Talk:American Life/GA1

GA Review

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Reviewer: Binksternet (talk) 17:25, 7 April 2010 (UTC)

GA review (see here for criteria)

1. It is reasonably well written.

   a (prose): b (MoS):

2. It is factually accurate and verifiable.

   a (references): b (citations to reliable sources): c (OR):

3. It is broad in its coverage.

   a (major aspects): b (focused):

4. It follows the neutral point of view policy.

   Fair representation without bias:

5. It is stable.

   No edit wars, etc.:

6. It is illustrated by images, where possible and appropriate.

   a (images are tagged and non-free images have fair use rationales): b (appropriate use with suitable captions):

7. Overall:

   Pass/Fail:

Review

• The Patty Hearst image has no fair use rationale for this article. Its text has poor grammar and its message about Hearst is not based on any reference. If kept, the image needs better text, supported by article sources. Without a reliable source, no good rationale can be concocted for its presence here.

 Done Hearst image removed. See discussion heading below: Talk:American Life#Patty Hearst. Binksternet (talk) 23:01, 7 April 2010 (UTC)

• Two dead links, to Polish and UK chart results.

 Done Replaced link / removed Tbhotch^{Talk C.} 03:07, 8 April 2010 (UTC)

• "It was the 32nd best selling album worldwide of 2003." Seems like some hyphens are needed for the adjectives leading up to 'album', and maybe a rewrite. Perhaps: "It was the world's 32nd-best-selling album in 2003." Or: "It ranked 32 among 2003's best-selling albums worldwide." If this hyphen observation goes against a wikiproject style guideline, let me know.

 Done Tbhotch^{Talk C.} 03:16, 8 April 2010 (UTC)

• Same hyphen deal with "second lowest selling studio album". "Her career" comes after discussion of the album—replace 'her' with 'Madonna's'.

 Done (both) replaced Tbhotch^{Talk C.} 03:15, 8 April 2010 (UTC)

• The bit "calling it unpatriotic and an absurd and slack production" has one too many 'and' for good reading flow. Perhaps "Critics gave the album mixed reviews, describing it variously as unpatriotic, absurd, and slack."

 Done changed Tbhotch^{Talk C.} 03:23, 8 April 2010 (UTC)

• Actually, the article body reserves 'unpatriotic' for a related music video, not the album; and the word 'absurd' is not supported later.

 Question: I don't remember which critic say that but some one wrote it. Tbhotch^{Talk C.} 03:23, 8 April 2010 (UTC)

 Fixed removed, Thompson talk about the title track. Tbhotch^{Talk C.} 04:35, 8 April 2010 (UTC)

• The sentence says 'mixed' but then pans the album. 'Mixed' means good and bad. Select a positive critical review and include a word or phrase from it.

 Question: Beside "the single was panned by music critics" where say pan? Tbhotch^{Talk C.}

What I mean is that the sentence "Critics gave the album mixed reviews, describing it variously as unpatriotic and slack" does not show the word 'mixed' in proper light. To illustrate mixed reviews, you would write something like "describing it variously as unpatriotic and slack, decisive and artful." Negative reviews combined with positive reviews: mixed. Binksternet (talk) 14:49, 8 April 2010 (UTC)

 Fixed changed Tbhotch^{Talk C.} 15:59, 8 April 2010 (UTC)

• Should not have a pipe link to Swept Away, the movie, inside the Ken Tucker quote. This pipe link interprets Tucker in a way he may or may not have intended. Tucker does not make it obvious, so we should not do his work for him by guessing his intention. WP:NOR.

 Done Binksternet (talk) 23:01, 7 April 2010 (UTC)

• However, there could easily be a wikilink to Tucker's 50 Cent: "...in a 50 Cent world..."

 Done Binksternet (talk) 23:01, 7 April 2010 (UTC)

• Low-quality wikilink to the 1980s. Wrong manual of style to have the grocer's apostrophe of 80's.

 Fixed Tbhotch^{Talk C.} 03:27, 8 April 2010 (UTC)

• "...marked the end of a eleven year recording history..." should be 'an 11-year' or 'an eleven-year'.

 Done changed Tbhotch^{Talk C.} 03:29, 8 April 2010 (UTC)

• Trim redundant word: "collaborated together".

