Best Ever Albums

Re: How do you write about music?

Anonymous — Sat, 8 Nov 2014 20:08:48 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 11/09/2014 01:08

So what do people think of the reviews I posted so far? What ways can I improve? What could I be doing better?

Re: How do you write about music?

Anonymous — Sun, 2 Nov 2014 15:34:57 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 11/02/2014 20:34

Arcade Fire - Relflektor

I got this album when it came out. The year was ending at the time so lots of dark cold nights. I listen to this on the way to and back from work lots of times. 2013 winter was very rainy.
What I like most about this album is it is about Eurydice. Or influenced by them. It's my favorite Greek legend/myth. I am also big on the underworld and like he idea of exploring the caves and all the spooky things down there.
The title track is very brooding. Menacing too. I really like it. Quite long as well with lots of metaphors about TV. Songs like 'We Exist' and 'Flashbulb Eyes' are all about being alienated as well and have some cool drums. 'Normal Person' is perhaps my favorite on the album as it is like I can relate to it. The lyrics and the loud bit is very cool as well. When the girls sing on that song it is amazing.
While the album is fairly strong the first half is so much better than the second. 'Afterlife' is the only song which sticks out there. It has nothing is amazing as the part where the world opens up in 'Here Comes the Night Time'. While The Suburbs was a better album there is still plenty on show here.

8/10

Re: How do you write about music?

Anonymous — Sun, 2 Nov 2014 13:27:25 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 11/02/2014 18:27

Borve wrote:

Favorite Kiki review: http://www.besteveralbums.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=223690#223690

Not mine, I can't recollect writing it. 😲 It is an_outlaw review, not a Kiki one.

Re: How do you write about music?

Anonymous — Sun, 2 Nov 2014 13:19:34 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 11/02/2014 18:19

Favorite Kiki review: http://www.besteveralbums.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=223690#223690

Re: How do you write about music?

Anonymous — Sun, 2 Nov 2014 12:57:51 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 11/02/2014 17:57

I got new review 😄 It is for:

Sparks - Propaganda

This is one of the first ever Sparks in a long line of them. It came right after their most popular album so it is one of the more well known by them. The songs 'Something For The Girl With Everything' and 'Never Turn Your Back From Mother Earth' actually chart. Whereas the last album had over the top songs like 'Talent Is An Asset' and 'Thank God It's Not Christmas' here everything sound a little shorter and less at the throat. While 'At Home At Work At Play' can be described as intense and almost a threat, songs like 'BC' and 'Something For The Girl With Everything' are over very fast. Other songs such as 'Reinforcements' sound a little goofy while 'Bon Voyage' is the amazing send off Sparks hadn't put on their albums until this point. Overall this album is not left over material from Kimino My House, instead a great collection of songs in its out right.

8/10

Re: How do you write about music?

Anonymous — Wed, 29 Oct 2014 17:37:00 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 10/29/2014 21:37

I may put a few more tonight. 😄

As my right click key on the mouse don't work I have no spellcheck which I rely on for my posts. There will be mistakes with spelling for this reason so please simply correct them if you see any and refrain from turning them into jokes to mock me.

Other than that pick apart everything and I'll show some more. Then you can do those and I can make more using tips. I choose 'Actually' by Pet Shop Boys as first 😄

Actually - Pet Shop Boys

Pet Shop Boys are one of my favorite groups of the 80s. I wasn't around to listen to music in the 80s although when I think of this decade I think of music like the Pet Shop Boys. This is their second album. Most of the album is keyboard and vocal based because the group is a duo although they can be loud when they want to be. Actually they are more louder on later albums rather than this one. First of all this album is the highest selling Pet Shop Boys album and had two number 1 hits in the UK. These include 'It's A Sin' and 'Heart'. The first one caused a little trouble at the time it was released as the teacher thought the Pet Shop Boys guy was a good guy but then he released the song. The other is one of the poppiest Pet Shop Boys songs ever. It can be two sweat at times and can't be listened too on repeat otherwise you'll turn into sherbert. Album also has one of the most well known songs 'Pet Shop Boys' have done. This is named 'What Have I done to Deserve This?'. When I listen to it I feel there is some sort of struggle between the two singers. It's in complete contrast with the pretty flower arranged keyboard bits. It's all lovely even though it has as much break up as say... The Pogues song 'Fairytale In New York' where they have an argument. This album doesn't shy away from topics which most new wave bands and pop artists of the time would steer clear of as seen in 'Rent' and 'King's Cross'. While they are subtle by todays standards back then it would have put them nearer the outsider crowd. Not that the Pet Shop Boys are bothered. I think one is yawning on the cover.

9/10

Re: How do you write about music?

Anonymous — Sun, 26 Oct 2014 12:44:12 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 10/26/2014 16:44

Kiki wrote:

Oh 😄 This could be good. May give this a go today.

Blow our minds....

Re: How do you write about music?

Anonymous — Sun, 26 Oct 2014 09:10:20 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 10/26/2014 13:10

Listmeister wrote:

If you want some coaching, we can help you. Write a review of your favorite album. Make me want to listen to your favorite album.

We'll take a red pencil to your review, and tell you what's good and bad about your review. It's a painful process while you're enduring it, but it will make you a much better writer.

Oh 😄 This could be good. May give this a go today.

Re: How do you write about music?

