You better go now. Your mommy's callin'.

Be careful following the masses. Sometimes the "M" is silent...........................

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Last edited: Sep 23, 2009 20:15:13

BillyBlastOff
Wahhhhhhh, Wahhhhhhh, Phil only gave me two stars on my songs, Wahhhhhhh, Wahhhhhhhhh, I want my mommy.

Is that what all the negative posts are about?
If you only got a couple stars on your tunes is because, well, chances are, they probably SUCKED!
Get over it, if your egos will let you........
B-B-O

No it's not. It's the fact that he does a sloppy, lazy job that gets under my skin. He cuts and pastes, says the Thunderchiefs are from Denver, and his site is a mess. Of course he's going to show favoritism, he's human. I don't really care about that. And I'm not above admitting that we've put out some shitty songs. If he "cared" so much, he could do a better job. It's only fair-he criticizes me, I can criticize him. His site has marginal stereo.
It took me less than a minute to find this: Look at the releases listed under Mercury Four on the right>

http://www.satanspilgrims.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Satans-Pilgrims/8210228553
https://satanspilgrims.bandcamp.com/
http://www.surfyindustries.com

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zak
There are a lot of people walking on eggshells or saying nothing because they are afraid of getting a bad review from the Czar of Surf Reviews. Now that is messed up.

I'm sure Phil Dirt won't have a crying fit if he reads what people have said about him, as someone who writes reviews he should be able to take the bad with the good, especially in light of how much praise there is for him in this thread. A couple of people don't share the orgasmic sense of gratitude and suddenly he's being "trashed" somehow?

Amen brutha

http://www.satanspilgrims.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Satans-Pilgrims/8210228553
https://satanspilgrims.bandcamp.com/
http://www.surfyindustries.com

Stop trashing Phil, Jeff!

http://www.satanspilgrims.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Satans-Pilgrims/8210228553
https://satanspilgrims.bandcamp.com/
http://www.surfyindustries.com

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Last edited: Sep 23, 2009 20:18:09

Ha... this is a really fun track. Can't have the attitude hat on too tightly with this one! Then, there are these:

This is an insightful thread about reviews and using them. So, here are some of my thoughts for readers of Reverb Central.

First, I'm just a fan with opinions and the commitment and passion to do something with them. My opinions are mine alone, as are those of any reviewer. They are based on my experience, my taste, and my historical perspective.

If readers find my taste in music aligns with theirs, or doesn't, they can use that as the filter through which they read my reviews. I read movie reviews to figure out what to see. I use the "ax to grind" of the reviewer and the language they use to determine the lens through which they viewed the film. Do they come off as arty, snobby, politically correct, intellectual, emotional, over analytical, have no sense of entertainment for entertainment's sake, or whatever? My judgment about that helps me anticipate what a movie may actually be like as I will perceive it. That means I go to movies with 1 star sometimes, and don't go to 4 star movies sometimes.

I've have readers email saying they have disagreed with every review for a decade, and use that as the guide to fine what they will like. 1 star from me, 5 stars for them. It's what makes a horse race.

People who take what is written as gospel bother me as it bothers Zak. Most people have weak senses of what they like and don't like. That's why the music business works as it does. Many mistake familiarity with liking a song, hence payola. I don't like that, but I can't change it. I think that's lazy listening, but it's also the way the vast majority of the people of planet earth think about music. MTV could not otherwise exist.

Sometimes I weigh certain elements more than others. I often lament about bad sound hiding what is likely a great song or performance, or great ideas. This is why 3 stars for The Dubceks. Despite everything else about their material, zero stars for some elements, they are original. Very bad recordings, not even demos, just basement tapes, and at that, like developmental sessions, not even rehearsals. The playing is often lacking chemistry, etc. What they get credit for are the things I perceive in fresh ideas and possibilities. I think the review pretty clearly says all this.

It may sound contradictory, but there's a lot of difference in my book between just bad and lo-fi per say. While I think lo-fi is lazy and masks the performance and material, if the music underneath shows promise, then I am still drawn to it, but I want to hear it in the best possible setting. If the music is not to my liking, then the sound doesn't matter at all to me personally, but needs to be identified in the review to protect those that do care from spending money on product they will not appreciate.

It's also part of my mission to try to describe the music as visually as possible.

A rave review that fails to mention horrible sound quality is deceptive. Tell me the music rips, and it sounds like it was recorded under a bridge by a troll, and I understand what to expect. Tell me why it rips, not that it rips. I try to describe how records sound. If I can communicate the impact it has on my, then a reader might be able to gauge his/her own reaction.

xoxoxoimage

Phil Dirt<br><a href="klzzwxh:0000">Reverb Central</a>

thank you: well said that why you are the cat with hat the fact that you took the time to listen and review all this music for the last 25 years put you in a very important place with in the gere like jon blair and robert dalley all ground breakers

Facebook pages theSupertones
or @ Timothy C Sullivan

I definitely appreciate what Phil has done over the years, as a fellow music reviewer. It takes a lot of time and effort to do a music review, let alone hundreds of them. Reviews are a combination of two things - information and opinion. One person's opinion of something is equal to another persons - you may agree or disagree, but opinions are of equal value no matter who it's coming from. However, when a person writes hundreds of reviews you can begin to compare your personal likes/dislikes with a reviewers likes/dislikes, which can form a solid basis for future purchasing decisions. I have to admit, there was a period in the 90's where if Phil didn't like something I'd buy it - my taste for surf music back then was definitely skewed towards lo-fi and vintage recordings, which usually got 1-3 star ratings from Phil. However, I definitely appreciated the value of that. The informational aspect of his website is probably what I value the most though - it's a thorough database of surf releases with album art, track listings and label information. I'd say these days that more surf bands send their music to Phil than any other review site or publication (New Gandy Dancer and Pipeline are others, while for some reason I don't receive as many releases for review in The Continental - maybe somebody's gonna start a thread on how much my reviews suck!).

One of my hopes someday is to post all of the Continental magazine reviews online, but that seems like a huge project that I just don't have the time for. Some of Phil's reviews don't make any sense - "I Love Tikis" is not a 5-star song and as much as I love the Neptunas, there is no way they are deserving of a 4-star review, but still, I value what he's done with Reverb Central and hope he keeps it going for a long, long time!

Sean
Double Crown Records
www.doublecrownrecords.com

Surf CD's / Vinyl / Fanzines / DVD's
Aloha Screwdriver - Lunar Wobble CD
The Nebulas - Euphorion LP / CD
Supertubos - The Fourth Drive CD
Continental Magazine - Issue #38 w/17 Song CD