I’ve been subscribed to theneedledrop, real name Anthony Fantano, for several years now and my relationship with his content is unlike any other Youtuber on the platform. First and foremost, I am a fan of the man himself. Fantano’s ability to combine humour and serious musical criticism at the flick of the switch is unparalleled in his field and the abundance of nuance in his videos make him a unique presence on the internet. On twitter, his engagement with memes and his 650,000 followers has earned him a loyal fan base, of which I would consider myself a part of . This is why I feel so conflicted about his impact on my musical taste. Sometimes I have found myself waiting for Fantano to review an album before I have even given it a listen just to work out whether or not I should like it. If it scores below a 6, I am immediately coming in to the album with a negative preconception of it, and if it scores above that, then no matter what it is, I feel obliged to appreciate it as a considerable work of art. But what happens when I don’t agree or the 7/10 should honestly be a 4/10? This is where I have struggled at times.
Fantano’s most notorious review has to be Kanye West’s ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’ which scored a 6/10 upon its release in 2010. This year, Fantano did a redux review which, somewhat spectacularly, awarded the album the exact same rating as it did 10 years earlier. This review is one that has baffled fans of the channel for years and has become somewhat of a colloquial meme amongst commenters, and rightfully so. MBDTF is not a 6/10. In my opinion, and to use Fantano’s own classification system, it belongs somewhere between ‘strong 8’ and ‘decent 9’. It is a seminal album which continues to leave its fingerprints all over hip hop music 10 years later. This album was delivered to listeners in a somewhat apologetic fashion after Kanye’s infamous storming of the stage during Taylor Swift’s VMA acceptance speech in 2009, and my word were his actions quickly forgiven. MBDTF is an omnipotent humbling of Kanye’s contemporaries and solidified his legendary status, with the track ‘POWER’ being arguably one of the best songs ever written. Yet the record got a 6. I think Fantano knows that its a great album, and the redux review suggests to me that he enjoys the meme and that the score is partly delivered with a hint of trolling intended at devout Kanye worshippers. But maybe I’m wrong and he genuinely is indifferent about the album.
My main issue with theneedledrop is its affect on my subconscious relationship with music. Since being a regular viewer, I find myself critiquing an album just as Fantano would and my music taste has become ominously aligned with what receives a positive review on the channel. Don’t get me wrong, I’m thankful for the recommendations I’ve received over the years and I’ve become a big fan of artists such as Brockhampton, Fleet Foxes, and Charli XCX because of it. I don’t really have any quarrels with music that receives positive reviews, its the music that doesn’t that worries me somewhat. When I have listened to an album and relatively enjoyed it, I’ve immediately sidelined that album when Fantano appears in the thumbnail of its review in the menacing red flannel. The latest example of that has to be Doja Cat’s ‘Hot Pink’ release. I wasn’t blown away by it when I heard it, but there is something about Doja Cat’s energy that makes her a fascinating artist to watch. There are obvious pitfalls in the record and the tracks ‘Cyber Sex’ and ‘Rules’ are what I’m not so subtly alluding to, but there are enough good tracks to balance out the record. ‘Say So’ is an undeniable hit and embodies what I find so intriguing about Doja Cat, and ‘Like That’ and ‘Juicy’ are a pair of tracks that I have listened to more than a few times and still enjoy. So why have I just ignored the rest of the album since the review? I think the criticism I hear in the reviews sticks with me when I then return to the music and all I subsequently hear is exactly what Fantano was talking about the whole time. I find it hard to overlook the bad parts and just appreciate the music for what it is.
And there’s also the problem I face when something receives a very high score and I want to like it, but can’t. Ive had this issue several times, ranging from Earl Sweatshirt’s ‘Some Rap Songs’ to Aerial Pink’s ‘pom pom’. Now, this is not to say that I think these specific albums are bad, simply I just could not engage with them in the way I wish I could have done. While this seems like I do have my own personal taste and that this point may be contradictory to much of what I have argued already, I have to admit that I feel some frustration that I cannot find the same enjoyment in these records that Fantano has. Furthermore, this then makes me wonder why I fell in love with Clairo’s music despite its mediocre rating. Am I a sucker for easy-on-the-ear music, or am I just unable to access that level of perception that would give Playboi Carti’s ‘Die Lit’ a 7/10 when I only hear 3/10?
Fantano himself is aware of his influence over his audience, publishing a video titled ‘I CONTROL WHAT YOU LIKE!’ in which he acknowledges how his popularity and sophisticated musical criticism has a profound affect on his audience’s taste. However, he is always promoting musical debate, with his ‘Lets Argue’ series encouraging listeners to engage with him in regards to some of their own perspectives on artists, albums, or anything in the wider musical sphere. He also gives his more musical viewers a platform at times when he reviews their own songs on his second channel, ‘fantano’, which has accumulated 960,000 subscribers at the time of publishing. Anthony Fantano is a very likeable character and I think this also has something to do with how he has a direct influence on my music taste. If he were hostile or mean in his videos, that would subconsciously evoke disassociation from him, but because he is humorous and a seemingly good guy, I find myself nodding along in agreement with near everything he says in his reviews.
Ultimately, I think my problems regarding my subscription to theneedledrop come from my shared passion for music with Fantano and the fulfilment of musical potential in artists. Taste is everything in music and, as I have covered with my appreciation of artists and albums that have not received rave reviews from Fantano, it is okay to like whatever you want. I think Fantano intends for his reviews to be more guidelines for good music rather than an attempt to dissuade his audience from certain music and pull them toward others. It is important to remember that each review is an opinion, however it is admittedly hard to disagree with an opinion when it comes from a place that you respect such as Anthony Fantano. Theneedledrop will always be the best place for me to find new music and is indisputably my favourite channel on Youtube, worthy of a subscribe if you have not done so already, just be sure to continue to like what you like, regardless of whether its a ‘strong 10’ or a ‘light zero’, so long as it’s not Corey Feldman’s ‘Angelic 2 the Core’ or Nostalgia Critic’s ‘The Wall’.
The Turntable 