September 7, 2007

[Rabid Garfunkel]

Grrr. Reviews, reviews, reviews. They're never what you expect. So! Today's question is...

What's the difference in how ballistic you go over them in the forums vs. how worked up you get over them in the meat world?

Enquiring minds, ladies and gentlemen. Discuss, or not.

[erik]

I was getting on the freeway the other day and all of a sudden for no reason, my car lurched forward. Now it picks up like ass. I guess I have to take it in this weekend. Crap.

QOTD: When I play music for people in person, I don't expect or want a review. I want people to tell me if they liked it, and that's about it. And really, someone telling me they like the song right as it's playing is too be expected. What I really want is for someone to tell me they like a song long after I'd forgotten that I played it for them. Like it came up on their iPod and they jammed out in the 15 items or fewer line.

If I played a song for people and they were all (immeditately or after the fact): "The singing is out of key, and the guitar tone is bad, etc...", I'd think they were ginormous assholes.

If people want to give reviews for a song I submit to SF, they can. Most of them I read once, and get nothing out of. Especially the ones from people who try really hard to be "constructive".

[Rabid Garfunkel]

Oops, I should never post before my third cup of coffee in the morning.

Clarification: What's the difference in how ballistic you go over them in the forums vs. how worked up you get at the same time in the meat world?

Like, is smoke shooting out of your ears while you calmly and rationally key in a polite and thoughtful response, or vice-versa?

I really should know better by now not to get so worked up over these things here, but damnit... one got under my skin.

[The Weakest Suit]

What's the difference in how ballistic you go over them in the forums vs. how worked up you get over them in the meat world?

to me, some people's opinions mean more than others.
if it's your first fight, and you've just spent the last week trash talking on the message board about how great you are, i don't take your review seriously.
but, if you're someone who submits quality stuff on a regular basis, i figure you are speaking from experience, and i'll listen to and consider any points you may make.
also, if you are a submitter with a radically different musical style than me, i won't take your review too seriously. i know i don't think i can give unbiased reviews to genres that i just plain don't like, so i won't fault anyone else with the same failing.
regardless, i have a file where i've saved all reviews. it's interesting to see the trends. my songs that i have liked the best were received the worst, and the opposite is true too.
the only response i'll give to the forums is usually on a point of misinterpreting the lyrics or something along those lines. beyond that, i figure, it'll just start a fight.
i can't wait to start on the audio reviews for this fight. this is the first fight where i really, really like a majority of the songs.

[erik]

Like, is smoke shooting out of your ears while you calmly and rationally key in a polite and thoughtful response, or vice-versa?

Oh.

No, when I type in a polite and rational response, I'm pretty polite and rational in real life as well.

[The Weakest Suit]

Like, is smoke shooting out of your ears while you calmly and rationally key in a polite and thoughtful response, or vice-versa?[/i]

Oh.

No, when I type in a polite and rational response, I'm pretty polite and rational in real life as well.

i'm usually pretty sarcastic in real life. that doesn't work too well on message boards, where usually the less said, the better.

[j$]

I don't know if this really answers the question, but those people who meet me in 'rl' always say 'you're nothing like your message-board persona' whereas I think i am exactly the same in both. My response would be to think 'you're missing the point in one place or the other', which probably belies the point I'm trying to make right now. yeah, I'm pretty much a tosser everywhere. My advice: keep your eyes closed

[Paco Del Stinko]

I like all the reviews and don't get upset. I mean, look at what I'm putting out there, ya know? The worst one I can remember is "your voice gang raped me - I had to skip it". ( I think it was Beatle Brent ((?)) for the Hit By A Train fight) If anything, I'd be upset that you didn't give it a listen all the way through. I was gushing earlier in the week from some positive reviews, but didn't swing the opposite way for less favorable comments. I usually expect the worst, though.

[Billy's Little Trip]

I was getting on the freeway the other day and all of a sudden for no reason, my car lurched forward. Now it picks up like ass. I guess I have to take it in this weekend. Crap.

