George Starostin's Albums Reviews Blog APPRECIATION THREAD

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Adam Pajda, Sep 21, 2018.

  1. Adam Pajda

    Adam Pajda Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Poland
    There were very few moment of enlightenment in my Internet life since 2000 but one of the most important and fruitful was finding out George Starostin's Only Solitaire blog.

    For years he was building an old site on which he reviewed hundreds if not thousands of albums beginning with pre-rock era ending in newest then albums. All meticulously rated, nice layout, fantastic use of words, humour, irony. Reading his reviews was like reading about my favorite albums for the first time. His reviews made me wann listen to those albums over and over again.

    Then he moved to his new site Only Solitaire Blog firstly reviewing albums alphabetically - a grueling task of one review a day - 365 reviews each year. Only recently he slowed down but nonetheless still publishing around 3-4 reviews a week.

    I highly recommend reading George's reviews of albums by your beloved artists. Let's support this crazy, russian music-lover. I love him dearly and wait for his reviews impatiently every day.

    Old site: Only Solitaire: George Starostin's Music Reviews

    New site: Only Solitaire blog
     
  2. Mr. Nastey

    Mr. Nastey Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canada
    I always loved it too. Bought a few albums after his recommendations (Roy Wood's "Boulders" especially, still one of my favorite albums). Haven't tuned in much in the past few years due to his new format, I guess I should. Seems to be a nice guy, and very obviously, a huge music fan.
     
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  3. Juggsnelson

    Juggsnelson Senior Member

    Location:
    Long Island
    Well worth reading!!!!!!
     
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  4. jpmosu

    jpmosu a.k.a. Mr. Jones

    Location:
    Ohio, USA
    A question: when there is a blog entry for an album on the old website, is it a new review?

    Anyone know?
     
  5. Decent, but dated, a little too Beatardian, and ironic/post ironic.
    Rating artists as B,C,D, painted himself in a corner and made his overview suspect and limited by showing his hand of only allowing the standard 4 as being worthy of an 'A ' level. I would suspect through the years he has matured some and has a larger view of music not dependent on silly ratings.
     
  6. Adam Pajda

    Adam Pajda Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Poland
    The old site is not updated for couple years now, if you want to read new reviews go to Only Solitaire Blog (the second link).
     
  7. Adam Pajda

    Adam Pajda Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Poland
    He doesn't do that anymore.
     
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  8. jpmosu

    jpmosu a.k.a. Mr. Jones

    Location:
    Ohio, USA
    My question was whether or not George was rewriting old reviews.
     
  9. AidanB

    AidanB Forum Resident

    Location:
    Indiana, USA
    Can’t say that I’ve read too much, but I’ve enjoyed what I have read. I personally prefer John McFerrin though.
     
  10. Parachute Woman

    Parachute Woman Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    Yes, he is rewriting everything.

    George' old website was a major educational tool for me when I was in high school. I just loved the 'Web Reviewing Community' (a loose network of personal music review websites, almost all of which are now defunct). George himself was never a major favorite of mine but I appreciated his dedication and thoughtfulness. He has some major blind spots (he loves '60s music but hates pretty much all '60s soul music, including Motown; he seriously underrates Neil Young) but I do appreciate that his blog reviews a lot more newer music than the old website and isn't just stuck in that '60s and '70s era he used to be stuck in.

    He just has a tendency to believe that every one of his opinions is 'right' and those that offer alternate opinions are somehow listening wrong. His responses to comments used to infuriate me. Perhaps he has grown out of that? I'd hope so. He was one of the first reviewers I ever read who heaped praise upon Genesis, so I will always be thankful to him for that.

    (I still miss Mark Prindle. Even when I disagreed with him completely, his reviews were so entertaining it almost didn't matter.)
     
  11. dkmonroe

    dkmonroe A completely self-taught idiot

    Location:
    Atlanta
    Right now it appears that he's working through all the albums that he wants to review alphabetically by artist. And yes, he is completely re-writing reviews for albums he's previously reviewed. Quite a lot of the reviews he posts now are albums he's never reviewed before though.
     
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  12. 905

    905 Senior Member

    Location:
    Midwest USA
    I've had hours of entertainment reading his reviews.
    Since I've learned that critics often disagree with me, that's all I ask.
    Looking forward to the blog, thanks for this thread.
     
  13. Adam Pajda

    Adam Pajda Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Poland
    My pleasure 905 :)
     
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  14. AidanB

    AidanB Forum Resident

    Location:
    Indiana, USA
    Sorry, I really can’t stand Prindle. His writing style is not at all my cup of tea.
     
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  15. Ern

    Ern Senior Member

    Location:
    Portugal
    Many years ago I spent a lot of time reading his reviews.
     
  16. Parachute Woman

    Parachute Woman Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    It's funny, I haven't read him in years (since probably 2011 when he stopped the site). I wonder if I would like him as much now as I did when I was a teenager? He could be very brash and over the top, I do remember that well!! If he started reviewing again, I think his style would be a bit different. More mature. It was going that way towards the end of the site anyway.
     
