Caprain Russ ... "A slippery slope" INDEED ...

There are a number of factors that come into play:
* we all want to be entertainers, and therefore want people to "like us" and what we do;
* while we SAY we want constructive criticism, it is often difficult to take;
* some folks may be critical because they do not care for the particular genre, and do not look deeper into the quality of the performance (I for one would never attempt to comment on hip-hop/rap etc because I can't get past the 'first level');
I never could take to Robert Goulet's voice, but he certainly could sing ... however, I wasn't going to be listening.
* in some instances, the reviewer may not understand what the performer is trying to achieve; ... etc.
AND, while this form (Internet)of communication is very convenient, it does not allow for nuances in the delivery that could change how the criticism is presented and intended. As 'genesys' said "it's not just what you say ...", but sometimes the written word is not interpreted the way it was meant.

Another interesting issue (to me at least) is how third parties will jump in to 'defend' the performer who may be well accepting some valuable constructive criticism, and then the thread takes on a whole other life of its own.

Recently, there have been some demos on this forum which I thought were 'wanting', but others gave glowing praise ... I starting thinking that perhaps something was happening to my ears ! It's like when Sinatra recorded "Old MacDonald Had a Farm" and people bought into it ... I believe he could have recorded a telephone directory and it would have gotten air time ...

If someone asks for constuctive criticism, they should receive it, but as was said earlier, "your voice sucks" might not qualify,even though the statement may be true ... It might be better if we said "Perhaps you should just do instrumentals" ...
BUT, if good constructive criticism is given, any words in opposition to that criticism should also be constructive ...
AND remember, we ALL have our own opinion, which we are intitled to, even if we disagree with DonM, who is ALMOST always right !!! ...

t.




[This message has been edited by tony mads usa (edited 11-23-2005).]