Butkuiss
11.17.24 | I think the idea of normally distributed ratings goes out the window when you consider that nobody is actively seeking out releases they dislike to listen to. Most people’s ratings are going to be releases they had at least some expectation of enjoying, hence why most music rating websites seem to hover around a 3-3.5/5 as their most commonly assigned rating. People just don’t bother actively listening to music they don’t like.
That said, I’ve been trying to be less generous with the 3.5s lately because I feel sometimes I can be overly generous with that particular rating for releases I enjoy but don’t love when in reality 3s and even 2.5s don’t necessarily mean a release is unenjoyable. |
Dedes
11.17.24 | 5 everything
All else is fvlse |
Dedes
11.17.24 | More importantly 5 Red Dragon by Helcaraxe |
Icebloom
11.17.24 | Agreed w Butkuiss. Rating for me are a way to keep track of the music I enjoy. No point in listening to and rating albums I don't like |
someone
11.17.24 | "nobody is actively seeking out releases they dislike to listen to."
enter: sputnikmusic |
Egarran
11.17.24 | *I bet if I listen to these 10 obscure black metal albums that nobody but some random sputniker likes I will find a great song.*
10 hours later:
*Eh. Let's try this other list of obscure albums.* |
JerseyJimmy
11.18.24 | my issue is less so that I don't go out of my way to listen to stuff I know I won't like, it's moreso that I overrate the stuff I do listen to. I think a big part of that is peer pressure, because I don't wanna be the asshole who brings down an album's overall rating by one tick after giving it a 3. a 3 should equal a 6/10, but it's functionally a 5/10, and there is a world of difference between those two ratings. |
unclereich
11.18.24 | Maybe I shouldn’t be but I’m surprised more people on here don’t plateau. I’ve leaned more into reading and film and don’t really listen to music like I used to. It’s a bummer but everything I hear feels uninspired lately and I just don’t bother rating or even finishing albums I started. I do have my beloved records though that I spin on the regular-definitely a vinyl douche still- but branching beyond my comfort jams has been a futile task for me going on a couple years now. I’m truly envious of folks here who still have the hankering for discovering new-to-them music. |
Demon of the Fall
11.18.24 | "Rating for me are a way to keep track of the music I enjoy. No point in listening to and rating albums I don't like"
I disagree quite strongly with this general idea. For me, there's definitely a reason to catalogue releases you didn't enjoy. It serves a placeholder for the future. Now of course you're not going to revisit everything to ascertain whether that thing you didn't like before is now enjoyable, but I've done it enough times that I do value the process. It's also nice having an initial rating date, so you now how long has passed. |
Demon of the Fall
11.18.24 | "I’m truly envious of folks here who still have the hankering for discovering new-to-them music"
for me it's quite difficult finding truly game-changing music (as it should be), but I still do. I think part of the process is the feeling that I'm still developing a liking for certain genres / styles and have barely scratched the surface. Untapped potential or something. It tends to come in waves. I mean sometimes I do just want to hear old jams for extended periods |
unclereich
11.18.24 | I appreciate your responses always being genuine and well thought out. Knowing that you're now a football fan I can analogize it to if your favorite team suddenly didn't exist. here in the states you'd probably find it hard to readjust and suddenly start rooting for someone new. that's where I'm at with music. my favorite acts don't make music anymore and im in a funk trying to find music to replace the void they left. |
foxblood
11.18.24 | my main problem with ratings is the opposite, people are way too critical and most users with thousands of albums rated only have a handful of totally random mundane albums rated a 5 which I find ridiculous/hard to believe. Maybe I'm too lenient or accepting but the more I listen to music the more I find incredible gems from the past that deserve a 5. If you start getting too deep into something like 70's soul music the 5's start coming, or for me the amount of incredible underground hip-hop 5's is literally unending and there isn't enough time in one life to get to it all. I find game changers on a weekly basis and always have |
cylinder
11.18.24 | ^ i echo this sentiment. once you know what you like and where to find it, you start finding so much good stuff it's damn near impossible to keep up with it all |
anotherdimension
11.18.24 | An easier way to do this would be: (# of Tracks Enjoyed / Total # of Tracks on Album)*5.
(8/13)*5 = 3.08 rating, 3 (Good) on Sputnik |
Demon of the Fall
11.18.24 | idk I think that’s possibly just different interpretations of the rating curve. My 5s are very streamlined but I consider 4.5s special and 4s very significant
I would like more 5s, but I save them for albums that a) stand the test of time for me personally (not critically or whatever) and b) unique in that I can’t really replace them with any other album and get the same experience |
foxblood
11.18.24 | I'm glad you get what I mean cyl sometimes there is too much stuff out there to get to.
I adjust all of my ratings pretty regularly and things change over the years so that's how I account for the 'standing the test of time' aspect. Not all of my 5's have stayed there |
JerseyJimmy
11.18.24 | my average rating is just under a 4, and based on my outlook, I'd actually say that's pretty accurate. I believe that there is far more good music than bad music (outside of stuff deemed toothless enough to go mainstream, anyway), so by my scale here, a 7.5/10 average seems entirely fair. kinda like a glass-half-full version of that one "pitchfork gives music 6.8" onion article. |
Demon of the Fall
11.19.24 | It's all relative. If I find 'better' music, the impact of the previously very good music becomes slightly lessened, particularly when exploring deeper within the same genre. If I don't revisit something for years, the chances are it isn't as essential to me anymore. I scale down albums based on new discoveries.
my average rating of *checks notes* 3.09 doesn't necessarily mean I consider music to be less valuable / enjoyable than someone like yourself, we just do things differently
I realise many people aren't as obsessive about updating things as they go and thus will have a lot of old ratings, which is fine (and probably healthier, idk) |
Icebloom
11.19.24 | "you're not going to revisit everything to ascertain whether that thing you didn't like before is now enjoyable, but I've done it enough times that I do value the process"
I wonder, how often has this led to you actually appreciating the album?
I really like it when an album grows on me, but to me that only happens if there was at least something I enjoyed initially, like one or two songs, or I was only lukewarm to the album as a whole instead of straightup not liking it |
Demon of the Fall
11.19.24 | success rate % is fairly modest (would hesitate to put a defined number on it) but decent considering my original stance on whatever it is I'm revisiting. It's common to find some improvement or new appreciation, yet it's not always significant enough to warrant more sustained perseverance. It works most often when I've become more accustomed to a style / genre in the interim period
However, some of my favourite music has started out as merely 'okay / average', so for that reason the process is worth doing, even if it doesn't yield fantastic results all that regularly |
