Boards
Slagging off reviews.
I'm sick of people slagging off my reviews on DiS.
It seems depressingly obvious that the following formula works - if you write a positive review of something that people like, they will enjoy the review and compliment it. A la my Knife, Patrick Wolf, ANtony & The Johnsons and Thom Yorke reviews. But if you write a review in exactly the same style saying that you don't like something that people are into, people will not only disagree with your verdict, but they will lay into the review as well. Which is basically completely retarded. Just because you disagree with a review does not mean it was badly written. It just shows childish hostility and a lack of understanding of hown these things work.
Also, I'm fucked off with people pouncing on any perception of weakness on the part of the reviewer. If you're reviewing someone and you haven't heard one of their albums, you might mention this in a candid sort of way. If you are reviewing a new single by someone who's career you are unfamiliar with, but you are aware of in general, your opinion on their latest release stands whether you're a fucking expert on this person or not. If people just hurl insults and abuse at peoples' writing, doing reviews feels like getting a suit of fucking armour on and going to war rather than what it actually is - expressing a perfectly valid opinion as clearly as possible.
This is why they turned off the review comments on the Plan B site. Because people seem incapable of making these simple distinctions and just lay into writers when they don't agree with them. On my Missy Elliott review, someone even said "i don't know what's happening to DiS lately" as a comment. I mean, what the fuck?? DiS is better than ever.
Basically, ripping into a perfectly candid and well-written review because you don't agree with it is completely rude, and just a bit dim. I for one like to read reviews by people that are out of their usual area of expertise.
pft.
</pissed off rant>