AmericanFlagAsh
11.06.14 | Basically I fight myself on why I gave an album a certain rating and am I really being influenced by the general consensus.
Stupid list, I know. |
Sowing
11.06.14 | I actually feel the same way a lot of the time. My ratings are so frequently 4 or higher but it's because I don't waste my time with shit I know I'm going to hate. But then it makes me look like I have no balance or ability to be critical. So yeah. |
ArsMoriendi
11.06.14 | Rate things on personal preference, it's easier and more reflective of your personal taste. Fuck general consensus.
Or you could go all Someguest and stop rating things altogether.
^just some suggestions. |
theacademy
11.06.14 | dude i totally feel ur painnnnnnnnn
... |
AmericanFlagAsh
11.06.14 | I feel it Sowing. I feel it. I have so many 4.5s and 4s.
And Ars, the problem with rating by personal preference is I always ask "do I like this as much as this? No? Yes? IDK." And then I realize why do I care. And then I pretend like somebody else cares. I want to stop rating... but then the problem with that is that I like showing what all I have listened to. (Again thinking like somebody actually cares." |
AmericanFlagAsh
11.06.14 | I'm glad there are people who think somewhat like me. Thought I was alone. |
BigBlob
11.06.14 | "Rate things on personal preference, it's easier and more reflective of your personal taste. Fuck general consensus."
Jane Doe would probably have an average Sput rating of 3.0 if people did this |
tempest--
11.06.14 | wipe all your ratings then do like 5 artists thats what i did |
SharkTooth
11.06.14 | lol I just use ratings to keep track of what I have listened to, I really don't care whether it's a 4.5 or a
5 |
tempest--
11.06.14 | oh and my 5.0s |
NorthernSkylark
11.06.14 | i literally just made a list of all my 4's in 2014. haha, but yeah i mainly rate so that i won't forget an album or because then i'll get a better feeling of what sort of music i like and what i don't like. |
AmericanFlagAsh
11.06.14 | I like Shark's idea of just keeping track.
But sometimes I rate an album a 4.5 and realize I have not listened to it in months and then I'm like "why did I rate that so high?" Jane Doe is an example. |
Keyblade
11.06.14 | You can just not, idk care? That seems the easiest option |
theacademy
11.06.14 | here's something you;ll thank me for articulating here, today. this is something you know in your heart already but need someone else to point out to you:
there is an inherent value to rating music. it is probably rooted in the notion that you love music, and have many thoughts about music, and you want to organize those thoughts in a way that permits you to refer back to *a whole bunch of those thoughts* in a convenient list (that also permits comparison of one thought to another thought).
it's great.
here's the thing though: those thoughts will change over time, since your tastes will change over time. this will require you to maintain the way you organize those thoughts (by fiddling with ratings and thereby changing the order of your big list of thoughts)
realistically, someday in the future, you will grow tired of sputnik. unfortunately, sputnik will not permit you to export or backup your big list of thoughts so that you may take it with you to your 'next sputnik' and continue to maintain it as you grow old. (note: this isn't only sputnik's fault it's just sort of the way the internet works...)
you will almost assuredly abandon your big list of thoughts
and all the time you spent, feeling bad about whether something is a 4 or a 4.5 will be completely fucking irrelevant
so possible solutions:
1.why not put your big list of thoughts in an excel file? you can give things a 4.24/5 or a 4.241/5 or a 4.24000009/5
2. why not rate things in a carefree, binary system: everything is a 1 or a 5--you like it or you dont [personal endorsement]
3. why not say "fuck ratings" and let the inherent beauty of quantitative data organizee your thoughts for you? A good tool for this is Last.fm :) [personal endorsement]
so in the end, it's on you. for what its worth, i wish you good luck. |
BilboTeaBaggins
11.06.14 | I'm just wondering how you wipe your ratings. I can be pretty pretentious at times and I've rated some albums that I maybe haven't fully listened to just because the community seems to like them. |
theacademy
11.06.14 | ;) |
AmericanFlagAsh
11.06.14 | Oh wow Academy, that was great thanks.
