Posts Tagged ‘criticism’

this is the world wide web // February 26th, 2010 // 8 Comments

Hamburgers are better than pizza and here’s why:

I’ve been sitting on this topic for a few days now, but last night I read Jezebel’s re-purposing of Slate’s Nicki Minaj piece and many things struck me, tying back to this post over at The FADER. Mainly, The Way We Argue On The Internet, Especially When The Topic Is Rap Music.

 

We are all suddenly idiots when we visit websites. Regardless of one’s age or level of education, anyone is prone to calling someone a fag or a retard during an online disagreement. That doesn’t mean it will always happen, but when it does it’s unfortunate and annoying and drives well-meaning writers and bloggers batty. (There are, however, a number of bloggers that don’t mind this sort of thing if pageviews rely on the endurance of catfights.) Multiply that times music and pop culture, which attracts any variety of fans, “experts” and youth and it doesn’t matter how rich and entertaining your turn of phrase is if you’ve decided Gucci is wack, or dope, for that matter. People largely aren’t reading your opinions to be entertained by them; they want your opinions to be in tandem with their own.

 

(more…)

sharing // October 26th, 2009 // 2 Comments

On checks & balances.

While I believe there’s something to the entirety of this, there are many points–especially with respect to examples–that are wide open to be challenged. Additionally, perhaps older voices are being silenced in a sense that most media outlets have to rely on what’s current as it relates to their bottom line. No one is gonna pass the mic or the pen to someone that says “This is garbage. All of it.” Not when there’s advertising to be sold. Read the whole thing, though.

 

“Furthermore, those most likely to challenge mainstream rap critics’ revanchist-influenced caricature of golden era fans—the disenchanted fans themselves—aren’t really represented in mainstream rap writing. There isn’t some grand plot to silence golden era fans’ opinions; these fans have virtually opted out of participating in the mainstream rap discourse. Why would anyone want to write about music that they don’t really like anymore? Moreover, why would anyone hire such a person to critique music? Due to the absence of these golden era fans’ perspectives as well as to the ignorance of mainstream rap critics’ readers, today’s rap criticism has become a series of echo chambers.”

 

“The Problem with These Kids Rap Critics Today, Part 1″ — Gordon / We Are Respectable Negroes