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hey guys, I started a blog that gives artists some recognition and Constructive Criticism
http://ravelandshostakovich.blogspot.co … views.html
email me your album/EP/major release (2/3 person collabs accepted, nothing larger): [email protected]
make the topic "[artist name goes here] album review"
Last edited by Monovfox (Jan 2, 2012 10:20 am)
You only reviewing albums? I mean, if that's the case I'll still have something ready pretty soon, would love to hear the opinion of someone with classical pedigree on this thing.
Also this is a cool idea 
thanks 
(EPs count as albums), though you'll probably want your most recent work.
Also, expect criticism, I'm tired of seeing "happy sunshine" blogs (I know those are needed to promote artists, but I view myself as more of a rater of an unbiased rater of works)
I'm not too high on the pedigree scale, I've had just two premiers, and am about to have an already played piece done with a college orchestra, and another played by a college chamber group.
Last edited by Monovfox (Jan 2, 2012 10:19 am)
first review (for Psifork) is up!
I'm not too high on the pedigree scale, I've had just two premiers, and am about to have an already played piece done with a college orchestra, and another played by a college chamber group.
More classical pedigree than I'll ever have, that's for sure!
I like the way you review (i.e. knowledgeably but never like a music snob 
), and the references to classical pieces. I mean, that's what everyone's up against when they write ANYTHING. Will be checking this out more often and hopefully sending some of my stuff through soon
I'm not pitting them against Beethoven (yet, but now I have an excellent idea about pitting chiptuners are up to the challenge to have a "battle" with a famous composer, IE. me comparing the two styles and declaring a winner )
Thanks, I found it really hard to not come off snobby, the line is thin.
Remember, the composers are just reference for technique. I would never dare compare people to a composer unless I saw intense similarity.
Last edited by Monovfox (Jan 2, 2012 1:27 pm)
thanks, keep the albums coming. I love reviewing and giving advice, it helps everyone in the end.
alright, whoever had the bright idea to sign me up for some POS dating sight. Very funny, you almost make me want to give out your IP.
A review of VCMG:
I like this blog, good work! However, I'm not sure what to make of this and I'd love it if you would expand on it:
I feel like the chiptunes scene has been lacking much in quality since I entered. In our lives we are constantly bombarded by "DATA CHIP EXTREMECORE1337", "Avante-Garde Chip pop" (note to self, now is not the time to rip on Jay Tholen), and stuff that isn't (according to myself) even chiptune (Sorry, Je Mapelle, you're guilty.)
i.e. you suggest an issue with quality, but then give whole "genres" (which both surely include quality music) as a specific issue. Would you be willing to explain your reasoning?
While you're at it, please DON'T expand on the issue of "stuff that isn't...even chiptune" - that's a can of worms not worth opening. 
Also, you're from SF - do you go to conservatory, or what? We probably know some people in common, wouldn't surprise me.
You're doing some good work here. Anyone that's concerned with the "correct" application of music theory should definitely be reading this blog!
I'm with kineticturtle on the confusing opening paragraph, tho. I'm constantly looking for "DATA CHIP EXTREMECORE1337" and honestly I find much less of it than I would hope.
Last edited by egr (Jan 4, 2012 8:09 pm)
I like the rigorous use of music theory in the criticism, but I don't think you reeeeeally need those composer references, especially considering that the styles of composition vary so differently. I understand that sometimes classical ("art" music) music has the best examples of a particular compositional technique, but it's also quite possible to separate techniques from content, and I would argue that it is actually MORE beneficial to do so when critiquing.
I think that as a critic, it would be better to frame the criticism in terms of what the artist is trying to do and helping him/her succeed at that objective, i.e. finding those compositional techniques in pieces of the same style and demonstrating why it works or doesn't work for the song in question, rather than simply picking a composer and telling the artist to emulate him/her. It may very well be the case that the technique in question was tried and it simply didn't work due to stylistic limitations, medium limitations, etc.
As an example, why is the lack of a cadence at the end of a song a "mistake" (I just picked the first thing I could find)? Sure, in a traditional classical setting a "fade out" would sound kind of stupid, but consider the context: the song is called "Stars and Skies Forever"! Maybe the "lack" of a cadence is actually the presence of the "fading out" compositional technique designed to question the idea of an "ending", which makes sense because it's supposed to go on forever (according to the title)! So I would caution against trying too hard to fit a classical music context on top of a different style, especially because you might miss ACTUAL things to criticize genre-wise.
And that brings me to my last point: I really dislike the idea of a score for a critique. A score would work in something like a consumer review (in which you're telling someone how to spend their money), but in a critique, scores just feel out of place to me, and it's especially apparent in the VCMG review. You spend almost all your words critiquing the lack of a cadence and the misuse of panning, say that everything else is awesome in what might as well be two sentences, and give him a 9.9/10. As a reader, the dissonance is really striking, considering I just spent half my time reading a critique just to end up at an almost perfect score. It would be better to just nix the scores entirely to focus on critique, imho.
But I like what you're doing here and more blogs/sites doing critique like this can only be a good thing! So keep it up and sorry for the essay