Music Review
Music reviews help people know whether or not a CD is worth buying, explain the meaning behind the songs and gives a professional’s opinion of the music itself. That being said there are many different ways that music critics go about reviewing music, some do not hold anything back, while others take a more neutral stance. This raises the question what makes a good music review? To answer this question, I looked at a few music review sources online. The first was http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews, this is an online version of the Rolling Stone magazine available in print at stores. The second site I visited was http://www.blender.com/guide/rArchive.aspx?itype=1&sb=new. This is also the online version of a popular magazine. The third site I visited was http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/music/cl-powers-sg,1,3671619.storygallery. These reviews were authored by Ann Powers a female lead pop music critics.
What makes a good music review?
In my opinion a good music review does exactly that, reviews the music. They don’t “rip the artist a new one� they evaluate the music. A good music review needs to come from a neutral stand point. Looking at the music for what it is (not for what its not) and comparing that to other things so that the reader will understand what the album is all about. Music critics also need to be neutral when it comes to genre. This is difficult to do because naturally people are drawn to what they like and repelled from what they don’t like musically speaking. However a music critic needs to understand that even if they personally do not like the genre, there are people out there who do like it and they deserve to have a review that gives them information about whatever music they may buy. Going along with “not ripping the artist a new one,� I think that a good music review values the artist for who they are as people and the efforts they have put into their music. The music industry is a very difficult one to get into and even more difficult one to stay in, knowing that I think that artists deserve respect when critics are reviewing their music. As a consumer it is very difficult to read reviews that really lay into the artist, because I think of artists as people and people do not deserve to be put down. Looking at a few of the reviews at http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews, I really liked that the critiques uses the artists own lyrics to make their points about themes and styles of the album. It made me feel like the critic new what they were doing and they weren’t just making things up. In my opinion Rolling Stone did a better job with their music reviews than did Blender. I really got the feeling the Rolling Stone was reviewing the music (not just the artist) and they came from a neutral view point. I felt like the reviews on the Rolling Stone site were actually helpful, they gave positives as well as the not so positives. The Blender site http://www.blender.com/guide/rArchive.aspx?itype=1&sb=new on the other hand felt more negative. I read a review on the artist 3 Doors Down (their self titled CD) and it really made the CD sound awful. They did not give any examples of lyrics or content that made the CD so bad, which made me question the professionalism of the review. Personally I have listened to the CD and liked it, so I guess my taste is just bad. These two sites really made me see that there are differences in the ways in which music critics go about reviewing music. While it was hard to compare Ann Powers’ reviews to the highly commercial Rolling Stone and Blender sites because they did not review the same music (or the amount of music), I liked Ann’s reviews because they were also from the more neutral stand point. She gave a lot of background information, which helped me understand the artist and the music.
My Music Review
Linkin Park’s third album “Minutes to Midnight� with new producers Rick Rubin and Mike Shinoda takes what you know about Linkin Park and cranks it to the max. The band spent a lot of time searching for the perfect sound for this album and they have reached it. Their sound is a mix of alternative rock, pop and techno. This sound will make just about everyone happy. The musical tracks on the songs are hardcore, yet catchy. Even better than the music are the lyrics. The songs are not just a bunch of music they relay a message. “Hands Held High� and “The Little Things Give You Away� express the bands feelings on the Iraq War, the reaction to hurricane Katrina and President George W. Bush. Lyrics from the song “Hands Held High:� “the rich wage war, but it’s the poor who die� challenge people to think about what is really happening in the Iraq War and to look for patterns such as this. Lyrics from “The Little Things Give You Away:� “all you ever wanted was someone to truly look up to you and six feet underwater, I do� voice the opinions of many in New Orleans and challenge people to think about how the disaster was handled. “What I’ve done� is a soldier’s refection of what he/she has done in the name of war. The main chorus of the songs says “what I’ve done, I’ll face myself to cross out what I’ve become, erase myself and let go of what I’ve done.� The music video that accompanies the songs really does a good job of relaying the message of the lyrics. These songs would be perfect to use in the classroom for lyric analysis. The best thing is that students are probably already familiar with the band and the songs, but they probably never taken the time to actually listen to the words and connect to the meaning. Connecting the songs from this album to US History/current events will help students feel more connected to the songs as well as the lesson. Every time a student hears one of these songs on the radio, they will think of the lyrical analysis they did in class. Who knows they may even share what they’ve learned with a friend! One thing to watch out for however, when using this album in the classroom is the explicit language. Linkin Park feels the need to sprinkle a few “F-Bombs� in their lyrics, so be sure to use the edited version. If you like music that not only sounds good, but also has meaning to it’s lyrics, you will like this album. A teacher who uses this album in the classroom will validate popular music as a source of information to the students and more over create a bond with the students. However, it is also important to realize that Linkin Park's take on current events is only 1 opinion. It is a more liberal view on the issues and this should be made known to the students. I good idea would to balance this more liberal point of view with a more conservative persective.
When all is said and done, this is a great album. Everyone should be allowed to vioce his/her opinion on the World and this is Linkin Park's version. Whether or not you agree with the lyrics is up to you (and hoepfully your students).