i review things i own, things i've owned at some point, and things that my lovely wife has in her collection (she has pretty good taste). i rarely take a chance on stuff that winds up just sucking (i usually make my purchases carefully), and as such my ratings are generally 3 stars and up.

i also try to be as clinical with my star ratings as much as possible. i try to divorce things like personal attachment and historical significance from the ratings, and try to focus on the actual merits of the albums and the songs that make them up. this of course can be difficult, as music is such an abstract art form that it's hard not to throw sentimentality and outside influence into the mix.

discourse about very abstract things also inevitably breeds contradiction and faulty logic. trying to put into words the thoughts and feelings that sound stirs inside of us often leads to folly. it's also hard to quantify why these things are pleasant or repelling to us. i guess this is my over intellectualized way of saying that ultimately i don't take this stuff too seriously and neither should you.

WORDS RARELY DO MUSIC JUSTICE!

at the end of the day i just want to help folks figure out if particular releases and groups are worth their time and money. i'm not here to argue with others about these fairly arbitrary numeric ratings, nor do i want to force my opions on anyone beyond my admittedly brief little reviews (i'm also not here to hone my music journalism skills).