i also feel like cultural criticism on art has actually died out a bit too; with huge artists like taylor swift receiving stunning reviews for her latest album which is CERTAINLY not her best. art is such a scary thing to put out there so i think we should be respectful while critiquing, but critiquing nonetheless--the tortured poets department definitely needs to be re-evaluated. i think it arises from a cultural hegemon being 'too big to fail', but, of course this only applies to some people but imo these are the ones who need criticism the most.
Tortured poets is a good example here! I feel like in general, artists like Taylor Swift are hard to critique fairly on either end of the spectrum. Most of the criticism I read about the album was actually very harsh (in my opinion, too harsh - I personally think the album has some great tracks - I love The Black Dog, So Long London, The Bolter, Chloe and Sam and Sophia and Marcus, etc.). But I didn’t think Midnights deserved the AOTY win, and I would be a bit shocked if Tortured Poets won AOTY too.
no same here! i do love her songs and i think there were definitely some good songs on the album but midnights was pretty much a popularity win. good album, but DEFINITELY not a grammy album of the year. i saw pretty much all praise for her, guess we're on different sides of the internet lol
I also saw praise for her except from theneedeldrop. I completely agree it's her worst album, I would even dare to say it is objectively bad (and I'm a swiftie hahaha) but in the big platforms and popular media, people can't criticise Taylor. and I get it, sometimes when people criticise her, it comes from a place of misogyny, but I think it's not all black and white. I like Taylor but I don't think she makes good music anymore, that is okay to say, I am not against feminism for saying that.
no sooo true!!! i am also a swiftie lol but it was so disappointing to see this album and the blind wave of adoration for it. artists do need healthy criticism to improve—no one is perfect, no matter how experienced you are. i think taylor is really burnt out tbh but the way some fans will just continue to label EVERY criticism as misogyny is taking away the meaning of the word.
completely agree with everything. even the best artists are not the best forever, and even at their peak, they need their peers feedback, always, they can't just do it alone. and I completely agree that is taking away the meaning of the word when you can't say anything about an (incredibly privileged) person just because they are a woman
“We aren’t able to download our minds, and allow others to upload them - so we create.” Such a great framing of creating as a process and desire to let people in.
The writing in this is phenomenal. You get your thoughts across in a way that is easy and digestible while also still making it a creative and beautiful piece.
As someone sensitive to criticisms (maybe mainly due to being a people pleaser), this struck me deeply. I love how you write and definitely agree with what others commented about how creative and easy to read this post is. I'm new here and have been wanting to write for so long, but I don't know which direction I should go. I still have a long way to go to be able to write like this, to use words to create sentences that piece together so beautifully. Your writing and others' here in Substack inspire me a lot. I fear the day I write and publish my own newsletter because of the criticisms I might receive (also because everyone here in Substack is an absolute genius!), but reading this newsletter made me realize how necessary it is for creative growth. It might still be scary to put out your work in public for people to see but maybe that isn't so bad after all.
This comment really touched me, thank you so much for your kind words!! My writing journey is forever a work in progress, but I feel like I really began learning how to improve upon my work once I began publishing on Substack and establishing a more consistent creative practice. I'm a firm believer in learning by doing - the main way to become a stronger writer is by writing! I was definitely nervous before publishing my first piece but I can't encourage it enough :)
such an interesting post! I think that sometimes we (artists) get attached to our work because it's a direct reflection of our true selves. it's normally very hard to be authentic because we are afraid of other people's opinions, but I'd rather they critisize me for who I am than for who I am not -same with my work, I'd rather be critisized for music I've made that was 100% me. The other side of this is that it can feel too vulnerable, like letting someone into your inner world, open for them to say 'you know what, this is sh*t'. it's just scary I guess. but I don't think critics do anything wrong, in fact, I have discovered great music through critics
Such a great point - creating really is like bringing someone into your inner world, which is vulnerable in any relationship, be it a romantic one, a friendship, or an artist-receiver relationship. But yes, it feels much better to be loud and proud in who you are - with nothing left unsaid - than to try to hide that.
the humility it takes to fully receive feedback and not immediately parse it or evaluate it as good feedback or off-base is truly saint-like. but damn has taking feedback on my writing and on my drag made me MUCH better at both things, especially when i’ve found someone to give me feedback who 1. gets what i’m doing and 2. strikes the balance between playing nice and not holding back
i also feel like cultural criticism on art has actually died out a bit too; with huge artists like taylor swift receiving stunning reviews for her latest album which is CERTAINLY not her best. art is such a scary thing to put out there so i think we should be respectful while critiquing, but critiquing nonetheless--the tortured poets department definitely needs to be re-evaluated. i think it arises from a cultural hegemon being 'too big to fail', but, of course this only applies to some people but imo these are the ones who need criticism the most.
