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I believe this is a function of age. It is still very important for young people to have affirmation that the music they like is 'cool' or fits the in-group th

I believe this is a function of age. It is still very important for young people to have affirmation that the music they like is 'cool' or fits the in-group they are trying to be a member of. However, young people generally are not reading zines or long-form music reviews any more, and instead are watching TikTok clips, YouTube videos, etc. to work out what kind of music is 'cool'. This comment is particularly insightful, I think: > Perhaps, in a world of instant multimedia content delivery, print is no longer a good medium for music reviews. I would say though that print was never a good medium for music reviews, but there were no other options. Column inches in a newspaper were better than wasting money on a record. Then, it was better to read reviews online for free than waste hours downloading a file on Napster/Kazaa/whatever. Now, with instant streaming, it takes less time to consume the content and decide for yourself than it does to read a review. I think it's exceptionally hard to make a convincing value proposition particularly for music journalism at the moment.

sdwr 4y ago
Print is a way better medium for music reviews than anything with actual audio, paradoxically. You can't review music using audio, at that point you may as well just play the track. A written review is a kind of two-step, a puzzle between the writer and reader. The writer evokes the gestalt of the music without being able to reference it directly. It's more interesting than the actual music a lot of the time, and there's a vague erotic tinge to it.
- d1sxeyes 4y ago
  I used to listen to Kerrang! Radio in the UK when it first launched and they did these super interesting deep dives through an artist's catalogue later on in the evening, where they'd play snippets from songs, interwoven with the story of the band. I can't remember the name of the guy who did most of them, but I really enjoyed them. I agree though often it's easier just to listen to the song and make your own mind up.

sdwr 4y ago

Print is a way better medium for music reviews than anything with actual audio, paradoxically. You can't review music using audio, at that point you may as well just play the track. A written review is a kind of two-step, a puzzle between the writer and reader. The writer evokes the gestalt of the music without being able to reference it directly. It's more interesting than the actual music a lot of the time, and there's a vague erotic tinge to it.

d1sxeyes 4y ago
I used to listen to Kerrang! Radio in the UK when it first launched and they did these super interesting deep dives through an artist's catalogue later on in the evening, where they'd play snippets from songs, interwoven with the story of the band. I can't remember the name of the guy who did most of them, but I really enjoyed them. I agree though often it's easier just to listen to the song and make your own mind up.