Soundtrack Geek Status Update 2

It's been almost a year since my last update and lots have happened, but not enough to warrant a new update until now. I have a couple of things that needs addressing so here we go.

Rating Revolution

I have always taken pride in my way of rating scores and I have also gotten a lot of praise for it, as well as some more negative feedback. I woke up a few days ago thinking about the score system and wondering about whether the balance is right. Why does some scores get 8, 9 or 10 but has almost identical cue ratings? I looked over all my reviews and came to the conclusion that almost every rating I give is a bit flawed because I always let my feelings be the final judge. But is it wrong?

After all, when I listen to scores, it's all about emotions for me. Does it make me feel great or not? In some cases, there's a certain theme that gives me goosebumps and so I have rated it perhaps more highly than I should. Then there's the opposite when the overall quality of the cues are quite good, but lacking the great standout cue so I tend to give those scores lower rating than they deserve. At least that's how I feel about it now.

So how should I rate the scores? Rating is a very personal thing and always will be. I can't take into account what other soundtrack reviewers think of the score or soundtrack fans for that matter. Furthermore, I can't give extra points just because I happen to like that composer. I can however be more analytical when it comes to rating scores. In short I have to find the perfect balance between an emotional and analytical approach. I have to be fair.

Then another thing struck me. What score really deserve a perfect 10 because 10 is perfect right? Once you hit that number you can't go any higher meaning it's a classic for the ages. I was thinking of a complex rating system with a lot of factors such as average cue rating, emotional rating and other factors, but I don't want to overcomplicate things. Furthermore I thought about my current rating system that is 1 to 10. Would it be more fair if I rated a score from 1 to 100? At least no score would reach 100 because nothing is perfect. Then again, I want that 10 for some scores that are simply so good I can listen to it again and again for ages. Then the dilemma: If I have 50 scores with a rating of 8, does that mean every one of those scores are just as good? For me it doesn't mean that, some scores have a weak 8 while others have a strong 8 but the problem is that you will never know which is which. I think this is one of those cases where you'll just have to wonder, because again I don't want to have a too complicated rating system.

I do however want to have the rating 10 really mean something again. I want to send a message with such a score. A score getting a rating of 10 should be so good almost every cue is perfect and when I went over all my reviews, only 2 scores had that quality. You can find out which scores for yourself in the reviews section. What about guest reviews? Well I refuse to change what other people feel about the scores they review, so their ratings are untouched, but for me, something has to change.

So I did something drastic, I re-rated every soundtrack review on the site that I have reviewed. For example I had 23 score rated 10, now only 2 scores have the rating 10. All in all 96 scores have a new rating while 56 scores remain the same. I hope you are happy with the new rating system, at least I am.

A Re-Design Awaits

I am doing another re-design of the site soon. It's not that I don't like the current design, but things have to change at the back-end. It's taking too long for me to actually post a review, so something has to be done. After a lot of thought I realized that the easiest way of doing it would be to change my current content management system and since I don't have time to incorporate the current design into the new system I take the easy way out and doing a re-design of the site. After all, I want to focus on creating content, not on the aesthetics.

This means that the site as it is today will be an archive of what has been since I re-designed the site last year so no reviews will be lost in the process. I am looking for the right theme for my site and I hope that I can get it done before June this year.

So that's everything I had to say. Now I want to hear from you. What do you think about the new rating system and re-design of the site? Let me know in the comments section below.

Jørn