almost obsolete for the American genres as a whole. I was running a review blog for French Rap music and one for Spanish Rap music and seeing a 22% increase in engagement just based on the targeted geos. People in these countries don't have the accessibility to things like Spotify, Apple Music, or Pandora due to GEO restrictions.

    American Music is struggling, nothing else. When's the last time you found a popular K. Pop artist shilling their spotify link? They don't.
     
    #244
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  19. Michael Myers
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    Michael Myers Moderator

    Jul 13, 2018
    It is kinda fun how last week tekashi was defending fantano with his life and now questions actual critics lol
     
    #213
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  20. WPG
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    WPG sxn80 Rory Gilmore

    Jul 13, 2018
    understanding the context/culture/history around art helps you understand the art.
     
    #201
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