@elwoodicious - Holy carp, did you read the comment by Darryl on that first link? His response was that if the music industry was failing then we would see layoffs, bankruptcy, takeovers, cutbacks, etc. but we aren't. Has that guy looked at a newspaper recently?
@Music Lover - The legend of Wanderer is that one day he stumbled upon the music boards, started a thread, and was treated somewhat rudely by a few posters. From that day forward he declared that everybody who posted there was an indie hipster asshole and it was his job to make sure they knew it. He is, most definitely, a troll. The only thing that fools people is that, unlike typical trolls, he puts a ton of thought into his posts so that he can pretend they aren't as rude, arrogant and hypocritical as he claims everybody else is.
@thom, yeah Darryl is great for laughs, in the same vein as the Mike Rowe character that trolls the eWeek comments though Darryl I think actually believes it is still 1970 and the labels are stronger than ever.
Really thought he was being sarcastic or ironic at first, then I realized he really was trying to use that as an argument. Maybe he works for EMI and is still in denial?
You know, if one had a W tattooed on each cheek, then one could bend over and spell WOW. If one bent over far enough one could admire it in a full-length mirror. And once a year do a handstand for Mothers Day.
@mommio, I'm a flippant bastard. If that bag of rotted cocks wants to parade around the message board waggling his finger about what a bunch of hipster douche nozzles we are and brand us with a big brown A then so be it. My tastes are out in left field and while I won't begrudge dedicated Classic era Debbie Gibson fans like Wanderer I'll be more than happy to wear the asshole badge and flaunt my love for 70's Japanese Disco and my disinterest in Buster era Phil Collins.
My dad has a whole theory (rant) about the difference between jerks, dicks, and assholes. As I recall, being a jerk or dick is a time-limited condition, whereas being an asshole is terminal. Will confirm...I think the distinction between jerk and dick is a subtle one.
The way I learned it back in elementary school, a jerk is someone who has narcissistic/sociopathic tendencies but probably doesn't realize it. A dick is someone who has them, realizes it, and doesn't care... but an asshole is someone who's pretty close to having the full-blown personality disorder and probably can't even help himself. After that, you start getting into "genuine sociopath" territory, but the average internet "forum troll" isn't even close to that level.
Well, I think you have to distinguish between people who do asinine things because they're stupid, and people who do such things because they're simply outside the tolerable range for narcissistic/sociopathic tendencies. The people we're referring to on the eMu boards don't seem particularly stupid to me, particularly if they're not working as "plants" for one or more of the major labels.
In fact, at least one point made by this "Wanderer" person was almost spot-on - he mentioned that some people were going around to some of the UMG albums that hadn't yet been rated, and clicking the "I hate it" one-star rating even though they "probably had never even heard anything on the album." I don't know if that's true, but I wouldn't be surprised - I've been tempted to do that myself. Still, it does seem rather mean-spirited, even though many of the UMG artists in question probably deserve those 1-star ratings. (In fact, if there were a zero-star rating, I could think of a few who would deserve those too.)
In fact, at least one point made by this "Wanderer" person was almost spot-on - he mentioned that some people were going around to some of the UMG albums that hadn't yet been rated, and clicking the "I hate it" one-star rating even though they "probably had never even heard anything on the album." I don't know if that's true, but I wouldn't be surprised - I've been tempted to do that myself.
Wanderer will borrow other's points and arguments to try to bolster his own credibility.
eMusic is the digital music club for music lovers and artists. ... While we do sell music, eMusic is more than a music store -- it is a club where being a member has unique benefits. It's our mission to give you, our fellow fans, a stronger connection to music and artists. It's a club where you can discover new artists thanks to like-minded fans.
Maybe they succeeded despite their true intentions.
Yes, I should brush up on my Twain. It has been years since I have read one of his novels. The first one I read was The Prince and the Pauper, borrowed from our antiquated school library (very small town) when I was nine years old. Read Uncle Tom's Cabin and White Fang the same year. I know I read other books, but those three definitely made an impression. My love of reading began very early, and although a lot of what I read was over my head, the major themes were not.
I put in a hold request on Vol. 1 of Twain's autobiography on November 6th -- don't remember how far down the list I was, but I am now number 21 of 92. I am looking forward to it.
