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Vibrationbaby 
Forum Senior Member
Joined: February 13 2004
Status: Offline
Points: 6898
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 Posted: October 08 2010 at 10:28 |
 m2thek wrote:
Before I get started, I want to say that I'm not trying to tell people how to write their reviews, or saying that reviews that do these things are necessarily bad. These are merely things that bug me with reviews that I see constantly. Feel free to add your own, or tell me why I'm crazy for letting these bother me 
1. Writing a review as one paragraph
This is the biggest offender stylistically. Not even for reviews, but really any post on forums in general. This just makes everything really difficult to read, and gives the impression that there's no organization to a review, but simply random thoughts that came to the reviewer.
2. Writing a review by ONLY comparing the sound of the music to another band or album.
I think up to a point, comparisons to another band can be useful to the reader. For example, if the review says "If you like Popular Band X, then you should try this," then a pretty good amount of people who read the review will know if this music will or won't fit their tastes. But if the entirety of a review is comparisons to another band, it just seems lazy to not even attempt to describe the music for its own merit. Even if the comparisons are accurate, I think its useful to read what the music is like, rather than who it is like.
3. Breaking down every single song on an album
Whether this is the entire review, or just a portion, this one always baffles me. I really enjoy reading musical analysis, but when I read a review, the purpose is to find out if I will enjoy an album or not. While this could satisfy that purpose, it's a really roundabout way to do it, and isn't nearly as effective as describing the music in a general sense. Also, I think when reviews do this, it takes away the surprise from a first time listener (if they choose to read it). I don't think anyone would describe every chapter of a book in a review, so I don't understand why this gets done on this site so much. This also tends to make reviews extremely long.
Those are the big 3 that I notice a lot. I'll add more if I see them. |
I completely agree with # 3. Sometimes they are not really reviewing that album but merely describing the music. I just try to go for some song highlights myself. I go more for overall concept. My Vangelis Albedo 0.39 & Jean Michel Jarre En Attendant Cousteau review come to mind.
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AtomicCrimsonRush
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
Joined: July 02 2008
Location: Australia
Status: Offline
Points: 14258
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Posted: October 08 2010 at 09:49 |
moshkito wrote:
m2thek wrote:
[QUOTE=m2thek] 3. Breaking down every single song on an album |
I rarely do that ... and the first time I did it was on the recent review of KC's first album I just posted. And why did I do that you ask? ... because Atomic's review was very good and I felt he deserved the compliment.
Gosh ... I was just thinking that if we did this on so many of these prog albums with 4 and 5 minute cuts and neo-prog design music with plasticene and bacon ... that the reviews would never get done ... yeah ... 14 songs at 3 minutes each ... how progressive of them!  |
Thx for the compliment there - I enjoy writing those reviews too, tho admittedly have been quiet lately - I must get back into it soon....
Cheers Moshkito
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npjnpj
Forum Senior Member
Joined: December 05 2007
Location: Germany
Status: Offline
Points: 2720
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Posted: October 08 2010 at 08:28 |
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I have, in the past, actually taken long one-paragraph reviews and pasted them into Word, replacing every period with a period followed by a paragraph sign. Makes it much easier.
My favourite peeve about reviews concern the ones where the reviewer actually listens with a stopwatch and informs everybody when each solo, break, change, or whatever occurs, down to the very second of every track.
What a strange way to listen to an album. I just can't translate that to usable information at all.
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Slartibartfast
Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator / In Memoriam
Joined: April 29 2006
Location: Atlantais
Status: Offline
Points: 29630
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Posted: October 07 2010 at 22:09 |
moshkito wrote:
m2thek wrote:
1. Writing a review as one paragraph |
It can be done, but it dang better be so well written in that paragraph that you are going to spend 10 years |
It's OK as long as it is a really really long one.
By the way, serious assistance here for the guilty parties. You have to manually put in a space between paragraphs (hit enter button twice). Yeah, I know, it's a pain in the ass, but it works.
Edited by Slartibartfast - October 07 2010 at 22:10
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Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened... 
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Epignosis
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
Joined: December 30 2007
Location: Raeford, NC
Status: Offline
Points: 32531
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Posted: October 07 2010 at 20:20 |
moshkito wrote:
In the end, what is going to happen is that Snow Dog will never read what I write, for example
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I think we've gone past that point.