 Fixed Tbhotch^{Talk C.} 03:29, 8 April 2010 (UTC)

• The list of composer collaborators needs 'and' between Stuart Price and British.

 Done Tbhotch^{Talk C.} 04:38, 8 April 2010 (UTC)

• The Album information section leans too heavily on the word 'previously'. Grab a synonym or two and reword.

 Fixed Tbhotch^{Talk C.} 15:59, 8 April 2010 (UTC)

• Madonna's website does not have a "front", it has a main page.

 Fixed Tbhotch^{Talk C.}

• The bit about the website hack should include how long www.madonna.com was closed for repairs, or some other gauge of how effective or ineffective the hack was.

 Done Tbhotch^{Talk C.} 05:52, 8 April 2010 (UTC)

• The hack paragraph mentions additional hack song tactics which are not described in the source. This appears to be original research.

 Fixed removed, perhaps the hacker wrote it. Tbhotch^{Talk C.} 17:01, 8 April 2010 (UTC)

• Combine these two sentences into one: "French design-team M/M Paris were responsible for the artwork of American Life. M/M Paris is a partnership between Michael Amzalag and Mathias Augustyniak."

 Done Binksternet (talk) 23:01, 7 April 2010 (UTC)

• What does this mean? "The duo are best known for their collaborations with another musicians."

 Done Binksternet (talk) 23:01, 7 April 2010 (UTC)

• This bit sounds like a comedy translation from French: "A cause of the paramilitary theme, the dyed hair and the artistic composition, some see a parallel between the album cover and the infamous photos of kidnapped newspaper heiress Patty Hearst." Needs a source—Hearst is not in the one URL present as a reference in that paragraph.

 Done Again, see discussion at Talk:American Life#Patty Hearst. Binksternet (talk) 23:01, 7 April 2010 (UTC)

• The first appearance of Ein Sof should not be wikilinked. Save that link for the next appearance, the explanation of its meaning.

 Done Binksternet (talk) 23:01, 7 April 2010 (UTC)

• No source for the rumored Hollywood album title. No source for the confirmation date of the title American Life.

 Fixed removed Tbhotch^{Talk C.} 17:44, 8 April 2010 (UTC)

• "It had a military theme..." Which one, the January 2003 or the October 2002?

 Fixed Tbhotch^{Talk C.} 17:44, 8 April 2010 (UTC)

• "The album received mixed reviews from most music critics, based on an aggregate score of 60/100, from website Metacritic." No, it did not. It received mixed reviews based on the opinions of various reviewers after listening to the album. Metacritic subsequently compiled the critical reviews and scored it 60/100.

 Fixed Tbhotch^{Talk C.} 02:02, 9 April 2010 (UTC)

• Do not start a sentence with bracketed ellipses: "[...] winds up as the first Madonna record with ambitions as serious as a textbook"...

 Done Added 'The album' in brackets Binksternet (talk) 23:01, 7 April 2010 (UTC)

• Any critical review by anonymous reviewers should be thrown out. The Allmusic review is no good with no author.

 Done Deleted 'Clean' review which was basically the same as the 'Explicit' review, the one with author listed. Binksternet (talk) 23:01, 7 April 2010 (UTC)

• E! Online is quoted; the quote needs to have italics for the album Music. Inside that quote, any nested quote such as "Nobody Knows Me" must use single quotes. At the end of that quote, use single quote, full stop, double quote, like this: "...a choir that comes from nowhere on 'Nothing Fails'." See Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style#Quotation_marks and MOS:QUOTE.

 Fixed Tbhotch^{Talk C.}

• Needs rewording: "Johnny Davis, from New Musical Express acclaimed 3 points..." Davis noted three points, made three points, etc.

 Done Binksternet (talk) 23:01, 7 April 2010 (UTC)

• Ed Howard, the Stylus reviewer, did not fail the album. Let the reviewer's words do the talking.

 Fixed Tbhotch^{Talk C.}

• "The release of the album was a commercial slump for Madonna in the United States, in part due to controversy over the second single, 'American Life'." This sentence's source does not support the statement that the album sales slumped partly because of the video controversy.

 Fixed Tbhotch^{Talk C.} 02:25, 9 April 2010 (UTC)

• This sentence needs a subject: "Later was added to the album."

