The Other Paper music section 1/18
I would like to begin this post with somewhat of a disclaimer. I am aware of the winds I'm subject to as a young quasi-journalist in a relatively insular area. I would assume that the reason any journalist decides to do anything is to create discussion and in the unlikely event that I ever find myself applying for a job at SNP or The Other Paper I would assume they would also understand this.
I was reading through TOP today (part of my weekly ritual... I am kind of a news junkie) and I was surprised that when I got to the music section, there were THREE local music reviews. TOP I think does a good job of not being afraid to criticize local bands (ie: their Comfest rundowns) and it's important to their credibility that they are not afraid to be honest when it comes to local music, but...
They absolutely RIP into three local releases by The Bottoms, Rayburn and Spank Bank. I've only ever seen or heard Rayburn and it's not really my thing and thus... I haven't reviewed them. It's not my thing and they are a struggling young band and I respect that.
Chaid Painter, Karen Graves and Rick Allen didn't like the records and they chose to publish their reviews. Not just one bad review, but three. For all I know the records really do suck and they did so in the spirit of honesty and neutrality. The way I see it, though, is that the criticism could either be more constructive, or, if they really hated these records (Graves' comments are a little more tempered) they could just run nothing.
Just my thoughts.
I was reading through TOP today (part of my weekly ritual... I am kind of a news junkie) and I was surprised that when I got to the music section, there were THREE local music reviews. TOP I think does a good job of not being afraid to criticize local bands (ie: their Comfest rundowns) and it's important to their credibility that they are not afraid to be honest when it comes to local music, but...
They absolutely RIP into three local releases by The Bottoms, Rayburn and Spank Bank. I've only ever seen or heard Rayburn and it's not really my thing and thus... I haven't reviewed them. It's not my thing and they are a struggling young band and I respect that.
Chaid Painter, Karen Graves and Rick Allen didn't like the records and they chose to publish their reviews. Not just one bad review, but three. For all I know the records really do suck and they did so in the spirit of honesty and neutrality. The way I see it, though, is that the criticism could either be more constructive, or, if they really hated these records (Graves' comments are a little more tempered) they could just run nothing.
Just my thoughts.
posted by tobias at 2:03 PM
1 Comments:
I will admit that the review was a tad harsh, but the Bottoms' album is pretty bad. Normally, I kid glove the local stuff to some degree, but the guys in the band are old enough that, musically speaking, they should have their shit together enough to avoid writing such a derivitive collection of songs, or at least releasing it on disc.
In regards to your final point, my review was an assignment and I had no say in whether or not it would run. Teena Parker likes to coincide local reviews with release shows, a policy I agree with. However, she has no say in what we write or whether or not it will look funny promoting the show after trashing the album.
I'm sure a lot of people would like the Bottoms' Second Album, but I'm not one of them. The Other Paper pays me for my opinion in a short essay format, not to promote local music.
I'd much rather write a glowing review for a local band, but I'm not going to blow smoke up anyone's ass for the sake of not stepping on local toes.
I bear the Bottoms no ill will and would really like them to crank out a third album that totally blows me away. In an instance like this, I would much rather be proven wrong in the long run than proven right.
Rick Allen
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