unfinished business
Dec. 2nd, 2004 06:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
theladyroseWhen we the EPA bell choir make our t-shirts, I think we ought to put the full name of our bell choir on the front and "Ding your bells like you mean it!" (Kerstin's idea, not mine) on the back. And on mine I think I ought to stick "the Great Resolver" for irony since I always end up playing the resolving chords at the end of all of the pieces we play.
Tracy, why do you keep doing this to yourself??? Stop procrastinating on your essay!
Wait a minute, my name's not Tracy. But I think I know why I'm calling myself that.
And if you're curious, I copied a lovely rant about why it sucks to be a movie soundtrack reviewer. Let's just I say that I totally sympathize, but I'm nowhere near being that professional as an amateur peon.
TOP TEN REASONS IT SUCKS BEING A SOUNDTRACK REVIEWER
NUMBER TEN
One of the biggest problems anyone reviewing a soundtrack album faces is the complicatedly un-co-ordinated timetable everyone’s working to. Because a score is more often than not completed and mixed at the last minute before a film’s release, that means an album mix is similarly last-minute. So for a record label to master, press and distribute an album to coincide with the film’s release is a small miracle. Some manage it. Many don’t. The knock-on effect is that the label rarely has a window of opportunity to promote the album. Getting review copies out in time for most journalists’ deadlines is a tricky thing. And you can forget it as far as printed press deadlines for monthly periodicals are concerned.
I frequently find myself cross-referencing between spreadsheets as to when something is due and when a review could be placed. More frequently I find myself stumped trying to make it happen. There’s no better system for any of this to work by. Ultimately the blame here lies with the fixed release dates imposed on the films themselves, which cause 11th hour headaches all round.
NUMBER NINE
There’s no way any studio would consider inviting (or agreeing to allow) you to attend a movie premiere screening based on writing a soundtrack review. It just isn’t done. Which perpetuates the worst Catch-22 aspect of the job for me, because my ideal situation is to only ever commit my opinion of a score in writing having heard it in its intended context. As a matter of principle, it’s something I’m frequently put on the spot over. Wherever possible I have stated in a review that it’s the album I’m talking about and not the effectiveness of its use on screen.
NUMBER EIGHT
About three or four years ago record labels cottoned on to the fact they could save themselves a few shekels by not always sending out finished product. I can now tell by the weight of a package in my hand whether or not I’m about to open a jewel case or a “Check Disc.” A what? This is a CD-R of the mastered album that usually comes in a floppy plastic wallet with a paper tracklisting. No art. No credits.
I’m sure in part this came down to the secondary market of promo discs that always did the rounds at “used” stores or began getting auctioned on Ebay. Perish the thought! It has in some cases helped out with item NUMBER TEN above, in that the music does at least reach the Reviewer as early as possible. The lack of art or credits often complicates matters when it comes to submitting the review however. So the label then ends up being pestered with questions and additional requests.
NUMBER SEVEN
Those questions and additional requests only get made if you can find the right person to talk to though. Since the mid-90s, record label buy-outs, mergers and general delegation have made tracking down the person looking after a particular soundtrack a regular nightmare. I’ve spent anything up to an hour being passed around internally within a company as the buck is repeatedly passed on. This isn’t the worst of it though…
NUMBER SIX
…because an even more troublesome growing trend is for a label to farm out soundtrack releases to independent PR companies. I won’t beat about the bush here. It’s rare a label representative has a clue what they’re talking about when it comes to film soundtracks. So at some level this was a good idea. Unfortunately, while PR companies may have the extra time to research where to promote the product, they too rarely have a clue.
Having a conversation with someone who couldn’t care less about the item you’ve spent ages trying to track down is annoying in the extreme. But I learned the need for patience in all this ages ago. Basically I just put the phone down and then tell them what I think of them when they can’t hear me. Yup – a real mature professional methodology is the only way to survive.
NUMBER FIVE
Usually when I’m chasing down a soundtrack, it’s all off my own initiative. The number of times I’ve actually been asked to obtain an album for review is very few. Those spreadsheets I mentioned before keep me on my toes, and then I do the rounds to find the album. And then go through a repeat process of explaining to the label rep who I’ll be submitting a review to.
Then of course it comes down to finding someone to actually take that review. Let alone pay for it. Most movie-oriented periodicals consider film music an insignificant aspect of filmmaking, and certainly not something they want to devote many pages to.
Thank Gawd for this Column!
NUMBER FOUR
An extremely rare situation is finding myself required to review the same thing twice. Whenever this has happened I’ve really felt ethically challenged. But more challenged as a writer, to see if I can communicate the same points of note without actually repeating myself. It can be done, it just tends to take forever to pull off.
