Who is going to read this? Probably just me. I get a kick out of my own writing. Some day I’ll show my mom, and it will be like declassifying the top secret memos of my cryptic adolescence. I’ll just go on trying to describe things that don’t come across very well with words and that don’t seem to relate from one person to the next. If I’ve ever tried to convey my experiences with some really interesting (to me) record it always falls flat. Sure I have some intense feelings or imagery about it, but the words I come up with can never build the significance and the other person can’t possibly get it the same way I did. An interpretation of art (notice how I didn’t say music, because you might inappropriately include corporate top 40) is unique to every person’s background and tastes.

The artist can’t even relate to the experience and interpretation of their listeners. I remember reading about someone wanting to instantly connect with Elizabeth Frazer (Cocteau Twins) when they met her before a concert. “Your music is amazing, it affected me so deeply, you know how I feel?” It fell flat on Elizabeth. “No, I don’t, but I understand what you mean.” (Reaching into her pocket for her security pager, “Get this driveling psycho away from me!”) Even two people that are emphatic and self-indulgent in the same album won’t be able to relate on their deepest feelings about it, other than, “Yeah, it’s SO good!” That “SO” is all there is to try communicate.

We’re left with one other way of describing art, and that is a critical or technical review. That’s basically how Rolling Stone or the Amazon editorial reviews are formed. Pull together facts, anecdotes, production specifications, and a scientifically derived quality rating. This is great for getting some cerebral context and it puts the artist’s style and expression on a chart that we can all relate to and we know what to expect. Who was the producer, how much does it sound like their last album, how well did it sell in its original release in Europe… But really these are signals to our deeper, personal senses. They will rave about the novel use of retro digital sampling and overdubbing in homage to both Front 242 and Enya, but what they’re really saying is, “Yeah, it’s SO good!”