History Main / ReviewerStandardComparisons

* During the late 90's / early 2000's, many European reviewers insisted on comparing new UK bands to Music/{{Radiohead}}. Unfortunately, it [[Music/{{Coldplay}} was]] [[{{Music/Muse}} often]] [[{{Travis}} true]].

* Any person of Slavic descent who writes a book with at least one funny sentence in it will be compared to Gogol. Nabokov? Gogol. Gary Shteyngart? Gogol. See also any book featuring a protagonist under 40 who's not perfectly content with society and his place in it. The author will inevitably be compared to Salinger.

One way to get around the problem is to compare or contrast the work in question to other artists or albums. In itself, this trope [[TropesAreNotBad is not bad]] since it can provide an easy reference for a band's SignatureStyle, kind of like how PowerPop = Music/TheBeatles [[XMeetsY plus]] TheWho. However, done excessively it can get annoying (like, say, featuring the exact same comparison in every single review of albums released by a particular band), and it can also backfire if it's WrongGenreSavvy: comparing something to an obscure Japanese noise band will fly over the heads of most mainstream listeners.

* Any PostRock band that is not Mogwai, GodspeedYouBlackEmperor, ExplosionsInTheSky, or SigurRos will inevitably be compared to at least one of those. This is especially frustrating for bands such as God Is An Astronaut, who claim in interviews to have never been influenced by ''any'' of them. Even side-projects of the above artists are not immune to these comparisons. Case in point: GodspeedYouBlackEmperor vs. Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra.

* TheRamones = moronically simple, catchy PopPunk.
* PunkRock band? Get ready for a shitton of comparisons to TheSexPistols, TheClash and so on...
* {{Metallica}}'s ''Master of Puppets'' and ''...And Justice for All'' are often used as a standard for comparing more thoughtful, mature, hard rock and heavy metal albums.

* Indie pop bands will tend to get compared to {{Oasis}}, Music/{{Blur}}, BelleAndSebastian, or DeathCabForCutie.

* {{Burzum}} = technically simple, repetitive ambient black metal. Or indeed any kind of ambient black metal, really.

** ''The White Album'': Probably ''the'' most standard reference you can get. It refers to a really eclectic album that experiments with lots of genres, has lots of throwaway, humorous stuff and an overall "disjointed" character. Will frequently draw huge arguments over which songs should have been left off or comments that "it would be a better album if it was just edited/a single album".

* Speaking of Music/TheBeatles, George Harrison's triple-album ''All Things Must Pass'' is pretty much shorthand for "first two discs are awesome, but the third part is complete shit and nobody ever listens to it".
* The Beach Boys' ''Pet Sounds'': baroque pop album bordering on psychedelia, intricate orchestration, cool production, massive harmonies. Key difference from ''Sgt. Pepper'' is that ''Pet Sounds'' implies a more sedate pop sound as opposed to trippy rocking out.
* BeastieBoys, DJShadow or PublicEnemy: {{Sampling}} done ''right''.

* Music/BigStar or CheapTrick: They're a PowerPop band.
** {{XTC}}, Badfinger or The Raspberries are also used for comparison.
* FrankZappa: {{Crazy Awesome}}ness, heavily experimental tunes with avant-garde leanings, complicated compositions, aversion of CommonTime, quirky, RefugeInAudacity or [[RefugeInVulgarity Vulgarity]] humour.

* JoyDivision: PostPunk revival band. Doesn't help that many PostPunk revivalists have vocalists that sound like Ian Curtis (or, as SomethingAwful less charitably put it, "throat-raping Ian Curtis' corpse").