I think what I'm going to do (not a completely binary) but similar system.
Ill have my 5's (my favorites) which are pretty easy
Ill have 4 for things I like
2.5 for things I don't really feel like listening to again (which is perfect because I don't like rating things below average) |
exitsense
11.06.14 | What is knowing a lot about music?? You are the sole person who knows the most about music when it comes to rating because rating IS about personal preference. Some people (sheeple) make it out to be this objective thing like Radiohead are objectively considered masterpieces or something simply because they are popular with professional critics (who, by the way, don't "know more" about music, even if they might know more music than you) and everyone must take that into account and blindly follow suit. No you don't have to take their opinions into account.
If by "knowing more about music" you do mean "knowing more music", which in such a case you'd ideally figure out that there are many underrated artists which you'd prefer to the ones which are popular/acclaimed, then you would never know what that kind of knowledge really is until you stop assuming that professional critics, or the general consensus, are the ones who hold that kind of knowledge. There's such a thing as "knowing more about what audiences would like" (which professional critics may be biased towards covering) and "knowing more about what you like". But "knowing more about music"?
Rating at least helps people who have similar taste to you discover music, and if that includes no one, at least you can rate for fun, if you are a nerd who finds it fun to organize your own individuality/preferences (like myself I guess)... |
Jots
11.06.14 | ^ding ding ding |
AmericanFlagAsh
11.06.14 | I guess knowing more about music doesn't make sense because of subjectivity huh? You're right.
I think I just meant I couldn't tell you the chord progression or all of the instruments used and things
like that. I think I will just rate for fun and not worry about it. (or try) |
lyzakthellama
11.06.14 | I only rate albums because its like a journal for my music listening. Don't put too much thought into it and rate things what you want to rate them. Dont doubt yourself, if you really like something then give it the 4 or 4.5 or whatever. Rating is just for fun really anyways |
StallionMang
11.06.14 | "It's pretty hard for me to completely dislike an album. Maybe I just listen to too many things I think I'd like?"
I understand this complaint cause I pretty much only listen to stuff I know (or at least think) I'd enjoy. I guess the solution would be to bump your ratings down a notch or two (4.5s become 4s, 4s become 3.5s, etc) to save your objectivity. That way only your very favorite albums would have high ratings and you could fill up the lower spots more easily |
AmericanFlagAsh
11.06.14 | Ugh yeah. I guess I'll just leave them the way they are. Fuck it, right? |
treeqt.
11.06.14 | "I often ask myself "what makes this a 4 and that a 4.5""
there you have the problem
ask yourself what makes this a 2 or a 2.5 more often and everything is fine |
xenocide.
11.06.14 | I like to rate albums. It's important to me if I give a particular album a 3.5 or 4.0. And I don't care whether rating albums will become less important to me in time, or not. |
AmericanFlagAsh
11.06.14 | way to be a dickhead dickhead |
VisionsFromTheDarkSide
11.06.14 | "and am I really being influenced by the general consensus. "
I always make sure that I try and never check the average rating on this site before listening, just so I don't have any chance of being influenced |
guitarded_chuck
11.06.14 | you care too much what people think of you is your underlying issue |
treeqt.
11.06.14 | more like what people think in general tbh |
ZombieParty
11.06.14 | I like rating albums, It's a fun little hobby and I don't care what other people think. Overtime I can change them whether the album grows on me or gets boring. |
AmericanFlagAsh
11.06.14 | "you care too much what people think of you is your underlying issue"
One of my worst problems tbh |
guitarded_chuck
11.06.14 | http://howtonotgiveafuck.com/post/32157343136/how |
AmericanFlagAsh
11.06.14 | Haha thanks Chuck, you're the best |
AmericanFlagAsh
11.06.14 | So I organized my RTY ratings and it is so much better
https://rateyourmusic.com/~JuustMeKB
Too lazy to do it on here. It would take longer. |