Which is a priority for YOU?
It gets harder and harder as the weeks count down to Christmas to determine what is a priority release and what can wait. Something has to wait, as there are simply too many great things popping up to hold off on for the next couple months.…
Article comments
26 - Tom Johnson
Hitting on a bunch of things that have been brought up in the last few comments:
Mat and Glen have it right - this is not a bunch of mini-reviews but a spotlight on the week's releases. Most I haven't heard - they are usually the things I'm interested in getting, and I impart whatever knowledge I have about them that I might be blessed to have. Sometimes I've been lucky enough to hear some of them, but most often not. If you'll notice, this is filed under "news" and not "review" because of that fact.
Guys, thanks for the backup, but in this case, I will admit that this week's piece was a bit lacking. I had a bad week, got a late start on this, and so, as I mentioned to Glen last week, with this one I felt it was "better late than never." I could have chosen to skip this week's releases, but I noticed that I had some titles to highlight that others didn't, so I went ahead with it. All I can say is the week got off to a bad start with a migraine, and I was just "off" all week because of it. That's life. I really don't get why one less-than-stellar piece should essentially get me thrown in the "bad writer" corner, though.
I'm confounded by Temple's attack. He's been here about as long as I have and I don't recall seeing him be this nasty and vindictive, at least not to me. I'm just going to pretend that someone hijacked Temple's identity to post some nasty comments.
I will say one thing, however. For all of Temple's talk about "good writing," I'm more than a little surprised that he didn't pick up that the items I list go in alphabetical order - which is why Dethklok was the first to be talked about. I didn't "lead off" with it - it was simply lowest in the alphabet. I will be sure to make everything I write very, very obvious from now on, for if someone of Temple's experience couldn't pick up on that, I doubt it's possible that, you know, "lesser" people could.
And, for the record, I'm not any particular "type" of guy - I like all kinds of stuff. If it isn't plainly obvious in my choices, then you aren't really paying attention to music.
Even after all of this, I would still choose to talk about the Dethklok album, and I'd still say that most death metal is ridiculous. And remember, the keyword there, as above in my piece, is most (well, "many" in my piece above) - something Brian failed to notice. I mean, you've seen this stuff, right? (And yes, Brian, I do realize that the first two bands seen on that are parodies. That doesn't explain the rest, however.)
27 - Mat Brewster
Yes, this wasn't your best Breakdown ever, but I'm one to cut you some slack.
This is Blogcritics, not Rolling Stone. We aren't all sitting around in some posh headquarters with the entire stack of New Releases at our disposal.
We all have regular lives outside of BC. I've done a weekly column before and they are freaking tough to maintain. So I appreciate this one.
28 - Glen Boyd
Agree with Mat there...and it actually wasn't that bad, so you shouldn't beat yourself up too badly over it. I've written stuff that I didn't think was up to the standard I usually set for myself. It usually happens when I try to stack stuff up, like this weekend. I wrote three reviews -- four if you count the Dylan review as a "twofer". I thought one was really good, one was just good, and the third was just okay. Can you guess which is which? Cause' I aint talking...
-Glen
29 - Brian aka Guppusmaximus
Once again,Tom, you speak of things you don't truly understand.
You quoted:"and I'd still say that most death metal is ridiculous."
Then, you give us a link to Black Metal videos.
It just proves my point and I would like to thank Temple Stark for "chiming" in and pointing out:
" But I less enjoy people who don't know what they're talking about - Tom Johnson in this case - get defensive for not knowing what they're talking about - after it's clearly shown."
30 - Brian aka Guppusmaximus
*BTW* This is the difference between Black Metal & Death Metal
31 - Tom Johnson
Yeah, wow, huge difference there. You sure set me straight.
32 - Mark Saleski
the fact of the matter is that most people think this stuff sounds like a wood chipper gone crazy along with a guy doing his best cookie monster impression.
..very much like how most folks think that modern/collectively improvised jazz sounds like a bunch of people blowing their noses.
33 - Tom Johnson
Exactly, Mark. I completely understand why people wouldn't like it, I know that most people don't like it, and I don't find the need to get upset with anyone that takes issue with that kind of music even though I enjoy it. You either get it or you don't, and if you don't, why is it a big loss to me?
