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papajohnny
Member
I've wanted to start playing an instrument for years, and today, I'm closer to that than ever before. Got myself a bass guitar. Hope it was money well spent.
tuonelan
Mostly Harmless
tuonelan
Mostly Harmless
Not exactly news, but I got all rant-y at my (quite neglected) blog after reading some truly shit album reviews.
papajohnny
Member
Thanks!
Also, nice post on your blog. Great highligthing there. I've never made a proper review in my life, but reading through your opinions got me thinking - I've sometimes had a bad approach to reviewing music in my head. Got to fix it.
But yeah, nicely written.
Tangentially related, I personally really hate those "Rate from 0 to 10" reviews or something similar. Nothing frustrates me more than seeing idiots who think they are smart enough to reduce one's work and effort, the complexity of music structure, lyrics, recording etc. to nothing more but a simple numerical value, often with a short off-the-top-of-my-head comment that gives the reader virtually nothing of value or actual content regarding the album that is "reviewed".
I will need to check out your blog more. Skimming through it, there are some stuff that interest me.
Luoto
Member
Hot and cold air masses collide over Finland tomorrow, causing massive rain- and snowfall. Locally up to 20 cm of snow is expected in the eastern parts of the country overnight; Oulu dodges the bomb and right now we're forecast with only little precipitaiton.
Phew...
Phew...
Hope mine wasn't included in the batch you refer to, but alas, I'm never really happy with them anyway. It's so easy to fail even if you try as best you can. Of course some folks don't even try and I won't make apologies for them, but those of us who do usually are unpaid amateurs with a very limited amount of spare time. To stick to my own (not untypical) example, I'm mainly a photographer and when it comes to writing, I much prefer gig reviews that accompany my pictures with both elements complementing each other in conveying the mood of the show. However, I sometimes have to review albums as well, and while I'm lucky enough to be allowed to choose stuff that I actually like, many writers are simply assigned new releases as they come in, whether those are up their alley or not.
Speaking strictly for myself now: while I try hard to steer clear of the pitfalls you mentioned, I find it incredibly difficult to properly argue about what is ultimately a matter of taste. And I have studied neither music theory nor sound engineering (well, promos these days are just mp3s that hi-fi fetishists would sneer at anyway), so after discounting the given empirical background such as e.g. prior knowledge of the band's work, I would still say that 90% of my perception of music is purely emotional, powered much more by personal feelings and experiences than by tangible technicalities and other objective factors that would be fairly easy to explain to the curious reader.
It may not be rocket science, but it ain't no piece of cake either.
tuonelan
Mostly Harmless
Yeah, no. Never had a problem with any reviews made by people here, and I don't expect that every review I read will be amazing.
The big culprit was a review I will not link to that spent the whole review of Enslaved's latest complaining that their shows and music just weren't very sexy. Didn't really mention anything about the album at all, just whined in general like he was mad he didn't get to review Steel Panther instead. That's some lazy shit right there.
Read another review of the new Barren Earth that seemed to appreciate it a lot, but only mentioned one song on the album and that only to say that it instantly produces a sense of wintery gloom and despair in listeners, (or some cliche like that), in a way that no other song can equal. No mention even of what sort of music they played or what any of the other songs sounded like or anything else. I left that review as puzzled about On Lonely Towers as I was coming into it. It told me nothing useful except that I could maybe expect some doom elements from them -- not exactly a revelation.
And these were both on fairly polished, medium-high traffic sites where only one review of any particular album gets published.
Gah.
Good reviews are hard to write. I don't write many reviews because I don't have the time to do it properly. But if someone has a semi-pro metal blog and makes at least a partial living off of writing about metal, I expect that they will make some effort not to suck and to give their readers some actual, useful information.
The big culprit was a review I will not link to that spent the whole review of Enslaved's latest complaining that their shows and music just weren't very sexy. Didn't really mention anything about the album at all, just whined in general like he was mad he didn't get to review Steel Panther instead. That's some lazy shit right there.