 Fixed Tbhotch^{Talk C.} 02:25, 9 April 2010 (UTC)

• This sentence needs a subject and some tweaks: "Also was nominated for 'Best Video from a Film' at 2003 MTV Video Music Awards, but lost against 'Lose Yourself' by Eminem."

 Fixed Tbhotch^{Talk C.} 02:25, 9 April 2010 (UTC)

• In the section Singles, the first wikilink to "Die Another Day" should go to the Madonna song, not the film.

 Fixed Tbhotch^{Talk C.} 02:25, 9 April 2010 (UTC)

• The description of the "American Life" music videos needs expert English help: "At the end of the music video, is shown the Ex-President of the United States, George W. Bush." No, the man shown is President Bush, not ex-president Bush. Consider the year it was made. More poor English: "Because of the controversy that caused, was filmed a second video..." "...singing with military clothing..." (Singing in military clothing?)

 Fixed (I think) Tbhotch^{Talk C.} 02:25, 9 April 2010 (UTC)

• The spelled-out numbers are allowed, but they do not match the majority of such numbers represented as numberals in the rest of the article. "The song debuted at number ninety on the Billboard Hot 100; and peaked at number thirty-seven on the chart; becoming Madonna's forty-fifth entry to Top 40 in the chart." Also: the semicolons should be fixed. The first one should disappear and the second one should be a comma. Perhaps the last bit could be reworded to "becoming Madonna's 45th Top 40 hit."

 Fixed Tbhotch^{Talk C.} 03:56, 9 April 2010 (UTC)

• This sentence needs a subject: "Peaked in the top-ten only in Greece..."

 Fixed Tbhotch^{Talk C.} 02:25, 9 April 2010 (UTC)

• This sentence needs a subject: "Also, debuted and peaked at eleven on UK Singles Chart..."

 Fixed Tbhotch^{Talk C.} 02:25, 9 April 2010 (UTC)

• This sentence needs a subject: "Also peaked on Billboard Pop 100 at one-hundred..." You may want to represent "one-hundred" in another way: "The highest it reached on the Billboard Pop 100 was at the very bottom: the 100th most popular song in the U.S."

 Fixed removed Tbhotch^{Talk C.} 02:25, 9 April 2010 (UTC)

• Put non-breaking spaces between potentially confusing currency figures such as "$125 million" which may fall across a line break for some viewers. These should be written "$125 million", per the guideline at WP:NBSP.

 Fixed Tbhotch^{Talk C.} 02:25, 9 April 2010 (UTC)

• Only one External link needs to be presented: the one to the album. Madonna's main web page is not needed.

 Fixed Tbhotch^{Talk C.} 02:25, 9 April 2010 (UTC)

• Complete sentences that are quoted in full get the full stop before the final quotation mark. Several instances otherwise need to be adjusted to meet this guideline.
• What portfolio? "McDean had already worked with Madonna for the portfolio for Vanity Fair magazine in October 2002."
• The claim that the music video was seen as unpatriotic should be supported with a cite.
• The lead does not mention any of the various successful singles that came from the album, or even that there were some. Instead, the lead summarizes the album as a failure, which makes me think 'POV'. Lesser artists than Madonna would be thrilled to release a platinum album.

Note The only successful single was "Die Another Day" and was in the score of the same name. Tbhotch^{Talk C.}

 Fixed Expanded Tbhotch^{Talk C.} 03:26, 9 April 2010 (UTC)

I am failing this article because of the many problems of a wide variety. I hope that the detailed review leads to a great improvement of the article. Binksternet (talk) 19:48, 7 April 2010 (UTC)

Also, I am leaving this review up so that it can be used as a checkpoint for article improvement. Binksternet (talk) 23:01, 7 April 2010 (UTC)

Thank you for the review. Tbhotch^{Talk C.} 04:28, 8 April 2010 (UTC)

This helped more than the peer review request. Thanks Tbhotch^{Talk C.} 04:43, 9 April 2010 (UTC)

Yes, the peer review was brief, and this review is more detailed. You have done very fine work in improving the smaller problems, showing good recovery from the disappointment of seeing the GAN not listed, but one of the largest problems is that the article remains something of a hit piece, slanted toward the negative side of the album. I will be interested to see if the few small problems and this one big problem can be fixed. Binksternet (talk) 16:40, 11 April 2010 (UTC)