34 - Brian aka Guppusmaximus
Eaxactly, Tom, No big loss to someone who doesn't research enough before he makes broad statements.
It all comes back to having an ear for music, being around different instrument brands, recording with them & understanding what it takes to produce quality music. Tom, you couldn't analyze the chord structure of the theme from Sesame Street even if they gave you the tablature nevermind "getting" Death Metal. Oh, but you'll continue to drop names because you think that gives you some sort of cred.
" most people think this stuff sounds like a wood chipper gone crazy along with a guy doing his best cookie monster impression."
Most people also use music as a backdrop for a cellphone call and those people aren't writing poor ass reviews about a genre that they obviously don't have clue about.
35 - Mark Saleski
keep digging.
36 - Tom Johnson
I'm going to just skip by Brian's continued dismissal of the fact that I didn't review Dethklok, as he asserts I did, when it was merely a mention, and just move on to other, more intriguing aspects of his last comment:
Brian, I'm in my mid-30s. The fleeting specter of cred disappears once you hit 30, and then we're happily free to enjoy whatever we want to. And I'm pretty sure that dropping Tesla into any conversation would immediately kill cred anyway. Cred, if you haven't noticed, is a killjoy.
I want to thank you, on behalf of everyone, really, for keeping us informed of the "rules of enjoyment." I know that I, personally, wasn't aware that, in order to enjoy music, one must be able to reproduce the music being listened to. Nor did I realize that I needed to be able to distinguish different brands of instruments. That is very interesting. Do the rest of the people in the world know this? I'm glad I know now - whew.
Let me ask you something. Do you like movies, or TV shows - you know, visual entertainment of any kind? When you watch things of that nature, are you able to distinguish what brand of film or video they are shot on? I understand that greatly affects how much people enjoy them. Oh, and how many movies and TV shows have you made? Because you can't really properly enjoy them, you know, if you didn't actually make them yourself.
37 - Temple Stark
Tom you come across as someone who is not "a big person" and who believes they are above criticism. Still. Not that mine was the most insightful but it was to the point and, in this case, accurate.
Brian's criticism, on the other hand was insightful because he knows what he's talking about. Your best course of action was (and I repeat) to say, you know the subject better and you're right. Because he was.
That won't and shouldn't always be the response because a lot of people don't know what they're talking about. When challenged / critiqued in return if you expand on your point with facts and knowledge it helps, too. If you can't you cede the point or at least let it go for the time being, without resorting to the overly defensive posture.
I am not a musician and come at criticism, like you, very much from a listener's POV because most people who listen to music aren't musicians. So I can't agree with Brian that you need to know the differences in instrumentation to be a music critic.
Brian more than likely remembers when I reviewed a death metal release, and guess what, I don't like most of it either and said so. He's buried in the music, and he knows it better than I do. And he was able, unlike anyone else I've come across to describe what he liked and the differences. Because he knows. Go read, it's an interesting, mutual conversation. Mark agreed with me there (but was a mere tangent here)
The lead singer of Polidicks, in that case (the link above), e-mailed me a little peeved as well - didn't like being called pointless - but enjoyed the comments that followed there.
Here the editors come in to back you up - thrilling - but as you yourself acknowledge because it's true, this "Breakdown" was uninspired, and empty. (My words, not yours, exactly.) It's your choice - as it is everyone - to run a weekly column and it is open to criticism. Right?
No, not all columns are going to be gold, but they shouldn't include that Pat Metheny quote of yours and shouldn't be followed by getting in the face of someone who knows what they're talking about.
The impotent mixture of stupidity and arrogance, especially when it's followed by a self-defense of that clear ignorance, is not often very well received by knowledgeable people. That is this. The only thing worse, not here, is fake stupidity just to get a reaction.
- Temple (Actually me)
38 - Mark Saleski
No, not all columns are going to be gold, but they shouldn't include that Pat Metheny quote of yours and shouldn't be followed by getting in the face of someone who knows what they're talking about.
this is just pure bullshit, and AGAIN misses the point of why columns like this are written and why many people enjoying reading. go ahead and ignore what i wrote (and what others have backed me up on).
the only stupidity and arrogance going on here is the abject lack of social graces that the internet so truly amplifies.
