Research several Rolling Stone (or magazine of choice) album reviews (https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews) and, using those reviews as archetypes, write a 550 word review of an album of your choice. Excellent album reviews will have some historical context (i.e., comparing similar previous albums by that artist and other artists) and well-written narrative that includes all or nearly all of the tracks on the album. Some questions to ponder: Why is this album successful or unsuccessful? How does it compare to other similar albums? Which metaphors or similes would you use to describe some of the musical aspects? Which tracks catch your attention and why? How does the album flow from one song into another? Here are some tips for your album review. 1. Your opinion matters. Journalists are charged with being arbiters of taste. This isn’t objective analysis, it’s a well-informed opinion about an album. Journalists don’t know everything, but they are certainly opinionated. Think of yourself as a journalist rather than just a fan. 2. Being well-informed means you understand the history of the band, the genre, related albums or associations, and cultural appetites (what people like or don’t like based on informed trends) 3. You don’t have to analyze every song, but focus on the ones that are the best (or worst) tracks. Discuss outstanding elements rather than water your review down with songs that aren’t remarkable. 4. Make sure you include aspects about the sound and not just the lyrics. This isn’t analytical, but mentioning things like melody, timbre, rhythm (the beat or groove) harmony, etc. in creative ways is definitely of interest.
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