Blog 9

Analysis-Introduction

The first word I thought of when I saw 'analysis' was interpretation. I agree that it entails a certain part of criticism whether that is an extreme or not. I see it more as 'conductive criticism' when analyzing, especially music and art. Though, I personally wonder how much our preconceived thoughts and biases play a role during our analyzation.  Both extremes include hermeneutic and formalist. This introduction was a bit wordy, but I'm glad I read it. It provides me with a deeper understanding of what goes into analyzing, criticizing, and evaluating works. I guess I sort of wrapped ideas together myself of which I would consider defines what critics do exactly. I agree that it is an ongoing process, and overall it provides the listener/reader with a better understanding of the work in the end.

Criticism, Musical

I think that criticism probably began non-verbally since men inhabited earth. Perhaps even some facial expressions expressed criticism, or even physical actions. I think criticism should  not be controversial; the intent should define whether it is done with ulterior motives, or just giving advice based on experience. It is interesting to read about the first critic involving classical music. I actually recently read an article online quoting criticisms from famous classical composers to their predecessors or composers of their time. I couldn't believe how judgmental and critical some of these statements were. Though as long as offense is not taken, it provides the reader (today) with a better understanding overall of the different styles, contributions, time period, and expectations. I am not familiar with any of the critics' names listed, but I have to say that I felt myself agreeing with Roger Ebert a lot when it came to movies.

Music Criticism has degenerated into lifestyle reporting

I found it interesting that music magazines do not include much substance anymore; there is a lack of musical discussions. I think that these magazines are simply reflecting society and culture as it is today. I did enjoy the way they described the 'Bieberization' of arts journalism. There was not much that I learned here that I did not know already. I do wish that the article delved into more specifically what music magazines looked like in the earlier days. This way, I could understand exactly how dramatically they had changed over time. I think that music has developed in the sense that we have auto-tune and electronic music gaining traction, that there is little place for critics. Today, it seems that the market wants someone who is unique, with a unique look and sound to their voice. A lot of the other parts that make music great: rhythm, accents, time, tuning, volume etc. can all be fine-tuned with equipment and appeal to the everyday crowd.

Please Critics Write about the film making

I think that there should be critics that have knowledge of the art they are critiquing, and critics that are fresh to the art. This way, there is a professional assessment and an assessment in the eye of the normal viewer/listener. A good metaphor I can think of is Rotten Tomatoes. Sometimes I enjoy the crowd's opinion even more than the critics. At times, I think there is even less baggage that comes along with these reviews. 'Form is not just an academic side-dish to the main course of content.' I agree. This would be like Stephen Stucky not explaining the form of his piece we are playing this Sunday to the audience during the pre-concert lecture. It wouldn't make sense not to discuss the piece and its movements to give a critical understanding of what they are going to listen to.

Devaluation of Music: It's worse than you think

Music has been devalued in many ways. Playlists are shorter. You don't see many artists creating albums today as you used to. I think our type of music has been developed into video game music, because it makes it easier to relate the music to something. It's certainly not easy to understand Chopin, Tchikovsky, Thelanius Monk etc.