Lurched forward and now runs like ass? Could be the belt that drives your smog pump, assuming you have a multi belt engine. All of the accessories that your belt(s) drive create parasitic drag, so if a belt(s) break, your engine will get a sudden burst of added horsepower. If it's, a single belt, you'd know right away because your car would over heat because your water pump wouldn't be turning. If it's a multi belt, the smog pump belt could be on it's own or combined with the alternator, which will be apparent when your battery drains and doesn't recharge, which could be as fast as a few hours of driving or a few days, depending on if you drive at night. I'm not a mechanic, but I play one on the interweb.
What year and make?

qotd:
I'd be lying if I said that a bad review doesn't bother me a bit. But I know if I did good or if a song needs more work. But I would scrap a song in the middle of recording if I thought it was getting worse every time I try to make it better. I've been know to take days worth of recordings and erase/delete the entire project and go get drunk. So pretty much if I get to the production process of a song, I feel it's worth keeping, and in the case of SF, submitting. So reviews that are honest by members with opinions I trust, good or bad, are very welcome. A bad review by a honest trusted member is actually a great review.
As far as opinions of my music in the real world? Pretty much the same as above.

[j$]

The worst one I can remember is "your voice gang raped me ..."

I would kill for a review like that!

[The Weakest Suit]

I was getting on the freeway the other day and all of a sudden for no reason, my car lurched forward. Now it picks up like ass. I guess I have to take it in this weekend. Crap.

very hot summer + sluggish pick up = for me, always means that the alternator has gone out. this will mean your battery will go out shortly.
actually, this very thing happened to my girlfriends car a couple weeks ago, and would happen to my old saturn almost every august. i say, take it to autozone or somewhere where they can hook that machine up to it and tell if the alternator is working.

[roymond]

i know i don't think i can give unbiased reviews to genres that i just plain don't like, so i won't fault anyone else with the same failing.

One of the recurring themes in people's experiences on SF has been opening up to genres beyond one's comfort zone, largely due to the peoples' relationships and reputations on the boards.

I'd like to think you'll start to see that music is music is music and there's a difference between taste (what you like) and execution (how someone who-is-not-you put a song together). You don't have to like a song to review it objectively, nor do you have to pretend to hear it from their viewpoint.

Personally, I now have soft-rock, B'dway musical, thrash and heavy metal in my favorites folder. Prior to the SF brainwashing process I would have never been caught dead with these...

[erik]

I was getting on the freeway the other day and all of a sudden for no reason, my car lurched forward. Now it picks up like ass. I guess I have to take it in this weekend. Crap.

Lurched forward and now runs like ass? Could be the belt that drives your smog pump, assuming you have a multi belt engine. All of the accessories that your belt(s) drive create parasitic drag, so if a belt(s) break, your engine will get a sudden burst of added horsepower. If it's, a single belt, you'd know right away because your car would over heat because your water pump wouldn't be turning. If it's a multi belt, the smog pump belt could be on it's own or combined with the alternator, which will be apparent when your battery drains and doesn't recharge, which could be as fast as a few hours of driving or a few days, depending on if you drive at night. I'm not a mechanic, but I play one on the interweb.
What year and make?

It's a 2002 Mazda Protege5. How much does a belt replacement cost? I know nothing about cars.

[Paco Del Stinko]

J$ has me needing to wear a diaper today, I might note.

Good post, Roymond! Hear hear!

[king_arthur]

QotD: I usually don't respond to comments in a review on the board, but one or two really bad reviews can cause me to not submit anything for the next few fights. It's a form of sulking, I guess, which tends to be how I respond to negative critiques in real life as well.

Lessee, there were only two sets of reviews posted this morning when Rabid started this thread, and I don't think he actually responded to mine on the boards, so I think I'm safe...

Umm, cleaning day at home, feeling like I need a nap, but it will probably be bedtime before I get to it. The computer rebuilding project has come to a good stopping place for a while (I'm about out of systems, monitors and mice right now; modems went on sale at Fry's the other day so I'm a little ahead on those), so that is now another housecleaning project. Did my Lou Reed coverfight song yesterday (since it was last minute, I didn't get around to having Wages do the chorus vocals for me, but I'm still pretty happy with how it came out). Hoping to come up with an inspiration for the new title...