Read another review of the new Barren Earth that seemed to appreciate it a lot, but only mentioned one song on the album and that only to say that it instantly produces a sense of wintery gloom and despair in listeners, (or some cliche like that), in a way that no other song can equal. No mention even of what sort of music they played or what any of the other songs sounded like or anything else. I left that review as puzzled about On Lonely Towers as I was coming into it. It told me nothing useful except that I could maybe expect some doom elements from them -- not exactly a revelation.
And these were both on fairly polished, medium-high traffic sites where only one review of any particular album gets published.
Gah.
Good reviews are hard to write. I don't write many reviews because I don't have the time to do it properly. But if someone has a semi-pro metal blog and makes at least a partial living off of writing about metal, I expect that they will make some effort not to suck and to give their readers some actual, useful information.
tuonelan
Mostly Harmless
How to say nothing:
If you, like me, have been a fan of This Metal Band for a while, then you know that they are very committed to doing the sort of things that we all expect from them based on past history. Here in their Xth album they return again. Once again, it's these musicians sounding like these musicians and I like/hate/am indifferent towards it more/less/the same as I was on their last album. I think this is because they are more engaged/bored than they were last time. You should/should not buy it because it gives you something/nothing new. [insert numeric rating here based on unknown criteria].
If you, like me, have been a fan of This Metal Band for a while, then you know that they are very committed to doing the sort of things that we all expect from them based on past history. Here in their Xth album they return again. Once again, it's these musicians sounding like these musicians and I like/hate/am indifferent towards it more/less/the same as I was on their last album. I think this is because they are more engaged/bored than they were last time. You should/should not buy it because it gives you something/nothing new. [insert numeric rating here based on unknown criteria].
You might consider developing this template into a full-blown BSG. Hordes of aspiring writers would be forever in your debt, not to mention record labes of every size and denomination.
tuonelan said:
I. Beg. To. Differ.
tuonelan
Mostly Harmless
My 2 cents as a person making her living by writing stuff (well, mostly really boring stuff about politics, etc., though I do get inspired every now and again).
Writing album reviews is hard. - I've tried, usually when I have something meaningful to say about the album of a band I truly care about. Normally I tend to give some background information, assuming the reader has never heard of this band and then I tend to give a song-by-song review. I avoid comparing said band to another band, as I get really annoyed by reading reviews comparing almost everything to Opeth (such a tired cliche!). I never criticise the band for "selling out" or this and that. - I am mature enough to have realised that those guys a) have evolved b) are possibly trying to make a living.
I may have been guilty of some of the crimes listed in Tuonelan's blog post, but as a professional journalist respecting the basic rules of the trade, I tend to stick to objectivity as best as I can, though perceptions of music, just like of any other art, are more or less subjective.
Writing album reviews is hard. - I've tried, usually when I have something meaningful to say about the album of a band I truly care about. Normally I tend to give some background information, assuming the reader has never heard of this band and then I tend to give a song-by-song review. I avoid comparing said band to another band, as I get really annoyed by reading reviews comparing almost everything to Opeth (such a tired cliche!). I never criticise the band for "selling out" or this and that. - I am mature enough to have realised that those guys a) have evolved b) are possibly trying to make a living.
I may have been guilty of some of the crimes listed in Tuonelan's blog post, but as a professional journalist respecting the basic rules of the trade, I tend to stick to objectivity as best as I can, though perceptions of music, just like of any other art, are more or less subjective.
tuonelan
Mostly Harmless
I've written a few of those clichés myself. What matters, though, is that when you do one of those things on the list you make sure to explain what you mean in a way that helps the reader get a better sense of what they will hear. I'm fine with Opeth comparisons as long as those comparisons make sense. Contrasting passages in longer song forms? Okay. That's a good comparison. Now tell me what the band you are comparing to Opeth brings to the table that makes them different.
Borknagar could be compared to Enslaved or to Dimmu Borgir depending on what element you were describing, but it would be an act of grand misinformation if you left the reader going into the listening experience of Urd expecting that they would hear an album like Riitiir or Death Cult Armageddon.
