This may sound a little dramatic but I'm genuinely worried about what SJWs and pitchfork could do to music and specifically music journalism so hear me out.
Some sites are giving black or female artists great reviews in many cases where it is undeserved, and their music is elevated to a higher stature because of a "message" and not the actual musical content, and a lot of other, ones we thought more reserved and professional are following suit.
Does anyone else feel the same way? I know /mu/ is nowhere near as bad as the other boards for wanting to get into silly SJW internet squabbles that get way overblown, but I can see this having an underlying negative effect for music. I could care less about politics.
>>64350128
well i guess its your responsibility to become the tastemaker now
>>64350128
How would that effect what music is actually being made. It wouldn't.
Trying to save music journalism of all things? The world would be better off without it.
>>64350128
Just kill yourself
>>64350179
Exactly. I sincerely hope people (not just /mu/) drop this reliance on critics, and just search for themselves, of course revel in albums that are musically relevant and create some "modern classics" as we've done before - but the message ultimately should mean nothing if it's not established with artistic integrity and innovation.
>>64350128
this shit doesnt really affect me because i dont leave my house and only talk to you guys but it is interesting to see the entire structure of society crumble from the safety of my room
>>64350128
Brother, if you think that "music journalism" is the the primary area of concern, you should go outside and take a look around. They're coming for everything.
>>64350206
>hearing derivative shit and thinking it's fantastic
>artists emulating that derivative shit and everyone thinking it's fantastic
>>64350236
Not really. Magazines like the Wire have introduced me to some fantastic albums I wouldn't have stumbled across if it weren't for them.
>>64350260
no u
>>64350297
I know but I'd rather keep that separate from the artform I truly care about
>>64350128
>Some sites are giving black or female artists great reviews in many cases where it is undeserved
so god help us! music journo praising shitty music! this must be the end of the music scene as we know it!
>>64350380
I'm not saying it's not happened before - I'm saying it's happening on a much larger scale and for the wrong reasons
>>64350128
Music journalism is fine. Look beyond mainstream corporate shit, just like you would with music.
theyll be fine
>>64350360
Say that when you're openly scorned in the street for being white/not choosing to lobe your dick off
>>64350128
>Some sites are giving black or female artists great reviews in many cases where it is undeserved
and why do you feel it's undeserved? Do you have an actual critique or is it more 'well i dont like it so it should be rated lower'?
>Does anyone else feel the same way?
no because im not a whiny cuck faggot
>>64350501
I already do, but it's others I'm more worried about.
Not trying to be a "wake up sheeple" kind of guy here but I'd hate to see taste diluted even further than it already is among Internet music sites
>>64350563
You know as well as I do that really standard (not necessarily bad but absolute standard) pop music is very often treated as mindblowing by certain publications, and I'm not just talking about the obvious ones either.
>>64350128
you're a /pol/fag running a long con and you gave it away in the second paragraph. there will be no #musicgate. accept it and fuck off.
>>64350724
I am not, I fucking promise you. I am the last person who wants a fucking musicgate
>nice term by the way, faggot
if anything I want to avoid one
>>64350297
>They're coming for everything.
if you think 'muh SJWs' are our biggest problem right now you're delusional.
Repent and turn to kpop, a libtard free genre, all your sins will be forgiven.
>>64350817
please stop taking our gets
>>64350128
stop crying you absolute faggot. i guarantee that you don't even listen to these albums that you decide are "undeserving." fuck off.
Modern day Western media criticism is an inbred circle of mostly white upper middle class progressives competing for website clicks and internet attention. They're profiting off social tensions and the promoting their progressive ideology because its an attention-grabbing belief immune from criticism and debate, not to mention its popular and sells spectacularly. Why take the time, effort and skill to analyze the flaws and successes of a piece of media when you can just slap a fat sticker reading "I'm not bigoted, and I don't like people who are!" onto your article? Nobody will call you out on it, and those who do will be ostracized.
If you want insightful and sincere media analysis, you're going to have to stop listening to popular criticism entirely. Drop it all--Metacritic, Pitchfork, Rotten Tomatoes, The New York Times and most major Western news outlets, The A.V. Club, the various subreddits and 4chan threads that recycle this damaged information, Spotify playlists, etc. It's no good.
Academic literature, word-heavy blogs that aren't profit-oriented, and most importantly, the artists who actually make the art you enjoy are the only honest and informative sources of media analysis today. There are some popular critics who still do pay attention to and understand technical skill and artistic ability, like Richard Brody of The New Yorker, but most of these people are few and far between.
