Music: Do reviews affect your opinion?

[Vault101]

generally if somthing gets terrible reveiws then its a good reason to stay away, with games and movies you can generally tell if its better to just hold onto your money

music however.....well to be honest when I was young I didnt even know music reveiwing was a "thing"

now obviously not all music is eaqual, there are tons of things to take inter consideration...there also the fact that peopel buy less albums generally and usualy is the album as a whole that gets reveiwed

the reason Im singleing out music in particuar is because its much much much MUCH more subjective than other entertainment forms (and spening anytime on the internet could tell you) at least with a movie/game you can generally find some kind of consensus....with music it isnt the case..one persons gold in anothers trash

so essentailly what Im saying is....do you take reveiws into account when it comes to music? are critical reveiws worth anything acording to you?

 

[SillyBear]

Not even one iota. I think music is perhaps the most subjective popular art forum in existence. There is a degree of objectivity in film, books and video games. In music? Objectivity doesn't exist. I like what I like, and a review from the Rolling Stone or Pitchfork doesn't make me think ANYTHING other than "cool story bro".

 

[Ilikemilkshake]

Nope. Unlike games music is easy enough to listen to before you buy it, so really there is literally no point in music reviews unless you're a sheep and cant choose for yourself. Plus reviewers of music almost never tend to be objective, they usually already know if they're going to like or dislike a band/album/gig that they're reviewing so i dont gain any real knowledge from it.

 

[Zyxzy]

Because I possess all the music critical ability of a pop-addicted rock, I generally just go with whomever I trust.

 

[Shadowstar38]

Honestly, you can only trust a music review if the reviewer is a fan of the artist. That way you can get a good view of why the new stuff is bad when they could apprieate the old stuff.

 

[Purple Shrimp]

I tend not to take reviews into account, but if I can find a reviewer who has consistently proved to have similar tastes to me (eg George Starostin), then I'll tend to seek out artists/albums that they recommend highly

 

[jonyboy13]

Tbh, didn't know it really existed. With so much people loving retarded pop music, is there really a point to that?

With Youtube and all the music channels, you can try the music with ease. It's easy to recognize a style that you like so you can just listen to bands with that style, I really don't see a point to reviews.

 

[Dr. Pepper Unlimited]

I don't think I've ever read a music review. I know my tastes better than any reviewer would, so I don't bother with them.

 

[Outright Villainy]

Well I do actually write quite a few music reviews myself, but I'm aware this sort of thing should be taken with a pinch of salt. I don't think a review is enough to go buy an album, not ever, but a review can stimulate discussion, get people aware of an album they might not have heard of or from a band they've forgotten about, or maybe to warn people off of spending their money on a usually dependable band. I try to write more so for albums that I feel are under-appreciated (for the most part anyway, I did review a chili peppers album, and now I can't remember why.)

 

[Darkmantle]

doesn't bother me any. I try to avoid reviews in general

 

[staika]

They review music!? Oh wait I knew that as I used to review music a while back for my friends site. Reviews don't affect what music I like at all because as you said music is very subjective and I already know what type of music I like. Also music is much cheaper than video games and movies so there is not as much of a need to make sure that what music you get is good plus there is always youtube

 

[brunothepig]

Nope. For one thing, as you said it's almost entirely subjective. Production quality, how tight the playing is sure you can judge that. But the music itself, is entirely subjective. Plus if I want to check out a new band I hit youtube. It's incredibly easy to (legally) hear a bands work, far easier than seeing a movie, show or game before buying it.

 

[StriderShinryu]

.. a review can stimulate discussion, get people aware of an album they might not have heard of ..

This is pretty much my stance on music reviews. My opinion on music is never influenced by a review, but I often will dip into music reviews when I'm curious about what others have thought of something I have listened to or if I'm looking for new music.

One issue with music being such a prevalent and subjective art form is that, while it's easy to sample, it's also literally everywhere and it can be hard to nail down. Reviews can be a way of orienting yourself self towards new stuff you may not have listened to or even been aware of otherwise.

 

[Smooth Operator]

I didn't even know people bother with music reviews, never seen one.

I buy music I hear and like, that's pretty much all she wrote.

 

[everythingbeeps]

If Pitchfork gives an album a glowing review, I'm pretty confident I'd hate it. So there's that.

 

[Ironic Pirate]

Sort of. I don't read them for whether it's good enough, I read them for sentences like "incredible double bass drumming" or "incredibly heavy, memorable riffs" etc. And even then I usually listen to it on amazon anyway.

 

[Fooshi]

Music is something that CAN'T be reviewed. It would be like sending an anti-nazi, anti-war and violence-in-movies-reviewer to see Der Untergang and give it a 1 out of 5. Pointless 'cause there's no such thing as a "qualified music expert".