And that's the bottom line. If you are going to talk about feelings or similarities or any other shorthand, subjective impression, then tie that impression to enough description to give the reader some context.
Borknagar could be compared to Enslaved or to Dimmu Borgir depending on what element you were describing, but it would be an act of grand misinformation if you left the reader going into the listening experience of Urd expecting that they would hear an album like Riitiir or Death Cult Armageddon.
And that's the bottom line. If you are going to talk about feelings or similarities or any other shorthand, subjective impression, then tie that impression to enough description to give the reader some context.
Much as I'd prefer to continue discussing Norwegian blackness, the current news from my own country are so much darker.
Value chart of the new Finnish government. Source: Helsingin Sanomat
Value chart of the new Finnish government. Source: Helsingin Sanomat
papajohnny
Member
Hardly a local piece of news - but I've been thinking about cutting my hair a lot lately. It's grown down to the lower part of my back, but after 7-8 years of growing I'm starting to feel that it's bogging me down, in a way. I'm kinda not sure if that's just a phase I'm going through or if it's a sign that it's time for my scalp skin to see the sun once more.
In any case, if I were to cut it down, I'd shave it right down to the skin. Not instantly, I'd go down to a couple of centimeters, just for my skin to adapt a bit, and then shave it.
Still, not sure what to do.
In any case, if I were to cut it down, I'd shave it right down to the skin. Not instantly, I'd go down to a couple of centimeters, just for my skin to adapt a bit, and then shave it.
Still, not sure what to do.
In case you're looking for a second opinion: don't do it! Be glad if it still grows, there's plenty of time for being bald later in life...
Having long hair for a long period of time exhausts hair & scalp. If you want to cut it, do it, but don't shave it off altogether.
I know the feeling of having long hair for a long time. One day I decided I've had enough, went to the hairdresser and told him to cut it. I left about 7-8 cm of hair. Mum didn't recognise me at first
I know the feeling of having long hair for a long time. One day I decided I've had enough, went to the hairdresser and told him to cut it. I left about 7-8 cm of hair. Mum didn't recognise me at first
papajohnny
Member
In case you're looking for a second opinion: don't do it! Be glad if it still grows, there's plenty of time for being bald later in life...
Yeah, that's one of the main reasons why I still haven't done it. To be honest, I have a relatively fine hair - for a guy, anyway - it's not as dense and thick as it could be, but it's had fine care over the years. Kind of a shame to ruin all of it when I will most likely lose it at some point in the future - wouldn't be the first person in my family to get bald.
But, it's starting to become a nuisance. I have this sort of rule, though - if 2 weeks in a row I wake up each day with a thought of "Crap, I need to cut this thing off of my head", then I will cut it immediately. Counting so far, day 6.
Having long hair for a long period of time exhausts hair & scalp. If you want to cut it, do it, but don't shave it off altogether.
I know the feeling of having long hair for a long time. One day I decided I've had enough, went to the hairdresser and told him to cut it. I left about 7-8 cm of hair. Mum didn't recognise me at first
Actually it wouldn't be the first time of me having a long hair and then shaving it off completely - I did that in elementary school, on a whim. Yeah, I was just a kid back then, about 12 years old, but for some reason I cut my hair then (it was way shorter than it is now, though). I came home from school, took some money and visited a hairdresser two streets away from my house. That woman was basically begging me not to make her cut it, but I did, the brutal bastard.
I remember my grandmother almost fainted when she saw me...
I liked it though. I was just a kid, but being bald (or rather, having 0.5 cm of hair) was awesome. I haven't cut my hair since, I believe, or I did once. Rest of the time it was mostly for trimming split ends and so on.
Ehh...choices and consequences.
Luoto
Member
The Iijoki river basin is having its worst spring flooding in at least 15 years. Peak is expected during the next few days, meaning even permanently inhabited buildings are in danger of getting wet in Pudasjärvi. Today's heavy rain made the situation worse.
(Image: Jarmo Kontiainen)
(Image: Jarmo Kontiainen)
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