Reviews reporting thread

I just hope the point was made here that it's not the ratings he's giving the albums, its the fact that the reviews were not well written.  Anyone can write that an album stinks, but give supporting evidence of that, why specifically does it stink, or why is it noise, and so on.  Yes you can put down that you don't like the album personally, but, quite frankly, no one cares that much whether you like an album or not.  They want to hear what makes the album good or bad, in your opinion, and then decide for themselves if they want to listen.  The fact is, even a well-written negative review of an album can influence a reader to actually listen to an album, and maybe even end up liking it.  Reviewers should leave personal tastes out of it as much as possible, though that isn't necessarily a bad thing, but to base a review only on your personal taste or opinion is a poorly written review.  Subjectively explain why its bad.  You might find when you listen to an album subjectively and "in-depth" that you'll start to discover that you like something that you originally only listened to "on the surface".

dougmcauliffe wrote: That new red review is the fastest 180 I’ve ever seen

siLLy puPPy wrote: Zoltanxvamos wrote: siLLy puPPy wrote: Rivertree wrote: it reads like a deliberate provocation, trollish I agree. Giving IQ Are You Sitting Comforably? 5 stars and Red one? LOL Somebody delete this moron now. Ban this bitch!! Ok... I'm sorry, but you just proved my point. If I'm giving such a poor review on something I don't like, why are you doing this same? In my eyes 'Are You Sitting Comfortably?' Is a brilliant album. Don't be so upset that I gave an album you love a 1 star when I attempted to get into the band for years. Dude, i think you're entitled to write any sort of review you want but due to the inflammatory nature of your words which may or may not be intentional, you're gonna have to take the heat! So if you jump into the prog pit with nothing but contempt for sacred cows then prepare yourself for the heated critique. I mean seriously it doesn't even sound like you've listened to some of those albums more than once if at all.

Well it turns out I was wrong about Red. I ended up loving it...I think I jump to the ball too quickly because I listened to albums.like Thrak which turned out to be flops in most people's eyes and then amateurishly (I know it's not a real word haha) suspected I would dislike the rest of their discography. That was my bad, but the thing that was shocking was the fact you used my honest review of IQ AYSC against me to have me removed. I hope my new formed opinions on Red are better... because holy f*ck is it good!

SteveG wrote: TCat wrote: I just hope the point was made here that it's not the ratings he's giving the albums, its the fact that the reviews were not well written.  Anyone can write that an album stinks, but give supporting evidence of that, why specifically does it stink, or why is it noise, and so on.  Yes you can put down that you don't like the album personally, but, quite frankly, no one cares that much whether you like an album or not.  They want to hear what makes the album good or bad, in your opinion, and then decide for themselves if they want to listen.  The fact is, even a well-written negative review of an album can influence a reader to actually listen to an album, and maybe even end up liking it.  Reviewers should leave personal tastes out of it as much as possible, though that isn't necessarily a bad thing, but to base a review only on your personal taste or opinion is a poorly written review.  Subjectively explain why its bad.  You might find when you listen to an album subjectively and "in-depth" that you'll start to discover that you like something that you originally only listened to "on the surface". That was my point. It's a combination of both. A mindless review followed by a equally mindless rating. One is bad enough and both together is inexcusable.

Alright, I'm really trying to improve. My reviews had turned someone I didn't like poor reviews from either... Shawn Train. I am trying to improve my review style on everything. I hope I can make amends and make things write, while also giving controversial opinions haha.

Zoltanxvamos wrote: Sagichim wrote: dougmcauliffe wrote: That new red review is the fastest 180 I’ve ever seen   Oh my god. Give him another day and he'll be raving about Larks... Unfortunately, I don't think that will happen, I simply don't mind the album but its definitely no Red.

Tapfret wrote: Ok guys, lets chill. The point has been made and I think we can trust that Zoltan will approach his future reviews more analytically.   Zoltan, the only other thing I would say about the re-writes: Don't address responses to your reviews within the review. Make it strictly about your response to the music. Keep discussion about other people's response to your reviews here in the forum. It will make your reviews a lot cleaner.  And as far as your "All Traps" review: give the reader some examples to point out why you believe "All Traps" is just a retread of "Hybris". You are 100% entitled to your opinion. But a review is time to validate your opinion.  And thank you for addressing this head on.

SteveG wrote: Tapfret wrote: Ok guys, lets chill. The point has been made and I think we can trust that Zoltan will approach his future reviews more analytically.   Ok, but what am I supposed scream and complain about then? Kill joy!

I'm really trying to improve, so I would like to get some pointers as to how I can write a much more reasonable 1 star review. If that's not too much to ask, I really have a passion for writing reviews and this site has my favourite music on earth.

Zoltanxvamos wrote: SteveG wrote: Tapfret wrote: Ok guys, lets chill. The point has been made and I think we can trust that Zoltan will approach his future reviews more analytically.   Ok, but what am I supposed scream and complain about then? Kill joy! I'm really trying to improve, so I would like to get some pointers as to how I can write a much more reasonable 1 star review. If that's not too much to ask, I really have a passion for writing reviews and this site has my favourite music on earth.

Edited by Psychedelic Paul - May 07 2020 at 13:31

As long as you're doing it for the right reasons, dude...

and trying to please and seeking approval from this nerdy, pseudo-elitist crowd is not one of them.

Definitely not worth the effort, if you ask me.

Barbu wrote: As long as you're doing it for the right reasons, dude... and trying to please and seeking approval from this nerdy, pseudo-elitist crowd is not one of them. Definitely not worth the effort, if you ask me.