I am in the publishing biz, and that Twain autobio is quite a phenomenon. Put out by a little university press, which was completely taken by surprise by the demand and has been reprinting constantly ever since. I'm looking forward to seeing it myself, once the hubbub dies down. Meanwhile, for those who can't wait...
I love that no one in that thread has responded to Wandy. His post is so repugnant that it is difficult not to, but it's good to see that no one is giving him the satisfaction.
My interpretation of the Jerk-Dick-Asshole range is consistent with what ScissorMan wrote. The Dick knows he's being a dick, and revels in it. However, The Dick isn't a dick all the time, or to everyone (you think he pulls that crap with his mom? she'd box his ears!). The Dick can flip over to Prince if the situation warrants it. The Asshole doesn't know how to turn it off, can't see that he's an asshole even when he's harming his own interests.
Yep, 1 star reviews started the day they made reviews possible and I suspect it is a bit of dodgy code as they have a tend to show up right when the release hits the site.
It's a problem on every site. Aside from obvious places like Amazon (Citizen Kane? More like Citizen Lame! 1 STAR FOR YOU!), DIME - one of the top live music torrent sites - always had people 1 starring new uploads for some unknown reason.
I think I even did it a couple times. After the Sony drop when they offered free credits for rating albums I picked like 10 of the most popular ones and rated them one star. Probably removed my ratings after getting the credits anyway. My bigger issue has always been the bogus reviews - complaints about not being available in your country, etc. Cluttered up the album page. To me that's what customer service and the message board are for. I even said years ago that eMu had every right to simply delete any review that had nothing to do with the album. And that includes the people randomly complaining about Fraunhofer without having downloaded the album (obviously if you have it and are not satisfied with the quality that's a whole 'nother thing).
Comments
@Music Lover - The legend of Wanderer is that one day he stumbled upon the music boards, started a thread, and was treated somewhat rudely by a few posters. From that day forward he declared that everybody who posted there was an indie hipster asshole and it was his job to make sure they knew it. He is, most definitely, a troll. The only thing that fools people is that, unlike typical trolls, he puts a ton of thought into his posts so that he can pretend they aren't as rude, arrogant and hypocritical as he claims everybody else is.
Thanks for the info.
amclark2,
Thanks for removing the noise from the Post for Cathy.
Wear it with pride.
tl;dr
Fuck that guy.
Dick:
Asshole:
Craig
too easy
More. Checking for instances of Twain using "douchenozzle"...
In fact, at least one point made by this "Wanderer" person was almost spot-on - he mentioned that some people were going around to some of the UMG albums that hadn't yet been rated, and clicking the "I hate it" one-star rating even though they "probably had never even heard anything on the album." I don't know if that's true, but I wouldn't be surprised - I've been tempted to do that myself. Still, it does seem rather mean-spirited, even though many of the UMG artists in question probably deserve those 1-star ratings. (In fact, if there were a zero-star rating, I could think of a few who would deserve those too.)
What does eMusic say?
http://top40-charts.com/news/Music-Industry/eMusic-Brings-Music-Discovery-To-Life-With-Guerilla-Print-Out-of-home-And-Mobile-Marketing/61920.html
Notice the link ---> top40-charts.com
This is irony -- eMusic moves out out of being these things and now proclaims they still are. Reminds you of Orwell's 1984?
I put in a hold request on Vol. 1 of Twain's autobiography on November 6th -- don't remember how far down the list I was, but I am now number 21 of 92. I am looking forward to it.
- But amclark2 and I just had to "address" him @ the first thread.
Edit: But having thought about it, there's really no point. He's hopeless.
- But it felt good in the moment.
I think I even did it a couple times. After the Sony drop when they offered free credits for rating albums I picked like 10 of the most popular ones and rated them one star. Probably removed my ratings after getting the credits anyway. My bigger issue has always been the bogus reviews - complaints about not being available in your country, etc. Cluttered up the album page. To me that's what customer service and the message board are for. I even said years ago that eMu had every right to simply delete any review that had nothing to do with the album. And that includes the people randomly complaining about Fraunhofer without having downloaded the album (obviously if you have it and are not satisfied with the quality that's a whole 'nother thing).