What kind of music critic are you?
Lazy, infrequent, and not all that insightful.
Who for?
4Zzz gives me free tickets & preview Cds, I write up my reactions on the blog.
Do you write about anything other than music?
Have done personalised gig guides in the past, but not much lately. Low/ No readership tends to sap your enthusiasm for that sort of thing.
How do you critique music?
The main thing I try to keep in mind is what I want to read. I dunno, it is important give things a human element, but there's so much hyperbolic writing out there that, apart from expressing the writers enthusiasm, say shit all about the subject. They don't explain why the different albums/artists/ singles are different compared to others in the genre, or fall back on lazy 'sounds like's.
I try to separate & pay attention to the individual elements of a song (IE vocals, bass, guitars, drums etc), think about their relationships and tensions, where the structures divert from the norm of the genre, and the overall effect.
But then I never can come up with anything that quite conveys it, and say "oh this kinda sounds like xxx, but not". So bully for that last paragraph.
What kind of music do you cover?
Ah, whatever gets chucked my way mostly.
Do you have a choice in the music you cover?
Not really, which can be interesting. Because my writing is held against 4zz's name, I can't be overly pithy or mean, due to defamation laws, not wanting to damage ZzZ's relationship with organisers/ labels etc. But it's good, stops me from being too lazy, and makes me explain my point diplomatically.
Why do you critique the music you do?
The opportunity is there to experience new bands and discover new sounds, with people enabling you to do it for free. It's not too hard of a choice to make personally.
Why do you critique music?
To be embarrassingly frank: I dropped out of school when I was 15, so have no real qualifications/ "book smarts". I write to show myself that I can, just as well as the next person. Music is an area I feel confident in my knowledge, so I'm starting to write about that, eventually building up my skills to a point where I'm confidant in tackling Uni.
Do you receive much feedback from your readers?
Nothing constructive, just faint praise.
Where do you fit in with other music critics?
One of a million other isolated voices, muttering quietly to themselves in the internet.
What is your opinion of other music critics, do they have influence?
Absolutely. Have been reading a lot of Julian Cope lately, who has a very thorough but casual writing style, and is able to give context to the music he talks about by talking about the artists lives and environments, and describes music in a way that sounds like nothing you've heard, which drives you to seek it out. I'd like to capture a little bit of that.
Do you think music critics are as important as they were 20-30 years ago to the music industry?
I believe that they're as important as ever, but that the quantity of bloggers drowns out some voices out there.
What, in your opinion, is the role of the music critic in 2009?
Honesty and passion, that treats artists with due regard but not reverence. But that's always been in high demand and low supply.
What advice would you give someone who wants to be a music critic?
How the fuck should I know? I need the advice.
Lazy, infrequent, and not all that insightful.
Who for?
4Zzz gives me free tickets & preview Cds, I write up my reactions on the blog.
Do you write about anything other than music?
Have done personalised gig guides in the past, but not much lately. Low/ No readership tends to sap your enthusiasm for that sort of thing.
How do you critique music?
The main thing I try to keep in mind is what I want to read. I dunno, it is important give things a human element, but there's so much hyperbolic writing out there that, apart from expressing the writers enthusiasm, say shit all about the subject. They don't explain why the different albums/artists/ singles are different compared to others in the genre, or fall back on lazy 'sounds like's.
I try to separate & pay attention to the individual elements of a song (IE vocals, bass, guitars, drums etc), think about their relationships and tensions, where the structures divert from the norm of the genre, and the overall effect.
But then I never can come up with anything that quite conveys it, and say "oh this kinda sounds like xxx, but not". So bully for that last paragraph.
What kind of music do you cover?
Ah, whatever gets chucked my way mostly.
Do you have a choice in the music you cover?
Not really, which can be interesting. Because my writing is held against 4zz's name, I can't be overly pithy or mean, due to defamation laws, not wanting to damage ZzZ's relationship with organisers/ labels etc. But it's good, stops me from being too lazy, and makes me explain my point diplomatically.
Why do you critique the music you do?
The opportunity is there to experience new bands and discover new sounds, with people enabling you to do it for free. It's not too hard of a choice to make personally.
Why do you critique music?
To be embarrassingly frank: I dropped out of school when I was 15, so have no real qualifications/ "book smarts". I write to show myself that I can, just as well as the next person. Music is an area I feel confident in my knowledge, so I'm starting to write about that, eventually building up my skills to a point where I'm confidant in tackling Uni.
Do you receive much feedback from your readers?
Nothing constructive, just faint praise.
Where do you fit in with other music critics?
One of a million other isolated voices, muttering quietly to themselves in the internet.
What is your opinion of other music critics, do they have influence?
Absolutely. Have been reading a lot of Julian Cope lately, who has a very thorough but casual writing style, and is able to give context to the music he talks about by talking about the artists lives and environments, and describes music in a way that sounds like nothing you've heard, which drives you to seek it out. I'd like to capture a little bit of that.
Do you think music critics are as important as they were 20-30 years ago to the music industry?
I believe that they're as important as ever, but that the quantity of bloggers drowns out some voices out there.
What, in your opinion, is the role of the music critic in 2009?
Honesty and passion, that treats artists with due regard but not reverence. But that's always been in high demand and low supply.
What advice would you give someone who wants to be a music critic?
How the fuck should I know? I need the advice.
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