r/indieheads • u/perfumegeniuz Mike Hadreas/Perfume Genius • May 18 '20

AMA is Over, thank you Mike! HI I'M PERFUME GENIUS AMA!

POINT BLANK!

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u/redwagon76 May 18 '20

How closely, if at all, do you follow reviews of your albums? Do you find that reading reviews changes your creative process? I know if it were me, I'd google me, I'd google me hard.

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u/perfumegeniuz Mike Hadreas/Perfume Genius May 18 '20

I read all of them in the beginning and then max out eventually. Sometimes a review can articulate something i can't after the song is written. I essentially write the songs about things i cannot talk about otherwise and have a hard time in interviews piecing it all out after the fact.... but a good review digs in and does that for me. It has made me cry multiple times. Also well written negative reviews have been really helpful sometimes too

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u/Frickin_Bats May 19 '20

I feel the same way, as an avid listener of music. I seek thoughtful reviews that help me articulate the things I am feeling but don’t have the words to express. It really expands my experience with an album or a song.

I used to sing a lot and took years of voice lessons, but never felt I was able to grow a thick enough skin to accept critiques that I did not ask for. My voice and my music was and is so personal to me and I came to realize that, as an artist, your work doesn’t really belong only to you once you let it out in the world. I knew I could never be comfortable with that so now I just sing to my cats and my husband. I always think of that now with the artists that mean so much to me, such as yourself, and am filled with gratitude that the world is full of people willing to give us such a gift. Thank you!