This screencap doing the rounds, if genuine, exposes the utterly cynical way in which corporate mainstream music is promoted and “reviewed”.
Now I know I post a lot of glowing if not fanboyish reviews on this site. But at least I’ve actually heard the records before I write my reviews.
Not that Beyoncé is really my kind of music, but I’ve got to admire the way she’s annoyed the music critics by releasing an album to the public without any advance warning, acting as if she’s a small independent prog act. Reviewers in the broadsheets have grown accustomed to hearing big mainstream mainstream releases months before the rest of us, and some of them don’t seem happy at the way she’s gone and short-circuited the whole process. More power to her, I say!
People accused Beyoncé of lip-synching when she headlined Glastonbury a couple of years ago. I can only assume many indie kids have never heard a real singer performing live, and expect out-of-tune vocals as proof that it’s “4real”. Auto-tune in pop has an awful lot to answer for.