A little help from the experts?

[General Zod]

I don't give a 3.5 or above unless I actually enjoyed something about the music, and therefore believe it deserves a 3.5 or above.

See, I really like getting free stuff and I want it to keep coming.... I hate assigning a star rating in my reviews and wish I could omit that part, but so far I've never gone below 3.5 out of 5, and if I felt like I wanted to go lower than that I'd probably tell the necessary parties that I'd like to decline writing that review.

The issue I take with your system, and I believe it's the same issue AngraRules takes as well, is you made it sound like you give out good ratings because you want the free stuff to keep coming. Perhaps this isn't what you meant, but it is what you wrote.

I don't give a 4.5 or 5 unless I loved it.

You missed my point. I wasn't suggesting you give out 4.5s to music unless you love it. My point was, if you never rate anything less than 3.5, a 4.5 becomes less impressive. Think of it this way... if you're in a class, and everyone in the class got a D, and you got an A, that would be very impressive. If everyone in the class got a B, and you got an A, that's far less impressive. By never rating anything below a 3.5, you're undercutting the great releases.

 

[General Zod]

I thought I was on Blabbermouth until I looked at the background and realized I was in the ProgPower forum.

If no one has threatened to forcibly sodomize another poster, it's not a Blabbermouth thread.

 

[dtguitarfan]

I hear you General Zod, now please hear me: I firmly believe that with Progressive Metal, you're dealing with a class of geniuses. Very rarely does anything in the genre really deserve less than a 3.5. Wanna know something that did go lower for me? Pain of Salvation. The last three albums have gotten progressively worse, and I gave Road Salt 2 a 2 or maybe 2.5. But even then, it's not really that bad, it's just that I know they have so much more potential. Really the only thing that truly deserves 2.5, 2, 1.5 and lower is stuff like Katy Perry and Bieber, in my honest opinion.

Yes, I like getting the freebies and getting them earlier than everyone else can. I don't get paid a cent to do what I do so why else would I do it? Because I just LOVE to write? Ha!

So sue me.

 

[AngraRULES]

I firmly believe that with Progressive Metal, you're dealing with a class of geniuses. Very rarely does anything in the genre really deserve less than a 3.5.

You're a fanboy then, which means your reviews (especially in progressive metal) are purely biased and offer zero credibility.

Yes, I like getting the freebies and getting them earlier than everyone else can. I don't get paid a cent to do what I do so why else would I do it? Because I just LOVE to write? Ha!

So sue me.

Out of curiosity, which webzines/websites do you write for? I'd love to read one of your reviews, actually...

EDIT: Nevermind. Found it.

 

[nailz]

I hear you General Zod, now please hear me: I firmly believe that with Progressive Metal, you're dealing with a class of geniuses.

Oh for fucks sake. Fucking Progsnobs, man. Get the fuck over it.

 

[imaskinbeater]

If no one has threatened to forcibly sodomize another poster, it's not a Blabbermouth thread.

 

[Claus / Intromental]

Also, I should add, there are many Seventh Wonder fans in this forum, including the moderators, and you're not making any friends by trashing them. You can promote the bands you like very easily without doing so.

As Manticora's manager I could "moderate" your ass all the way out of here ... just saying.

c.

PS: before you accuse me of hating SW, let me tell you that I used to manage them too ...

 

[mitchgx]

I hear you General Zod, now please hear me: I firmly believe that with Progressive Metal, you're dealing with a class of geniuses. Very rarely does anything in the genre really deserve less than a 3.5.

JFC. This is one of the most ridiculous things I've ever read on this forum.

Yes, I like getting the freebies and getting them earlier than everyone else can. I don't get paid a cent to do what I do so why else would I do it? Because I just LOVE to write? Ha!

Would you like a shovel so you can keep burying yourself deeper?


Now, what was this thread originally about again? Oh yeah, some guy was looking for help from the experts! Looks like most of them have exited the building.

 

[dtguitarfan]

Thanks for the shitstorm guys. There are plenty of things you could get pissed off at, such as...oh...world hunger...racism...wars...but you...heh heh...you hate that a guy doesn't want to be overly negative about music. That's what pisses you off.

 

[nailz]

People are mad because you're everything that makes the music industry a joke, and for some of these people, it's their livelyhood and income.

 

[Justin G]

Yes, I like getting the freebies and getting them earlier than everyone else can. I don't get paid a cent to do what I do so why else would I do it? Because I just LOVE to write? Ha!

YES. You do it because you love the music enough to put pen to paper (electronically, of course). If there's a motive more important to you than that, you shouldn't be reviewing at all.

I tried to walk away, I really did.

 

[General Zod]

I firmly believe that with Progressive Metal, you're dealing with a class of geniuses. Very rarely does anything in the genre really deserve less than a 3.5.

Let's say you're right... all Progressive Metal musicians are geniuses. Than "genius" is the norm. The norm is the average. And average, on a scale of 1 - 5, is a 3.

So, I do understand what you're saying, I simply disagree.

So sue me.

I'm not the litigious type. Besides, if being wrong was a crime, everyone but me would be incarcerated.

 

[dcowboys311]

People are mad because you're everything that makes the music industry a joke, and for some of these people, it's their livelyhood and income.

Hmm. I thought after time and time being discussed on this board, things like unwillingness to adapt, poor promoters/attendees, oversaturation, etc were the things that made the music industry a joke. Not reviewers using 3 numbers.

A friend posted this picture to Facebook a few weeks ago that's pretty relevant. But it talks about video games. I guess reviewers there are the reason the gaming industry is a joke, too. dtguitarfan is hardly a unique, or even uncommon reviewer type for any industry at all.
http://www.fybertech.com/4get/13119661598595.png

You know what happens when I see a review site that I don't like/trust? I don't read it. There's no 'rulebook' that says review sites have to focus on positive and negatives. I sure don't want to waste my time talking about music that I think sucks. That's part of what makes the review world nice -- there's something for everybody. It is possible to try and be objective and notice the good things in music even though you may not particularly be a fan of the style. Well done music is well done music, regardless of the individual's personal taste.

People are smart, kinda, and can see through bullshit. When shit music is constantly getting rated at a 4/5, people will just stop reading reviews.

 

[dtguitarfan]

Thank you, dcowboys311 - you gonna be at the festival? I think I'll buy ya a beer if you are.

 

[dtguitarfan]

Also, I'd like to add, after looking at the scale image, that for me, 3 (right in the middle) is a "barely passing grade" and anything below is a failure. And if you are objective, then there really shouldn't be a lot of failures in the music you listen to... unless you suck at finding music.

I'd probably give Katy Perry's latest a failings grade, but since I already know that I'm never gonna listen to it now, unless I'm sado-masochistic...

 

[AngraRULES]

And if you are objective, then there really shouldn't be a lot of failures in the music you listen to... unless you suck at finding music.

You're not objective in your reviews. You can't separate your fanboyism from facts.

If Seventh Wonder wrote an awful album, you would still give them a good grade because you love the band so much.

A review is a personal opinion, but it can still be objective and factual. When you tell me that you choose to not include the negative facts in the review because you want to be positive about it and feel bad giving them any criticism, that's not being objective or fair.

I'd probably give Katy Perry's latest a failings grade, but since I already know that I'm never gonna listen to it now, unless I'm sado-masochistic...

See? You've just proven my point.

 

[dtguitarfan]

You're not objective in your reviews. You can't separate your fanboyism from facts.

If Seventh Wonder wrote an awful album, you would still give them a good grade because you love the band so much.

A review is a personal opinion, but it can still be objective and factual. When you tell me that you choose to not include the negative facts in the review because you want to be positive about it and feel bad giving them any criticism, that's not being objective or fair.



See? You've just proven my point.

Oh, but I have given a Seventh Wonder album a bad grade - the first one. Pain of Salvation was a band I was a fan of, and the last three albums changed that for me. You may not have had a chance to read my statement from the other thread, but one of the reasons I haven't gone below 3.5 for the site that is sending me promos is that I really haven't written a lot of reviews for them yet, and on top of that I usually have five or so albums to choose from, so naturally I'm going to gravitate towards reviewing one that I like. When I talk about being courteous and professional I'm talking about the language I use in my review. I reviewed an album once that I felt had some production problems. In my review I explained that the music was well written, fun to listen to, nice style, etc., and I noticed some production problems, which I outlined.

You are really blowing this out of proportion and needlessly demonizing me and I don't appreciate it. My statements have been wildly misinterpreted.

Please try to keep in mind that I am not paid, I started writing reviews just to try to spread the word about some good bands, and when I started to get to the point where I was feeling tired of doing that for no personal gain whatsoever I was contacted by another site asking if I'd write for them, and because they offered promos it kept me going at it.

 

[nailz]

A friend posted this picture to Facebook a few weeks ago that's pretty relevant. But it talks about video games. I guess reviewers there are the reason the gaming industry is a joke, too. dtguitarfan is hardly a unique, or even uncommon reviewer type for any industry at all.
http://www.fybertech.com/4get/13119661598595.png

That's why that part of the gaming industry is a joke, yes. It's also why no game out there has a chance to sell itself without massive PR or a huge company behind it. When you had reviews that were open an honest, small market games getting "HOLY SHIT THIS GAME IS A GEM we rate it an 8.5!" and large market games getting "This game is a 5. Buy it, play it, enjoy it, but don't expect too much."

and because they offered promos it kept me going at it.

Reviews used to actually mean something. Besides, this guy isn't doing it to be a creditable reviewer, he's doing it for free gear. This is a moo point. ... like a cow's opinion, it doesn't matter.

 

[dtguitarfan]

You're really missing the point, nailz. On video games:
One guy loves bloody shoot 'em up games. He buys the latest spongebob game, hates it, goes on the internet and raves about how much it suuuuuuuuucks!!!!
Another guys is given a promo copy of spongebob, and asked to write a review. Spongebob is not really his thing, but because he got free gear he tries to be objective and put himself in a kid's shoes, and in doing so, actually finds himself enjoying the game and writes a nice review as a result.

See the difference? Probably not, because you're committed to trolling at this point, but whatever.

 

[PureXul]

I am not paid

they offered promos it kept me going at it.

Compensation is compensation, whether it's money or music.