Bad Reviews
To read, or not read, that is the question?
To have your ego ripped to pieces, or to drift on, not in ignorance, but with the nagging question of what exactly the reviewer *hated* pestering at you - which is worse?
Emsk says it's not just bad, but "wrong". I don't know - factually wrong, or just "not getting it" wrong? Either way, I don't think I care to know. Constructive criticism, that actually makes a fair point, you can learn from. But stuff that's just plain "wrong" usually says more about the prejudices of the reviewer than it does about your performance.
So I've asked not to see it. Is this "wimping out"?
To have your ego ripped to pieces, or to drift on, not in ignorance, but with the nagging question of what exactly the reviewer *hated* pestering at you - which is worse?
Emsk says it's not just bad, but "wrong". I don't know - factually wrong, or just "not getting it" wrong? Either way, I don't think I care to know. Constructive criticism, that actually makes a fair point, you can learn from. But stuff that's just plain "wrong" usually says more about the prejudices of the reviewer than it does about your performance.
So I've asked not to see it. Is this "wimping out"?
posted by Masonic Boom | 3:55 pm
14 Comments:
Knowing my own personality, I just tend to take these kinds of things the wrong way. I find it so hard to separate my music from myself, that I take any negative criticism as... well, I do take it to heart. No matter how much I consciously think "oh, it doesn't matter" it does eat away at my self confidence and my self esteem.
If people are going to get it wrong, I just don't want to know.
what is the review of? Is it a show, or the single?
The gig.
And you know... there's a certain kind of music fan (or rather, fan of a certain kind of music) that I'm just not *interested* in hearing what they have to think about my music.
i.e. if you're a little indieschmindierock dr*wn*n*ns**nd (not to pick on them directly but you know the kind of writing I'm talking about) type who has no scope in music or the history of music beyond what was on the cover of the NME in the past year.
You know - if you have Razorlight or Kaiser Chefs or Babyshambles or whatevs (that's how out of touch I am) records in your top ten, I just don't CARE what you think about my music.
See, I'm starting to get wound up just thinking about it. :-(
and a live review isn't really about the music, it's about what kind of bad mood the "critic" is in that day.
the other thing is, if he was reviewing your single, because your single is promoted as part of a compilation and representative of a label and ethos and not as you as artists, you could catch shit for the critic's dislike of the label and it would have nothing to do with you or the music.
It's not so bad Kate. He mispelled our name, thought we had a keyboard on stage and many other things. I wouldn't take him seriously. I was all, "well, whatevs, can't please all of the people etc..."
yeah, share with the class!
I would avoid reading any reviews of your band altogether, good or bad, and concentrate on making new music. I know this is unrealistic, but fuck it. Call me an idealist...
It was in a magazine called Nightline, published in Oxford.
Nightshift, actually.
It's a shame as I normally really like Nightshift.
But... Mess is right. I don't want to be swayed by other people's opinions. I just want to make music that makes *me* happy.
so did you cave and read it?
I'm thinking of what you said a few posts back when all those people came up and told you how they'd make you "better" or whatever and you just said yeah, thanks, I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing because good or bad, people are paying attention.
Having just read said review in the context of the rest of his truck write-up, I really don't think you should worry. Look at who he raves about, who he hates. So much of it seems to be "look at me! I'm so cool! I write for a limited circulation provincial music guide that's mostly adverts!"
And he comments on the fact that you're an all-chick band, yet doesn't mention the gender of any boybands, which always makes me suspicious.
AND the sign-off at the end sounds like a complement to me. Keep rocking toytown.
Yeah, I caved in and read it. And as much as I can kinda go "yeah, whatevs, I'm not going to listen to the opinions of someone who can't tell the difference between a casio and a laptop" - still. It turns into a thoughtworm and runs about my head and I can't get it out, all the ripostes that I would come back with "yeah, it's nice that Nightshift let the local primary school kids write for their magazine as charity or something, but I don't think I'll be seeing you as a *real* writer any time soon..." and it goes round and round and winds me up, and I don't just forget it five seconds later.
It's not about the reviews and what they say, it's more about the way that my head works. How it doesn't come with an "off" button.
May i direct your attention to the following sound clip:
http://sobent.com/mp3/racallsjd.mp3
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