* Any double album will either attract comparisons to classic double albums like Pink Floyd's ''The Wall'', LedZeppelin's ''Physical Graffiti'', The Beatles' ''The White Album'' or Prince's ''Sign o' the Times'' or will cause arguments that it's too long and would've been better with some songs thrown out/as a single album - double albums will inevitably be seen as either a "grand artistic statement" or "self-indulgent noodling". Double albums frequently tend to feature lots of [[NeoclassicalPunkZydecoRockabilly genre experimentation]] and sprawling - in fact, "sprawl" in a pretty frequent term when it comes to describing double albums.
** Speaking of PinkFloyd, ''Dark Side of the Moon'' is reviewerspeak for "ConceptAlbum with excellent production and progressive tendencies".
* Good ProgressiveRock will get compared to PinkFloyd, {{Yes}} or KingCrimson. {{Rush}} may show up occasionally if the reviewer's nerdy enough. Bad ProgressiveRock and long, drawn-out, endless wankery albums will inevitably get compared to Yes' famous disaster ''Tales from Topographic Oceans''.
* Any female musician with a penchant for weirdness will at some point get compared to KateBush or Music/ToriAmos (''especially'' if she's a singer-songwriter or piano player).
** And as a corollary, any female pop/electro singer who wears outfits at all flamboyant will be compared to {{Bjork}}.
*** Not so much anymore. The new standard of comparison is LadyGaga, fortunately or unfortunately.
* {{U2}}: Big echoey guitars, ambient-ish production, strident {{Anvilicious}} sociopolitical lyrics, LargeHam vocals.
* During the late 90's / early 2000's, many European reviewers insisted on comparing new UK bands to {{Radiohead}}. Unfortunately, it [[{{Coldplay}} was]] [[{{Music/Muse}} often]] [[{{Travis}} true]].

* It's common to compare any female R&B singer to Beyonce or maybe Rihanna now. Before they came out, they were compared to JanetJackson.
* Jam Bands tend to draw comparisons to the GratefulDead or {{Phish}}.
* Piano-playing singer-songwriters often get compared with BillyJoel, EltonJohn, JoeJackson, RandyNewman or CaroleKing. More modern ones are compared with ToriAmos, BenFolds or (maybe) VanessaCarlton.
** Acoustic guitar-playing singer-songwriters tend to be compared with JamesTaylor, JoniMitchell, Cat Stevens or Jim Croce.

One way to get around the problem is to compare or contrast the work in question to other artists or albums. In itself, this trope [[TropesAreNotBad is not bad]] since it can provide an easy reference for a band's SignatureStyle, kind of like how PowerPop = TheBeatles [[XMeetsY plus]] TheWho. However, done excessively it can get annoying (like, say, featuring the exact same comparison in every single review of albums released by a particular band), and it can also backfire if it's WrongGenreSavvy: comparing something to an obscure Japanese noise band will fly over the heads of most mainstream listeners.

* TheBeatles: Depending on what period of their career the reviewer is talking about, it can either mean that the band in question makes catchy pop-rock SillyLoveSongs with lots of vocal harmonies, is a full-blown PsychedelicRock band or is an eclectic but pretty straight-forward rock band.

* Speaking of TheBeatles, George Harrison's triple-album ''All Things Must Pass'' is pretty much shorthand for "first two discs are awesome, but the third part is complete shit and nobody ever listens to it".

* Piano-playing singer-songwriters often get compared with BillyJoel, EltonJohn, Joe Jackson, Randy Newman or Carole King. More modern ones are compared with ToriAmos, Ben Folds or (maybe) VanessaCarlton.

* Any double album will either attract comparisons to classic double albums like Pink Floyd's ''The Wall'', Led Zepplin's ''Physical Graffiti'', The Beatles' ''The White Album'' or Prince's ''Sign o' the Times'' or will cause arguments that it's too long and would've been better with some songs thrown out/as a single album - double albums will inevitably be seen as either a "grand artistic statement" or "self-indulgent noodling". Double albums frequently tend to feature lots of [[NeoclassicalPunkZydecoRockabilly genre experimentation]] and sprawling - in fact, "sprawl" in a pretty frequent term when it comes to describing double albums.

* Any G-Funk will be compareed to Dr. Dre's ''The Chronic''.

* Jam Bands tend to draw comparisons to the GratefulDead or {{Phish}}.

* It's common to compare any female R&B singer to Beyonce or maybe Rihanna now. Before they came out, they were compared to JanetJackson.

* Any progressive metal band, at all, will be called "Like DreamTheater, but..."

