First of all, permit me to have a little digression. There are normally two kinds of people that visit sites like mine or Mark Prindle's. The first one is people who don't know crap about a certain artist/band, say, Fleetwood Mac, for instance, but would stab their schoolteacher to get some information about 'em. However, since modern society demonstrates a curious dislike for unnecessary bloodshedding, the best substitute for that is to visit a record review site and learn what Fleetwood Mac records should be bought today and what Fleetwood Mac records are total crap that they needn't worry about even if they're offered 'em free.
The second kind of people are somewhat more sophisticated - in that they already know everything about Fleetwood Mac, right down to the colour of the socks Lindsey Buckingham wore at his first concert on the 1982 tour and the exactly calculated average number of faces Mick Fleetwood pulls at every show. Their aim is also obvious - mostly, they visit the site to compare their personal musical tastes with those of the wretched reviewer and praise him with high honours or trample him into the dirt, dependent on the results of their visit.
No need to say that both types of visitors are extremely welcome to my site. If I knew for sure that at least one person read some reviews on my site, bought some highly (or not very highly) rated records and was made happy by the fact, I'd be the luckiest man on Earth - what can be better than make other people happy, dammit? On the other hand, if it's 'Reader's Comments' we're speaking of, it's the second type of people that interests me more - the well-educated dudes that post their remarks.
Indeed, do you really think that a record review site's (magazine's, book's, whatever) main purpose could be helping people out with their acquisitions? Nah. Wilson & Alroy's site seems to be built according to that principle (their main motto is 'We listen to lousy records so you don't have to'), but even I, whose tastes are often very close to these two gentlemen, have seen them put down quite a few records that are among my most beloved (Selling England By The Pound), while often praising albums that don't hold my interest for too long (Jeff Beck's Wired, etc.). You might well hate some albums I recommend and vice versa. As a starting point, a site like mine could be a decent guide, but that wouldn't be for long. Therefore, if you fall in absolute love with an artist that I reviewed, but do not dare to buy those of his albums that I dismissed, don't do that! Rely on your own tastes and intuition, not mine!
So, one good question: if the site's main purpose is not to help people be well-oriented, what is it then? Is it just a put on? Well, actually not quite. Think of my reviews as of a solid (or feeble, as you like) basis for a thorough, interesting, and even, I'm not afraid of the word, scientific analysis of the album, and mail your comments accordingly! They're always welcome - let us get a little rock'n'roll museum going!

Now, on to the guidelines:
1. I'm willing to post anything you send me, with one single exception: thoroughly offensive letters that use loads of useless gross lexics (aka 'flames', eh?) will be discarded. Discarded without further answer or notification. Thankfully, I have received only about a couple such letters to this point, but I'm still making the warning. I'm not insulting you in my reviews, and do not insult me.
Of course, insulting letters can vary in levels of hate and aggression; in some cases, I may publish the message, but I might publish an answer to it, too - so beware!
And, so as to give you a hint, let us take some album that I don't particularly adore, say, Yes's Close To The Edge, and give you three examples of a possible comment (made up by myself):
Variant A) Possible reader comment: 'You just don't get it, I hate your review and yourself. Who do you think you are? Get your head out of your ass and get another listen, last time you put it on you were probably too busy fucking your dog. Yes rules! Go and suck your mother's tits some more, you stupid dickhead, before you finally start to know real kick-ass music when you see it.'
This message will be discarded. By the way, I'm not hinting Yes fans usually behave like that: this style is more preferable to hair metal freaks, but don't forget I'm just giving you a guideline, right?
Variant B) Possible reader comment: 'Your stupid opinion is worthless, sir, and neither I nor anybody else in the world cares about what you feel towards Yes. Go get your CD out and listen to it for a hundred times more before its brilliance sinks into your limited brains. Apparently, you're the kind of lightweight pop fan whose idle ears are just not fit for real music. In that case, why have you chosen to review Yes at all - a task that's as easy-going for you as flying off to the Moon? The very fact that you said you don't get this album shows that your musical vision is as primitive as your writing style. This album is great, and your review sucks. Go and review Alanis Morrisette instead, she might be the best partner for ya.'
This message will be posted, but insult follows insult, you know?
Variant C) Possible reader comment: 'I think there are certain aspects of this album that you missed, and that's why it is so hard for you to get. I admit that not everybody can easily get into Yes music, but this actually takes time and a little ear-training. While the lyrics may not make much sense, the music there is in fact incredible - some of the most interesting, captivating guitar and keyboards playing I've ever witnessed. Just take one more listen to Steve Howe's solo in the first part of the title track or to Rick Wakeman's work on 'And You And I'! Put on your earphones and be carried away by the magnificent sounds and rhythms of this masterwork! A solid 10 for this album, and I'd rate it a 13 or 14 on your overall scale.'
God, I love this guy, I think I'll go post his comment now... wait, hey, that was me! And I lied! Oh, what a disappointment!