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  17. Vangro

    Vangro Forum Resident

    Location:
    London
    I disagreed a lot with Prindle but would still read him - whereas when I disagreed with Starostin, it so happens I don't like his taste or his areas of interest much, I found his writing wasn't interesting or insightful or entertaining enough to compensate. I've got to say I admire intensely his ability to write in English flawlessly, however the wit and humour other posters have mentioned must have been lost in translation because I've never spotted much of either - or any worth appreciating, to be more accurate.
     
    Last edited: Sep 21, 2018
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  18. Duckman

    Duckman Forum Resident

    Location:
    Belgium
    The answer is yes. I just checked his reviews of LZIV and they are two different pieces. The most recent one is structured like a court report (with defense lines, etc...). Actually his original negative appraisal of Battle of Evermore now gets a big thumbs up. One thing is for sure our tastes are quite different (no problem), but I like his wit and the way he never fails to articulate his passion for music.
     
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  19. manxman

    manxman Forum Resident

    Location:
    Isle of Man
    Starostin's work is indeed an incredible labour of love. I have my own review site, but my reviews are much more compact; I really respect his ability to say so much about so many different (and diverse) albums.
     
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  20. WilliamWes

    WilliamWes Likes to sing along but he knows not what it means

    Location:
    New York
    I thought he was entertaining as a writer and I always used to read his stuff. I thought this decade he started reviewing in alphabetical order so I didn't wait around for more reviews. Haven't checked on him in some time though.
     
  21. George is a good writer, but I disagree with him often and I don't find him all that consistent. Not that unusual in the critic world I guess.
     
  22. AidanB

    AidanB Forum Resident

    Location:
    Indiana, USA
    That would be the way I would describe what I read, immature, and I wasn’t a big fan.
    See, this is why I love McFerrin. He has a wit and humour about him, his writing style is exciting, and even though I disagree with may of his opinions, his interest are so far-reaching and his writing style is so entertaining, I don’t at all mind.
     
  23. CharlyArg

    CharlyArg Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Argentina
    What can I say, I've been reading George's reviews for years, some I may be in agreement (most to be honest) and others not, but his writing style for me is what now defines a great review. I like how he moderated that style with the years (old site vs new site), it now feels fun and relatable to read, even with artists I don't care for. Also, personally, he's been a great company and amused me at the bad times like no one else. George is family!
     
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  24. kreen

    kreen Forum Resident

    For years, Starostin's Web site was the number one site I would read on the Internet; I spent countless hours reading and re-reading his reviews; I even sent in a few comments that he published. He was HUGELY influential on what I would listen to and buy back in those days: basically, when I would try to get into an artist, I'd start with the albums Starostin liked, and would not bother with those he didn't.

    Of course, the downside of that influence was that, for years, I refrained from buying albums by artists I liked, because they were panned on his Web page. Only recently have I finally listened to, say, the Beach Boys' MIU Album or Light Album. The reason it took so long is because I never bought them back when Starostin's site was my bible.

    I mostly stopped reading him when he stopped updating the old site. The new format meant he would review new or obscure artists I didn't know anything about, so it wasn't as interesting to me, even though I think I'm about the same age as he is.

    I still check out his site from time to time to see if he has anything to say about a particular album I've just bought.

    Two things never cease to amaze me about him : how a Russian could write English so well, and how he could give a bad review to Paul McCartney's Flaming Pie for being "tuneless", of all things.
     
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  25. rzahl

    rzahl Forum Resident

    Location:
    Austin, Tx
    I've been reading his stuff for about 15 years since I first saw his Bowie page. I took the rating of 3 out of 5 as a knock on Bowie (it's not and of course is relative to other 3 star bands like Led Zeppelin) and was taken aback when at the 'insincere' description, but later on realized it was a pretty accurate assessment. Looking at his Kinks page now it is an example of pretty much how I feel on an album-by-album and artists basis, I just often disagree on his takes of individual songs. It was so refreshing to hear his views on Queen, The Eagles, and The Grateful Dead, but of course that could also be taken to mean that he confirmed by pre-existing biases and sentiments. Well maybe so but I have given Christgau, Prindle, Wilson & Alroy, Allmusic, and Denning plenty of chances and have been burned too many times (Denning is the best of these however). Also I do like John McFerrin but actually see his tastes differing from mine to a greater extent, e.g. The Moody Blues, Yes, and Sly and the Family Stone.

    Without Starostin I never would have gotten into Alex Harvey, Alice Cooper, Krautrock, Steve Harley, Pogues, King Crimson and the list goes on........

    George is a professional linguist by trade so it is no wonder he writes so damn well. He is able to give emphasis to his points without coming off as scholarly or trying to impress you with obscure words. These one liners are some of my favorites:

    David goes ahead and puts out a major concept album. Wait - in the NINETIES? What is he, an *******?
    The Grateful Dead want to be Amon Düül II. Good luck, boys!
    Easily the best Old West concept album written by a pair of British wankers.
    (Elton John's Tumbleweed Connection)
    Look at the sleeve of Bob Dylan's "Infidels". Now look at this one. Now tell me what you think. (Springsteen's Lucky Town)
    Seriously, this is just a collection of crappy outtakes that depicts Led Zep as a banal cock rock band. Which they were - sometimes, but not always. (Coda)
     
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