Comments on: Dw. Dunphy On… Criticism

By: DavidMedsker

DavidMedsker — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 23:22:45 +0000

< What also hurts is the realization that, over time, your reaction will not be as fresh, exciting or as revelatory as it once was.

I am so, so there.

By: DavidMedsker

DavidMedsker — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 19:22:45 +0000

< What also hurts is the realization that, over time, your reaction will not be as fresh, exciting or as revelatory as it once was.

I am so, so there.

By: DavidMedsker

DavidMedsker — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 18:22:45 +0000

< What also hurts is the realization that, over time, your reaction will not be as fresh, exciting or as revelatory as it once was.

I am so, so there.

By: Jack Feerick

Jack Feerick — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 20:09:25 +0000

I don't know if I can get behind that, Ken. I've taken some heat for being “unnecessarily hard” on indie acts, but I've got to call 'em as I see 'em. Does it do an artist a favor to surround him or her in a cocoon of positivity? If anything, I think that smaller acts are the ones who have the most to gain from honestly-offered criticism.

Big acts are surrounded every day by insincere hacks all too eager to tell them how fucking brilliant they are; if you can't get a little harsh truth when you're just starting out, when are you gonna get it?

By: Bill Lloyd

Bill Lloyd — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 17:22:15 +0000

Well said!

By: breadalbane

breadalbane — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 15:46:31 +0000

To be fair, the Sting album was at times hollow and pompous, the Madonna re-mix album was pretty much a cash grab, and the Martha Davis album was … well, it just plain wasn't very good now, was it?

But I know where you're coming from. And hopefully, as we get older we all learn to temper our enthusiams *and* our criticisms — without becoming dithering, mushy or bland.
.

By: DwDunphy

DwDunphy — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 21:10:18 +0000

I had to write about a few indie bands in the past and always, always, always dreaded if their stuff was terrible. I'm in exactly the same position as they are, so I haven't the right to stick it to them, especially while they're still so fresh on their learning arc. I can appreciate when some of the reviewers I sent my stuff to conveniently lost those discs (I'm getting better!)

Now, I have no qualms about saying that I thought Neil Young's most recent, Fork In The Road, was godawful silly. I know he's capable of so much better, and he could have found infinitely more eloquent ways to support the Prius. That he didn't kind of smacks his previous highlights around so, yeah, gloves off. Neil Young should have totally known better.

By: DwDunphy

DwDunphy — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 21:03:22 +0000

I learned my lesson in High School which, I suppose, is what I was always supposed to do. Regardless, the school paper always printed reviews of music referring things as being “so very awesome!” and “sooooo cute!” and “the best and rockinest of all times!” To retaliate, when I got into journalism class, I reviewed Sting's Nothing Like The Sun, the Madonna dance-mix album You Can Dance and the first Martha Davis solo album – and I slagged them all. It was not about the music, it was about what I perceived to be realigning the machine.

What it really was was being an ass. In high school, you're all up in arms about what real music, and the best music, and such are and you're so uptight about 'selling out'. After the bad reviews ran, I felt self-satisfied for all of five minutes. I was not writing about these albums, I was being a vigilante and it was stupid.

So I learned from that experience to really take the task of listening to music, then writing critically, with genuine love of music and not with love for verbal firepower.

By: DwDunphy

DwDunphy — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 21:03:22 +0000

So I learned from that experience to really take the task of listening to music, then writing critically, with genuine love of music and not with love for verbal firepower.

By: kshane

kshane — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 20:14:39 +0000

I make it a point to never slag indie bands. I am not going to attack some kids who are driving around the country in an old van, living hand to mouth. If I don't like their album, I won't write about it. When indie bands get big, say The Decemberists, or now Grizzly Bear, or if they have a major label deal, the gloves are off.