As I recently went through my 6,578th phase of listening to Smashing Pumpkins music (thank you, Gish and Siamese Dream re-issues), an interesting tug of war came to mind-trying to distinguish between my favorite of something, and what I objectively think is the best. Of course, with anything in the arts, it is hard to decide the “best” of something. How I experience a song, movie, tv show, book, etc is colored so much by my own personal experiences, and what I am going through at that very moment. I’ll stick with music since that is my favorite art form. A certain song, while not among my favorites, could be etched in my brain forever because it is linked to an unforgettable moment in my life. Or an unforgettable song could be heard during a rather dull moment of life, but it is still meaningful to me.
So indulge me while I attempt to work all this out while I write. I suppose what I mean by “the best” is which one of the artists that I listen to do I consider to be the most technically profficient at their craft. This doesn’t mean who can play the guitar the fastest (like this guy), but rather, who is the most talented at creating a song, whether it is 2-3 minutes or 6-7 minutes. Of course, the field is limited to artists that I like. I would guess this is why I dislike so many music reviews. It is obvious after reading the first paragraph of some reviews that the writer not only dislikes the artist, but is gleeful while deconstructing and destroying each part of the album. When I read a review, I want to hear from the perspective of someone that actually likes the band. That way I can know what a true fan believes, instead of someone who is trying to impress me with how clever they can be (while largely ignoring the actual music in favor of other less important things about the artist).
If you are indifferent to an artist, then maybe it is easier to give an objective viewpoint. However, the problem is that your opinion is not tethered to any kind of emotion that you feel for the art. And isn’t art by definition supposed to be emotional? (maybe another topic up for debate). So perhaps the best of either inherently flawed options is to try and be objective about something that you already feel fairly positive about.