Trendall — Fri, 24 Oct 2014 17:30:52 GMT

Author: Trendall

Posted: 10/24/2014 21:30

I like the quote "writing about music is like dancing about architecture". Actually writing about music itself is a very difficult thing to do, and very rare - most 'writing about music' is just writing about people, culture, society and so on masquerading as music criticism. So being a good 'writer about music' is more about being curious about the world around you in general, forming ideas and opinions about it, and then having the imagination/creativity to find a way to link whatever it is you wanna say to the specific piece of music that you are writing about. And this has to be done in a way that is so convincing that anybody reading will think that some actual genuine analysis of actual musical content has actually happened, when nothing of the sort took place.

One of my other favourite quotes relating to this is Frank Zappa - "Most rock journalism is people who can't write, interviewing people who can't talk, for people who can't read."

Re: How do you write about music?

Anonymous — Fri, 24 Oct 2014 15:56:11 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 10/24/2014 19:56

meccalecca wrote:

From what I've seen, Kiki/Outlaw is one of the most poetic writers on BEA. I don't think he needs any coaching, maybe just confidence

I don't remember any of Kiki's reviews, I second the confidence section.

Re: How do you write about music?

meccalecca — Fri, 24 Oct 2014 14:37:40 GMT

Author: meccalecca

Posted: 10/24/2014 18:37

From what I've seen, Kiki/Outlaw is one of the most poetic writers on BEA. I don't think he needs any coaching, maybe just confidence

Re: How do you write about music?

Anonymous — Fri, 24 Oct 2014 14:31:51 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 10/24/2014 18:31

When I write about songs, I usually keep it at the most three lines across. I try to write about anything and everything about the song if I have something to say about it other than "cool track," "very catchy," "nice rhythm," or whatever.

For reviews, I like to write reviews in this style.

Paragraph 1: Talking about the band's past before they came to the album at hand, and ending with how the album compares to the rest of the discography.
Paragraph 2: A basic rundown of the album's pros and cons, special qualities and flaws.
Track-by-Track: Short reviews of each track.
Paragraph 3: What the album means to me, or it's effect.
Paragraph 4: Conclusion.

If I don't have a lot to say, I just write a paragraph. I can PM you some reviews of mine if you want.

Re: How do you write about music?

Listmeister — Fri, 24 Oct 2014 14:10:15 GMT

Author: Listmeister

Posted: 10/24/2014 18:10

If you want some coaching, we can help you. Write a review of your favorite album. Make me want to listen to your favorite album.

We'll take a red pencil to your review, and tell you what's good and bad about your review. It's a painful process while you're enduring it, but it will make you a much better writer.

Re: How do you write about music?

Mercury — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 13:55:56 GMT

Author: Mercury

Posted: 10/20/2014 17:55

I'm with skinny for the most part. Generally prefer writing about the record as a whole and what it sounds like to me. But I recently deleted all my chart notes because some of them sucked assss (not that there is anything wrong with that)! Some of the notes I liked and those were generally the ones that I spent more time with and I wrong while I was into the album or listening to it a lot.

Blah blah blah. Just write whatever.

Re: How do you write about music?

NickVolos — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 11:05:33 GMT

Author: NickVolos

Posted: 10/20/2014 15:05

You can imagine how hard this task can be for someone whose English is not a native language. I usually write small reviews/comments, hoping to evoke the reader into listening (or not) a particular album....

Re: How do you write about music?

dmercado — Sun, 19 Oct 2014 17:28:42 GMT

Author: dmercado

Posted: 10/19/2014 21:28

I agree, pointing out track highlights and duds is the better way to to go, but in a few cases track-by-track is not a bad option. First one to come to mind is John Coltrane's A Love Supreme - it's a 4 part journey and it makes sense to look at the twists and turns encountered in each of the 4 tracks.

Re: How do you write about music?

Skinny — Sun, 19 Oct 2014 17:17:50 GMT

Author: Skinny

Posted: 10/19/2014 21:17

The most important thing, for me anyway, is making sure that I'd want to read whatever I write. If you look at what you've written and think, "that's boring as fuck", sort it out. Besides that, I guess I prefer people, when writing about albums, to discuss the album as a whole, and not as a collection of songs. Sure, every record will have peaks and troughs, and I'm not warning against pointing out an album's highlights or dud moments, but track-by-track reviews just aren't my thing at all. You wouldn't review a novel by analysing it chapter-by-chapter, and I similarly struggle to accept that an album can be reviewed track-by-track - but I know (/assume, based on how many of them there are around) that some people like those sorts of reviews so I guess it's a case of 'whatever floats your boat'.

Re: How do you write about music?

dmercado — Sun, 19 Oct 2014 17:05:24 GMT

Author: dmercado

Posted: 10/19/2014 21:05

Before I write about an album, I usually start by rating the individual songs, then the album as a whole. This helps me put everything into context. Then I may write about the effect the album had on me personally, a song-by-song analysis, draw a comparison a well-known album or artist, etc. Most importantly, though, I try to highlight what makes that album special, different, or important to the development of music. And if the album doesn't get a perfect score, I make sure to explain why.

Re: How do you write about music?

meruizh — Sat, 18 Oct 2014 15:23:22 GMT

Author: meruizh

Posted: 10/18/2014 19:23

I honestly have no idea if what I write is any good, makes sense or if people could find it appealing. When I write the notes in my chart I usually write stuff while listening to the album. Sometimes I say what feelings I have during each song, a personal experience, the lyrics I loved; I simply don't care much, whatever comes to my mind.

But it's always better when you read someone else's notes on an album you don't know, it gives you a whole different perspective.

Re: How do you write about music?

HoldenM — Sat, 18 Oct 2014 15:21:19 GMT

Author: HoldenM

Posted: 10/18/2014 19:21

I write about what I've heard, and how much that works for me. The more I've heard something, the more I can write about it.