Why is it that music critics are so willing to give good scores to albums? Judging by most of these write-ups, we should be out buying almost every album under the sun. Too many greens, I think.

I think there really were a lot of good records this year, but a lot of critics jump on the bandwagon with stuff like Loretta Lynn. Is it really that good? I beg to differ.

Despite my exalted position as a forum moderator, I have no more insight into the inner workings of Metaratings than can be gleaned from this web site. That being said, I have also noticed that the music ratings are much greener than say film or DVD.

I've always chalked the difference up to the sheer number of CDs that come out every year, upwards of 30,000 titles from the big three alone. Metacritic does a fine job of covering a wide range of music, but a glance at the Billboard Top 20 Album Chart reveals four albums not currently featured on Metacritic. That may not sound like many, but when you factor out the five greatest-hits or other collections in the Top 20, those four albums not featured make up nearly over quarter of the Billboard Top 20.

Now, far be it from me to impugn the taste of the American public, but I'm not sure that I would consider the top selling albums in the country a good illustration of the best albums in the country. In other words, if Metacritic included Hillary Duff's self-titled album (currently at #6) and the like, I suspect there would be a lot more yellow and red on the list.

Would that be a good thing?

Now Playing: "Sweet Adeline" Elliott Smith XO (SKG)

I think there really were a lot of good records this year, but a lot of critics jump on the bandwagon with stuff like Loretta Lynn. Is it really that good? I beg to differ.

While I agree with lokoo (that the Loretta Lynn was overrated), my general feel on the Metascores is more like LT's: there are a lot of good records out there, and you've got to be selective about which greens you pick from.

It always seems to me that the Metscores for movies are very low (SO many reds, and they may deserve to be, but there a lot of crappy movies that I like, for some reason or another) while the scores for music tend to be more middling. I wonder what something like, say, Ashlee Simpson might rate (as opposed to something without the crossover appeal, like Hilary Duff, which is aimed exclusively at 14 year old girls).

Maybe the analogy with movies isn't a fit one...people might be willing to buy a cd with a couple of good tracks on it and put up with some filler. But a movie, with a terrible plot, bad acting, and bad special effects might not be worth the hassle.

There might be another reason for the higher CD scores...some of the review sources for music are more specialized, genre-driven music sources, that focus on (and are likely to be partial to) specific kinds of music. Film critics tend to review all sorts of films and don't always focus on a style or genre.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: philosopherEric,

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Originally posted by philosopherEric:
While I agree with lokoo (that the Loretta Lynn was overrated), my general feel on the Metascores is more like LT's: there are a lot of good records out there, and you've got to be selective about which greens you pick from.

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I guess it is possible to overrate something which borders on perfect. Difficult...but possible!

From what i can tell, mark, lokoo and I are the only people in the world who don't love the Loretta Lynn. I didn't think it was BAD...but it just didn't do that much for me. I'm not a huge Jack White fan, so his involvement doesn't do much for me. For female-sung country stuff (not my favorite genre), I'll take Kelly Willis, Gillian Welch, Grey DeLisle, or Tift Merritt.

Very good points made by LinnTate and Eric. There's also a tendency by critics to inflate their ratings for underground, under-appreciated artists who fly below the radar on indie labels. Many critics take it upon themselves to champion the little guys, and I don't blame them. For example, the new Drive-By Truckers album "The Dirty South" earned a Metascore of 85. Although I love DBT, I suspect the critics were overenthusiastic to compensate for the lack of radio airplay, MTV exposure and mainstream attention a band like DBT are cursed with.

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Originally posted by philosopherEric:
From what i can tell, mark, lokoo and I are the only people in the world who don't love the Loretta Lynn. I didn't think it was BAD...but it just didn't do that much for me. I'm not a huge Jack White fan, so his involvement doesn't do much for me. For female-sung country stuff (not my favorite genre), I'll take Kelly Willis, Gillian Welch, Grey DeLisle, or Tift Merritt.

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I agree that it is "technically" a country album, but unless I let my freak-out tendencies come into play [re: CVB, TSOOL(haven't gotten it from Europe yet), etc.], I believe it's the best rock, pop, country, any album of the year. We still have 10 weeks left though.

this may not be exactly about the topic but these are the exact same posts. suspicious.
lokoo
Slacker

posted 18 October 2004 06:47 PM
I think there really were a lot of good records this year, but a lot of critics jump on the bandwagon with stuff like Loretta Lynn. Is it really that good? I beg to differ.


cuneyt81
Slacker

posted 18 October 2004 09:49 AM
I think there really were a lot of good records this year, but a lot of critics jump on the bandwagon with stuff like Loretta Lynn. Is it really that good? I beg to differ.