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ivan@stellysee.de
| From | "bob" <segarini@sympatico.ca> |
| Subject | Re: What was going on in the '70s? |
| Date | Mon, 27 Oct 2003 12:00:37 -0500 |
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Knowing a critic's taste is the only way to decipher what the hell they're
saying.
I always avoid bands whose reviews use the words, "high-energy", "edgy", and
"raw", as selling points.
I avoid the suggestions of Critics who adore NIN, Puddle Of Nickel Creed,
and anything that uses "4" for "for", "2" for "to", "too", or "two", or uses
a misspelled word as a name for their band, MC, DJ, or "crew"...
Know your critic's taste, and you can avoid what some of them recommend,
embrace what some of them loathe, and usually come up on the right side of
your own, individual taste.
You know what they say:
Those that can, do
Those that can't, criticize
bob
----- Original Message -----
From: <jim@groovedisques.com>
> > So my question, for those who were really around then -- > what was up
with that? Did you think the critics were
> > nuts? Did it affect your buying habits, and you had to
> > come back later and get this good stuff?
>
> I don't think there's a blanket answer to this question. It's no different
than it is today: critics go ga-ga over one band, which I may or may not
like, and they disregard another band, which I may or may not like. I didn't
need critics to tell me anything about the soft-rock of America, Bread, et
al: I had to hear that crap everytime I turned on the radio. OK, they had a
nice tune now and then, but "Ventura Highway"? Come on! Critics could beat
up on them all they wanted as far as I cared, and it didn't slow down the
millions of albums they were selling. On the other hand, I, like the critics
of the time, didn't see the light on Led Zeppelin until years after they'd
dissolved, so yeah, we were nuts on that one.
>
> I do appreciate the work of critics in trying to sell me on a less-popular
band, not that I agree with them. I remember reading raves in my beloved
copies of Trouser Press about Sparks, for instance, and when I finally
tracked down A Woofer in Tweeter's Clothing and Kimono My House (I think
they were the titles), I remember thinking, "This is like Queen without the
rocking bits!" (Not that I was ever a big Queen fan with the rocking bits.)
On the other hand, I tracked down many a fine underpublicized album thanks
to critics, so who am I to complain.
>
> Jim
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