Interview with Album Critic for www.canoe.ca

aaron smith : In helping me get to the bottom of understanding the need for "Reviews" and "Critics", I was hoping you could take the time to answer some inquiries I have...one, how many times do you listen to a cd before you make a review?

darryl sterdan: it depends on the disc. i listen to a cd as many times as i need to in order to feel comfortable with it. with some stuff, once is enough. with others, a dozen times isn't enough. i probably listened to that tea party disc about 10 times. which is more than enough, in my opinion. that's not an insult. my point is that if you listen to anything often enough, it starts to grow on you and you lose perspective on it. plus i'm not trying to write the definitive review of any record; i'm just trying to give folks an overview of what's new out there, how it sounds in general, and whether it's worth buying.

as: do you have a biased towards certain genres or groups which conflicts with giving open minded reviews?

ds: if you're asking me if there are certain styles of music i hate, the answer is no. i listen to and love everything -- rock, rap, pop, punk, hip-hop, jazz, classical, world music, etc., etc. if you go back and search my reviews, you'll find times when i've given positive reviews to stuff i thought i was gonna hate. and vice versa. sure, i have my favourite bands like everybody else does. but when they make shitty albums, i say so. i try not to worship at anybody's altar. the only thing i tend to dislike is pure product: albums that are clearly made for no artistic reasons, but only to cash in and pry a few more bucks out of fans' pockets. celine dion live albums, for instance. or this week's piece of crap from next week's forgotten "idol."

as: why doesn't the music industry rent cds? Basically, what do you think of the idea of store's opening up which allow the general public to get their own opinion of music by allowing them to rent cds (much like movie stores) so that people can have a legal means of checking out a cd before deciding whether or not they desire it enough to purchase?

ds: music stores don't rent cds because people will burn them and trade them. people lie, cheat and steal. it's as simple as that.

Conducted September 13th, 2004
http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/AlbumReviews/