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RE: Why I'm starting to loath news paper music critics (correction)
Title:
#1. I did thank this reviewer for taking
the time to review my CD, as well as a few positive and accurate, or at least
honest statements he made about my music (I could have left it at that, but
I did not...sorry, personality quirk...draw and quarter me metaphorically if you
like....I'm out of shape so the cuts should be tender).
#2. I agreed with the reviewer that the
lack of audience noise in the recording was less than
desirable
#3. I spent the remainder
of my letter focusing on what I perceived as three
falsehoods, or at least ambiguities that could easily be interpreted by
readers as a falsehood relative to the facts, which in turn could potentially
degrade the perception of my music that I'm trying to foster locally (my
prerogative)
Correction..."three
statements" (not falsehoods), one of which was false relative to multiple
definitions of "melody," and thus subject to multiple and contradictory
interpretations (which I personally found insulting), and two of which were
neither true nor false (externally) as they were written, but his own
subjective interpretations expressed, communicated, or disguised "as
if" they were matter of fact. These last two charges I contend are a
fallacies of language abuse: saying one thing but meaning something entirely
different.
#4. I doubt very much that this will
hinder my exposure. That's sort of laughable, actually...if you knew Boise,
population 200K. I have had far, far more heated debates with music critics
in Boise than this, and I continue to get gigs and make contacts, plus maintain
my respect by local musicians; I read the paper, people write heated
content and responses like this all the time to editors and news papers,
and about far more controversial things than, oh my god...[drum roll].....looped
improv music
#5. Context is everything: locally, most
of my peers agree with my letter; and this guy already has a
reputation
#6. If anything, as one of my local peers
suggested, this sort of thing could have a reverse effect and provide me more
exposure - there is always someone who will agree or disagree with a review or
letter to the editor...either way, I get a net gain of some sort. Besides, I
don't do this for a living, so I have nothing to lose for being hyper-sensitive
or argumentative with music reviewers locally, perhaps once every 4 or 5
years
#7. Thank for liking my
music
#8. Get well
soon.
K-
I should probably not jump into this because I will probably have many
critics for what I have to say, but I am sick in bed today and have some free
time... I have been buried in the studio for the last week and just now had a
chance to really dig into this thread.
As a guy that has made almost his entire living for the last 15 years
working in mostly non mainstream music, I looked at that review and saw it as a
small success for Krispen Hartung &
Vinnie Miresse. For an non arts-centric media outlet to take the
initiative and write a review about a CD of live looping music by non super star
musicians is a great thing. Further more the review was fairly interesting and
provided a bit of framework about the music as well as subjective commentary
about the work. Everything a review should do, and had I read that in my local
paper it would certainly inspire me to check out these artists live or on CD.
There is not a single word in the review that is derogatory, only a reviewers
opinion that did not meld with the artists personal understanding of the work.
I read Krispen's response twice and then re-read the review twice, and
while I respect Krispen's right to respond and state his opinion, my over all
feel was of bewilderment. The review was a positive one that I believe would
peak the interests of any reader with an interest in looping and avant music. My
guess is that the net result of the reply which basically suggests that the
reviewer is lazy, ignorant and not a real journalists, will hinder the
possibility of press exposure for Krispen's musical ventures in the future with
this media outlet and may likely hinder coverage of other avant artists. Perhaps
I am just a softy, but if it was my CD, I would have sent a reply that said
something along the line of "Thanks for the review. Not sure I agree with all of
it, but thanks for taking a risk and covering some not mainstream music. I have
some projects in the works I would really love for you to check out including an
on line international collaboration and maybe we can dig into those more deeply.
I would love to be able to explain the work in greater detail"
The idea that a guy reviewing a CD has some how failed because he did not
call the interviewer is off the mark. This was not an article about the artists
(if it was an interview would be appropriate), but a review of a piece of work
that if the finished product is what the artist intended (and not negatively
altered by a label or producer etc) than the work should stand on its own. Some
people will connect, others won't. Some people may not connect this year but
after getting a deeper understanding of the genre 10 years from now may be
deeply touched. If a certain set of facts or history are integral to
experiencing the work, that information should be included in the liner notes.
As fun as it is to bash critics (and a few do deserve it) they are our
allies and they often have tough jobs. Every day the guy comes into an office
and he has an editor breathing down his neck to get X number of words written to
fill in the space between the home depot and Applebee's ads. If the artist or
label feels that there is background information that is integral to the
understanding of the work then they should provide it. Even at a more basic
level if there is a particular slant or thing about the artists or the work that
the artist would like noted then they should provide that as well. That is the
purpose of a "one sheet". Since Krispen had a fixed idea of what kind of things
a listener should understand about this work, it would make sense that it be
spelled out for the press. There is no media outlet of any stature that has the
time to do in depth research about a local indie release (of any genre). When
they do, it is a a great opportunity for the artists and far more value than a
paid ad in the paper. PT Barnum said "There is no such thing as bad press as
long as they spell my name right". Its great thing for creative artists to get
exposure of any kind because a paper will sell a lot more copies with a sexy
photo of Hillary Duff and a review of her MTV "performance" than a review of a
local looping CD.
The music myself and many on this list is by its very nature foreign to a
lot of the listening world. Over the next year my company is actually about to
launch a few projects with the purpose of trying to bridge the gap between a lot
of looping music and people that might be touched by it. I think the trick will
be the right combo of education to help people understand more about where some
of this music is coming from, but also trying to present in a way that respects
where the rest of the world is coming from. Should be fun.
BTW. I really like Krispen's music.
Ronan Chris Murphy
www.venetowest.com (Production & mixing: King Crimson, Chucho Valdes,
Steve Morse, Terry Bozzio, CGT...)
www.homerecordingbootcamp.com (Workshops around the world teaching the art
and craft of recording )
www.livesofthesaints.net (The hottest ambient noise duo since Sonny &
Cher)