* MyBloodyValentine: {{Shoegazing}} bands, inevitably. Hell, differentiating between {{Shoegazing}} bands is basically a matter of "They're ''like'' MyBloodyValentine ''but'' (insert difference here)".

* Any female musician with a penchant for weirdness will at some point get compared to KateBush or ToriAmos (''especially'' if she's a singer-songwriter or piano player).

* Any PostRock band that is not Mogwai, GodspeedYouBlackEmperor, ExplosionsInTheSky, or SigurRos will inevitably be compared to at least one of those. This is especially frustrating for bands such as God Is An Astronaut, who claim in interviews to have never been influenced by ''any'' of them. Even side-projects of the above artists are not immune to these comparisons. Case in point: GodspeedYouBlackEmperor vs. Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra.

* Any PostRock band that is not Mogwai, GodspeedYouBlackEmperor, ExplosionsInTheSky, or SigurRos will inevitably be compared to at least one of those. This is especially frustrating for bands such as God Is An Astronaut, who claim in interviews to have never been influenced by ''any'' of them. Even side-project of the above artists are not immune to these comparisons. Case in point: GodspeedYouBlackEmperor vs. Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra.

* Any {{Grunge}} will be compared to either {{Nirvana}}, PearlJam or Music/{{Soundgarden}}.

* Any G-Funk will be compareed to Dr. Dre's ''The Chronic''. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] since he [[GenreLaunch created the style]].

-->''Talking about music is like dancing about architecture.''

* Any {{Grunge}} will be compared to either {{Nirvana}}, PearlJam or {{Soundgarden}}.

* BigStar or CheapTrick: They're a PowerPop band.

* GunsNRoses: A frequent shorthand for "this band used to be all awesome and threatening but [[ItsPopularNowItSucks they sold out]] and became mainstream", since that's what lots of critics thought happened to GN'R after ''Appetite for Destruction''.

* Indie pop bands will tend to get compared to {{Oasis}}, {{Blur}}, BelleAndSebastian, or DeathCabForCutie.

* [[{{Sampling}} Sample-heavy]] albums will earn comparisons to early nineties AlternativeRap, TheBeastieBoys, DJShadow or PublicEnemy, depending on how it sounds.

[[Bong milk is good for the brain.:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/werewolf_9693_8856.jpg]]

But you can't tell your boyfriend about it! He'd freak out and leave you, or worse. But then, you can't keep it a secret forever, either. At some point, one of your supernatural incidents will inevitably happen exactly when you were having a romantic dinner. Or maybe your relationship has simply reached the next level, and you feel that you need to be completely honest with him.

So what now? How will he react? Well, it turns out he's perfectly okay (well, for the most part he's perfectly okay) and understanding with it! That's right, as a reward for your sacrifices, the PowersThatBe will make sure that you end up with a truly noble and loving soul who loves you for who you are and doesn't care what you are. So no worries!

This trope is a DoubleStandard, in that wives and girlfriends are pretty much automatically accepting of their ActionHero husband/boyfriend's actions, whereas the number of husbands/boyfriends who automatically accept that their significant other is an ActionGirl are pretty thin on the ground. For the guy who is a super and needs a girlfriend, his powers are often a plus for her (because AllGirlsWantBadBoys). For women, finding a guy who truly doesn't have a problem with dating someone with superpowers when he's a {{Muggle}} is the bigger issue, because, well, NoGuyWantsAnAmazon.

Compare ButYourWingsAreBeautiful, when a disguise forms part of the powers. Compare to ViolentlyProtectiveGirlfriend for the ActionGirl [[InvertedTrope variant.]] Compare and contrast BoyMeetsGhoul, for the guy/girl who is on the other end of this trope. See also TheMasqueradeWillKillYourDatingLife, which is an aversion of this trope.

