Recording the Dark Side of Life
Life is not just one pleasure ride, there are ups and there are downs and the description, heard many years ago, that life is a rollercoaster still fits to this day. How we weather the individual events of our lives is impossible to regulate, and also to foresee. Events happen which we have not expected, which we could never anticipate, and with which we have no connection, and our lives are often changed by the actions of others. For anyone to claim they have their life under control is the equivalent of wearing blinkers which only allow us to see one direction, a form of tunnel vision of the mind.
In the April 2026 edition of Jazz Podium, Timo Hoyer laments the present state of music criticism, and especially that within the broad spectrum of the jazz scene. There is, he writes, only positive written, all praise and no real criticism. No one reviewed across a selection of jazz and other genre magazines seems to trust themselves to pick out the dark side, the bad side of music being produced. It is as if, he seems to be suggesting, there is a template of praise all reviewers are expected to adhere to, and any bad words, any negative vibes, are going to be spiked.
I can, to a certain extent, understand why reviewers, professional or otherwise, tend to hold back from giving the real dirty on what they have experienced. Friends of mine have been threatened with legal action over a – well-earned – negative online review. In the last few months I have had a restaurant review removed from an online service – whereby it is worth noting that my review was published six years ago, and the restaurant was claiming there was no proof I had visited them. Needless to say, the publisher didn’t see the foolishness of such a claim, and removed the review, with the result that I removed myself from their services. And the case of the legal attack? My friend removed their review too, with regret, but ensured that those who organise meals in this particular city no longer have this one restaurant on their availability list for consideration.
We live in a society which has moved from honest criticism and suggestions for improvement, to one where five stars have to be given, or an attorney sends a Cease and Desist. And yet all of these reviews, all of these criticisms, are merely personal opinions. Many are based on experiences, others on an individual’s taste, especially when it comes to the performing arts. There are, as we have come to learn, those who will happily give a one star review just because they can, especially when they haven’t been anywhere near the event or establishment they are condemning; but I also think many of us can see through this. It is a shame that those companies, which make money from our freely-given expertise, do not seem to be willing to sort out the wheat from the chaff. Government regulation, especially in the European Union, has not made the publication of an honest opinion any easier.
There are ways, though, of getting the true state of things over to the public. Often there is no need to shout and gesticulate, and it tends to put readers off anyway. A simple and subtle use of words would suffice. After all, if someone is prepared to take the time and write a review, it might be imagined they would plan what they wish to say first.
Timo Hoyer asks: Where is the negative? Why are so many music reviews full of praise and artistic comparisons, and free of honesty? Is it because music is such a massive field of possibilities that no one can cover all eventualities? Even when we are specialising in one or another field or genre? Or are we pandering to advertisers, to an ideal which brings clicks on web sites and money into the registers? Or are we worried about the possibility of being cast out ourselves, vilified for our words and honest opinion, subjected to legal action? Is this yet another freedom removed? Perhaps it is time we settled back into some of the older traditions, and made clear that what we are writing, negative or positive, is our own opinion, from our own experiences, our own feelings, and others should take the opportunity to see for themselves. Negative or otherwise, it belongs out in the open. And if someone is incapable of forming their own opinion, then they have nothing to lose or gain by even trying to experience anything for themselves.
