Reviews discussion

I would prefer that there would not be a "rating" system ... but I can see how so many people that love a top ten of anything would feel the need to see a "rating system" before they would check out a band's review and decide if they want to get or not.

 

I don't listen, or define music, by any of those processes, and my film reviews and the foreign films I go after, are almost always ... the completely unknown ... and the reason why is ... because it gets your "preferences" jaded and one sided and it tends to distort the "ratings".

 

I understand, via Dean's explanation, the need for an open process ... and review ... but, in the end, seeing someone trash the band such and such, and it is not really a review, as much as it is a drunken rant (Dean's idea! -- I only drink water or tea!), it would hurt the over all view and design that the folks that put PA together designed and helped define.

 

Now, if this is just a "fan" site, and everything goes by measures and visits, and sometimes weight ... I only have one concern ... today this, tomorrow something else ... and we will be gone and our work wasted.

 

Which is the reason why I would like some things cleaned up and improved, but the ratings, IN MY BOOK, are NOT an issue! I really think they are minor ... however, ANY reviewer that ranked something 1 or 0 would probably get ... why did you bother? Trying to stop the world from spinning? I would prefer that we were honorable enough to only review the things that we love, and if someone asks, I would say ... I don't dislike some stuff by Elton John, but it is not my preference to review it!

 

I would think that a concensus and better clarity and a CHART on the progressive definitions and such, would be much more important so we have a "basis" to work from, instead of sounding like MSN making blanket statements ... about some imaginary music! I am positive that if there is one thing that we don't ever want to see happen is our very music get buried in terms that mean absolutely nothing and are trivial and not important to the music, or the very thing that you and I stand up for!

 

Gotta love an empty war! ... I still think that Epitath and the American National Anthem and Amazing Grace were valuable ... but what the heck ... life goes on and tomorrow no one cares about that war!

 

Just took a look at the list of the last few reviews ... have to admit that I didn't think that the two Caravan reviews were very good, and that person should not have written them. It feels like a case of someone not having the time to listen to it anyway, so why bother?

 

And to suggest that this is pop music and that Caravan had nothing to do with pop music before, would be totally incorrect. Caravan started out as a pop band! And like so many other bands, they wanted to go further and further, but line up changes made things tough all around ... and harder for them to play some material that was more complicated on a stage.

 

"Better by Far" is a very nice album ... as is "St Dunstens" ... but to an ear that can only hear some ideas of what music is supposed to be -- like some progressive idea or bs! -- the albums seeem inferior ... and they are not ... they are CARAVAN ... plain and simple. It's not about "best" ... and I really would like to see if we can raise that mentality and ability to say something like that ... those reviews are both very poor -- and the reviewer should be asked to redo them. Not to mention that some lyrics in a couple of those songs ... went right by that listener's ears ... and he should go back and re-listen to Give Me More! A song that is very true English humor ... almost on the same level as Lola ... and quite similar ... but Caravan always had a bit of that humor and edge ... and there is one absolutely massive instrumental.

 

St Dunstan's ... also has a lot of nice things, including a very good and well done ... endless loop at the end of the record ... but none of the clever lyrics (even the one about John Wayne) even got to the ears of the reviewer.

 

It's kind of a bummer ... so the next thing we gonna do is tell everyone that you only need to see one movie and there is Humphrey Bogart, or Marlon Brando, or Lawrence Olivier ... and it is extremely bizarre when we are so damn stuck up to put down artists as not being artists ... specially when our reviews do not even have an artistic, or writing standard.

 

Anyone here being a teacher in English (or in any language), would give that person a C ... tops ... for that review ... that would suggest that person did not even listen to the albums to be able to say something about them properly.

 

I'm sorry to pick on someone ... but in my estimation this is the kind of stuff that makes us look like ... we don't care ... and we really need to pick up the standards of the work ... and some I don't care reviews should not be accepted ... I seriously doubt that PA can get more serious and important value and respect as long as we allow people to do that ... you have to stand up to more than just ... trolling and bar hopping!

Also, a bloody sight shorter than my ramblings