X5CD114: The Greatest Video Game Music

[Xenofan 29A]

As a reviewer myself, I have to disagree with just about everything you said.

Originally Posted by ilef

I think that everything might be up to debate when talking about music, which at the end of the day is just a personal journey of the listener. Seriously, I can't even understand why reviewers exist... It's all about one's taste in music, after all: there are those who like rock, those who prefer chiptune, symphonyc....

Can anyone, anyone, objectively tell me which style/track/theme/... is better? No, as well as I can't tell you. It's all a matter of like/don't like, no need to expand on it. We might agree with the choices, and we may not.... Still, pretty arrogant of them to title this "The Greatest Video Game Music", 'cause there is no such thing, that's for no one to decide.

I don't consider it "arrogant" to call a collection of video game music "the greatest". It's a marketing term, not a claim of superiority.

Of course different people have different tastes, and that is fine. There is good and bad to be found in every kind of music, and the fact that something does not appeal to you does not mean that it is objectively bad. Likewise, I would say that the fact that something appeals to you does not make it objectively good, either. And that goes for everyone. But there are things that I enjoy, yet think are of minimal value. That is because I believe there are objective standards in art, and music is not exempt.

I see reviewing as a way of getting deeper into the music, trying to discover what works and what doesn't, and why. In writing a review, I learn as much as I can about the music, and try to explain to people what I find there. Honestly, as far as I'm concerned, a value judgement of "it's good" or "it's bad" is useless if it isn't explained with recourse to the music itself. Those are personal, individual responses. What inspired this or that reaction? That's much more universal. A review that I disagree with can be more helpful than one I agree with, as I get to see a different perspective, to see what inspires it. And whether or not you agree that there is intrinsic value in a given piece of music, we can agree that there are specific objective qualities in it that we react to. And these things are not up for debate. Reviewers should balance the subjective with the objective and be able to discern which is which.