In a message dated 12/4/01 3:17:26 AM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: >Something that really bugs me here is all the comparison that goes on. >This artist is better than that one, that artist is trying to be like so and >so, and on and on ... Rickie Lee Jones has >a solid base of people who think she is the best musician who ever walked >the face of the earth, just as most people here feel that way about Joni, and >other people I know feel that way about Natalie Merchant, Jewel, Brittany >Spears, Madonna, Bob Dylan, etc.
I've said this before, and it bears repeating now. It's very important to always keep in mind that there is personal taste, and there is critical assessment, and these are two quite independant judgements. Personal taste is completely subjective, and something with which you just can't (and shouldn't) argue, but critical evaluation has objective components, such as standards of quality based on a thorough working knowledge of the topic, and a broader consensus tempered by historical perspective. To illustrate crudely, if someone says that Kenny G is their favorite jazz saxophonist, well ... that's their taste (and their problem, as far as we may be concerned). But if that person wants to extrapolate from their own taste and claim that Kenny G is a higher quality saxophonist than, say Wayne Shorter, that's pretty much wrong, plain and simple. Yeah, I know everyone's entitled to hold their own opinion, but that's all they're entitled to ... holding it. Just because one may hold opinion "A" doesn't necessarily mean that it has as much inherent validity as opinion "B." In other words, it's essential to not confuse one's own taste with critical appraisal, especially when the two don't intersect. That may seem harsh, but that's how excellence is determined. I mean, really ... from as objective a viewpoint as is possible for imperfect, subjective humans to have ... is Madonna as good a songwriter as Joni Mitchell? Does her body of work demonstrate the same level of craft and inspiration in the manipulation of the materials? If Madonna's music means more to you (not *you,* but "you") personally than Joni's, if she grooves you more, speaks more directly to your inner life, then fine ... no one can argue. But if everyone's work is equally valid, if there is no attempt at objective examination, then what's excellence? -Fred
