Please, Not Again!

Mixolydian Mode posted about critical cliches a few days ago. After looking through January's issue of "Irish Music Magazine" today, I think I can add some cliches of the music world that annoy me.

"The voice of an angel" We all knew this phrase was done for when it became the title of Charlotte Church's first CD.

The description of a singers voice as "poetry." Now, poetry sounds like meter, rhyme, playing with sounds, and imagery to me. How a singer can sound like poetry is beyond my comprehension.

"Evocative." The word means "tending to evoke; tending to call up, cause, appear, or summon." By saying, "This song is evocative," you are saying, "This song tends to call up." Call up what? Feelings or memories of something? Causing demons to appear? What?

Ok, this is not a cliche, but it annoyed me: "Some say the harp is an aquired taste." I play the harp. I have never heard anyone say that. No where have I seen it written that someone disliked listening to a harp. In fact, I've met people who don't like classical music or don't like Irish music, but who have said that they enjoyed said genres when they heard them played on the harp. The only complaint I've ever had was that harp music could be too relaxing.

Ok, enough complaining for today.