TVL wrote:I think people are too harsh sometimes when discussing the merits or drawbacks of certain Journey songs. I think you should keep in mind that songwriters are artists and just as a painter chooses what their subject matter will be for a painting and how they want to portray it, a songwriter is doing the same. When painting a picture or writing a song, it comes from that artists heart and mind. They are thinking about their own experiences and feelings, drawing from it, so the message they portray in song paints a picture that is personal to them, coming from inside at the time. Then it's sometimes created and put out to share with the world. It's too easy to sit back in judgement of someone else's art, everyone seems to want to be a critic, yet don't create themselves. I think some respect should be afforded to the songwriter and musicians for the fact that the material is or was personal to them. Sure there are some songs I prefer to listen to than others, but I'm not going to sit around and armchair quarterback their decision to put it out there....that takes guts. I also won't condemn them for what they felt and expressed. I'll still listen and take in what the artist was trying to convey and I'll cherish the ones I love and give thanks that they were created and shared with us all. In the end there are really no bad songs....just some you don't like or can't relate to. It wasn't meant for you then.....move on to the ones that speak to you and enjoy the music.
Just my 2 cents.
This reminded me of something that happened to me at work years ago.
A guy brought in this small chair which he hand made for his grandaughter. It was a small chair made of cherry wood all finshed and it looked really. I told him it looked really nice. I looked a bit closer and told him this arm looked a tiny bit shorter then that arm...and I think I would like it even more if the legs were longer.
A coworker behind us heard us talking and sorta went off with, "How can you say that to him? That chair is beautiful!"
Then the guy who MADE THE CHAIR said, "What do you mean? He said he liked it...We're just talking about how it could have been even better. There's nothing wrong with that...maybe I'll take his suggestions next time." And, he wasn't very happy WITH HER because we were having a good honest conversation about what he made...and not just oo'ing and ah'ing about it.
Nothing is perfect. "Art" is subjective. Even what one person considers art may not be 'art' to someone else. If artists do not want, or can not handle, people saying what they DO NOT like about their art, then they should hang it in their basements, or keep their recordings in their underwear drawer.
I think MOST artists expect some critique and MOST can accept it for what it is. The whiners who do not want to read it or accept that other do not appreciate it as much as they do are the ones who need a new understanding about things. They need to understand that their opinion is not definitive or more important then anybody elses.