Thoughts on writing reviews?

My two cents is that I hate it when people review artists in genres that they don't like. Just stick to reviewing genres you actually like.

>>68978818

Good deal. As the picture suggests, I really love the blues, and I was actually considered reviewing blues albums exclusively. A lot of the albums I'm interested in don't even have a single review. There's a great opportunity to find my voice there, but it would also mean very low visibility (if that matters). Another option would be to cycle through different genres every week, doing at least one blues album a month. But, of course, I would stick with genres I already know and appreciate.

>>68978818
agreed. Same for rating
>>68978894
don't concern yourself with visibility or any of that bullshit. Just write for the outlet and expression. I write reviews all the time on my account and just give a detailed description of my opinion on it.

I'd try reviewing stuff which isn't well-known, or at least doesn't have the same exposure as more popular musicians. Good or bad, any opinion will help something get noticed more.

Well if you can review lesser appreciated (on RYM) blues stuff you could really make it your shtick and talk about it on their forums too. Something to get you noticed and spur discussion I guess

As long as you write actual reviews about the music itself, instead of some long-winded, who-gives-a-fuck story that is supposed to relate to the album in some way, or a joke review that will upvotes and ruin the page.

>>68979079
I mentioned visibility because I wanted to connect more with other users and get a better idea of whether my reviews were successful or not. But first and foremost it's definitely about appreciating the music and expressing myself.

>>68979171
>>68979180

Okay, great. I think I will try to go that route then. Some of the albums I've been enjoying lately have no reviews or maybe one or two at the most. And then there's one that doesn't even have an entry on RYM. It looks like there's a lot of good work to do in this area.

>>68979289
This morning, precisely at 6 AM, I forced myself out of a lofty perch amidst warm covers and into the cool morning air. I had decided the night before, and I was resolute, that I would go for an early morning run. So I quietly laced up, donned a sweatshirt, inhaled a glass of water, and was on my way into the misty morning darkness.

The previous night, I’d given the soundtrack to my excursion plenty of forethought. I’d need something atmospheric, exquisite, and thrilling… something that encapsulated the early morning campus ambiance in all of its chilling glory. I hadn’t been particularly impressed with Godspeed You! Black Emperor’s 2000 release, Lift Yr Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven, but I figured post rock would be the perfect sort of music for my intents and I decided to give them another shot.

I was blown away. Speechless. The record is immaculate. Eerie, foreboding, gloomy, magnificent, monolithic. Massive. I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect soundtrack to my trek across the campus ground. Words evade me, and I can only hope you would have the same experience some day.

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>>68979304

Wow. Following up on this, I just looked up a relatively well known blues artist from the 2000s and 4/7 of his albums are unreviewed. I'm going to have an interesting time working through these.

>>68978894
do you also like that modern blues rock/blues metal stuff like e.g. black rebel motorcycle club? because i could definetely use some recommendations there...
concerning your question i can only tell you please, please, please dont use these typical wannabe pro reviewer worn out bullshit phrases....

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>>68979367

I wasn't familiar with it before, but after looking it up, it definitely sounds like something I could get into. Though I'm typically a bit more of a purist to be honest.

Have you heard any R.L. Burnside by any chance? He's an old blues musician who's about as authentic as they come, but there are a couple albums where he's paired up with a heavy rock band. If that's kind of the sound you're looking for, I could definitely recommend a few things.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jI5qCXuD4Y4

>>68979469
dont know him yet, but ill definetely will listen into it! i just cant right now, because i must pretend to work right now, but thanks man! i also like classic blues like robert johnson. i currently try to implement akin influences into electronic music.

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>>68979549

A lot of my favorite blues from the 90s on is put out by Fat Possum Records. They have a house sound that's raw, aggressive, and primitive. If that sounds interesting, I highly recommend looking for their sampler albums, Not the Same Old Blues Crap, Volumes 1, 2, and 3 (Vol. 2 is by far the best IMO). They also have a very long spotify playlist by the same name. Some of the big names to look for are R.L. Burnside, Junior Kimbrough, and T-Model Ford, but there are other great singers on there that I'm still just beginning to explore.

There's also a great documentary about Fat Possum blues called "You See Me Laughin'." This was my first introduction to a lot of the oddball characters they record, and I think it really enhanced my experience of the music. If you're interested in the blues, it's definitely worth a watch:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSRdQgidCHY

Don't be hackey about it. Don't do stream of conscious bullshit, or weird dadaist pseudo-poem reviews.