Tortured poets is a good example here! I feel like in general, artists like Taylor Swift are hard to critique fairly on either end of the spectrum. Most of the criticism I read about the album was actually very harsh (in my opinion, too harsh - I personally think the album has some great tracks - I love The Black Dog, So Long London, The Bolter, Chloe and Sam and Sophia and Marcus, etc.). But I didn’t think Midnights deserved the AOTY win, and I would be a bit shocked if Tortured Poets won AOTY too.
no same here! i do love her songs and i think there were definitely some good songs on the album but midnights was pretty much a popularity win. good album, but DEFINITELY not a grammy album of the year. i saw pretty much all praise for her, guess we're on different sides of the internet lol
I also saw praise for her except from theneedeldrop. I completely agree it's her worst album, I would even dare to say it is objectively bad (and I'm a swiftie hahaha) but in the big platforms and popular media, people can't criticise Taylor. and I get it, sometimes when people criticise her, it comes from a place of misogyny, but I think it's not all black and white. I like Taylor but I don't think she makes good music anymore, that is okay to say, I am not against feminism for saying that.
no sooo true!!! i am also a swiftie lol but it was so disappointing to see this album and the blind wave of adoration for it. artists do need healthy criticism to improve—no one is perfect, no matter how experienced you are. i think taylor is really burnt out tbh but the way some fans will just continue to label EVERY criticism as misogyny is taking away the meaning of the word.
completely agree with everything. even the best artists are not the best forever, and even at their peak, they need their peers feedback, always, they can't just do it alone. and I completely agree that is taking away the meaning of the word when you can't say anything about an (incredibly privileged) person just because they are a woman
“We aren’t able to download our minds, and allow others to upload them - so we create.” Such a great framing of creating as a process and desire to let people in.
The writing in this is phenomenal. You get your thoughts across in a way that is easy and digestible while also still making it a creative and beautiful piece.
Thank you so much Natalie :,)
Well, the legendary French New Wave was born from some circles of Cinema Critics who eventually become visionary filmmakers.
Yes! This kinda touched on what I mention at the end, how critic and artist can blur, one can’t necessarily have one without the other
I fear the internet has become such a place that any and all criticism has been met with replied of, "just say you're a hater."
As someone sensitive to criticisms (maybe mainly due to being a people pleaser), this struck me deeply. I love how you write and definitely agree with what others commented about how creative and easy to read this post is. I'm new here and have been wanting to write for so long, but I don't know which direction I should go. I still have a long way to go to be able to write like this, to use words to create sentences that piece together so beautifully. Your writing and others' here in Substack inspire me a lot. I fear the day I write and publish my own newsletter because of the criticisms I might receive (also because everyone here in Substack is an absolute genius!), but reading this newsletter made me realize how necessary it is for creative growth. It might still be scary to put out your work in public for people to see but maybe that isn't so bad after all.
This comment really touched me, thank you so much for your kind words!! My writing journey is forever a work in progress, but I feel like I really began learning how to improve upon my work once I began publishing on Substack and establishing a more consistent creative practice. I'm a firm believer in learning by doing - the main way to become a stronger writer is by writing! I was definitely nervous before publishing my first piece but I can't encourage it enough :)
such an interesting post! I think that sometimes we (artists) get attached to our work because it's a direct reflection of our true selves. it's normally very hard to be authentic because we are afraid of other people's opinions, but I'd rather they critisize me for who I am than for who I am not -same with my work, I'd rather be critisized for music I've made that was 100% me. The other side of this is that it can feel too vulnerable, like letting someone into your inner world, open for them to say 'you know what, this is sh*t'. it's just scary I guess. but I don't think critics do anything wrong, in fact, I have discovered great music through critics
Such a great point - creating really is like bringing someone into your inner world, which is vulnerable in any relationship, be it a romantic one, a friendship, or an artist-receiver relationship. But yes, it feels much better to be loud and proud in who you are - with nothing left unsaid - than to try to hide that.
the humility it takes to fully receive feedback and not immediately parse it or evaluate it as good feedback or off-base is truly saint-like. but damn has taking feedback on my writing and on my drag made me MUCH better at both things, especially when i’ve found someone to give me feedback who 1. gets what i’m doing and 2. strikes the balance between playing nice and not holding back