How do you tell if a piece of music is good or not? I have my own tastes, but I can't explain them in any definite words, and I can't back it up with anything beyond "it sounds good/bad to my ears." I read reviews, and the reasons they choose seems really arbitrary and sometimes I wonder if we even listened to the same music. I don't understand how music criticism is supposed to work.
I'm beginning to learn music theory, and it's neat and all, but I don't see how this tells me if music is good or bad, and I never see reviewers and common music listeners talk about theory anyway. It seems like something just for musicians to make music.
This. Art isn't fucking math or science. The beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Are you by chance autistic, OP?
Ryan Campbell
do you like the song user?
Blake Garcia
If i like something its cool if i dont its shit end of story
Brandon Garcia
Music taste is subjective user, don't let scaruffi and 20 y/o rym trans tell you otherwise. A good review explain the album and have just a little bit of opinion, like for example let's review a noise record: "the noise sounds metallic and despicts the context that revolves the record". If you want to review you'll want to describe the album in your own words, and then make a judgement if the record does it good or bad. I don't review albums but writing it's another subject (even if it's about music), and you should tell if a piece of music is good or not if the piece in question match or not your experience, making it a good or bad experience. You can see this on many reviewers having their own taste and reviewing based on their own points of view, like scaruffi and fantano. The more you listen to music, the more you find music you like and develop a taste of your own.
Julian Kelly
music theory is not really all. in my opinion just listen to a lot of stuff and after a while you just kind of feel if an album is better produced as others. what's also important for me is if the album feels like an album and not just a bunch of songs put together on an album. the songs have to flow and fit together. an album composed of simple songs that just manage to convey emotion to the listener is most of the times better than an album of emotionless guitar wankery or super technical, but kind of robotic music that doesn't really resonate with the person listening.
also music criticism is mostly bullshit because they all have their preferences which influences their reviews and like you said the reviews mostly tell you nothing about why the reviewer felt it was better than another album.
Jose Myers
>Are you by chance autistic, OP?
I might be. Teachers often told my parents that I might be autistic and kept telling my parents to take me to a professional (my school didn't have a psychologist or anything) but they never did. Would curing my autism help me know if music is good or bad?
Easton Cruz
Music is subjective, but criticism comes from finding artful, articulate, and accurate ways of describing the music and explaining why you like or don't like it. Yes, this is difficult. And there are a lot of shit critics out there (ones who write like how you describe) who do not understand this whatsoever. I've met people who are supposedly super into music who are completely incapable of discussing it, one person who, when I asked why they don't like Death Grips said "well I like Dälek..." as if that explained anything at all. If you love an album, you should be able to describe why you love it I feel... for me, my favorite albums are all ones I could rave about on and on to anyone nearby, explaining why I think it's so genius. Similarly, if I really dislike something, I feel I should be able to explain what about it revolts me.
Music critics are like lawyers, they present their case to the judge (in this metaphor, you) as to why the music is good or not good. A good critic will present an in articulate and insightful argument as to why the music is either good or not good... and you can then listen to it yourself to see if you agree with them or not.
What disappoints me most about music criticism nowadays is that it has lost it's passion... music to me is about ecstasy. I listen to music because, on a very base level, it makes me feel good. I think the ecstasy in music writing has gone... people are so afraid of writing that a piece of music makes them feel good anymore for fear of being uncool... a good critic should be smart and honest.
Julian Torres
well spoken user, i agree with you with what you said about people fearing to create a piece of music that may not be "popular" or well received, what matters is that you like it, unless you are trying to sell it of course. i feel that this sentiment is rather prevalent in at least in northern europe, everyone's so afraid to stick out or be different.
Zachary Nelson
>my favorite albums are all ones I could rave about on and on to anyone nearby, explaining why I think it's so genius.
if you have the time, could you please pick a favorite album of yours and explain why you like it? I want to know what it's like, hearing about an album like that.
Asher Bennett
how is it possible that you do not have your own taste? there has never been any artist or band that, for lack of a better word, you loved?
Jaxon Mitchell
I said in OP I have my tastes. I can tell you artists and genres I like and dislike, but I don't know why. They just sound good or bad to my ears.
Jeremiah Barnes
ah, excuse me, thanks
Michael Baker
sometimes all you need is "it sounds good/bad to my ears".
With regards to music theory, its more about how the band/artists implements the aspects of music theory into the music. Other than that I have no idea. I mean I enjoy some AC/DC songs and lord knows they aren't the most complex when it comes to music theory. I suppose, user, that you just like what you like, and what you like is good.
This. Yea Forums is abhorrent at describing and discussing music because all the majority ever listen to is uninteresting pop music and their mastery of instruments and performance goes as far as knowing how to play guitar tabs and messing around with your preferred DAW.
