Music critic "dead"?

Troy Hawes is performing. (Photo courtesy of "Summer of the Band" program group)

The veteran band "Shui Mu Nianhua", which debuted for nearly 20 years, appeared in the second season of "Summer of the Band" and sang their song "Farewell to Youth" written on 20 13. Being criticized by music critics on the spot as "too greasy" is "the groan of middle-aged people". Shui Mu Nianhua finally got 185 votes (out of 280 votes), and was eliminated because of its low ranking. Among them, professional fans represented by music critics only voted for 4 votes.

Pax Congo, a singer from Happy Boys, took his new rock band "Daydream Syndrome" to "Summer of the Band". After the performance, he said that he was determined to realize his dream of rock and roll, regardless of "above", which was the music he really wanted to play. Pax Congo, who was labeled as a "draft singer", was not favored by music critics, and his singing was criticized as "soulless" by music critics. In the final voting stage, only one professional fan voted for him.

The controversy among Five People, Parks, Congo and Shui Mu youth has made the music critics group rarely put on the stage. Early music critics lived in print and radio, and their comments looked amiable; Nowadays, music critics have iterated and become the "makers" of variety show disputes. How did all this change happen? In an era when everyone can speak out and express their opinions, can everyone become a "music critic" and is it necessary for professional music critics to exist?

Music critic Deng Ke is in the band's second summer season. (Photo courtesy of "Summer of the Band" program group)

"What kind of music critics are these?" "Music critics continue!" When the five-person band was eliminated for the first time, the barrage of Le Xia was screened, and netizens aimed "artillery fire" at the music critics who had the right to vote.

Deng Ke, a music critic, felt helpless. He thinks this is due to the "time difference" of the program. At the recording scene of Le Xia, five people temporarily changed their tracks and sang in Haifeng dialect, which most people could not understand, and the lyrics and subtitles were too late to be typed. However, all the programs seen by netizens have video materials to explain the background. "Sloppy" PeopleSoft, Amao who always walks on a pair of slippers, is funny and three-dimensional. "Super fan" Zhang Yadong said publicly on the program: "I didn't understand why such a band was invited. What were they singing? But when I met them, I loved them so much. "

"Five people are not a band that won by music alone. Their music itself is not so attractive. It is the charm of people that makes their music sound good. " Deng Ke said. Music critic Ethan also feels the same way: "The musicality of the five people is not so strong, but their advantage lies in their distinctive regional characteristics. They look at the world around them from the perspective of their hometown and don't imagine themselves in another world, such as imagining themselves as part of the high-end life in Shanghai or Los Angeles. "

Music critic Zheng Xiang questioned the audience's love: "Just like a group of people like hip-hop through variety shows in recent years, are they hip-hop powder or variety powder?" In my opinion, most of them are just variety powder. Like five people, the same is true. "

Deng Ke is no stranger to the hot search of music critics. In the first season of "Summer of the Band", he was scolded by netizens for commenting on the adaptation of Faye Wong's "I Do" by the popular band "Bitter Faith".

So is Zheng Xiang. After Pax Congo's "Dream Syndrome" band performed a performance that blended emotional rock, hip-hop and heavy metal styles, Zheng Xiang stood up and pointed out that their music "has a relatively hollow core". "If there is no core, then all performances are just a coat and a beautiful package". His comments triggered a barrage carnival, and netizens swiped the screen and said "professional fans are coming again" and "this is too biased"-in the eyes of some netizens, Pax Congo's "fast man" label made music critics wear colored glasses. Subsequently, Zheng Xiang suffered a round of "cyber violence" on his personal Weibo.

