Beginners are often looking for the "right" way to do something. Even if they've done an excellent job, it's very easy for a smart ass with clearly negative intentions to go in and rain on his party. This is what I was speaking out about.

You are right. The guy doing the mixing has to take criticism with a grain of salt.

Ultimately, I should have simply dealt with the smaller issues on a one on one basis and not posted a blog / newsletter on the topic.

Brandon

I'm kind of with rexde on this one. Like it or not, "my taste" in music and in its finer details will dictate whether I find a piece of music 'intense' or not.

I'm not keen on very heavy metal. So I would probably decline to comment on such a song because, even if they adjusted this part or tweaked that part, I'm not going to be excited by the end result.

But if someone posts a blues song and It's nearly brilliant except i think it's lacking a certain something, then what? Don't say anything because it's just a matter of opinion?

If that's the case then you're only going to be dealing in technicalities - where's the 'spirit' in that?

When R.E.M's "Monster" album came out, I heted it because i didn't like the vocals (I guess where they were in the mix). They're millionaire's, and I struggle to scrape a living - so who am I to argue? But that doesn't mean my opinion's not valid.

So if I post a song and you say "The guitar's too loud", I can accept it or reject it. I ,ight have deliberately recorded it a bit loud cos it's my taste - but I might not have noticed it was too loud and a fresh pair of ears has come to the rescue.

It's your site man, but I say. Let Man A put his songs on. Let Critics A, B & C put whatever (tactful) comments they want on. Let Man A decide for himself which bits of advice to take on board and which to ignore. If man A feels discouraged by the responses then he's missed the point of the forum, hasn't he?

By the way, I think the call for “excitement and intensity” may be a red herring, to some extent. Some songs or pieces are meant to be “chilled out” to, or are written for their melodic beauty alone.

You are taking "excitement" and "intensity" to mean being on the offensive line in a football game or riding in a fighter jet.

You are looking at a musical performance as being either a roller coaster thrill ride or a "chilled" experience or somewhere in between. There is another side that we encounter when producing vocals especially. What happens when the vocal was just flat (not pitch) or just not effective enough for the song.

Let's just take Sheryl Crow's "Strong Enough To Be My Man". She never wails. She never just rips into an incredibly loud vocal. She's laid back and subdued the entire song and it's an extremely exciting and extremely intense vocal performance.

So when I say "exciting", I don't mean D-Day Invasion. I mean "the ability to convey whatever it is you are trying to convey". "Excite" doesn't have to be Motley Crue "Kickstart My Heart". "Excite" means anything that makes a listener feel something. I consider Cindy Lauper's "Time After Time" to be very exciting.

Maybe you've been lucky enough to record musicians who can pull this off consistently, but in my experience I have to work hard to really get a vocalist to really make me feel the lyrics and not just hear them.

My two-bob's worth.

In the case of a complete song, if someone wants to say "Dude, don't quit your day job", you ought to be able to deal with that . In the real world, no matter who you are, somebody doesn't like you or what you've done. I thought you were looking for honest opinions in "Bash this Recording"

"Post your songs and mixes up for Bashing. Songwriting, performances, recording, and mixing will all be judged."

Totally agree with you about the individuality thing... and I think it it actually having a detremental effect on modern music, especially Heavy Rock & Metal - the mixes of which (on many) are diabolical!! This Modern trend to have the guitars SO Loud and Bassy as to drown out Bass, Drums & Vocals is ludicrous in many cases... And all because one person emulated a bad Mix of a famous band (Metallica springs to mind!!) and it becomes the "Norm". Glad a person in your position has the foresight to see it... BUT what do I know - I'm just a lowly Bassist!!!!!

I find it's easy for nearly anyone to say "I'd do X differently" on any recording, but in the end you just have to relax and remember that it's not your recording.

Thanks for a great healthy laugh!

That article is going into my conversations, which is the highest form of flattery.
Thanks a lot for taking the time to articulate what so many song-wrtiers feel, when writing music and ultimately knowing that the kick isnt compressed enough etc etc.

Best,
Dion
dionroy.com