>>64350290
society may suck but it certainly isn't due to "sjw's" lmao. if you never leave the house then your actual view of reality is going to biased or distorted. nobody in real life actually gives a shit about most of the stuff discussed on the internet.
>>64350854
>guarantee
nice assumption
>>64350856
I wanna spread the good shit though, I wanna reach people and show them it can be better than this
>>64350562
stop being so fucking dramatic jesus christ, literally nobody is scorning you in the street for being white. do you walk around with your eyelids taped shut or something?
>>64350856
Or maybe *gasp* the music is acclaimed because it's relevant and good and speaks to all kinds of people
>speaks to all kinds of people
I don't give two fucks who it speaks to if it's not at least trying to be good
>>64350939
I agree that the music is being promoted for its "relevancy" i.e. it supports the preferred narrative of modern day social conflicts, and I agree it "speaks to all kinds of people" i.e. it can be sold on a mass market level to millions across the planet, but I've seen absolutely no evidence that the music itself is anything above mediocre. Most of the reviews I've read are primarily concerned with Beyonce's celebrity image and personal life, and the critics' appreciation for her take on society and politics. The actual music itself is incidental, essentially a vehicle for the product which is Beyonce.
>>64351429
it's like conceptual art bro
>>64351718
no its not
it's the total opposite
it's treating an artform as a vessel for politics
>>64351718
imo the conceptual element is itself rather shallow. But at least it helps media hacks make a meagre living with their thinkpieces and that's all that matters
>>64350939
do you really think certain types of music aren't promoted for political reasons?
>>64351781
>it's treating an artform as a vessel for politics
treating politics as a vessel for the marketing of pop culture commodities
I think this argument would more weight if rock music and rock music criticism wasn't already Muh Social Movement: The Artform for the last 60 years. Not to say that music has ever been completely divorced from politics, because I can't recall a time when that was the case.
>>64351429
Celebrities are our 21st century Olympians. Much like the Gods of old, they help consumers connect with their innermost fears and desires.
it goes like this
>internet sjws pressure music publications/reviewers
>music publications/reviewers give high scores to albums that don't deserve it
>empty-headed hipster trend-followers suddenly feel like that music is just as valid as other music
>hipster trend-followers become the next generation of reviewers
>shit vortex
so you have to either take down the sjws, pressure the current music publications/reviewers in the opposite direction at least enough to oppose the sjws, or convince empty-headed hipster trend-followers that liking bad pop music isn't cool
>>64350128
it's always been like this. pitchfork has always gone easier on black and female artists unless what they make is outright awful. If you want a window into the progressive self delusion cottage industry fueled by white guilt and an unknowingly condescending tone read pitchforks the pitch section. It's absolutely ridiculous and shows you how transparent their motives are.
Review sites have never served their purpose in identifying good media. Now, as ever, they are only useful as a barometer of what's popular and in vogue.
>>64352018
I don't think it's even the politics, the complete fakery of it all has become too evident, at least when it comes to US media.The media is probably more centralised and all-pervading than it has ever been. You get the same elite (neo)liberal cliques showering the same TV shows, films and music with ecstatic near-unanimous praise. Making a career of reminding you just how 'important' and 'relevant' are the products everyone else is consuming. Dubious 'progressive' social relevance is just another marketing strategy.
>>64350128
What did pitchfork do this time?
>>64350290
What's weird is that I have literally never heard of SJW bullshit in real life ever. Not once in my entire time in college or high school did I have a run-in with a real life SJW and I've never come across any ridiculous news articles apart from when they're posted here.
>>64351718
modern "conceptual art has" always been a problem.
Art has always been conceptual. Even in the classical western cannon, art's associations with religion always imbued it with ethical and moral messages that were equal if not more worthy of the intellectual analysis given to modern art.
Then as now, it had a side role as propaganda, but it seems that the diminishing role of mastering your medium has placed more importance on the message. These psuedo artists would be better suited as novelists or journalist. Or at least admit that you're an opportunist and embrace transcendental irrelevance like the punks.
>>64352544
I went to art school.
That's where they are.
In what world do you live OP? It was always like this. There has always existed shitty music receiving a lot of good reviews.Their opinions was never to be trusted. P4k in particular always had poor taste, not just recently like some people in here claim.
Why do you care so much? You think Beyonce will be remembered in 200 years? 100 years? 50 years? ofc not. Her music is the embodiement of capitalism. She will be replaced once she has too much wrinkles on her face, that no plastic surgery can hide.