A common phenomenon is that "draft singers" and "academic singers" are easily treated differently in rock and roll circles and independent music circles. "Because rock music pays special attention to music and the truth of people, what kind of songs do you write under what kind of living conditions? Therefore, quite a few people hate academic school and think that although you have good skills, you have never experienced such a life, and what you write is not true. " Deng Ke said, "The same is true of talented singers. They are selected from variety shows, and there must be various business promoters behind them. Since they have already enjoyed the bonus of that group, why do they come here to cut the cake? " In that game, Deng Ke was the only professional fan who voted for the Congo Peace Organization. His reason is, "Pax Congo is much better than the lead singers of many bands in terms of singing skills, and his music is done with great care." In terms of music practice, he is enough for me. "

Ethan is the manager of Easy FM, the DJ of the radio station and the drummer of the band. He can understand this "prejudice" in the industry. "The mainstream commercial music field, whether in the United States, China, Japan or South Korea, has always been like this-whenever there are good signs in a sub-culture field, everyone will' harvest'-in the past two years, rock music has suddenly become something that seems to make people look cool, so Ethan said," This is not about Pax Congo, but that Pax Congo is unfortunately standing at gunpoint. So do many hip-hop players in China. Originally a step-by-step boy in life, he became a' bad boy' in African-American slums overnight. To say that the advanced point is cultural appropriation, people who know what is going on will be embarrassed. "

Ethan also expressed dissatisfaction with the band's tendency to talk about retro. He remembers watching an interview with the famous British electronic band Superband. Band members said that those who made electronic music in the 1980s and 1990s were naturally thinking about how to make different things. But on the stage of many music variety shows, young electronic musicians are keen on retro. "The old rock cannon has been exploring, but they are all young people in their twenties. As soon as they came up, they played a successful style that was tested by the market decades ago. If you bring it today, it must be a safety card. I will play safety cards in my twenties. "

These "harsh" words were not said by Ethan on the stage of Happy Summer. In the first season, he said a lot of "unpleasant words", but he soon found that it was in vain and made many people unhappy. In the second season, he simply restrained his sharpness, and as a result, his comments did not appear in the program very well. "It's hard to express something in music in a few words in such a scene, especially if you know it will dismember you later." He said, "When you criticize a person or a bad work, you must speak comprehensively." But a variety show can't give you such space. When it's easy to say that people are bad, you really should pay attention, because even if his supporters pick out a little mistake in your speech, they will totally deny you. "

Zheng Xiang was deeply touched by this. He commented on the dialogue between Pax Congo and Zhou Xun and other super fans, which was originally more than ten minutes, and finally left a few words with the most conflicting feeling in the program. This is determined by the nature of the program. Zheng Xiang said, "Variety shows need to present conflicts." Deng Ke also believes that the variety effect is more sought after in the program, so the expression of music critics will be amplified or misinterpreted to varying degrees, but it is this sense of conflict that can bring huge flow and discussion to the program.

"This is not a popular science program." Deng Ke said, "Popular science means understanding and learning, and learning is an unhappy process. You have to learn before you can have delayed happiness. However, variety shows are happy, and most viewers are happy to watch programs. Therefore, it is impossible for the program group to take out a long space for you to elaborate professional issues, and it is enough to present some of our views in pieces. "

Music critic Ethan is in the second season of Summer of the Band. (Photo courtesy of "Summer of the Band" program group)

20 14 When the second season of "I am a singer" was broadcast, Deng Ke officially became a music critic. With the rise of programs such as The Voice of China, I am a singer, and Summer of the Band, China's music variety shows have entered a new stage, and the pursuit of music itself has reached a new height. "A musician is not only a top musician, but also a good musician. At least he will create a new artistic conception that is not inferior to the original, and let the original lyrics glow with a new feeling. For example, Terry Lin adapted Jay Chou's Fireworks Easy to Cold." Deng Ke recalled.

With the increasing demand for musicality in music variety, the public audience wants to know why a singer is eliminated. As a result, music critics have become the "just need" of all kinds of music variety.

Deng Ke was born in the Central Conservatory of Music. As a music critic, he pays more attention to the analysis of music itself. He noticed that with the increasing demand for music critics, many amateurs who called themselves "music critics" appeared at one time and made serious comments, "in fact, they were talking nonsense". For example, he said, "He scored high this time because' he sang loosely and that man sang tightly'. When discussing such a specific music singing method, even the discussion premise is not set. Just like when you discuss a person diving, I jumped a 3.0 difficulty, and you jumped a 6.0 difficulty, so you can directly discuss the completion score without considering these technical points. How to discuss? Some people sing loosely, because he only sings in the G key, while others sing tightly and sing high C, but you say that others' sing badly and their faces are deformed'. " At that time, such "music criticism" prompted Deng Ke to write music criticism and make music analysis.