Charles

[Jefff]

I have a conflict between mostly feeling just like Erik does but also craving any kind of response whatsoever.... I guess just to confirm that the song has been listened to. I think it's a good policy to never respond to reviews. Especially when you're acting on the (very powerful) urge to explain to someone why they don't know what the fuck they're talking about.

[Lunkhead]

Reviews... oy. I guess I am sometimes in the "smoke out the ears" camp, but when I feel that way I tend to write a pointed, sarcastic response, rather than something polite. It never works, though, when I feel like somebody has misunderstood something and I try to clarify. In fact it usually backfires and things get more confused and I get more pissed off. So I think it's better not to respond to reviews, in general. People feel how they feel about your song, and no amount of verbal/typed persuasion will likely change that.

On the other hand, if people say nice things, I will try to acknowledge that politely when posting my reviews.

[wages]

QoTD: Yall know how I respond on the board: I would say "honest and open". I try to really gleen from unfavorable constructive crit, and of course I love good reviews! In the real life if you were to tell me you liked my performance or song, I would probably just say (sheepishly), "Oh, wow, thanks!" and that would be it. If someone didn't like it, I would ask them what about it they did not like. So, yeah, about the same in real life, just a lot less wordy.

As I posted on my collab thread, I woke up this morning with a soreness on the right side of my throat (like, swelling that i can feel from the exterior of my neck about 1/2 way down) and a lot of rawness on the inside of my throat. So, prob can't sing for the next day or two (hopefully not longer). I already took off work...ah shit.. my wife just called.. she locked her keys in her car for the dozenth time this year. ...so gotta cut this short...

Anyways, looking to collab.. please see my thread and I'll be able to sing whenever my throat gets better. It's probably strep dammit!

[Billy's Little Trip]

I was getting on the freeway the other day and all of a sudden for no reason, my car lurched forward. Now it picks up like ass. I guess I have to take it in this weekend. Crap.

Lurched forward and now runs like ass? Could be the belt that drives your smog pump, assuming you have a multi belt engine. All of the accessories that your belt(s) drive create parasitic drag, so if a belt(s) break, your engine will get a sudden burst of added horsepower. If it's, a single belt, you'd know right away because your car would over heat because your water pump wouldn't be turning. If it's a multi belt, the smog pump belt could be on it's own or combined with the alternator, which will be apparent when your battery drains and doesn't recharge, which could be as fast as a few hours of driving or a few days, depending on if you drive at night. I'm not a mechanic, but I play one on the interweb.
What year and make?

It's a 2002 Mazda Protege5. How much does a belt replacement cost? I know nothing about cars.

Just did a quick search. Assuming you don't have a turbo model, you do have multi belts. Looks like you only have a power steering/Air Cond belt, and an alternator belt, which probably also drives the smog pump and possably the water pump, unless you have an electric wp. So I'm guessing you have an electric fan and water pump. So if it's a belt, my guess is the alt belt.
You also have dual over head cams and 16 valves, so a timing belt(s) is a possibility too. But a slipped tooth on a timing belt would make it run really bad or not at all. A broken timing belt, it would die on the spot.

As mentioned, you can take it to any major chain auto parts supply and they will do a free alt, battery, etc, check free. If they see a belt missing, they'll tell you. It's good to know pretty much what's needed before you take it to a mechanic so they don't do what Paco's voice does to beatle brent, lol.

[erik]

Cool.

[Spud]

I am always laughing when I read our reviews. I hope that comes through when I respond. However, ahem, it's been a while. Will have to do something about that soon.

SPUD

[Billy's Little Trip]

.ah shit.. my wife just called.. she locked her keys in her car for the dozenth time this year. ...so gotta cut this short...

Anyways, looking to collab.. please see my thread and I'll be able to sing whenever my throat gets better. It's probably strep dammit!

Two words and a vowel, Hide-A-Key.

HaHa, you still rattled off a few more lines after her call.