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In Reply to: RE: By their fruits ye shall know them... . posted by John Marks on December 10, 2014 at 09:12:02
Usefulness yes and it includes a lot of things not mentioned anywhere (yet, it may change) in this thread. Of course "we" want to know primarily about the performance of a piece of gear and how it stacks up to the competition both in and out of its price range. At least I want that.
As to reviewing music I feel it is so personal I never read music reviews. Let me rephrase that, I don't seek out music reviews, if it is front of my face I might read it. Even if I found a reviewer that seems to like a lot of what I like I would not seek out his or her writing today where the net will provide the tune or at least a snippet for me to evaluate. I've often said music is far too personal like choosing a mate, a meal or a bottle of wine. I don't think anything near perfect pitch is required to review music, but gear I think does require a very good ear at a minimum. Rather than a music review I'd rather see or hear a list of new releases so I know what's out there.
I'm going to dissect this next section:
""I think that an audio reviewer has to have ethics and a certain amount of humility, be capable of turning in good prose on time, and have a greater-than average awareness of the history of audio (both technology and its place in society) and understanding of basic audio engineering.""
1) "I think that an audio reviewer has to have ethics and a certain amount of humility" - yep, that's very good
2) " be capable of turning in good prose on time" -I don't read for writing prowess I read for information. Too often a review(er) gets lost in writing technique and loses grip of the real reason it was written: to inform us about something. Just my opinion, prose is defined as ORDINARY speech or writing. I almost never see that.
3) "and have a greater-than average awareness of the history of audio (both technology and its place in society) and understanding of basic audio engineering." - Sure, that will help too.
Those are very good criteria John.
So I'm not picking on John at all, just citing some differences in the way I see it. Most reviews of both gear and music have a gasbag factor to me where they are "dressed up", overwritten or too wordy. (perhaps like my post)They have given us terms and phrases that are often very easy to draw laughter. We've had threads on that very subject.
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Follow Ups:
Hi-
Beau Brummel was supposed to have coined the phrase, "If you notice a man's clothes, he is not well-dressed."
My idea of great prose style is that the prose does not seem to have a "style." I try to write in order to inform. And if I can get that done, not much else matters (assuming that my observations are worth learning about).
I felt good the other day when a company whose product I recommended asked JA for permission to quote from my write-up; to my surprise they made it the first thing you see on their home page:
"This totally charming, petite, retro timekeeper, only 6.75" wide by 3" high by 2" deep and weighing just 13oz, is the perfect gift for the tube lover in your life—or for anyone who delights in the mid-century design style exemplified by the Eames molded-fiberglass chair and the Nelson Ball Clock."
# # #
While there is a personal opinion of mine in there, it is my opinion about how other people (potential gift recipients) would react and not a statement about my personal emotions. I think that readers can figure out for themselves that I approve of the product and its value proposition by the mere fact of its inclusion on the list.
But purging earlier drafts of fluff, jargon, and self-referential asides is work. I agree that many audio writers seem to think that they have to speak in a code.
As far as music reviews go, we will have to agree to disagree. "Personal reactions" are great, but I think that there is a little bit of Romantic-Era "Noble Savage" behind the idea that one should just approach a work of art with no information that might form preconceived notions. Over the past several decades I have relied upon the educational aspect of reading classical reviews by great classical reviewers such as Harris Goldsmith (RIP).
For example, if it has never been pointed out to you that Debussy was gently making fun of Wagner's pretentiousness in Debussy's "Children's Corner Suite," but you catch that anyway, my hat is off to you, because I needed that to be pointed out to me--even though it is painfully obvious once you know what to listen for!
The essence of "Cultural Literacy" is to be aware of the source materials (like "Tristan") that "content creators" (like Debussy) not only use, but for the most part assume that their audiences will recognize.
In my view, for classical music, recording reviews are a huge trove of that kind of information. Assuming a very high level of professionalism, of course, and not just a recital of "How this recording made ME 'feel'. " There's an objective world out there, and too much audio writing makes subjectivity the only virtue. (While also usually proclaiming that all subjective reactions are equally valid. But that's another can of worms.)
ATB,
JM
Classical music is a different animal and I should have pointed that out. It is because it is not a category I use much at all. When you have tens to perhaps hundreds of different renditions and interpretations of the same piece of music over time, there is value in detailed discussions of these performances more so than most other genres. Thanks for pointing that out. Another good thread for me to learn something. Sometimes it is so hard to strep back and look through a more general eye than my own filtered view.
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