The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #119270 Message #2585415
Posted By: matt milton
10-Mar-09 - 06:37 AM
Thread Name: folk reviews ,are they necessary
Subject: RE: folk reviews ,are they necessary
That said, I must admit, I have quite a low opinion of the vast majority of music criticism: for the most part it's extremely lazy, reliant on a string of formulaic cliches. It's very "blokey".
"Album of the year"; "A real gem"; "Highly Recommended"; "Buy it"; "I've not heard a better album since..."; "If there's a better album released this year, I'll..." etc etc etc
All that is chewing-the-fat talk: fine for the pub and internet chat forums, but you'd have thought that a self-respecting writer would try a little bit harder.
What I want out of music criticism is to read thought provoking, inspiring writing that actually steps up to the bar of the music it's describing: writing that captures something of its energy, that aspires to a sort of mimetic quality. I like writers such as Ian Penman, Ben Watson, Kodwo Eshun, Lester Bangs.
Whereas the vast majority of music writers seem to be content to just be shopping advisers – like marginally more impartial sales assistants.