This issue I’ve always closely linked with the next…
NUMBER THREE
Changing my mind later on. I don’t mean going polar opposites from love to hate or vice versa. But it’s quite common for a score or indeed a film to grow on or distance itself from me over time. The most likely influence in all this is seeing the movie, having had the album to review in isolation. Once I see the whole thing working in context, it’s very easy for me to appreciate the music to a higher or lower degree.
Last Column I commented on how PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE is an album I admire much more for having seen the movie. On the flip side, ATTACK OF THE CLONES was a classic case of having an album’s effect on me diluted by its use on screen.
The good news here is I’m always happy to admit a change in opinion. It seems a lot of film music fans have a real problem with doing this, and a worse problem with admitting to being wrong about something. I list it here as my NUMBER THREE because while I may not mind expressing an altered opinion, it always seems to encourage the wrong kind of reaction. I’ve tried repeatedly to explain my feelings about Jerry Goldsmith’s recent career. But no amount of self-deprecatory insistence on my part that I’ve warmed to some of his later scores ever seems to excuse me from dissing them in the first place. (For the record: after a well-reasoned recommendation I have come to a better appreciation of HOLLOW MAN. Nothing will make me sit through STAR TREKs INSURRECTION or NEMESIS again however!)
NUMBER TWO
The flipside of NUMBERs SEVEN to FIVE where tracking down something seems such an unnecessarily difficult task, is all the unwanted crap I get sent for review. See definition Number 4 in the Intro to “Soundtrack” up top. I’ve made my case against it straight back to the mailman.
Anything that comes with a Parental Advisory Warning. Anything that comes with a CD single. Anything that calls itself a Soundtrack “Inspired by” the film. Anything with a track list that takes an hour to read because of all the artist names that defy grammatical comprehension and “Feat.” an extended list of subsidiary artists. Anything that’s “More Music From…” Anything with Hugh Grant on the cover.
What should you do with ‘em?
“PULL!”
(Polite disclaimer: naturally I exaggerate. There have been surprises for each of these ‘categories’. Not the Hugh Grant one though!)
NUMBER ONE
So what’s the all-time worst aspect of reviewing Soundtrack albums? This’ll probably only be a very personal admission, but I hate the thought of people spending their money on my recommendation. It does all come down to individual taste, and I’ve had a few messages from readers who have bought something because I championed it. I can only shrug this one off really. At least it doesn’t happen very often. In fact, this dovetails into what would be the NUMBER ONE reason it doesn’t suck being a Soundtrack Reviewer. When I get messages to say that someone was delighted to discover something after my recommendation, there’s no greater reward for doing this job.
Tracy, why do you keep doing this to yourself??? Stop procrastinating on your essay!
Wait a minute, my name's not Tracy. But I think I know why I'm calling myself that.
And if you're curious, I copied a lovely rant about why it sucks to be a movie soundtrack reviewer. Let's just I say that I totally sympathize, but I'm nowhere near being that professional as an amateur peon.
TOP TEN REASONS IT SUCKS BEING A SOUNDTRACK REVIEWER
NUMBER TEN
One of the biggest problems anyone reviewing a soundtrack album faces is the complicatedly un-co-ordinated timetable everyone’s working to. Because a score is more often than not completed and mixed at the last minute before a film’s release, that means an album mix is similarly last-minute. So for a record label to master, press and distribute an album to coincide with the film’s release is a small miracle. Some manage it. Many don’t. The knock-on effect is that the label rarely has a window of opportunity to promote the album. Getting review copies out in time for most journalists’ deadlines is a tricky thing. And you can forget it as far as printed press deadlines for monthly periodicals are concerned.
I frequently find myself cross-referencing between spreadsheets as to when something is due and when a review could be placed. More frequently I find myself stumped trying to make it happen. There’s no better system for any of this to work by. Ultimately the blame here lies with the fixed release dates imposed on the films themselves, which cause 11th hour headaches all round.
NUMBER NINE
There’s no way any studio would consider inviting (or agreeing to allow) you to attend a movie premiere screening based on writing a soundtrack review. It just isn’t done. Which perpetuates the worst Catch-22 aspect of the job for me, because my ideal situation is to only ever commit my opinion of a score in writing having heard it in its intended context. As a matter of principle, it’s something I’m frequently put on the spot over. Wherever possible I have stated in a review that it’s the album I’m talking about and not the effectiveness of its use on screen.
NUMBER EIGHT
About three or four years ago record labels cottoned on to the fact they could save themselves a few shekels by not always sending out finished product. I can now tell by the weight of a package in my hand whether or not I’m about to open a jewel case or a “Check Disc.” A what? This is a CD-R of the mastered album that usually comes in a floppy plastic wallet with a paper tracklisting. No art. No credits.
