https://www.spontaneouslunacy.net/scoring-system/
abridged in places, however all the words/phrases used below are
entirely Samson's - with the exception of a few parenthesized remarks
1/10 Awful
. unsustainable
OR
. musical competence was completely overshadowed by the cynical and exploitative nature of artists or producers who shamelessly attempted
to cash in on a better idea without regard to originality, creativity
or artistic self-respect
closing comment: often make for the most interesting and entertaining
reviews
2/10 Creative Failure
. bad records but not quite so excruciating to deserve the lowest
score; either the artist themselves are lacking in talent or more
skilled artists lack of any real effort or conviction in the material,
almost as if they're going through the motions.
3/10 Uninspired
. not terrible, just largely uninteresting, rather unmemorable, merely
fizzled rather than flopped; ideas weren't fleshed out enough in the
writing or arranging stage, or maybe the band wasn't tight, the singer
was off or the production was botched along the way
4/10 Slightly Below Average,
. think of these as underachievers that lack ambition; these records
tend to be more generic in nature, thus easily forgettable, and suffer
mostly from the lack of any key attributes to make them stand out
more; can be modestly enjoyed as long as you don't pay too close
attention to their shortcomings.
5/10 Average
. the single most important grade on the site, the score off which
everything else is based (btw, the normal grading curve here is
one to nine, "tens are something more personally special")
. average is NOT an insult; it is a decent example of rock music for
the year it came out, or if you prefer, the style the record fits
into. Fives should dominate the release rolls.
. put that song into a shuffle play for the year in question and it
won't be a track you'll skip but nor will it be a track you'll hit
repeat for.
6/10 Better Than Average
. GOOD records that should've been regularly heard and appreciated and
deserved to make the Top 40 when they came out; if someone asks you
what you think of a certain record and you answer with a casual "I
like it" without adding anything more emphatic to the response, then
chances are it's a six.
7/10 Very Good
. if a five is sort of a non-committal "it's ok" and a six evokes a
measured "I like it" response, then seven is the dividing line where
the person starts to really like something; these are songs that
you'll actively seek out and add to playlists; these records deserved
to make the Top 25 and ideally even years later will be still
instantly identifiable and enjoyed by most who came of age during that
era. Everything about these songs works, they're well-written, played,
produced and sung, with good lyrics, melody and beat with no notable
flaws, but not quite transcendent. An artist with a steady string of
sevens is a star in their day.
8/10 Great
. when you enthusiastically say upon hearing it, "I love this song!",
then that's an eight; when it ends the first time you hear it you
immediately want to hear it again
. something that should sit in the Top 10 when it came out; they
retain their special qualities long past their expiration date
. eights are for the ones you WANT to play for someone who's slightly
skeptical of your tastes because you're absolutely convinced it will
win them over (delusional? :)
9/10 Brilliant
. perfection; a song you think should not have stopped until it hit #1
on the charts and stayed there until something just as good came
along; one of the top records of all-time, not just the era in which
it was released.
. think of these as you would tens with other reviewers because the
tens here are reserved for something a little different in nature, so
if a song gets a 9 I'm stating unequivocally that it is a stone cold
classic and can't be recommended any more highly
10/10 Beyond Perfect
. these are (one's) favorite records ever, a small hallowed ground
reserved for (one's) own idiosyncratic choices.
. tens should be each person's OWN so-called "desert island discs",
the records that connect with them in a way that even the greatest,
most flawless records of all-time, the 9's, do not.
. tens in effect define who you are as a music fan and each person's
choices are unique to them
--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)