themilkman:
you lost interest in my music…that’s a shame…for me the difference of opinions is always exiting…I instead gained a lot of respect for you blog during this month….I read it deeply before even daring to post…and since I respect what you doing I am wasting my time into this conversation…I bookmarked it and surely I will follow it in the future….I can give a full 5/5 to it…since we like scoring…..thanks again for your words.

David:
again…thanks for your work…I always hated mediocrity…and 3/5 is mediocre to me…
I am more generous…..I give u a 4/5….
I don’t agree with your point of views but I like your style…you have good ideas and you doing it from the heart…and if this was the review of another album I would probably think that you are right…
thanks for making me discover themilkfactory :-)

Alan is a professor…so I don’t dare to give points to him….

0/5 to Kris..who is more gay than the rapper…
9/5 to Greg…who should write more reviews…

As to my editor’s opinion on this review, I can only say that reviews are subjective by their very nature. Any editor has to respect the opinion of a writer. I don’t think that whether or not we disagree on a particular record constitutes a “checkmate;” it’s just a difference of a opinion. If you think my take on the album is horseshit than that’s fine and I’m obviously not going to be able to change your opinion. It’s still your music, and I’d suggest that perhaps you not take criticisms as personal attacks – I did enjoy your album, and just because I don’t think it’s perfect doesn’t make the piece a polemic. I should also say that, as a musician myself, I’ve learned that an artist can rarely (if ever) control how his/her art affects those who are exposed to it. Once music is out there, all reactions are valid to those individuals, whether or not they gel with the intended meaning of a piece.

Kris – honestly, I’m not immediately familiar with this apparently gay rapper in the Orb that you are referring to, but the tone of your insult implied that there was something bad about them having a gay rapper. I won’t go down the road of identity politics here, but it just comes of as puerile to frame things like that, as I’m sure a man of your intelligence understands. Obviously, you are entitled to your opinion of the Orb just as is anyone else. I don’t expect you to blindly praise their output simply because you’re an ex-member. I just think that the way you mentioned their “gay rapper” made it sound like a childish insult.

Lastly, do you really not care about what people think and what journalists have to say? Personally, I’ve never seen why it’s a source of pride for anyone to make such claims; we’re all social creatures at some level, and as such it’s human nature to be affected by what others say or do, particularly when it relates to your own actions and outputs. If you really don’t give a rip, then thank you for humoring me in this discussion, I suppose. And yes, I’d love to review your new stuff. Let’s how where the comments go on that one :).

I got the Mauxuam a fair while before the review was published, and I liked it very much but realized rapidly that I wouldn’t get the time to feature it due to lack of time, so I asked David to review the album, because I wanted it on the site, and I respect David’s opinion. That he saw similar points to the ones I did, was not a surprise, we’ve got similar tastes, and that’s why he’s welcome to write about music he enjoys, or not if he feels like it, anytime. I didn’t feel the review was actually negative, and his criticism of certain points was done fairly.

Will I bother tryiing to get a record on the site like this next time? Probably not.

the press are everything that is wrong with this world. the media – the bullshit – the brainwashing – peoples stupid opinions and agendas shoved down our throats till its hard to tell wrong from right and which way to turn. there is so much information coming in, we are just not built to deal with it all. its not that i dislike people trying to talk about music its that the moment of appreciation is not intellectual and thats a very important point. and one i stand by.

Kris – Perhaps it’s an attempt to be cheeky and then laugh at the people who take it seriously, but it looks ridiculous when you talk about the Orb and its “gay rapper.” Obviously, ones enjoyment of the Orb’s output at various stages is subjective – personally, I was quite fond of the Kompakt work and The Dream, not to mention Bicycles & Tricycles. Still, it just ends up looking petty. I don’t intend this as an overt insult, but rather a perspective, that’s all.

i like the way you never intend to insult – thats nice
refreshing even from an american on the internet.
i respect that.
i think your taste is awful though.
when people mention the orb i just say what i think simple as that.
and i have zero care what people think :)
and zero care about what journalists write about music.
anyway want to do a review of my new stuff ?
LOL!

the orbs rapper is ahem *quite clearly* gay
in fact their music is just a shitpile these days. so what!
whats petty about that?
just because i used to be in the band doesnt cloud my ears with cotton wool does it ?

this page is becoming an artform in itself.

Mauxuam – to begin with, I’d like to reiterate that I didn’t _dislike_ your album. I scored it 3/5, which is far from a bad score, and the review reflects that. I’ve had a few emails back and forth with Kris since his initial comment, and I encourage him to share my insights from those with you. The press material for this album has since been bashed by both you and Kris. In this case, let me suggest that you have a beef with your PR firm. This is how music reviews work – I receive a release (or it comes to my attention and I ask for it), listen to it, do a little research, and check out the materials provided. I wasn’t reviewing your press sheet, but nor did I assume it contained untruths about what led to the creation of this record. If that’s the case, than I don’t think your issue is with me, but rather the man who wrote your press document. And, with regards to your past commercial career which you “vomit” on, your press sheet only mentions that you’ve done it (and prominently so), without any regard to this being a shame to you. Lastly, yes, I’m familiar with Luigi Russolo, and while I’d argue that someone like Stockhausen was the first to make what was classified as electronic music (well before BBC Radiophonic), Russolo’s ideas are certainly important to this day.

Kris – Perhaps it’s an attempt to be cheeky and then laugh at the people who take it seriously, but it looks ridiculous when you talk about the Orb and its “gay rapper.” Obviously, ones enjoyment of the Orb’s output at various stages is subjective – personally, I was quite fond of the Kompakt work and The Dream, not to mention Bicycles & Tricycles. Still, it just ends up looking petty. I don’t intend this as an overt insult, but rather a perspective, that’s all.

And Alan is correct; I do this a lot. He’s a colleague of mine at another media outlet. Kris, I understand a little bit better from our emails that you generally don’t like people who try to intellectualize instrumental music. But that is how press works, and if it’s something you disagree with fundamentally, I’m not sure what the ‘right’ answer is here?

Someone like themilkman has dedicated a great deal of time and effort towards establishing himself and his site as a reliable source for insightful writing about music that, for many writers, defies such analysis. Personally, I appreciate this for the skill that it is, and think it’s pointless to spit at people for trying. In fact, much of the music that the milk factory covers is made by people who don’t normally get a whopping ton of press, but who are doing fascinating things.

In any case, I appreciate Kris, Greg and Mauxaum taking the time to share their thoughts; this kind of dialogue, harsh though it may seem, is ultimately helpful as its own odd form of discourse.