Since this is the first blog I have ever been a part of, I decided that now we are well and truly into the blogging process, I would go out and read some other popular country music blogs, just to see how ours stood and if we were writing about the same sort of things as other, more professional bloggers.
I found a site called “9513 Country Music Blog”. This blog is huge. There are so many blogs to sift through. One particular entry I found was called “Taylor Swift – Should’ve Said No”, from the 14th of May 2008. This recent blog was a review (a very bad review) for the song “Should’ve Said No” by, you guessed it, Taylor Swift.
The blog starts out with “Someone “should’ve said no” to this one.” and just goes down hill from there. The writer bashes the song and says that “Problem number one is that this song is way too loud. It starts out with that nice banjo lick and then – wham! – I’m diving for the volume control.”. They go one to say how there are numerous pitch problems and that Taylor screeches her way through the song. The also mention that the music is immature and has them “…doubting that making music for middle schoolers is something that Taylor will ever outgrow.”
There is a link under the songs review, next to a rather large image of a ‘thumbs down’. I clicked on the link, and I don’t know what song the reviewer was listening to, but I didn’t really hear any of the problems that they winged about. Yes, the song was a little childish, but when you see a picture of the singer, you can see that she is just a child herself.
Personally, I think the review was about 10 times harsher than it should have been. The song is not all that bad. Its definitely not one of my favourites, but its not something that I would dismiss straight away.
Reading this review made me realise something though. As people reviewing a CD or any type of music, we have so much power to make or destroy something that someone else has given their heart and soul to. I have been guilty on numerous occasions of only listening to a CD once and putting it away and it might take me years to give it a proper listen to see its true potential, so I don’t think anyone really has the right to publicly slash a song after only what might be one or two brief listening. So to those reviewers who are about to kill someone’s career with a click of the mouse, I say give the song another go. Really listen to it, then if it deserves the slash down, you may proceed, but do so with caution. This is someone’s dreams you are crushing.
Click Here to listen to “Should’ve Said No”, and judge it for yourself.
By Jacki Tipton
