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> as long as their tastes seem to align to mine This is the crux of it for me. A good critic will be of great use whether their tastes align with yours or not.
by oneeyedpigeon 2y ago
> as long as their tastes seem to align to mine
This is the crux of it for me. A good critic will be of great use whether their tastes align with yours or not.
- briandear 2y agoWhat is this “great use?” It seems like the purpose of critics isn’t to entertain people with an opinion about a record, but instead bolster the feelings of the insecure who aren’t sure what to think and need someone else pointing the way to an ideal of what cool is. Critics feed ideas to those that attend parties so those can have an opinion to express when they feel no confidence in their own taste. Critics are Cyrano de Bergerac.
- keiferski 2y agoYeah this highlights an idea that seems increasingly rare today: you should go see a movie/piece of art because it's important to see and not merely because it aligns with your preferences. A good critic can make you understand that.
- oersted 2y agoLike always, one needs to engage with a critic over time to get an idea of how they view the world and to be able to project it onto your own preferences. YouTube greatly facilitates this. And every decent reviewer makes an effort to lay out the facts in front of you and try to be somewhat objective, or at least account for diverse tastes, for a portion of the criticism, so you can reach your own conclusions. There are tons of excellent full-time critics that know what they are doing. They might not sound as scholarly as in the past, but that was mostly a stylistic choice and I'm skeptical about there being much more substance behind the flowery language.