!!Examples:
[[AC:{{Anime}} and {{Manga}}]]
* The central premise of ''[[NogizakaHarukaNoHimitsu The Secrets of Haruka Nogizaka]]''. The titular girl is an otaku.
* Ditto with ''[[OreImo My Little Sister Can't Be This Cute]]''. Except that the guy is not a boyfriend, but the big brother... [[{{Squick}} yeah]].
* Austria from ''AxisPowersHetalia'', in regards to his VictoriousChildhoodFriend Hungary. While he's concerned for her well-being, in the end he knows that if she wants to fight, he better lets her... since she will go [[OneManArmy One Woman Army]] and destroy the enemy. Considering their childhood, [[LoveAtFirstPunch he knows it beforehand]]!
* [[ShamanKing Keiko Asakura]] had been dumped by ''every'' single boyfriend she had when they learnt she was able to see spirits. Until the last JerkAss left her and a penniless musician with similar abilities comforted her. That guy was Mikihisa, and she would marry him.
* Horribly deconstructed with [[spoiler: Shiso and Ceres]] in ''AyashiNoCeres''. [[spoiler: Shiso started like this, but being left helpless when he and Ceres got attacked [[IJustWantToBeSpecial made him very frustrated]], so he asked Ceres to give him a part of her powers [[IWillProtectHer so he wouldn't be a burden on her.]] But then, [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity said powers turned out to be too much to handle]], and ItGotWorse...]]


[[AC:{{Comic Books}}]]
* [[NiceGuy Kong]] is this to [[XMen Kitty Pryde]] in UltimateMarvel, even going so far as to yell "You're welcome!" at AllOfTheOtherReindeer for not thanking her when she saves their lives.
* Back in the GoldenAge, Steve Trevor was this for WonderWoman (a remarkably progressive move for the times), and not at all threatened by the idea of getting rescued by or mooning over a woman who was twenty times stronger than him. The Silver and Bronze Age characterizations of him were...[[TooDumbToLive unfortunately]] [[JerkAss less so]], which probably led to him being deleted from continuity PostCrisis.
* In an old What If comic, Jimmy Olsen married Supergirl because of amnesia. Once she recovers and lets him know, he's totally fine with being married to Superman's cousin.

[[AC:{{Film}}]]
* In ''InnocentBlood'', FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire Marie has her understanding CopBoyfriend Joe.

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
* Elend in Brandon Sanderson's ''{{Mistborn}}''. At least [[spoiler:until he gets superpowers himself.]]
* Seth in ''WickedLovely''. When Aislinn tells him that she can see faeries, he has exactly one moment of "Is this a joke?" before accepting it and trying to help her with her faery situation.

[[AC:{{Live Action TV}}]]
* The ''GhostWhisperer'' features Jim the Understanding Husband.
* Both [[SubvertedTrope subverted]] and played straight in ''{{Bewitched}}''. The original Darrin (Dick York) was less than understanding, to the point of being downright hostile to Samantha when she used her magic. TheOtherDarrin (Dick Sargeant), on the other hand, tried his hardest to be understanding, the point that it was more the fault of Endora and the rest of Samantha's family that TheOtherDarrin didn't get along with witches.
* Played with in the ''SabrinaTheTeenageWitch'' TV series. Harvey ''does'' leave Sabrina when he finds out she's a witch, not out of intolerance but because she'd been using magic to mess with his life for years. He eventually does come back to her, though, and says he never had a problem with her being a witch per se.
* Zack was the "gay best friend" equivalent of this in ''Series/{{Heroes}}'', at least until ExecutiveMeddling got in the way.
* Unless she's dating one of the undead, Buffy never got this on ''BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' (even Riley, who was himself a demon fighting super-soldier, had an inferiority complex due to dating a genuine superhero). It's Willow who hit the boyfriend jackpot with Oz; upon being told the truth about the supernatural world she runs in, he replies, "Actually, it explains a lot," and just goes with the flow from there.
* Tyler Ford in ''TheMiddleman'''s unaired season finale (released as a comic)...[[spoiler:at least, until MM pushes the ResetButton]].
* Allison's husband Joe on ''{{Medium}}'' believes in her powers and is understanding and accepting of them.
* In ''{{Series/Merlin}}'', 2x09. Merlin discovers [[spoiler: Freya turns into a bastet at night, but he isn´t afraid and stills takes care of her. He even pets her cat´s head...]]
[[AC:{{Webcomics}}]]
* [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] in [[http://wapsisquare.com/comic/understanding/ this]] ''WapsiSquare'' comic. Also the page quote.
* {{Subverted}} (although this may be a retrospective way of seeing it) in ''SluggyFreelance''. Leo seems to be accepting of all the weird things Zoë tells about happening to her - but it turns out that was only because he thought she was lying. In the words of another jerk he hangs out with, "You've got to respect a girl who realizes romantic relationships are based on lies and goes to town with it!" As soon as Leo finds out it was all true, he feels betrayed, and they eventually break off.

