I. LOVE. MUSIC.
And... If you know anything about me, at all, you know this to be true. I sing in the car. In the shower. While I'm cleaning. With my children. At church. At the grocery store. At the gym. In restaurants. And I LOVE all types of music, I can't really think of any type that I hate. There is some music I don't particularly care for but I appreciate the creative process that goes into creating music, from the lyrics to the sounds.
My husband runs www.rockthecross.net which is a music news and reviews website. We review music. All of our reviewers have different taste in music, which in my opinion, gives us the most honest input on our reviews that are posted to the site. Not everyone likes everything and quite honestly, there are people that only like one type of music and never broaden their "musical vocabulary."
That being said, there are a few things that I don't get when it comes to music reviewers and musicians that are being reviewed. We'll call the musicians "m" and the music reviewers "ma" :)
1: ma: make sure you review & address EVERY aspect of the album, ie. the lyrics, the message, the sound, the effects, the story behind the music. don't just say, "meh, I don't like this band, never have, never will, they suck." actually take time for the review and make it at least sound like you did your homework and researched the band, the album, the songs, the sounds, etc.
2: m: don't take it personal, not everyone is going to love you. there is a reason that we are all different and talented in different ways. some will LOVE hard rock and some will love classic jazz sounds, it's okay.
3: ma: if you work for a Christian music site, try to judge your reviews biblically. part of a music reviewers job is to be a critic, but more importantly, as Christians we need to run things through what the Word of God says. Ephesians 4:29 says 'Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.' In laymen terms: if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all. We need to review the music, objectively, but we also need to be mindful that we are the body of Christ and we need to uplift each other and encourage each other, especially those that are in front of hundreds of thousands of people trying to reach them for Christ.
4: m: please, if you say you are a Christian artist and you are out there wanting to reach other, please maintain that no matter what... stick to your guns, there are a lot of people out there that look up to you and not to sound mean or rude but, whether you like it or not, you are leading by example. we've met bands that the only reason they are in the Christian genre is because it was "easier" to get in to, this is saddening to me and it makes it hard to encourage people to listen to your music.
I'm leaving at only those points because I feel like those are a few of the major things that review sites run in to. Like I said, I love music and I love meeting artists and listening to new music. I just feel like there are a few things that everyone should know about some of it.
And now...........
For my shameless plug of my husbands website :)
Check out:
WWW.ROCKTHECROSS.NET for all your music news, reviews, concerts, concert photography, and the BEST contests and prizes around!!!
