Talk:Afraid of the Dark (song)

GA Review

This review is transcluded from Talk:Afraid of the Dark (song)/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.

Reviewer: J Milburn (talk · contribs) 19:32, 14 October 2014 (UTC)

Happy to offer a review. J Milburn (talk) 19:32, 14 October 2014 (UTC)

• The cover image is too large. 300 by 300 px will generally be fine.
  • Reduced to 220 × 220. 和DITOREtails 02:46, 15 October 2014 (UTC)
• "Musically shedding from the ominousness of the song's name" ?? Inappropriate tone.
  • Removed 和DITOREtails 02:46, 15 October 2014 (UTC)
• "the four-minute track lyrically deals" This isn't what the word "lyrically" means. To "lyrically deal with" something means to deal with it in a lyrical way. You mean that the lyrics address something- just say that.
  • Fixed 和DITOREtails 02:46, 15 October 2014 (UTC)
• "someone who gets broken by love and becomes stronger to protect themselves" is broken by love would avoid the passive voice, but I don't really know what this means. Are you quoting the lyrics, here?
  • using quote from Polari mag. 和DITOREtails 02:46, 15 October 2014 (UTC)
• "In 2014, the group performed the song at the fourth annual Gorilla vs. Bear festival." Is this really important?
  • Yes. After all, a lead is supposed to cover all sections of the body of the article. 和DITOREtails 02:46, 15 October 2014 (UTC)
• "The overall style taken from the soundtrack of the 2011 film Drive reflects of that used by Portland-based group Chromatics." I don't follow
  • Does removing the part about the reflection of Chromatics make it less confusing? 和DITOREtails 02:46, 15 October 2014 (UTC)
• "Accompanying Macomber's glossy vocals[2] are airy synths,[4] bright brash Europop-influenced New Order-esque synth stabs,[5][6][3] a driving arpeggiated Kavinsky-style bass[7][5][8] and a bouncing four-on-the-floor minimal disco drum beat.[7][5][4]" Again, the tone is completely inappropriate- this isn't a review.
  • Fixed 和DITOREtails 23:49, 17 October 2014 (UTC)
• "the lyrics are represented by the rising-up warm synths" What does this mean?
  • Removing this part 和DITOREtails 02:46, 15 October 2014 (UTC)
• "Opening with an eerie and dark Joy Division-like soundscape[11] with only the breathy synths playing behind Macomber's vocals,[5] the track quickly turns into a modern upbeat song" Again, too review-like
  • Adding that this is from analysis by reviewers to give credit. Would this help? 和DITOREtails 02:46, 15 October 2014 (UTC)
• Be aware of MOS:LQ
  • Looks fine to me. 和DITOREtails 02:46, 15 October 2014 (UTC)
• So the album was released after the single? This isn't a problem, I'm just clarifying
  • Yes, the single came out in September 2013, while the album was released in November. 和DITOREtails 02:46, 15 October 2014 (UTC)
• "has earned applause from critics" They clapped?
  • Hahaha, good one. The song was well-received from critics, basically. I've reworded it. Also, applause doesn't really mean an audience, it is really defined as "any positive expression of appreciation or approval; acclamation." 和DITOREtails 02:46, 15 October 2014 (UTC)
• "Ford said about the inclusion of the song in the show in an interview" Clumsy
  • Reworded 和DITOREtails 02:46, 15 October 2014 (UTC)
• Is this live performance particularly notable?
  • The festival is held by what appears to be a very notable and reliable blog. Has been mention by a reliable independent academic journal, Seems important to include. 和DITOREtails 02:46, 15 October 2014 (UTC)
• Any chart success?
  • Not really. 和DITOREtails 02:46, 15 October 2014 (UTC)
• There should really be an "Ejecta songs" or "Ejecta singles" category.
  • Added. Also, there's only one article about an Ejecta song so far (this one), so I doubt a category for this can be created yet. 02:46, 15 October 2014 (UTC)

While some of the sources aren't great, they look OK to me. I'm not convinced by how the article is written- the tone doesn't really seem to be the neutral authoritative voice of an encyclopedia article- it's a bit too review-y. On the other hand, I had a listen to the song and really enjoyed it- a really nice vibe. J Milburn (talk) 19:55, 14 October 2014 (UTC)

Second read-through

• "The four-minute track lyrically addresses" This isn't what lyrically means
• Direct quotes need to be sourced, even in the lead (but I wouldn't bother mentioning the publication)
• "A writer for Fact felt its overall style was taken from songs in the soundtrack of the 2011 film Drive." That is not what the source says.
• "Writers have analyzed airy synths" I have no idea what this is meant to mean
• "bright brash ... stabs" ??
• "arpreggiated" is not in the Oxford English Dictionary.
• "bouncing" beat? What are "glossy" vocals?
• Watch MOS:LQ
• "As said in publications, "Afraid of the Dark" opens with an eerie and dark Joy Division-like soundscape[11] with only the breathy synths playing behind Macomber's vocals,[5] and then it goes into a modern upbeat song which Annie Stevens of Hillydilly described its feel as the combination of Phantogram and The Naked and Famous." This makes no sense
• "it was distributed by Copyright Control" No it wasn't...
• "Slant Magazine opined it" Personification
• "Regarding the song being used in the show, Ford said in an interview that "Hopefully all of our fans at the show at Glasslands are 12 years old and huge fans of Vampire Diaries."[22]" What does this mean?

I am going to close the review at this time. The writing is still way off the mark, and the article is not at the stage I would hope after an initial review, so it does not bode well. I recommend you spend some time really cleaning up the text, removing any colloquialisms and unwarranted technicalities. After this, renominate. If it's helpful, imagine you are writing for a person who knows nothing about pop music but who still wants to learn about this song. While linking technical terms is appropriate (so, you don't have to explain what a "synth" is, as you can just link to the article) using terms that can easily be understood is important. J Milburn (talk) 19:08, 5 November 2014 (UTC)