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moshkito
Forum Senior Member
Joined: January 04 2007
Location: Grok City
Status: Offline
Points: 17774
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Posted: October 07 2010 at 20:17 |
To a point.
In the end, what is going to happen is that Snow Dog will never read what I write, for example ... and sooner or later you have board issues that affect the quality of the work. In general, there is no place in the "collaborators" and "reviewers" for that ... as we end up hurting the quality of the board? We had the same thing in a poetry board ... when the lack of respect and appreciation stops, the whole thing starts falling apart because the priority is not the work ... it's the individuals that would rather press the buttons!
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Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told!
www.pedrosena.com
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Dean
Special Collaborator
Retired Admin and Amateur Layabout
Joined: May 13 2007
Location: Europe
Status: Offline
Points: 37575
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Posted: October 07 2010 at 03:18 |
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What?
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JLocke
Prog Reviewer
Joined: November 18 2007
Status: Offline
Points: 4900
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Posted: October 07 2010 at 03:06 |
Conor Fynes wrote:
progkidjoel wrote:
Epignosis wrote:
Don't read reviews that bug you.
[/thread]
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moshkito
Forum Senior Member
Joined: January 04 2007
Location: Grok City
Status: Offline
Points: 17774
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Posted: September 23 2010 at 20:35 |
m2thek wrote:
1. Writing a review as one paragraph |
It can be done, but it dang better be so well written in that paragraph that you are going to spend 10 years trying to figure out what each word and letter meant! 
m2thek wrote:
2. Writing a review by ONLY comparing the sound of the music to another band or album. |
My biggest pet peeve ... specially when that band is "Progressive" or "Prog" ... and those 2 bands are impossible to compare to. On top of it, those two bands have massive hit records that we want duplicated ... and we won't like it either!
m2thek wrote:
3. Breaking down every single song on an album |
I rarely do that ... and the first time I did it was on the recent review of KC's first album I just posted. And why did I do that you ask? ... because Atomic's review was very good and I felt he deserved the compliment.
Gosh ... I was just thinking that if we did this on so many of these prog albums with 4 and 5 minute cuts and neo-prog design music with plasticene and bacon ... that the reviews would never get done ... yeah ... 14 songs at 3 minutes each ... how progressive of them!
In general, and it is the same thing with my poetry and film reviews, I don't use the same format, since I write from the heart and what is inside and you can only map the heart with a picture at the doctor! Just like my postings in this board ... I tend to be all over the place and 3 or 4 people hate it! ...
And one last thing that should be added here ... the review that is not a review but instead is some kind of writing about an idea in music that doesn't exist. Experience I can handle ... but ideas can get boring and trying sometimes, specially when they are "prog"!
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Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told!
www.pedrosena.com
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UMUR
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
Joined: October 19 2007
Location: Denmark
Status: Offline
Points: 3069
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Posted: June 14 2010 at 13:04 |
^I donīt see a problem with 1 and 2 star reviews given by the same reviewer to a certain act. It depends on how the review is written. Who would want to read 5 star reviews only anyways??? I like to read critical reviews of albums that I enjoy, to try and see it from the other side of the fence. As long as the reviews are well written I have no problem with that.
And back to the topic, yes I also prefer when people break up their reviews in paragraphs but itīs not a mandatory thing for me to enjoy a review that itīs not so.
Personally I generally donīt read track by track reviews. I prefer reviews that give a more general idea of how the music sounds on an album. Itīs allright to mention tracks to get a point across of course but in depth track by track analysis is not something I enjoy. I understand others enjoy those kinds of reviews though so I guess itīs an aquired taste.
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The Hemulen
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
Joined: July 31 2004
Location: UK
Status: Offline
Points: 5964
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Posted: June 14 2010 at 12:20 |
DT-PT wrote:
My biggest pet peeve is people who repeatedly review bands they hate. You then get a poor quality review thats just shown by people who are obviously going to give 2 and 1 star reviews to a band because their judgement of what is truly there and the potential of the album is clouded. It's okay to not like a band who is not for you, but repeatedly giving bad reviews to their albums is just plain annoying. It then hurts the average rating and peoples opinions who might be willing to get into the band. |
This. I noticed the other day that most of Deerhoof's albums have been reviewed by just one member who clearly doesn't enjoy their music at all or perhaps even fully appreciate why they might appeal to anyone else, and has marked them down accordingly. When I'm more familiar with their albums I try to write some less biased reviews to help counteract them, but it's pretty jarring, and particularly damaging for artists without many ratings.
