I thought I’d take the higher ground on this criticism and not respond to it, but not only does it show up on the links page of a site that can’t get my name right, it’s reiterated on a fan forum.
To wit:
“[Musicwhore.org] sports lots of reviews of Japanese Albums, although the reviews can’t seem to keep from comparing everyone to western artists in the same genre.”
I think this criticism is very short-sighted.
The audience I have in mind when I write reviews wouldn’t have prior knowledge of the Japanese music scene. So it would be meaningless to explain what makes L’Arc~en~Ciel different from X-Japan, when the reader I want to reach wouldn’t know who either is in the first place.
If comparing Japanese artists to Western artists is problematic for you, chances are, you’re not part of the readership I’m addressing.
If comparing Japanese artists to Western artists goes against your principles, well, the best solution would be to demonstrate how to address an audience completely oblivious to the Japanese music scene without using any point of reference said audience would understand.
I’m sure it’ll be a piece of cake.