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
* [[PhineasAndFerb Candace]] seems to have this with Jeremy. Despite all of Candace's attempts to put a stop to PhineasAndFerb's projects, the guy never, ever seems to lose his cool, and they're still an item.
----

-->''Talking about music is like dancing about architecture.''

[[ReviewerStockPhrases Coming up with reviews can be hard]] when you have to deal with deadlines and multiple works to review, but music reviewers have it harder. Video game reviewers can talk about controls and graphics, film critics go on and on about acting and plot and whatnot, but how the hell do you describe music?

One way to get around the problem is to compare or contrast the work in question to other artists or albums. In itself, this trope [[TropesAreNotBad is not bad]] since it can provide an easy reference for a band's SignatureStyle, kind of like how PowerPop = TheBeatles [[XMeetsY plus]] TheWho. However, done excessively it can get annoying (like, say, featuring the exact same comparison in every single review of albums released by a particular band), and it can also backfire if it's WrongGenreSavvy: comparing something to an obscure Japanese noise band will fly over the heads of most mainstream listeners.

A SubTrope of ReviewerStockPhrases.

!!Examples of comparisons to artists or albums and what they mean:
* TheBeatles: Depending on what period of their career the reviewer is talking about, it can either mean that the band in question makes catchy pop-rock SillyLoveSongs with lots of vocal harmonies, is a full-blown PsychedelicRock band or is an eclectic but pretty straight-forward rock band.
** ''A Hard Day's Night'': Aforementioned catchy pop-rock SillyLoveSongs with vocal harmonies.
** ''Revolver'', ''Sgt. Pepper'': PsychedelicRock {{Concept Album}}s.
** ''The White Album'': Probably ''the'' most standard reference you can get. It refers to a really eclectic album that experiments with lots of genres, has lots of throwaway, humorous stuff and an overall "disjointed" character. Will frequently draw huge arguments over which songs should have been left off or comments that "it would be a better album if it was just edited/a single album".
* Speaking of TheBeatles, George Harrison's triple-album ''All Things Must Pass'' is pretty much shorthand for "first two discs are awesome, but the third part is complete shit and nobody ever listens to it".
* The Beach Boys' ''Pet Sounds'': baroque pop album bordering on psychedelia, intricate orchestration, cool production, massive harmonies. Key difference from ''Sgt. Pepper'' is that ''Pet Sounds'' implies a more sedate pop sound as opposed to trippy rocking out.
* BeastieBoys, DJShadow or PublicEnemy: {{Sampling}} done ''right''.
** As a corollary, Puff Daddy: {{Sampling}} GoneHorriblyWrong.
* BigStar or CheapTrick: They're a PowerPop band.
* FrankZappa: {{Crazy Awesome}}ness, heavily experimental tunes with avant-garde leanings, complicated compositions, aversion of CommonTime, quirky, RefugeInAudacity or [[RefugeInVulgarity Vulgarity]] humour.
* GunsNRoses: A frequent shorthand for "this band used to be all awesome and threatening but [[ItsPopularNowItSucks they sold out]] and became mainstream", since that's what lots of critics thought happened to GN'R after ''Appetite for Destruction''.
** ''Use Your Illusion I & II'': A classic example of the "difficult second album" where the band totally runs wild in the studio, overproduces everything and comes out with a messy, disjointed, over-reaching work that could have used more editing (see ''White Album'').
* JoyDivision: PostPunk revival band. Doesn't help that many PostPunk revivalists have vocalists that sound like Ian Curtis (or, as SomethingAwful less charitably put it, "throat-raping Ian Curtis' corpse").
* MyBloodyValentine: {{Shoegazing}} bands, inevitably. Hell, differentiating between {{Shoegazing}} bands is basically a matter of "They're ''like'' MyBloodyValentine ''but'' (insert difference here)".
