An indie musician friend of mine got a pitchfork review of 5.8 on one album and 8.6 on another. The two records sound about the same to me, very similar yet got this huge disparity in pitchfork ratings. The scathing 5.8 review took a personal hated to the lyrical content and the artist, complaining the love sick songs were too co-dependent, which pissed him off, as if these songs are all autobiographical and requiring a labored psychoanalysis by him rather than just being creative works. Complaints of co-dependency in song lyrics could be directed at most any sad heartbreak song by countless artists but the reviewer acted like this was a new problem in lyrics. He had no criticism of the quality of the music, just didn’t like the subject matter. That’s not a valid review. That would be like giving every gangsta rap record a 3.0 because you’re a law & order type guy and don’t like glorifying street life. In which case, you’re not suited to review the material. Things like this make me think Pitchfork is a joke. What next, a film critic giving Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid one star simply because “I don’t like westerns”?
The lyrics in “I love my canoe”seem inane until you realize it’s a narrative not a lyric. Then it becomes a LOL piece of self-deprecating humor. The lead guitar really caught my attention and the rhythm and percussion provided counterpoint. Thanks, John.
An indie musician friend of mine got a pitchfork review of 5.8 on one album and 8.6 on another. The two records sound about the same to me, very similar yet got this huge disparity in pitchfork ratings. The scathing 5.8 review took a personal hated to the lyrical content and the artist, complaining the love sick songs were too co-dependent, which pissed him off, as if these songs are all autobiographical and requiring a labored psychoanalysis by him rather than just being creative works. Complaints of co-dependency in song lyrics could be directed at most any sad heartbreak song by countless artists but the reviewer acted like this was a new problem in lyrics. He had no criticism of the quality of the music, just didn’t like the subject matter. That’s not a valid review. That would be like giving every gangsta rap record a 3.0 because you’re a law & order type guy and don’t like glorifying street life. In which case, you’re not suited to review the material. Things like this make me think Pitchfork is a joke. What next, a film critic giving Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid one star simply because “I don’t like westerns”?
Would PF have been a success pre-Internet as a print only publication?
The lyrics in “I love my canoe”seem inane until you realize it’s a narrative not a lyric. Then it becomes a LOL piece of self-deprecating humor. The lead guitar really caught my attention and the rhythm and percussion provided counterpoint. Thanks, John.