Ruined!

Message Bookmarked

Bookmark Removed

Has writing about a song,for example,ever ruined that song for you from thereon in?Have you ever praised an album highly in writing,then listened to it later,and thought,'This is CRAP!'?I'm speaking as someone who doesn't generally write much about music,but I sometimes get paranoid that once I look closely at why I like a song in order to write about it,the song won't be as good in the future.

― Damian, Sunday, 3 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I once wrote a lengthy article called "Smog: Studied Insouciance" essentially about how Smog's Red Apple Falls and Knock Knock (specifically Knock Knock) were the greatest concept albums ever made. I don't think I have listened to RAF after that, and I've listened to KK a sum total of 3 times since.

I should have known. BAck in about 1998/99 when I started using the internet, I frequented the Q message board where there was a thriving community of posters. One of the posters, Lee Herbage, warned that his love of music couldn't hold up to extensive scrutiny in the form of reviews/articles and thus he had turned down requests from Mojo etc for submissions. The answer is yes it can turn you off the music when you analyse it too much. And, listen to Lee Herbage, he talks sense sometimes (or he did).

― David = neros, Sunday, 3 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Ouch, the segue into that last sentence is harsh. Sorry.

― David = neros, Sunday, 3 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

That's OK - your answer pretty much confirms some of my suspicions.

― Damian, Monday, 4 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Nah. I just listened to "Addicted to Bass" over and over. Then started to WRITE about it. Now I like it even more though I realize it is far darker than I at first thought it was. Or maybe I am projecting myself (and my addiction) on the song?

― helenfordsdale, Monday, 4 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

love of music couldn't hold up to extensive scrutiny in the form of reviews

i think this is a personal thing maybe, i probably over-scrutinize a lot of things. if i'm not writing about things (which isn't that often really) i'm thinking about things. i enjoy approaching things that way. the music i love has certainly stood up to scrutiny. 'euphoria (nino's dream)' by the house crew could probably stand up to a millenia of scrutiny!!

i guess different people work in different ways. the subtext here is the worry that scrutiny=demystification, but i haven't really been able to demistify anything, or i have remystified things in a different way, created a personal context, etc etc

― gareth, Monday, 4 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Well,scrutiny can either = demystification or something more like heightened awareness in this case.

― Damian, Monday, 4 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.