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DisgruntledPorcupine
Forum Senior Member
Joined: January 16 2010
Location: Thunder Bay CAN
Status: Offline
Points: 4395
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Posted: June 14 2010 at 10:27 |
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My biggest pet peeve is people who repeatedly review bands they hate. You then get a poor quality review thats just shown by people who are obviously going to give 2 and 1 star reviews to a band because their judgement of what is truly there and the potential of the album is clouded. It's okay to not like a band who is not for you, but repeatedly giving bad reviews to their albums is just plain annoying. It then hurts the average rating and peoples opinions who might be willing to get into the band.
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toroddfuglesteg
Forum Senior Member
Retired
Joined: March 04 2008
Location: Retirement Home
Status: Offline
Points: 3658
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Posted: June 13 2010 at 02:31 |
Atavachron wrote:
toroddfuglesteg wrote:
Threads like this is the ones who scares newbies from contributing with reviews at this site. Which is us shooting ourselves in the foot... or head. We need more reviews. |
really? I don't know, we seem to have more than ever
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but we can get a lot more. in any case, we need fresh blood when both you and I signs of and meets up with our maker. 
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Conor Fynes
Prog Reviewer
Joined: February 11 2009
Location: Vancouver, CA
Status: Offline
Points: 3196
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Posted: June 13 2010 at 01:07 |
progkidjoel wrote:
Epignosis wrote:
Don't read reviews that bug you.
[/thread]
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Can't hurt to express advice on how one might make their reviews better though..
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Atavachron
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
Joined: September 30 2006
Location: Pearland
Status: Offline
Points: 65298
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Posted: June 13 2010 at 00:47 |
toroddfuglesteg wrote:
Threads like this is the ones who scares newbies from contributing with reviews at this site. Which is us shooting ourselves in the foot... or head. We need more reviews. |
really? I don't know, we seem to have more than ever
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rogerthat
Prog Reviewer
Joined: September 03 2006
Location: .
Status: Offline
Points: 9869
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Posted: June 12 2010 at 23:53 |
I disagree with point three completely except to the extent that a track by track with just a cursory line about each track and nothing else by way of a review is useless. Otherwise, a breakdown of each track can be useful. I cannot possibly tell if YOU will enjoy the album I enjoyed, I cannot read your mind.  And if I simply write my opinion about my album that it rules or it sucks, how does that help you decide either? You could say that several votes in favour of an album count for something, but in that case, why read reviews, the ratings should be enough. By describing the music, the reviewer can tell you what is in the album and then you can make up your mind whether you want to try that or not.
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Nightshine
Forum Senior Member
Joined: December 08 2009
Status: Offline
Points: 210
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Posted: June 11 2010 at 14:46 |
Epignosis wrote:
Nightshine wrote:
Most of the people here can't write reviews anyway, and their bias towards symphonic/70s prog sickens me.
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Thanks for sharing.
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No problem. The truth had to be revealed some day.
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Epignosis
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
Joined: December 30 2007
Location: Raeford, NC
Status: Offline
Points: 32531
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Posted: June 11 2010 at 14:38 |
Nightshine wrote:
Most of the people here can't write reviews anyway, and their bias towards symphonic/70s prog sickens me.
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Thanks for sharing.
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Nightshine
Forum Senior Member
Joined: December 08 2009
Status: Offline
Points: 210
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Posted: June 11 2010 at 14:31 |
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Most of the people here can't write reviews anyway, and their bias towards symphonic/70s prog sickens me. Doesn't mean I make a topic about it.
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toroddfuglesteg
Forum Senior Member
Retired
Joined: March 04 2008
Location: Retirement Home
Status: Offline
Points: 3658
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Posted: June 11 2010 at 08:32 |
Threads like this is the ones who scares newbies from contributing with reviews at this site. Which is us shooting ourselves in the foot............ or head. We need more reviews. I have never seen a 6 months old baby run a marathon = don't criticize newbies for their first reviews. Let them grow into the role and routine of reviewing and let them find their own voice and own personality. Diversity is very much encouraged.
As long as the guidelines is followed, everyone here should be encouraged to review albums and contribute with more stuff to this community. Everyone !
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Pet Peeves I Have With Reviews
