Whether you’re a professional musician, amateur/hobbyist, or if you’re not a musician at all and just a music lover, anyone is welcome to be an honest critic in music. I’ll repeat for the 100th time, this is what music is here for. Whether you want to say that a band’s music is good or bad. If you want to judge their professionalism of how they act or play their shows, you have the right to do all that if you please. Honest feedback is good for the music world. The negative feedback can help. If everybody had to be 100% positive at everything, then that would make the music world boring, wouldn’t it? What ever is on your mind, you shouldn’t have to be afraid to say it, even if it might hurt people’s feelings.
It’s just that when ever a musician tries to be honest about something whether you’re a professional or amateur, they would get criticized in return. It’s almost like it’s a crime for musicians to be honest about stuff. Not only local musicians have a hard time trying to be honest about stuff, famous musicians too. For example, outspoken musicians like Dave Mustaine, Ted Nugent, Billy Corgan and Noel Gallagher. They try to be real about stuff in the industry and they get all kinds of shit back from the public, a backlash. It seems that regular music fans are welcome to be real about stuff, all they want to, but when a musician tries, it’s almost against the law.
If one musician comes out and says this band here sucks or these guys are a bunch of douche bags, everyone else will tell him stuff like, “You shouldn’t have the right to have an opinion on them, when you haven’t done anything in music ’cause your music sucks, anyway”. You get the deal, what I’m talking about. Then this musician all of a sudden becomes the most hated person in music, only for having an opinion! That’s the way music goes for a musician. It’s tougher for them to be honest about stuff ’cause music is world wide and everyone can read and hear their thoughts on stuff.
I know a lot of people have a lot to say about me or my music, either positive or negative. I can take the mixed reactions ’cause I know honest feedback can go both ways.
I get people criticizing me in return, all the time. I’m used to people telling me, that I don’t have the right to be real about music when they think I haven’t got the success or experience to back things up with. When I’m being honest about stuff, I’m doing that as a “music fan”. I’m a music lover just like everyone else. So why can’t I have an opinion? Other people are free to be honest all they want to, but when the Brock joins in, I’m all of a sudden a troll or the bad guy of the music scene.
See how the music world is messed up? See how insane people can be? People are gonna be crazy yes, but if you want to speak your mind in music, best thing to do is not care what anyone else thinks. I’m done talking about this topic now, just had to vent.
Kev
K'Brocking 
I agree. When musicians try to be critical of other musicians, what is the first kind of backlash you hear? Let’s say Billy Corgan says Radiohead sucks. People will come back at him with, “Don’t be jealous because they sold more records than you!” Same goes for local guys like you and I. If we say that Limp Bizkit sucks (or ANY national band), people say, “Yeah, ‘cos YOU have lots of platinum albums and hit singles!” I fail to see what difference that makes. If I think a band sucks, then that’s all there is to it! I don’t have to be a successful musician to not like something!
Exactly my point, bro! At least someone gets it! 🙂
Kev
This is exactly the type of argument that breeds e negativity. “Sucks” is subjective. I don’t like rap music. Not in the least little bit. But if I was to state that “rap sucks”, it would bring on all kinds of negative backlash.
Obviously there are many talented rappers out there. Otherwise they wouldn’t be selling records.
Critiquing is more than just stating someone sucks. If you do want to make the argument that “xxx” sucks, then state your case. If you don’t like it, give reasons. Valid reasons. Don’t just state that they suck or you don’t like them.
Ad to Kevin, I think your problem is that focus too much on the negative. S much so that you no longer see the positive. The negative is always far mor visible than the positive. It’s always about the drama. That’s all anyone wants to see anymore. People don’t tune in the news or to reality shows for the positive. They tune in for all the drama and all the bullshit.
If the positive didn’t outweigh the negative, then there would be no music seen, period.it would all just implode on itself.
Ultimately I think you harbor a lot of resentment and animosity yourself because you are no longer accepted in the scene you’re always writing about. Maybe at would change if you we’re to start being a little more positive.
