1. Were you happy with the reviews that were published? How do you feel about your week as Record Club captain?
It's the week of Thanksgiving. This thing matters a lot less during this particular week. And this is our sixth Thanksgiving together on the blog, so I am very much used to the blog taking it easy around this time. That two other people deigned to listen to and write about some random-ass rapper is something that brings me happiness. I am... dare I say it again... thankful.
2. How was the variety of opinions? A wide range, kinda samey, or somewhere in the middle?
I don't think the variety was in overall opinion, as it was mostly negative. I think the variety lies in tolerance. How much were you willing to tolerate this music? I'd say that Sunny was the most tolerant, and Zach was the least tolerant. Even considering the fact that what I know most about my two friends here has come from what they've written on the internet, I think that those tolerance levels make sense to me. Like: Zach has written before about grappling with ideas about sex, and I think that it makes sense that he'd be reluctant to engage with an artist who seems a bit too laissez faire about that same subject. Like: Sunny usually positions himself as the observer, an anthropologist of the human condition, as opposed to actively engaging in that condition, and so it would make sense that this album would be fascinating to him only from a "how did we all get here" perspective (the scammers, etc.). I like reading music opinions but I love reading them from authors whom I know.
3. Were there any differing opinions that made you view the album in a different light?
I suppose there would be a chance I would've liked this album better if Miranda Pitts didn't originally indicate that s/he liked the album? My interaction with them on Facebook irrevocably changed my relationship with Blaqbonez. Mistrust, exasperation, pity, whatever. It's probably not a good place to start, regarding music criticism at least. Though maybe intentions don't need to be pure in the 305th week of an album club that doesn't pause for a major holiday.
4. Was there anything about this album or this artist that you wished that people would've written about more?
I suppose there are people out there who hear this album and think something like "hey, this sounds like me." I would take pause if someone I knew reacted that way, but I'd certainly want to know more.
5. How do you feel about your album choice now that the week is over? A success? Any regrets?
This will be the first year that Record Club has fewer album reviews than the year before. Which is fine. We are not a Fortune 500 company. There doesn't need to be constant growth.
6. Any other takeaways from the reviews? Or from this experience in general?
I had long held suspicions that most people don't even bother reading the Sunday album write-up, and I'm pretty confident in that suspicion at this point. I was pretty proud of the FB scammer bit, and the muted reaction from 95% of the people who get an email every week tells me something. I'm not asking for attention. It's not that big of a deal. But I think I felt a little like Mac from It's Always Sunny this week. "Laughs are cheap, man. I'm going for gasps." And then most of the audience is silent. Ah well. Shoutout to Sunny and Zach for engaging, and Nate for at least dropping a pithy comment underneath the Sunday thing.
7. What is an improvement that Record Club can make that would enhance everyone's experience, either as a captain or as a listener/writer?
Nothing, we're doomed.
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