Keep it brief but personable and don't over exemplify anything by drawing too many comparisons. If a description feels forced when you read it, leave it out because it's probably lame.

>>68979762

Yeah, I think that's pretty good advice. I want it to be relatively short and to the point like you might find in a newspaper. If I find myself going on for longer than would be typical of that form, I'd better have a darn good reason for going so.

I write album reviews for my college newspaper and it is great fun, but as another anon said, only review genres you like, no one wants to read negative review after negative review

I wish you the best of luck!

Don't force your interpretation of said album down other peoples throats and you should be fine.

>>68979079
>agreed. Same for rating

positive rating system is retarded you faggot

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>>68981780

>>68982181
IM GRAMMAR NAZI XD

>>68981780
who said positive rating system. I'm saying rate on a normal distribution but don't purposely go listen to some shit you know you'll fucking hate and then give it a trash score. What's the point?

I really enjoy reviews where it is obvious the writer sincerely loves the artist, and knows almost everything to know about them.

The throw away few lines, one paragraph, or navel gazing bullshit story telling reviews are generally embarrassing.

>>68982518
fucking hell, the storytelling ones are the WORST

like nobody wants to read your high school tier short story in which you pathetically try to be entertaining but just end up being cringy and never saying anything about the actual album

>>68982518
>I really enjoy reviews where it is obvious the writer sincerely loves the artist, and knows almost everything to know about them.

I think the funniest reviews are the ones where the writer doesn't know the music beforehand and describes it in a pretty honest way

>>68982556
Yeah, those are generally pretty entertaining.

I just find well researched reviews more compelling than someone simply describing how the album makes them feel.

Details such as:

How does this album stand out among said artist's work? Among the genre? Is there any pertinent information as to how this album came about? The performers on the album? Etc.

Reviews that start and stop at "this music made me feel such and such, and I thought so and so of it" have their value too, I just find them a bit lazy, and maybe borderline dishonest.

>>68978799
>do your research before reviewing. Things like lineup changes(either on the band or on their staff) that, how that particular album fits in their discography, how it influenced the genre, internal tensions and controversies, songs that had an unusual history or inspiration, etc. Of course, only mention the most meaningful facts so your review doesn't become a giant mass of trivia
>if you have some knowledge on music composition or production a technically-informed opinion can be great, but a lot of reviewers with that sort of knowledge go too far and end up rambling about how they could've done it better or comparing it to some masterpiece they are going to release one day but only exists in their mind for the time being. Please don't.
>don't break it down by tracks, describing them one by one and giving individual ratings unless there's no other way to go around it. Build instead a fluid text with a beginning, a middle and an end, pay attention to the transitions, mention tracks out of order, in groups or not at all if necessary
That's how I like my reviews, at least.

>>68978799
reviewers are fags who don't know anything, least of all how to write. you are making yourself the musical equivalent of nostalgia critic wannabe youtube channels

>>68983114
So a necessary condition of writing reviews is being awful at writing? That doesn't make much sense.

It's cool to make reviews, specially when you have something interesting to say, but if you're there to just say everything that has been said before or use pretentious words, just fuck off. RYM has so many cringeworthy reviews that it can be a pain in the ass to browse through some pages. There was a mainpage AMSP review that was just so generic and awful, unfortunately i can't find it, but basically, just try to bring something new and just be objective.

>>68983166
no, Hot Opinion, it just happens to be a common characteristic

>>68983233
that's definitely how you posed it though. Common characteristic between all of them? That would be saying almost the same thing. What if, crazy idea here, there are just good reviewers and bad reviewers. There are ones that take the time to include good research and give a well thought-out opinion and others that tell some shitty story about them finding the album on a blank disc and not knowing what it is or listening to it while watching a waterfall.

>>68983206
ya I pretty much just stick to reading reviews from people I'm already friends with that I know do good reviews. It's not worth sifting through the trash

>>68983382
name one good reviewer

Garfieldacres

and me of course;)

>>68982181
Autism.

>>68983545
good job replying dood

>>68982546
https://rateyourmusic.com/~Vito_James
https://rateyourmusic.com/~Vito_James
https://rateyourmusic.com/~Vito_James
https://rateyourmusic.com/~Vito_James
https://rateyourmusic.com/~Vito_James

>>68983573
he/you know what i was replying to, who cares
>>68983574
fuck that guy

>>68983574
Looking at some of these reviews is the angriest RYM has ever made me

>>68984238
I hate freshman year creative writing reviews as much as the next guy (they're the velvet paintings of music criticism) but they shouldn't make you angry. Maybe you should take a walk