You have one of the darkest and most negative blogs I have ever seen. Ad by constantly writing about the negativity, all you’re really doing is propagating it.
Everything you said is just an opinion, and entitled to it. My blog maybe a little dark, negative, and controversial, yes, but I don’t think my writing style online hurt my reputation at all. There are people out there that find me entertaining and are fans of my opinions. There are some who never take my online rantings seriously. You either like me or hate me, it’s all good. There’s nothing wrong with having negative opinions on things, whether it will be toward music, movies, politics, etc.
Yes, some just come here for their entertainment and laughter as a way to make fun of me, but I’m okay with that too. I’m okay with mixed reactions. I’m never hurt or offended at negative feedback, I just wanted to give people a reality check that this music scene over all, is not a positive scene, not just with me. I don’t like getting blamed for negativity in the scene, when all the musicians around here had a hand in it.
I’ve had a guy in facebook tell me once, that he loves everything I do. He said, all my rantings about certain topics were pretty insightful, and detailed. He also said, I get straight to the point about stuff, and a few other people agreed.
This is why I changed the comment settings where anybody at random can post ’cause I wanted to prove people that I can take negative feedback, but as long as people don’t go way out of line, I’m all cool with people calling me out on stuff on here.
I have no regret with the way I post online, and in fact, pretty proud of it. It’s good to have negative or positive opinions on things, ya know? People need to know what’s good and what’s bad. It’s all part of what a discussion is about.
Also, when I don’t like a band’s music, I always explain why in detail, all the time. It’s either their fans will come back with attacks and defend them, or the band themselves will become defensive. That’s how dramatic this scene can be over one’s opinion. It’s like no one’s allowed to have an opinion on local bands at all. Everyone wants to be positive on everything, and that’s pretty ridiculous, in my opinion.
What I don’t get is, if other people think I can’t have a negative opinion on a local band, then what makes other people think it’s alright to attack and bash my music? People said pretty harsh and mean things about my music, all the time. Even other musicians have attacked my music. You don’t see anybody yelling at them and defending my music. I have to do that myself on my own. Explain that, if you would, please, which I bet you can’t.
Kev
In regards to the negative, I don’t know, because I don’t live there, but I have never seen a music scene that was full of negativity. Do you ever consider maybe this is your experience based on your own actions there? You seem to get a lot of attention for all the wrong reasons.
Don’t get me wrong, Albany can be a positive scene, but you’re lying when you can’t see a music scene full of negativity, bullshit. There’s a mix of negativity and positivity in every scene you go to! All bands and musicians get their share of drama and bullshit. It’s not just me, everyone goes through it!
Kev
One more thing I want to bring up. You know how there are professional critics for the national movies and music, and the critics get paid for what they do?That’s what they do, write about what they like and what they don’t like. It gives people an idea of what’s good and what’s bad out there.
Well, I personally feel that local music deserves the same. How come there aren’t many honest critics in local music, reviewing their thoughts about the scene? Pretty much all local music blogs and sites have been positive on everything. I don’t get paid for this, but I feel it’s important that this local area needs to be criticized.
It’s just my way of letting musicians know that they should watch for things and be careful with stuff. It’s just my way of helping the scene. I’m not putting down the scene in any way, it’s just my way of helping it so being “real” is the way to do it.
Honest feedback is good. That’s what being a critic is all about. If you’re going to be a critic, you gotta expect mixed responses and be a man about it. That’s the job of being a critic. It is why I started blogging about local music years ago ’cause I wanted to be a critic about the scene.
Not all of my local music thoughts and opinions are negative, I treat the scene positively too! It all depends. I’m gonna like things around here, and I’m not going to like things.
For example, when I went to Pearl Palooza a while back in Albany, my opinions on that festival was mixed. I liked some of it about that festival and there were little things I didn’t like about it. The festival was full of crap indie bands I didn’t know about which is why I supported the local stage more. The local stage was better than the main stage at the festival.
Just wanted to give my thoughts on that real quick.
Kev