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Hello,

I joined the forum to try to understand music better. I enjoy listening to music but don't understand what would make it good. I can understand the lyrics and that different genres will have different types of lyrics, but I don't understand the other parts. So how would a music reviewer go about judging a record/album.

Thanks for any and all help.

Trollheart

Everyone has their own way of judging, relating to and if they want to, reviewing music. I can only tell you how I do it. First and foremost, it's about how the music makes me feel. Then I try to put that into words, not always easy:sometimes you just want to say "this song rocks!" when what you might end up saying, after thinking about it, might be "this song makes me feel like I'm walking on a sunny country lane in summer", or " this song brings back memories of childhood" or even "I just wanted to play this so loud!" It's about an emotional connection with the music, which is why most pop music does nothing for me.

You ask questions like what images does this music evoke for me? What do I think the artiste was trying to say? How does it make me feel? How do I communicate that feeling to another person? Does the music stick in your head long after you've switched it off? Did it surprise or disappoint you? Would you listen to it again, or go looking for more from that artiste?

And so on.
Well, that's me, anyway.

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

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So, it is totally subjective. I guess I rate music in the same way without knowing it; I listen to the mood of it and the general sound and if I like it, I will listen to it again.

Thanks for sharing your opinion!

Dylstew

You can also judge on more individual things like lyrics, originality, songwriting/execution, vocals, production, riffs/melodies, etc.

Kinda like what you can do with a film. (Plot execution, pacing, characters, sound, visuals, acting, wether a comedy is funny or a horror movie is scary and such, originality, dialogue, etc)

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Thanks for the ideas!

Oriphiel

Welcome to Music Banter! Just out of curiosity, what kind of music do you like?

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I like a lot of different types of music. Some albums I have enjoyed include but are in no way limited to the following: Halcyon - Ellie Goulding | Pure Heroine - Lorde | Songs For Swingin' Lovers - Frank Sinatra | Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin | Alright, Still - Lily Allen.

I also listen to a lot of random songs by various artist, and a lot more by bands such as Spoon, Areosmith, The Strokes, The Smiths, The Clash, The Cure, Tears For Fears, No Doubt, etc.

CoNtrivedNiHilism

That's not a half bad list there, big points for the Sinatra.

When I get some sleep and can properly express my thoughts on your question, or purpose of this thread, I will do just that, express them.

Oriphiel

Ah, you opt for the patented "Frownland" approach to musical taste. Admirable.

Frownland

I was going to patent it but Goofle stole it out from under me.

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Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth.