advice for young critics

**kaini** · March 3, 2012

1. There are no guilty pleasures. There is only “guilt” and “pleasure” and you really never should conflict the two.

2. Before you commit to saying you hate something that brings joy to people (and doesn’t hurt others), think long and hard about your reasons for doing so. If in doubt, enthusiasm beats cynicism.

3. There is no authenticity, only sincerity.

4. It is more important to be nice than it is to be right.

5. Like what you like and encourage others to do the same. If you do that and keep an open mind, you’re cool. (No one can tell you how you ought to feel.)

6. The concept of “celebrity” is the curse of the modern age, don’t fuel its fire.

7. Quality of writing doesn’t result from other people agreeing or not, it comes from being well-argued and beautifully put.

8. If pressed for instant opinions, try honesty rather than handing down pre-conceived notions.

9. Never imply that a certain kind of fanbase (especially: teenage girls) has any effect whatsoever on artistic merit or credibility.

10. Tread carefully when dealing with matters of myth and legacy. There is nothing romantic about wasting your life; sympathize but don’t glamorize. (Life’s too short to busy yourself with wanting to life forever.)

11. Only a fool calls himself an expert. Do not feel inadequate or intimidated by other people’s knowledge.

12. It’s okay to disregard your own advice every now and then.

Cryptowen · March 3, 2012

thas church, yo

**kaini** · March 3, 2012

it's not mine, for the record: http://oneweekoneband.tumblr.com/post/18258927319/phrases-and-philosophies-for-young-critics

it's good, though.

YO303 · March 3, 2012

Indeed

**geosmina** · March 3, 2012

nice

**kaini** · March 3, 2012

On 3/3/2012 at 2:13 AM, YO303 said:

Indeed

i can only dream of having a impressive morrissey-esque music critic quiff like that.

March 3, 2012

Good list. WATMM is often guilty of this one in particular:

On 3/3/2012 at 2:10 AM, kaini said:

9. Never imply that a certain kind of fanbase (especially: teenage girls) has any effect whatsoever on artistic merit or credibility.

Hey, Animal Collective have some great songs, who cares who listens to them, ok?

**chenGOD** · March 3, 2012

On 3/3/2012 at 2:10 AM, kaini said:

10. Tread carefully when dealing with matters of myth and legacy. There is nothing romantic about wasting your life; sympathize but don’t glamorize. (Life’s too short to busy yourself with wanting to life forever.)

Who wants to life forever?

kinski · March 3, 2012

my advice for young CRITICS

1) learn your subject

2) learn how to write

3) don't be a cunt

that is all.

Edited March 3, 2012 by kinski

**kaini** · March 3, 2012

On 3/3/2012 at 3:27 AM, Al Hounos said:

Good list. WATMM is often guilty of this one in particular:

On 3/3/2012 at 2:10 AM, kaini said:

9. Never imply that a certain kind of fanbase (especially: teenage girls) has any effect whatsoever on artistic merit or credibility.

There are no guilty pleasures. There is only “guilt” and “pleasure” and you really never should conflict the two.

Edited March 3, 2012 by kaini

**joshuatxuk** · March 3, 2012

On 3/3/2012 at 2:12 AM, kaini said:

it's not mine, for the record: http://oneweekoneban...r-young-critics

it's good, though.

This list is great, many points are ones I've embraced lately, #2 and #5 especially.

**Braintree** · March 3, 2012

Good advice.

Especially the bit about enthusiasm.

TechDiff · March 4, 2012

critics are something the world could do without.

Just the idea of it, a person whos sole purpose is to criticise stuff that other people do. Such a hateful, pointless existence. I mean, I don't see any harm in being critical of something, so long as that isn't all you're good for. There are loads of members on here who can often be very critical of new films, music, whatever, but they also undertake their own creative endeavours.

it's the whole "sitting atop of a throne, judging your fellow mans pathetic attempts at culture and art" attitude while never contributing or even attempting to contribute anything yourself.

I always thought it'd be funny to run a blog which does critical reviews of critical reviews.

"today we'll be looking at Mark Kermodes review of incy wincy spider, personally I found his opinions to be vapid, preposterous, and so riddled with arrogance that its near impossible to take them remotely seriously..." and so on

**OneToThirtySix** · March 5, 2012

How is this thread not about Twilight?

YO303 · March 5, 2012

Why did Bella married Eddy? Bella is clearly into wolf fur. On chapter four Book 2 when she is shopping for a new couch she makes a comment something like "I wish they made couches with wolf fur". I simply don't understand why Stephanie Meyer made Bella a fan of Wolf fur and then marry a vampire instead of a wolfdude.

Edited March 5, 2012 by YO303

murve33 · March 5, 2012

Nice list. I need to work on being less of an asshole, and this list will probably help.

Npoess · March 5, 2012

Leave Skrillex alone!

gaarg · March 5, 2012

Professional critics, however, should be more edgy nowadays. At least in our parts most of the stuff they write is somehow greyish talk about everything and nothing at the same time, because they are afraid to point out valid ups and downs.

TechDiff: Criticism is very ok, but should be done in moderation (among non-pros) and always, fucking always pointing your own subjective view on any matter. The big difference between pro and non-pro critics is or should be the level of competence and understanding the broader context of a given genre.

**kaini** · March 5, 2012

On 3/5/2012 at 7:56 PM, gaarg said:

Professional critics, however, should be more edgy nowadays. At least in our parts most of the stuff they write is somehow greyish talk about everything and nothing at the same time, because they are afraid to point out valid ups and downs.\The big difference between pro and non-pro critics is or should be the

yes and no: some of the stuff pitchfork have written has been absolute drivel because of this

http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/368-untilted/

hofstadter's GEB is one of my favourite books, this homage to it is crap, and this review's resemblance to the dialogue chapters from that book is a fucking insult.

**FLA FUR BIS FLE** · March 5, 2012

On 3/3/2012 at 3:31 AM, chenGOD said:

On 3/3/2012 at 2:10 AM, kaini said:

10. Tread carefully when dealing with matters of myth and legacy. There is nothing romantic about wasting your life; sympathize but don’t glamorize. (Life’s too short to busy yourself with wanting to life forever.)

Who wants to life forever?

Who dares to love forever?

Edited March 5, 2012 by thanks robert moses

gaarg · March 5, 2012

On 3/5/2012 at 9:12 PM, thanks robert moses said:

On 3/3/2012 at 3:31 AM, chenGOD said:

On 3/3/2012 at 2:10 AM, kaini said:

10. Tread carefully when dealing with matters of myth and legacy. There is nothing romantic about wasting your life; sympathize but don’t glamorize. (Life’s too short to busy yourself with wanting to life forever.)

Who wants to life forever?

Who dares to love forever?

Wooouu wooooo uuuu woooooo!

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