* Any double album will either attract comparisons to classic double albums like Pink Floyd's ''The Wall'', Led Zepplin's ''Physical Graffiti'', The Beatles' ''The White Album'' or Prince's ''Sign o' the Times'' or will cause arguments that it's too long and would've been better with some songs thrown out/as a single album - double albums will inevitably be seen as either a "grand artistic statement" or "self-indulgent noodling". Double albums frequently tend to feature lots of [[NeoclassicalPunkZydecoRockabilly genre experimentation]] and sprawling - in fact, "sprawl" in a pretty frequent term when it comes to describing double albums.
** Speaking of PinkFloyd, ''Dark Side of the Moon'' is reviewerspeak for "ConceptAlbum with excellent production and progressive tendencies".
* Good ProgressiveRock will get compared to PinkFloyd, {{Yes}} or KingCrimson. {{Rush}} may show up occasionally if the reviewer's nerdy enough. Bad ProgressiveRock and long, drawn-out, endless wankery albums will inevitably get compared to Yes' famous disaster ''Tales from Topographic Oceans''.
* Any female musician with a penchant for weirdness will at some point get compared to KateBush or ToriAmos (''especially'' if she's a singer-songwriter or piano player).
** And as a corollary, any female pop/electro singer who wears outfits at all flamboyant will be compared to {{Bjork}}.
*** Not so much anymore. The new standard of comparison is LadyGaga, fortunately or unfortunately.
* {{U2}}: Big echoey guitars, ambient-ish production, strident {{Anvilicious}} sociopolitical lyrics, LargeHam vocals.
* During the late 90's / early 2000's, many European reviewers insisted on comparing new UK bands to {{Radiohead}}. Unfortunately, it [[{{Coldplay}} was]] [[{{Music/Muse}} often]] [[{{Travis}} true]].
* TheRamones = moronically simple, catchy PopPunk.
* PunkRock band? Get ready for a shitton of comparisons to TheSexPistols, TheClash and so on...
* {{Metallica}}'s ''Master of Puppets'' and ''...And Justice for All'' are often used as a standard for comparing more thoughtful, mature, hard rock and heavy metal albums.
* Any {{Grunge}} will be compared to either {{Nirvana}}, PearlJam or {{Soundgarden}}.
* Any G-Funk will be compareed to Dr. Dre's ''The Chronic''. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] since he [[GenreLaunch created the style]].
* [[{{Sampling}} Sample-heavy]] albums will earn comparisons to early nineties AlternativeRap, TheBeastieBoys, DJShadow or PublicEnemy, depending on how it sounds.
* Indie pop bands will tend to get compared to {{Oasis}}, {{Blur}}, BelleAndSebastian, or DeathCabForCutie.
* Any person of Slavic descent who writes a book with at least one funny sentence in it will be compared to Gogol. Nabokov? Gogol. Gary Shteyngart? Gogol. See also any book featuring a protagonist under 40 who's not perfectly content with society and his place in it. The author will inevitably be compared to Salinger.
* {{Burzum}} = technically simple, repetitive ambient black metal. Or indeed any kind of ambient black metal, really.
* It's common to compare any female R&B singer to Beyonce or maybe Rihanna now. Before they came out, they were compared to JanetJackson.

* {{Burzum}} = technically simple, repetitive ambient black metal. Or indeed any kind of ambient black metal, really.

* [[Burzum]] = technically simple, repetitive ambient black metal. Or indeed any kind of ambient black metal, really.

* Any person of Slavic descent who writes a book with at least one funny sentence in it will be compared to Gogol. Nabokov? Gogol. Gary Shteyngart? Gogol. See also any book featuring a protagonist under 40 who's not perfectly content with society and his place in it. The author will inevitably be compared to Salinger.

* Indie pop bands will tend to get compared to {{Oasis}}, {{Blur}}, BelleAndSebastian, or DeathCabForCutie.