Reviews

The internet is chock full of reviews: movies, albums, books, you name it.  From major publications to individually run blogs there is no shortage of opinions on any subject right now.  But, whose opinion should you trust?  Are you looking for a review that is insightful or are you just looking for consensus?  If consensus is your goal, what do you do in the case of mixed reviews?

Case in point: last week a read a couple of articles about an upcoming HellYeah and Clutch tour.  Over at Gun Shy Assassin, Chris Harris writes, “Both bands will reportedly play full headlining sets. I hope when the tour comes to my town, Clutch play before HellYeah. There, I said it.”  From his, “there, I said it,” line I can infer that he doesn’t like Clutch and felt it to be a bold move to come out and say it.

Over on the MetalSucks blog last week, author Axl Rosenberg (probably not his real name) wrote about the tour in a post titled, “The good news is that Clutch is going on tour.  The bad news is, it’s with HellYeah.”  In the article he writes, “I’ve just been informed that Clutch will, indeed, be going on first every night, and that both bands will be playing a full set. So, yes, you absolutely can go, enjoy an entire Clutch show, and then split. Phew!”  Whose opinion is right?

This is why I am wary of reading reviews in a vacuum.  If you don’t have an idea of how a reviewer’s taste might match yours, how much useful information can you really hope to get from the review?   In order for you to truly get the most out of a review it is helpful to have read other reviews by the particular critic.  It is most helpful to read a critic’s reviews on items of which you have already formed an opinion.  That way, you can get a good idea of just how your tastes coincide, or do not, with a particular critic.  Once you’ve done that, you’ll have a better idea how to gauge if you will enjoy something whether the critic’s review was positive or negative.  It is possible for you gain useful information from reading the opinions of critics with whom you disagree.

If either of the above critics shared my tastes, the report might read something like:

With both HellYeah and Clutch touring together it becomes much easier to avoid both of these shitty bands.  You’ve only got to skip one club on one date.  Good news, Atlantans: Clutch isn’t even going to be playing the show here!  So, you won’t have to put any effort into avoiding Clutch just by skipping the Project 9-6-1 Cinco Party.  Skipping the Project Cinco Party in Alpharetta should already be a no brainer, unless you’re a closet Shinedown or Five Finger Death Punch fan.  If you are, you are exactly what’s wrong with America.

Of course, your opinion may not be the same as mine.