39 - Temple Stark
A strong kick in my head is due to be administered by both Mark Saleski and myself (I'm flexible). Perhaps for hours, nay days. Weeks would not be unwarranted. An anniversary special event for the next 60 years would be appealing to everyone.
Mark, I do apologize. I was thinking of a different Mark S. when saying many other "classless" comments had been overlooked in other sections, and my mind was there.
In this regard, I am a steaming pile of shit and I apologize again to Mark for my misdirection.
Bugger.
- Temple
40 - Temple Stark
Mark, I disagree. It cannot be pure bullshit otherwise no one would need to actually research anything. I'd just throw a "I don't know anything about this release" in my articles for kicks.
This Breakdown is not just a quick reiteration of factual information because Johnson has thrown his opinions in the mix. As to your point, I don't see many people enjoying these Breakdown columns enough to comment and otherwise engage. And yes, it's true there are far more readers than people who comment etc. etc.
Did you read the conversation after my previous review? To me a lack of social grace online or offline is to not put your hand up when you're so clearly wrong and say as much. I did not mean to actually be an example of this in the comments, and I offer a second round of bowing and scraping apologies.
- Temple
41 - Tom Johnson
Temple, once again, I never once said I was an expert, or even really cared about the genre. I pointed that out in the my piece. I still remain in that same position - not an expert, don't care to be. To point out this Dethklok album doesn't require expertise - it was simply a "hey, look, 'light death metal.'" Brian got needlessly upset about a slight to the genre I made with my opinion of it. I'm allowed to have my opinion - it will not change no matter what Brian has to say about it. I've stated further up the comment chain how I feel about it, and for some reason he feels that I need to feel otherwise - and I feel otherwise about his feeling that I need to feel otherwise. Are you suggesting that I need to feel otherwise about feeling otherwise about feeling otherwise?
At no point do I attempt a "self-defence of [my] clear ignorance," as you put it. I never once stated any level of expertise. You keep bringing this up, and I keep refuting it. I can only say it so many times in so many ways, but I will do so one more time, bolded, italicized,
and underlined(underlining doesn't work, so just imagine a line under it instead), just to make sure it can't be missed, and from now on I'll just say "refer back to comment #__:I am not an expert in, nor even really care about, the genre that encompasses both death and black metal.
As for the Metheny comment, I'm starting to get the feeling that you were just finding nits to pick. You focus on one little line that simply says "I haven't heard it, but I'm curious," which follows something you completely overlook: the fact that I mention that it's a two-disc remaster with 5 previously unreleased tracks on there. Unless you really didn't read this thorougly, you should know that, too. It's a release primarily aimed at converts, and they know about it from the earlier version they've owned for 15 years (I am an anomaly - not too many newer fans just jump into brand new, expanded re-releases of albums they know little about. I do.) What long-time fans needed to know is what I just listed above - two discs, 5 extra tracks. The rest was just being, you know, "conversational." Jesus.
If you're going to hold up some kind of invisible, unknowable standard that needs to be met, I expect to see you tearing holes in every single post on BC from now on. If one person has to live up to some ridiculous, nebulous, and meaningless standard, then everyone else does too. Are you applying for the title of Content Czar, Temple?
42 - Brian aka Guppusmaximus
Tom, if you want to get all precise & shite about what took place then I all I did was ask you:
excerpt:"but it's actually decent music, which is a lot more than can be said about many death metal bands' music."
Like who?? <-See, I asked you to give an example to back up your statement.
Then you try to make my criticism of your broad statement,about a genre you don't care about(refer back to comment #41), and my own opinion about the album out to look like I'm a loose cannon. All the while,claiming that you are no expert and that this style of music is ridiculous & a joke. So, if you feel that way, then I asked how your review/breakdown/light-shining could be considered a tool to open the doors to a genre that " the 99% of people who think even "melodic death metal" still sounds like just plain ol' death metal."
Hell, I never claimed to be an expert as there are a ton, and I mean A TON, of Death Metal bands that have the talent & musicianship that I don't find out about until I go on a search for particular band. SO, if that's what it is like for me, then I ask you (again):
"So, how can you say that this sounds decent compared to most?"
43 - Andrew
As that not so in my opinion.. In general, on the fan...