Luca-LJ

I know that for each of these things there are at least eight artists who preceded it, but in an era where Tool are considered innovative, someone who does all these things together is "avant-garde"! Aquefrigide is a group I've changed my mind about, yet I still think they are quite avant-garde in the Italian scene considering there are people who are crazy about Verdena! Do you understand? I'm on a site made up of 97% rock music reviews; it's normal that I have to pass off an album that deserves an 8 as one that’s worth a 10! The point of comparison isn't "the rest of music," but "the rest of rock music." On a perfectly balanced site (40% classical, 30% jazz, 30% rock and folk), I would keep my ratings very low. In some cases, as it was with Aquefrigide, I narrow the focus even further and judge an album as an "Italian album" or "an album from the last 10 years."

4 - What would I have overestimated? This album I rated 3 stars? And the others I've reviewed, how could I have overestimated them? A 5-star rating is too small a scale to express anything, and even if I gave the maximum, I did it to spark people's curiosity (a 3 on a scale of 5 is equivalent to a 6 on a scale of 10, but it’s much less impressive!). The actual evaluation, when I was able to make one, can be found in the review. I've written a lot of nonsense in the past, I retract much of what I've written (only idiots never change their minds), but that's why you can't judge me for very old reviews or comments: I have changed in the meantime. So let's stick to this review: I didn't overestimate the album (it's evident), and when I referred to avant-garde discussing other reviewed artists, I was talking about a "relative" avant-garde: Fiale is someone who was ahead, ten years ago he was playing with microtonal music, twelve-tone composition, MIDI instrument orchestras, lyrics I can't even describe, and much more.

It seems that you replied to another reviewer for how many strange things you said:
1 - How do you know that I would snub the record of the century?
2 - My review is not alternative to anything and certainly not original. I've always cared less about my reviews; what matters is spreading the word about an album. And the album in question doesn't even have to be one that I liked: I've reviewed albums that I hated, but each review had its reason. I know that I write poorly and have no personality, but I don't care: writing has never excited me.
3 - I never said "beauty = originality," but certainly originality is becoming increasingly important (for more information, read my latest comments on Easycure's review of the Battles).

Okay, maybe "exhibitionism" wasn't the exact term, but let's stop talking about Dream Theater in the review of another band, it's not nice!

I hope you didn't include me among the fans of Dream Theater! I like two albums: "Images and Words" and "Awake," and I've only listened to the first one quite a bit. There are good things in "Metropolis Pt 2: Scenes From A Memory," but I've never really paid attention to the rest of their discography! In any case, I think you're being too harsh on them: they are derivative, okay, but there are very few original bands in the last fifteen years! At least they are competent (because they are, come on! That they aren't composition geniuses is another story!). I'm still studying the Battles, and right now I would say they are a revelation, but I prefer to wait until the excitement settles down a bit.

Well, you can see the beginning of the video, it's a matter of covers!

Now you're not going to become a fan of Gazosa, are you?

Honestly, I don't care at all; I prefer to seek out new languages. I leave the "fiddling on the guitar" to those who are short on ideas. Look here at what the guitarist of Gazosa can do: Kataweb | Community | Live-Kataweb
Click on "Il concerto" and see how this guy plays! He’s very young and already sounds like Joe Satriani. Now you tell me: why on earth should Dream Theater impress me with their showmanship? I even had a guitar teacher who played like Steve Vai, no more, no less! But frankly, who cares! I appreciated Dream Theater for some melodic ideas and for their elegance in certain passages, not to mention time changes, odd meters, and things like that—I've always enjoyed those! I've never cared about technical execution. Anyway, Dream Theater are neither the first nor the best in any field, so I don't share all your enthusiasm.

Schoenberg is important because he pushed the harmonic freedoms of the immediately preceding decades to their extremes, constructing a music in which no note "prevailed" over the others. This is a conceptually significant achievement, whether it translated into a sonata that is very easy to play or into a symphonic score rich in virtuosities does not matter. Many musicians, however, are just technique, which amounts to circus performances (they do not express feelings, sensations, mental states, etc.; the only thing that matters is to astonish the listener!). I have nothing against the pursuit of wonder; it's a human feeling that has the same dignity as sadness, joy, anger, etc. It’s just that I’m also used to it! I’ve seen too many people go all out on their guitar, and now I’ve grown accustomed to it. Furthermore, these “musicians” lost their aura of “supermen” when I personally met some of them and saw the reason for their skill: anyone of us can become Steve Vai, as long as we have the desire to do so.

With the invention of sound recording, a problem arose: now anyone could listen to their favorite music at home and whenever they wanted, and they could "get used to" it! This brings us to the issue of originality: our society, among other things, demands that music not repeat itself too much, especially because of people like me who are addicted to music. Therefore, a good musician is one who can tickle our senses with the most personal language possible. A work is valid if it captures our interest, regardless of the author's intention. Unfortunately, another problem arises here: a person's evaluation is conditioned by their own knowledge, and a criterion like originality can be difficult to assess! For example, I don't get emotional about Audioslave because I have years and years of listening to hard rock behind me, and I recognize a series of stereotypes in this band's music, but a young person who is just now approaching rock music might find them exceptional.