Zheng Xiang is an insider. He used to be the marketing director of Warner Music and Universal Music in China. Later, he founded the podcast "Inside Talk" to regularly check and promote all kinds of music. In his view, having enough music "reading" is the basic requirement for music critics. He listens to at least 1000 newly released records every year.

It's not enough to just listen, Deng Ke thinks, but also to sum up clues and establish a set of evaluation system and aesthetics, which is the effective "reading". "Otherwise, just listening to the number is no different from reporting the name." Zheng Xiang also believes that in the process of listening, "you can find a small trend or a small trend, and why there is such a trend has a lot to do with the development of the whole society."

Zheng Xiang has its own standards for good music and good bands. Music technology is secondary to him, and he values sincerity more. "What I insist on is whether you have played new tricks in music; If you are not innovative, but write a sincere enough work under the old framework (not bad). Don't say how hard you work, talk with your work. " He said.

At the same time, Zheng Xiang noticed that in the circle of music critics, a popular way of commenting is to move out many technical terms that ordinary audiences can't understand, such as "using some sixteenth notes", "This is a seven-beat song" and "How about his chord sleeves" ... "If you don't understand these words, you feel quite professional." Zheng Xiang thinks this is a misunderstanding. "What music critics have to do is to' translate' and let everyone know what you are talking about in plain words."

Music critics are in the second season of Summer of the Band. (Photo courtesy of "Summer of the Band" program group)

Music critic Shark Wang is in the band's second summer season. (Photo courtesy of "Summer of the Band" program group)

How did the music critic change from affable to controversial?

In Deng Ke's view, the repetition experienced by music critics is closely related to the times. Early music critics were special writers who contributed to various media. Writing a music review with a pen, the article only needs the approval of the reader or the editorial department of the publication, not the approval of the singer. Most of the written words are propaganda and analysis of good music, which is naturally "harmonious".

In the new media era, a number of literary and artistic publications have been dumped, which means that some music critics have lost their jobs. Instead, they accepted the manuscripts of some record companies and became the export of publicity by record companies, which is bound to put in a good word for these singers. Music criticism in this period is no longer a simple music criticism, but a promotion advertisement, so it is naturally difficult to see criticism.

Then came the era of "traffic", and many self-media survival depended on traffic. "If you want traffic, you must first create controversy and secondly please the public." Ethan said. As a result, some remarks that attract attention and smash traffic frequently appear, and music critics are also involved.

Later, in the era of variety shows, music critics' income source is no longer record companies, so naturally, there is no need to say good things about singers. In addition, there will be competition and comparison when there are variety shows. In the comparison between bands, the feelings of each music critic are subjective and controversial. In Deng Ke's view, creating disputes is sometimes beneficial. "Music critics sometimes ask some tricky questions, and you will feel offended, but it makes sense to think about it carefully. It may be annoying to have such a music critic next to you, which is conducive to the band's awe and introspection of many things. "

Zheng Xiang has a different opinion: "The more such arguments, the farther away from the music itself. Many times, the debate is not about music, but it rises to personal attacks, and eventually becomes a question of why there is a career like music critic. " It is at this stage that music critics become the object of controversy.

"But music critics still need it." Zheng Xiang said, "Today, everyone who plays bands and music is more or less guided by music critics and influenced by articles written or recommended by music critics. Most music critics have experience in the music industry. They are people who sort out and recommend, and they are people who really contribute to the music industry. "

One case that different music critics will mention is that the word "rock music" was put forward by music critics. "Musicians are very self-centered, and their creations are self-centered. Their musical styles need to be sorted out and spread. What is the biggest feature of this style, what is the spiritual core, who are the representative figures, and what kind of periods are divided? Music critics finally took a term for this style: rock. Go away, "said Deng Ke. "All bands will say what styles they have created, but there are not so many styles in the world. Who will sort and name it? Music critic. "

Ethan has passed the stage of being led by the critics. Before he entered the music industry and the digital music era, he had established his own aesthetic pedigree about music. In his view, the significance of music critics as "consumer guide" and "shopping guide" has faded in the early days, but he also believes that music critics are necessary: "We need more professional music critics to choose from information noise, recommend new music works and broaden our musical ideas."