Nolan Mitchell
Alright, on Trans Europe Express by Kraftwerk then. I believe this album presents a brilliant sociopolitical critique, essentially displaying a group of young Germans who grew up in a country that had had its art history completely destroyed extending a hand out to the rest of Europe. Already in the artwork of the album, you see how the group portray themselves as robots. The robot is itself exists with no inherent identity, no nationality. The idea of a band of robots as a metaphor for a generation who grew up with no artistic history or national pride, while simultaneously playing on stereotypes of germans as cold and robotic, introducing irony to the deutschland, is pretty genius in my eyes. Read any interviews with the band from the era (the Lester Bangs one is a personal fav) and you can see they always made a point to express their national pride. This was essentially what all of Krautrock was about in general - interviews with Can will tell you the same thing. The robot thing extends beyond a gimmick as well, as their literal "robotizing" of traditional rock and pop rhythms is what made them so unique and influential. The entire album explores these themes. Europe endless - extending a hand towards the rest of europe - at the same time there is a surrealist bent to the lyrics that makes you wonder if it's all a fantasy or a real desirable place. Hall of mirrors - the man represents Germany, who finds himself "distorted" by looking in a mirror = extreme nationalism. The band now represents germany living "with the echoes of himself" - can't reject their history, but they are moving on. Showroom dummies - germans were very much looked at through a rifle scope still in this time, they were "on display" so to speak. The song shows the bands desire to break free of this and go dance with everyone else. I'm not gonna go through every song but you get the idea. 1/2
Levi Perry
music theory is for autists, and all autists have shit taste
Caleb Carter
Finally, examine the duality of the side B title track jam... the potential of technology to unite us (celebrating the TEE, one of the first truly transnational railways... it was actually not completely operational in a very big scope when the album was made... their choice to celebrate it is very deliberate) but also the technophobia of the band as the Nazi party was VERY technologically oriented and advanced as well. Finally, it ends on a surreal motif, a return to the melody from the first track... what does it mean? Is it a hope for future? Was it all a dream??
Ultimately I think TEE is one of the most complete works of art ever assembled and the greatest political commentary in music ever. It's a timeless masterpiece
Christian Bell
t. 30 IQ autist.
James Green
not bad, that's a pretty good synthesis of the themes presented both on a lyrical and an aesthetic level, how would you say those same themes are highlighted or expressed in the composition/instrumentation of the album itself?
Daniel Diaz
99.999% of music critics are complete hacks, and the 0.001% that aren't are actually, you know, making music.
Is this bait, or some sort of pasta? Album artwork, lyrics, political themes, and "aesthetic" aren't music. How is it possible to type so much about an album and not even mention music.
Anthony Stewart
>Album artwork, lyrics, political themes, and "aesthetic" aren't music
OP here. I thought the same thing. I'm not taking that as a huge negative though. Do I really have to study the politics and artwork that much? Maybe that's why I can never talk about music well. I don't really care for those things.
Andrew King
Yes and scientifically constructed music sounds boring and soulless.
Aaron Perez
Nah, I make music and put it out there instead of dancing about architecture. I kind of admire the time you took to write all that, but it comes off as pretentious despite the few nuggets of actual genuine knowledge scattered within.
Austin Fisher
>do i really have to think and take the time to analyze things in order to form an opinion yes
In general I view the album musically as the realization of german music innovations in the 70s. Essentially combining the krautrock, "motorik" groove with the synth melodies of Berlin school, progressive electronic pioneers. The minimalism is important - playing on stereotypes of Germans as very efficient, they do what they have to do with as little as possible - it's not a lush album by any means. For the most part, I feel like the music matches the themes perfectly of the respective songs. The sprawling, sunny synths of Europe Endless - perfect for a song about a desire for a continent united and unlimited - it sounds like it could go on forever. Hall of mirrors is much more sinister, fitting for a song about Germany's spotted history. I feel like people fail to speak on how psychedelic this album is - it's really fucking trippy. Listen to the first minute of hall of mirrors, holy fuck. The album is a cracked, surrealist vision - the band, your possibly sinister hosts in a journey towards the future. Almost every song features an extended synth solo, and the entire second half of the LP is basically a psych jam played solely with synthesizers. Showroom dummies starts off with "Eins Zwei Drei Vier" - a supposed reference to the ramones. The band references other european acts later on (bowie and iggy) - another instance of reaching out to the rest of europe. I find it very interesting how in the second side jam, the music is extremely sinister. They underscore their celebration of technology with a noted technophobia through this minor key melody - referencing a fear of returning to a society that used technology for evil.
John Reyes
Album art has nothing to do with the music, I’m tired of this meme.
John Flores
It's a review of the album dickwad, it's a complete piece of art and all facets can be considered. A good record will have so much to talk about that you shouldn't have to resort to "there is a guitar solo on track 2, it was pretty cool" What is the artist trying to say with their music? That's what I'm interested in. Furthermore, there is no right or wrong way to review an album. If i can get you to think about the album in a way you haven't before, and convince you to listen to it or reconsider it, I've done my job.
You don't HAVE to do anything. Just think about the art you are consuming a little bit and communicate to other people about it. It really isn't hard.
I didn't respond to you, but I just want to say that criticizing something as "pretentious" is lazy and says next to nothing. In a thread about criticism, it's ironic that you would throw out such a lazy and unthoughtful critique
Logan Harris
Autism isnt really curable– you are who you are although with a psychologist you can learn some stuff and get some help
Adrian Nelson
You say this thread is about music criticism. I say this thread is more about developing taste and curating your own music collection. Also giving OP user the inner fortitude to express like or dislike of something. The most important takeaway here is that you can listen to whatever the fuck you want to and you don't have to apologize for it. If you like it, listen to it. I'm a grown ass man and nobody can ever tell me that Under the Sea from The Little Mermaid isn't one of the greatest pop songs ever written. Or make me feel bad for liking it. You have the power and I believe in you, user.
If you like it, there is a 99% chance that it is not good at all. If I like it, there is a 100% chance that it is good.
Matthew Edwards
>If i can convince you to listen to it, I've done my job.
What's the point of listening to it when the music is apparently not even worth mentioning in a review?
Wyatt Moore
I don't understand what you mean when you say I didn't talk about the music. Yes, I didn't mention the specific compositions, but I was literally talking about what the songs were about... what the LITERAL MUSIC IS ABOUT. And yet somehow that doesn't qualify as talking about the music? Are you retarded?
If you want someone to tell you "the album has mostly synthesizers" then there are plenty of people who can do that for you. I personally do not find that interesting.