2. Yeah, I said I'll post everything that goes over 'gross', but that doesn't mean I don't have my special wishes. I particularly welcome comments with factual information - that give some more details on the album, since, for instance, for quite a lot of my records I don't have almost no liner notes (the Russian editions don't care much for 'em), and I don't have time to browse the Web for all these records.
Even more important, I particularly welcome comments with real ideas, not just expressions of your feelings towards one song or another or the album in general. This site is not a poll; I might set up some polls the other day, but right now I'm more interested in why you love or hate a song/album/artist than in whether you love or hate them. Here's two more examples of self-made comments to clear this up:
Variant A) Possible reader comment: 'You're right, Abbey Road is an incredible record. However, I hate 'Octopus's Garden' and 'Maxwell's Silver Hammer' - just horrible songs! And that jam at the end of 'I Want You' is pretty dull, too. Love Harrison's songs on here, though. And 'Come Together' is my favourite Beatles song in the world! A 9 for this one.'
Variant B) Possible reader comment: 'Yes, Abbey Road is fantastic. I must say, though, that there are some rather childish tunes on it that spoil the fun - 'Maxwell's Silver Hammer' has a typical stupid Paul subject matter, and 'Octopus's Garden' is mostly fit for small children, I can't even sing along to it without blushing. And four minutes of the same riff being repeated over and over again ('I Want You') can really get on my nerves. However, I think that George's numbers compensate for all the stupidity with some gorgeous lyrical and melodical moments, like that incredibly moving solo on 'Something' or the romantic acoustic riff of 'Here Comes The Sun'. And I don't really know why, but 'Come Together' has always been my favourite Beatles song - perhaps because of the perfect combination of that cool drumming, surrealistic lyrics and an overall atmosphere. And did you know it was a Chuck Berry rip-off? Here's where John outdid the master! In all, I think that the silly numbers drag it down a bit, but the strong contributions still make it worth a 9'.
Both comments will be posted, but you don't need to guess who my sympathy belongs to. Yeah, I admit that it's harder to write something like the second one, and I also admit that my own reviews often tend to swing away from the standard; but you have the advantage of not having to hurry and worry, unlike poor me who's chosen this dirty job. I have to break my head and come up with ideas for every record I review, and you don't know how hard it is to come up with some ideas considering, say, Genesis' We Can't Dance. You don't have to break your head - if an idea comes to you by itself, you just have to catch it by the tail and send it, squealing and squirming, right here to me!

3. I know this is logically deductible from the first two points, but I'll say it again: this site is not destined for fanatics. I only permit myself the weakness of being an absolute Beatles fanatic - but that's just because I'm able to enjoy nearly everything the Beatles ever put out. Most other bands, even the 5-star ones, get their fair share of critique. Some of it may be unjustified, of course, but you have to take my tastes as they are. I do NOT worship any rock musicians or any rock albums as religious objects; instead, what I'm trying to do is provide you with a critical analysis that more or less reflects my genuine feelings about the album.
Therefore, the point is: whenever you send a comment, don't just blame me in general for disliking a certain band. Explain your own feelings, tell me why do you think I'm mistaken and back it up with credible arguments. This is the way a worthy discussion is to be carried on.
And, for the weak-hearted, do not think that I'm not taking 'public opinion' or 'general critical opinion' into view. I started out, for instance, with an enormous bias against prog rock in general and a particular bias against bands like Led Zeppelin or Pink Floyd. Yet I took the time to listen to these bands for considerable amounts of time and finally got around to, as it seems to me, understanding their greatness and their particular weak spots. If you think I missed something, tell me exactly what it is I've missed and I'll seriously consider your opinion. However, any messages that employ the words 'sacrilege', 'desecrate', 'blasphemy' or suchlike, will be posted but will not be paid attention to. This is your religion, not mine - I prefer to believe in God, not Roger Waters or Jon Anderson.
Oh, and that reminds me - don't bother asking me the question: 'You hate so-and-so so much, then why the hell did you review him/her/them if you're not a fan?' Such a question has no reason to exist or any rational sense whatsoever. Why should I review only the stuff I love if I want to present an objective and more or less full picture of 'Classic Rock'? Let me state it here that I do have some respect for even those artists who haven't made it higher than one or two stars, even those that I can hardly stand at all, like Traffic or, indeed, Yes. Basically, I respect every artist whose output hasn't been forgotten after twenty or thirty years of existence, especially if that artist hasn't been in the spotlight for quite a long time, and I'm perfectly willing to review anything that isn't overtly commercial, hopelessly untalented, or offensive to good taste (sometimes I'm even reviewing stuff that's all of the three, but that's usually an otherwise interesting artist in his worst days). If I hate Yes or Traffic, that does not mean their output is not worth reviewing. At least I'm trying to explain what it is that causes my dislike, so this could be a good start for a productive discussion. And anyway, I'm always trying to spotlight the best qualities of an artist: you won't find even a single page on this site that's devoted entirely to the bashing of some old geek (even if Jon Anderson and Stevie Winwood are old geeks, and pretty boring and talent-limited at that).

4. Basically, that's all. Some more technical details:
a) Please don't send me stuff like 'You need to check out this album, and this, and this...' if these albums are by a band or artist already present on the site, but not reviewed. I'm always on the lookout for any stuff, including the worst, by any of these artists/bands if not otherwise noted. Therefore, if an album is missing, it means either that I have it and didn't yet have time to review it, but I will sooner or later, or that I don't have it and can't find it anywhere in Moscow for a decent price - but I will sooner or later. This makes your comments useless and sometimes even disappointing - I'm getting jealous!
b) Your comments do not need to be limited in length - they may contain three or four words or three or four pages. Thankfully, I have enough Web space right now to upload anything.
c) You probably know my format: album names are given in bold print, video/film names in italics, and song names in single or double quotes. You need not format this yourself, but it would be a great pleasure to me if you did. At least the single quotes.
d) CHECK YOUR SPELLING! Remember, correct spelling makes you a man!!! I won't correct anything for you (that would be copyright violation, right); do you want intelligent, literate people to laugh at you and your scribblings?
e) Please specify the exact title of the album you're referring to if it isn't obvious from the comment itself; otherwise, I'll have to E-mail you back with the evident question, and it could be tiresome and delaying.

Well, guess that's all. Hope I didn't get you bugged about these things. Now forget all the previous content of this page and MAIL YOUR IDEAS! Don't just sit there blankly staring at the screen, get out and get some action, ladies and gentlemen!!!

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