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| This is a comments thread about Blog Post: FSM Liner Notes Instructions by Lukas Kendall |
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Most certainly things in this article hold truth, such as the importance of not taking the opportunity to condemn a studio's property which is being licensed (should go without saying), and of course having a strong expectation for structure, grammar, and so on are all suitable within one's demands for a written assignment such as these booklets; I agree with all those tidbits. However, an article like this always confuses me in terms of the author's overall intent or message. Is he/she demanding better liner notes across the board, a particular standard to be upheld even when it's a different label hiring the writers? If so, doesn't this sort of thing fall under the stockpiled, at-least-the-music-is-getting-released opposed tantrums many have and are, often times, critically subdued for having?
But in the case of your own writers, if you're the boss - and that's been precisely stated here in some context, subsequently - it seems it's your job to hire strong writers in the first place and offer your confidence to them that they can get the job done adequately. In the cases where these guidelines were not met, were there no preliminary discussions had, via an interview of sorts, that described the task at hand? To employ a set of public 'instructions' like this really does come across as a bit of an elitist rant, almost solely in fact, and while I'm not trying to set a fire under you, Lukas, or anyone in particular for that matter, I feel it's a bit awkward that one simply offers to publicize a checklist, or instruction list, of sorts that he/she feels everyone should adhere to rather than an exclusive, indirect commentary on the troubles writers may have with these sorts of notes. Just seems oddly crafted is all.
Now, don't get me wrong, I enjoy your attention to detail, Lukas, and your set of gold standards for the (now defunct) label, but surely to state that the things being ignored in these notes - those that did not oblige the haphazards that differ from your recently unearthed checklist - was a huge reason you didn't want a label anymore strongly suggests an obsessiveness that has little to do with the film's music itself but, again, a set of expectations being ignored by others who might deter from your sole preferences, albeit some solid recommendations on your part no doubt. And if many times you didn't have the desire to run a label because of frustrations like these, I'd assume you employed the writers who were committing these errors for your products. Why, then? Perhaps it was a mere case of having the wrong person for the job? Maybe it's just me, but I don't see Time magazine reminding their staff (or the staff of other magazines) through a criticizing letter on the areas that they could improve - at least not in an all-nicely wrapped letter for their readers to consume as well. But yes, I get it; your house, your rules. ; )
Another thing: this opening line in the second paragraph: "I can say this now because I no longer have a label: I hate liner notes." Why exactly couldn't that be said before? After all, you're simply suggesting in this article that much of what's out there isn't very coherent or well-written. Are you implying you didn't want to hurt other people's feelings while you had a label? I don't see what other hypothetical could apply here. If you saw it as you do now: a bridge to a more constructive method of writing, then wouldn't it be seen as a mere ideal for a better product that a studio or writer themselves would have wanted? If the writers were the ones in fact vulnerable or oppressive to this form of criticism, what did you care? Again, they didn't belong in the job in the first place if that was the case.
In the end, I do agree that liner notes should be tackled with the same precision and understanding that all other aspects of a project demand (it does improve the product), and that many times this does fail to happen, but welcome to Earth, where most things are half-assed or inadequately understood. But in terms of film music on CD, and to piggyback on so many overly-stated rebuttals here, at least we were given newly remastered pressings that continue to employ these labels in the first place, eh? Wasn't it still grand, Lukas, to be coming in contact with some of those long-lost Goldsmith masters, or to pull from a box a rare gift to be given over to a new generation of fans for which you were deeply involved? Most certainly the good outweighed the bad. After all, here we are... still discussing film music in such passionate of ways, amid terribly-composed liner notes and all. 
I wasn't trying to be harsh here, just played devil's advocate a bit. Personally, you have your reasons, but I'm certain you had plenty left to offer, Lukas. It's a shame you folded when you did. But I'm still thankful for that which has been given by you. It's just we fans could have benefitted by your sticking around label-wise, especially on fronts like these.
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Hi, and thanks for the constructive feedback. At the time I wrote this, I wouldn't think it appropriate to publicize it. But it's been several years and I came across this and it seemed like it wouldn't do much harm to put it online.
Yes, we did have a lot of great writers who contributed to the notes, but we also "tried out" people who hadn't done it before, but either asked to do it or were recommended to us and wanted to give it a shot. It helped to have a document to explain the "house style."
Lukas
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At the time I had a label, our liner notes were a selling point and I wouldn't want to go online saying that liner notes were bad and pointless. Sorry if that sounds like I'm being a mercenary...I'm just being honest.
As it is, I hesitate to post something like that, given that I am still working with many of the labels, and I know most of the people writing liner notes.
The truth is, liner notes are very hard to do well. I can't tell you how many times I went to review a score at a studio or university library (I was very fortunate to be given access) to make notes as to segues, instrumentation, orchestrators, cue titles, meters—even tone rows (Satan Bug). It was a lot of work. I remember working at Star Trek III and looking at the score to explain that a certain synth sound was the Ocarina setting on a Jupiter synthesizer (or something like that), as opposed to just calling it a keyboard.
It's very apparent to me when liner notes are written without any of this research taking place.
Lukas
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