I opened my mailbox today to find a package waiting for me. As a materials reviewer for an online website, I'm used to finding receiving these on my stoop. Some have been interesting. Others have been fascinating. A couple have the distinction of being memorable for being truly terrible. However, I looked at this one with no small amount of trepidation. For good reason.
My "membership" in Blogcritics entitles me to apply for items such as books, CD's, concernt tickets, DVD's, and movie tickets sent to me at absolutely no cost. The payoff is that I get to keep these items in exchange for a review. The really nice thing is that I get mailed items which I could not otherwise afford.
After contactting the person responsible for sending my latest CD, I was asked if I would consider doing an interview. This is not unusual, although one request from a contact whose musician I was not keen on (and said so) struck me as a bit odd. Since I already had an interview under my belt, I knew how to get the job done. However, my specialty is books. What surprised me was having the publisher of Blogcritics authorize me to do said interview.
My one consolation was that the CD had yet to arrive, and until it did, all I could do was sit tight. When it came, I could figure out what to do next. Of course, it came. So, I opened it, and withdrew the item in question along with cover notes. Okay, perhaps this was not something I would have gone out and bought. It could still be a decent piece of work.
A local Milwaukee band? Hmmm... this might not be so bad. I needed to give it a listen.
Article comments
1 - Jay Johnston
Quite possibly the worst "review" I've ever read.
2 - Dave Nalle
Ah, but it describes the most essential part of the review process - waiting for your mail to arrive.
Dave
3 - NancyGail
Why thank you Dave.