[NewMusic] John Zorn gives out the comps but bans reviews

[Matt Davignon]

Personally, I like the practice of reviewing cd's, because getting a
collection of cd reviews helps me see what people are actually getting
from my music.

Honestly I have to admit that I've yet to meet a person who reads
music reviews because they want to know whether a cd is worth
investigating. Instead I've met:
1) People who were involved in making the cd, who are looking for
either the honest opinion of someone who didn't make the cd, or more
likely, blind praise and pull quotes.
2) People who've already made a decision about the disc/band in
question, and are curious whether the reviewer agrees with them.
3) People who are just looking for something (anything) to read as
they eat breakfast.

I don't really follow the appeal for reviews of stand-alone concerts.
It's not like I'm going to have gone to the concert if the reviewer
said the music was good.

Who's been following the whole thing with Maxim and the Black Crows?
It's incredibly amusing - Maxim magazine in their hipsterness gave
their new cd 2.5 out of 5 stars, saying the band hasn't grown at all
and it's more of the same. The band got upset that Maxim hadn't
received a preview copy, and didn't have a chance to actually hear the
album before reviewing it. Bombs were mailed and apologies were
demanded. Apparently Maxim needs to hear the cd first before
announcing that the Black Crows haven't grown in 17 years.... I mean
before publishing blind praise and pull quotes.

Matt

On Wed, Mar 5, 2008 at 1:42 PM, weasel walter <weaselw at juno.com> wrote:
> i think the paradigm of "music criticism" fully deserves criticism back
>  from musicians.
>
>  in the field, pretty much all i see and read right now is a huge amount
>  of hack-work. this disposable, meaningless music writing deserves to be
>  challenged just as much as the writers believe they're challenging the
>  face of music.
>
>  judging by their writing, a lot of music critics seem to think their
>  opinions are way more important than they really are. i will say that
>  they are greatly capable of hurting music, even when they believe they're
>  giving positive reviews. especially in the field of rock writing, most of
>  these people have no business being taken seriously. the majority are
>  egotistical hacks foisting their dumb opinions on the public at the
>  expense of the music.
>
>  kudos to john zorn for fucking with the system. he's one of the few in a
>  position to effectively challange it.
>
>  ww
>
>
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