I’m sure in part this came down to the secondary market of promo discs that always did the rounds at “used” stores or began getting auctioned on Ebay. Perish the thought! It has in some cases helped out with item NUMBER TEN above, in that the music does at least reach the Reviewer as early as possible. The lack of art or credits often complicates matters when it comes to submitting the review however. So the label then ends up being pestered with questions and additional requests.
NUMBER SEVEN
Those questions and additional requests only get made if you can find the right person to talk to though. Since the mid-90s, record label buy-outs, mergers and general delegation have made tracking down the person looking after a particular soundtrack a regular nightmare. I’ve spent anything up to an hour being passed around internally within a company as the buck is repeatedly passed on. This isn’t the worst of it though…
NUMBER SIX
…because an even more troublesome growing trend is for a label to farm out soundtrack releases to independent PR companies. I won’t beat about the bush here. It’s rare a label representative has a clue what they’re talking about when it comes to film soundtracks. So at some level this was a good idea. Unfortunately, while PR companies may have the extra time to research where to promote the product, they too rarely have a clue.
Having a conversation with someone who couldn’t care less about the item you’ve spent ages trying to track down is annoying in the extreme. But I learned the need for patience in all this ages ago. Basically I just put the phone down and then tell them what I think of them when they can’t hear me. Yup – a real mature professional methodology is the only way to survive.
NUMBER FIVE
Usually when I’m chasing down a soundtrack, it’s all off my own initiative. The number of times I’ve actually been asked to obtain an album for review is very few. Those spreadsheets I mentioned before keep me on my toes, and then I do the rounds to find the album. And then go through a repeat process of explaining to the label rep who I’ll be submitting a review to.
Then of course it comes down to finding someone to actually take that review. Let alone pay for it. Most movie-oriented periodicals consider film music an insignificant aspect of filmmaking, and certainly not something they want to devote many pages to.
Thank Gawd for this Column!
NUMBER FOUR
An extremely rare situation is finding myself required to review the same thing twice. Whenever this has happened I’ve really felt ethically challenged. But more challenged as a writer, to see if I can communicate the same points of note without actually repeating myself. It can be done, it just tends to take forever to pull off.
This issue I’ve always closely linked with the next…
NUMBER THREE
Changing my mind later on. I don’t mean going polar opposites from love to hate or vice versa. But it’s quite common for a score or indeed a film to grow on or distance itself from me over time. The most likely influence in all this is seeing the movie, having had the album to review in isolation. Once I see the whole thing working in context, it’s very easy for me to appreciate the music to a higher or lower degree.
Last Column I commented on how PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE is an album I admire much more for having seen the movie. On the flip side, ATTACK OF THE CLONES was a classic case of having an album’s effect on me diluted by its use on screen.
The good news here is I’m always happy to admit a change in opinion. It seems a lot of film music fans have a real problem with doing this, and a worse problem with admitting to being wrong about something. I list it here as my NUMBER THREE because while I may not mind expressing an altered opinion, it always seems to encourage the wrong kind of reaction. I’ve tried repeatedly to explain my feelings about Jerry Goldsmith’s recent career. But no amount of self-deprecatory insistence on my part that I’ve warmed to some of his later scores ever seems to excuse me from dissing them in the first place. (For the record: after a well-reasoned recommendation I have come to a better appreciation of HOLLOW MAN. Nothing will make me sit through STAR TREKs INSURRECTION or NEMESIS again however!)
NUMBER TWO
The flipside of NUMBERs SEVEN to FIVE where tracking down something seems such an unnecessarily difficult task, is all the unwanted crap I get sent for review. See definition Number 4 in the Intro to “Soundtrack” up top. I’ve made my case against it straight back to the mailman.
Anything that comes with a Parental Advisory Warning. Anything that comes with a CD single. Anything that calls itself a Soundtrack “Inspired by” the film. Anything with a track list that takes an hour to read because of all the artist names that defy grammatical comprehension and “Feat.” an extended list of subsidiary artists. Anything that’s “More Music From…” Anything with Hugh Grant on the cover.
What should you do with ‘em?
“PULL!”
(Polite disclaimer: naturally I exaggerate. There have been surprises for each of these ‘categories’. Not the Hugh Grant one though!)
NUMBER ONE
So what’s the all-time worst aspect of reviewing Soundtrack albums? This’ll probably only be a very personal admission, but I hate the thought of people spending their money on my recommendation. It does all come down to individual taste, and I’ve had a few messages from readers who have bought something because I championed it. I can only shrug this one off really. At least it doesn’t happen very often. In fact, this dovetails into what would be the NUMBER ONE reason it doesn’t suck being a Soundtrack Reviewer. When I get messages to say that someone was delighted to discover something after my recommendation, there’s no greater reward for doing this job.
