Top cliches used by music writers

No more than anonymous and synonymous, which are derived from the same root word. Or do you think those words are pretentious as well?

 

That might be just baby boomer journalism, in general, not confined to rock criticism.

 

"Pop sensibility".

 

How about when an artist wades into politics and they are called "brave' for "taking a risk" by "speaking truth to power" --as though they are going to be thrown in prison.
Yes it could happen --and does--in certain places in the world. But that's not what they mean.

 

"radio friendly"

 

Not at all. But I don't think I've ever seen the word "eponymous" used except in writing about music.

 

Is it possible to write about music - as in the actual recordings - without sounding clichéd nowadays? Realistically, most music reviews - an obsolete concept as it is - are just low-paid or volunteer writers typing descriptive words into a thesaurus and/or trying to have an edgy opinion.

 

A lot of the bloggers have *some* level of independence. Then when you see so many of the same titles on "Best of 20__" lists every year, it's not so difficult to tell that many critics think from the same mind!

 

I've seen it in restaurant reviews, articles about designer clothing and jewelry, promotional material for films and TV shows — pretty much everything written about something named after the person who created it. Could it be because … it's the most appropriate word to use? *gasp*

 

The new Dylan

 

Perhaps I should be glad I'm not a music writer, because I've used some of these phrases right here on the forum when discussing songs: "sublime", "one-two punch", "acquired taste" and the like. However, I only use "sublime" for songs I think really are sublime, like Blue Angel by Roy Orbison, and "one-two punch" is necessarily used sparingly, like for the two tracks that kick off the Bee Gees' Horizontal LP ...

 

"cuts like a knife"
bryan adams and petey Townsend


(I never knew that's what knives did)

 

"Soaring harmonies"

 

Comparing a new band to the Stooges or the MC5. when it is nothing like either of them.

 

Sonic guitars

 

Reverb-drenched

 

"That's not punk. It's post-punk." - That guy who can't help bringing up the Sex Pistols despite never listening to them.

 

A subtle locution, when I see it 90 percent of the time it's in a record review, using the word "all" as a preface for describing some quality or qualities of the music in question, made up example: "Band X's music is fierce, all snarling guitars and driving beats."

 

Here's a couple of funny links:

100 Words & Phrases to be Retired from Music Journalism

Why I Deleted Your Band's Promo Email

The second one is an especially good way to waste your time.

 

I wouldn't limit this strictly to music writers, but something I've noticed a lot of in recent years is a now unoriginal gimmick where they try to be cute and pretend to accidentally stumble upon a particular word play as if it just occurred to them.

For example, it could take the form of a comment like the following...

"So and so is an example of a rock band that really knows how to, well, rock..."

 

Damn you, imag&nos.

Their live show is described as a hurricane slamming into a shoreline at a thousand miles an hour or an avalanche triggered by barbaric yawp.

a sound that harkens back to a by-gone era of gypsy caravans and rail-riding hobos. This, married with blistering progressive rock technicality and heavy punk

Fender Stratocaster-driven fury alongside open-D-tuned resonator guitars plugged into half-stacks

tattoo-clad, indie-folk troubadour

After a move to Brooklyn, and a spiritually awakening dream about bees

liberally applied cowbell

 

bubble-grunge
The Stephen King of indie-pop

 

And its cousin "feedback-drenched".

 

"Troubadour" is increasingly way overused to describe, basically, singer-songwriters.

 

Pretty certain that's actually from this band's press: