An album review is a textual genre
that exists to judge an album on its merit, to answer the question of whether
an album is good or not. The genre is one based on the reviewer’s opinion that
is typically backed through some form of analysis of the album and how well
they defend it. This defense of opinion makes album reviews an argument for the
score the reviewer assigns to an album. Album reviews are written for music
fans and act as a guide for how good or bad an album may be to them. Music fans
follow album reviews as many of them listen to far too many artists to analyze
each album. This leads to the audience wanting to know whether an album is worth
listening to, creating a demand for album reviews. The reviews are released by
magazines, critics, and popular music reviewers. They are all typically
released within the week of release of an album, making the review more
relevant to readers. A dated album review is a useless review. Album reviews
vary in their style as different writers have differing takes on the album. Some
reviews are lengthy, taking great steps to defend the opinion of the writer,
while others are brief, taking a first impressions approach to the album. Some
reviews will have a critical tone, especially if the reviewer did not find the
album enjoyable. This leads to no two reviews having the same style, but they
still share many conventions. Album reviews almost always quote the album they
review, with the writer choosing some of their favorite lines from the project.
These quotes serve as a form of textual evidence for what the reviewer is
describing to the reader. Album reviews also have a scoring system of some sort
that they use to assign a value to it. These scores stand as a quick way for
readers to understand how the reviewer rated the album. The placement of the
review score varies between critics, with some at the beginning and others at the
end. The way the review score operates varies as well. Reviewers use different
scales with some choosing scales of 1-5, others 1-10, and 1-100 as a scale to
rate the album. Album reviews are album reviews because they analyze a sound
and how it flows for an entire work. When an album is reviewed the songs are
not only judged for their production, lyrics, etc. but how they fit the overall
theme of the project as a whole. The flow from one track to another is judged
just as closely as the song itself. Album reviews are only different from book
reviews in how the writers describe sound instead of words. An album review
tries to communicate how something sounds to someone who has never heard what
the writer is describing. This leads to language that is specific and full of
adjectives. An album review is an album review because it can turn a sound into
words, words that can be used to imagine the sound.
Before reading your piece about album review I guess i did not fully understand their importance to people outside of those within the band. Not only do they tell the band how people may see their music but they can make people assume things about the music before they even encounter it. The fact that reviews have different styles is also very interesting as I would have assumed since they have a similar purpose that they would have a similar execution, this was very well written and greatly aided me in my understand of album reviews as a genre.
ReplyDeleteThis piece is very unique and creative. I also found it very interesting to read. I do feel like you should organize it into paragraphs so that it is easier to read. Also maybe work on your structure of everything. It was still understandable but that would make reading it a lot easier! I like how you answer the prompt very directly and include a lot of details and examples. It really backs up what you are trying to say about the genre. Maybe you can include how this applies to you personally or why you chose this topic. Overall very interesting to read good job!
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