We Disengage, We Turn the Page

As my introductory post mentioned, this blog is an open forum to CELEBRATE music. I am not here to alienate you, nor act like I know more that you about music.

"What kind of celebration would that be?" you may ask rhetorically.

"A lame celebration," I'll answer needlessly.

So before I delve into the content of this web log, let me tell you what my motivation for an open forum is, as well as what exactly that means:

I am a Rolling Stone magazine devotee. Since high school, I have poured through the pages of every magazine, archived reviews on RollingStone.com, and posts on their highly informative Rock and Roll Daily blog like religious zealots would to their respective holy scriptures. I lived and died by the gospel of the Stone. The film Almost Famous cemented my view that Rolling Stone is THE first and last word--and every word in-between--on rock and/or roll.

Over time, though, I noticed inconsistencies and biases that didn't fit my notion of the unerring music periodical, leading me to understand what I want to see in a blog and music forum. What follows are my bolded pledges to you, the reader, and my unbolded follow-up on the matter:

I promise consistent reviews of artists. Naturally, as a massive publication, Rolling Stone will have different reviewers cover a single artist from album to album. Bizarrely, Rolling Stone doesn't care about reviewing an artist's catelog consistentently. For example, in 2001, R.E.M.'s Reveal earns a 4-star rating with Rob Sheffield applauding the "lushly layered hooks that the band couldn't have pulled off ten years ago." However, come 2004, reviewer Barry Walters heralds the 3-star Around the Sun as R.E.M.'s comeback and criticizes Reveal for its inability to "deliver many memorable melodies." Hmmm.... So, rest assured (I don't want you losing sleep over this), I will never contradict my own opinions. And if I happen to do so, I will fix any errors to represent my new viewpoint. And for the record--well, my record--Reveal is an outstanding showcase of R.E.M.'s songwriting abilities, whereas Around the Sun is a very strained, tepid effort. Bringing me to my next point...

I promise that your voice will be heard. If I praise an album that you think is sonic garbage or if the turns are tabled, I want you to post a well-composed argument stating why you disagree. The best dissenting opinion for any post will be attached to the aforementioned post and become canon to stereo plasma. Plus, your opposing views will be highlighted and applauded on Mutiny Mondays. When Rolling Stone gives an album a rating, there is no other perpective represented. While that is understandable to only boast one review per album, sometimes the opinion appears to be flawed or missing a detail that a fan of the artist/album actually appreciates.

I promise to write reviews, not history lessons. Some reviewers (i.e. nearly everyone) tries to chronicle the entire history of the artist when writing a review to somehow prove to the reader that they know what they're talking about. Most likely, they don't. Their editor/boss/ego tells them to flesh out the review with this superfluous information. It is rarely educational (less than or equal to 1%) and almost 100% annoying (greater than or equal to 99%). I don't know about you (well, maybe I do, but I'm trying to avoid being presumptuous), but I want to hear about the actual music, not a collection of information gathered from Metacritic, Rolling Stone, Wikipedia, etc.

I promise to write more concisely from now on. You don't want to read books online, and I don't want to write books (on- or off-line). After reading the equivalent of The Hobbit and half of Fellowship of the Ring in this post, it may come as a surprise to you that I have the tendency to be verbose. Therefore, any review posted will--nay, must!--be 50 words or less. I'll be able to pump out more reviews, and you may actually consider reading them. Win-win.

Now, that's what I pledge to you. What do I ask in return? Comment on any post you read (please/por favor)! It will only take a minute (if that), and you will be part of a community that discusses music for music's sake. Start discussions, not arguments. Make friends, not enemies. I may be writing this thing, but you guys run the show.

The curtain's rising! Places everyone!

Thanks,

Chuck