As you probably know, there’s this website called Pitchfork that publishes loads and loads of music reviews that rate albums with the precision of two significant digits. For a number of years it got bigger and more influential, owing mostly to the extraordinary suckiness into which the traditional music press had fallen, but also owing to some good writing and relatively broad coverage of indie music. By now, the Pitchfork backlash has come and gone; it’s a huger site than when I last visited a year or two ago; the reviews are just as much of a mixed bag as ever — smart and fresh mixed with tendentious hipster bullshit.
Around the New Year someone posted a link to a torrent of Pitchfork’s top 50 albums of the year, and in a fit of optimism (or a flicker of fading youthfulness) I downloaded the whole goddamn thing, 3.37 GB or 40 hours, 51 minutes and 55 seconds’ worth of music. And then, because this was an education undertaking, I proceeded to listen to all of it.
Well, I skipped a few tracks here and there. But I managed to pipe damn near all of it into my ears, mostly riding the subway to and from work, over the better part of three months. I started resenting my iPod’s “pitchfork” playlist almost immediately, of course, for keeping me from listening to what I wanted or at least to stuff I’d maybe heard before. (Not that I hadn’t heard any of it — I’m culturally aware enough to have turned out to have purchased or downloaded or at least listened to a respectable proportion of the stuff before Pitchfork told me to.)
In the end, I’m kind of meh about the whole thing. I heard some new stuff I like but don’t love and some stuff I don’t like and got one confused, hipster-infested webzine’s take on what happened last year in the world of indie music idiosyncratically defined. If I paid more attention to that world, I’d have more to say about the inevitable missteps a publication like Pitchfork makes as it runs breakneck, facing backwards, from its onrushing audience.
In the event, I’m going to salvage the experience by writing up each album in one minute or less. Time me. Ready? Go.
1. Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes: Loved this; “White Winter Hymnal” is of course one of the best songs of the year. Düngen + Beach Boys = love.
2. Portishead – Third: Intense, minimal, harrowing. It can leave scars. I think it’s their best album.
3. No Age – Nouns: This is nice. Energetic, lots of fuzz, a nice sense of song structure.
4. Cut Copy – In Ghost Colours: Refreshingly well done neo-disco. Catchy.
5. Deerhunter – Microcastle and Weird Era Continued: Good enough indie rock; I’ll leave it to someone who cares to say why.
6. TV on the Radio – Dear Science: Oh, these guys. I’ve heard about these guys. They’ve got something going on — an interesting sound, but more than that. Really nice songwriting.
7. Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend: Thank you, Vampire Weekend, for reviving that whole Paul Simon musical appropriation argument so I can declare once and for all that I don’t care where musicians get their sounds as long as they pay respect and, where applicable, royalties. Music is appropriation. Vampire Weekend is pretty damn enjoyable.
8. M83 – Saturdays=Youth: Easy on the ears, but then I grew up in the 80s. I suppose the dreamy synth-pop market is slightly less crowded in the Aughties.
9. Hercules And Love Affair – Hercules And Love Affair: Probably the most enduring album of the year, because feet gotta move, ass gotta shake, and OMG do we love Antony.
10. DJ Rupture – Uproot: A mix CD of some dubby electronica. I don’t know. This isn’t my genre at all. Some decent synth sounds.
11. Lil Wayne – Tha Carter III: So this is where Pitchfork starts seeming really weird as a cultural enterprise, right — a top 10 of indie stuff, then a huge hip-hop album at 11? Because black people singing the hippity hop are outsiders and qualify for honorary indie-hood? I don’t know. Anyway, the misogyny in the lyrics had me moving on to the next album after only a track or two.
12. Lindstrøm – Where You Go I Go Too: Refreshing to see an album with only three tracks on it. In the end, it’s way too techno for my taste, but it’s really well done and actually nice to listen to. I’d love to hear this guy DJ.
13. Erykah Badu – New Amerykah Part One (4th World War): Interesting stuff; some innovative, some same-old soul.
14. Air France – No Way Down: Vangelis called. He wants his music back.
15. Crystal Castles – Crystal Castles: Seriously, kids, we lived through the 80s once already. I guess no one in your audience was around for the whole decade, though. Carry on.
16. Vivian Girls – Vivian Girls: Believe the hype. OMG do the Vivan Girls rock. “Where Do You Run To” is a modern-day classic.
17. Magic Word – The Chemistry of Common Life: This is solid enough rock, but the singer is one of those shouty, vocal-chord-injuring guys. What’s the point, dude?
18. The Mae Shi – HLLYH: More ’80s synths, although at least they’re energetic about it, pretty math-y. And they have a song called “Pwnd,” which is kinda fun. Still, I get the feeling this is not going to age well at all.
19. The Walkmen – You & Me: This recording has a crazily rich sound to it, really sweet resonance and reverb combined with a fairly spare instrumentation. I like it — pleasingly romantic.
20. Fuck Buttons – Street Horrrsing: Drony, distorted, mostly instrumental. Holds my attention. A nice find.
21. Kanye West – 808s And Heartbreak: Jesus Christ, he did a whole album of vocoder?
22. Santogold – Santogold: This is fundamentally boring scenester music.
23. Hot Chip – Made In the Dark: Some nicely chaotic synth sequencing. This will not age well either; it already sounds like last year.
24. Gang Gang Dance – Saint Dymphna: Loads of energy, freewheeling structures, restless and rich.
25. Titus Andronicus – The Airing of Grievances: Just another perfectly competent clean little indie band.
26. Atlas Sound – Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel: Rich, experimental electronic rock. Not sure they needed the whole album, but worth a listen.
27. Max Tundra – Parallax Error Beheads You: “Orphaned” is a great track and should be heard by all. The rest depends on your tolerance for synth-math.
28. Flying Lotus – Los Angeles: Farrell already let us in on the greatness of the video. And he was pictured in the New Yorker with a monome. So, sure, hire him to produce your next underground hip-hop album.
29. The Hold Steady – Stay Positive: Solid, rootsy rock. I dunno, doesn’t stand out much.
30. Los Campesinos – Hold On Now, Youngster…: Energetic indie pop. This would probably be good for up on the roof in summer with a six-pack.
31. Fennesz – Black Sea: One interesting thing about Pitchfork’s position is that it’s constantly in danger of losing its cred. Not only does it have to stay on top of what its audience thinks is cool (the running backwards thing), it has to put an album like this one in the top 50 even though most of its audience doesn’t know Fennesz at all. Still, this is a great album from a master of minimal electroacoustic guitar laptopia.
32. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!: Ah, so refreshingly mature and self-assured. I can’t compare this to other Nick Cave albums, not being an aficionado, but I liked it a lot.
33. Frightened Rabbit – The Midnight Organ Fight: Country psych folk rock. You’ll like it if that’s your thing. Agreeable.
34. Arthur Russell – Love Is Overtaking Me: There’s a lot here.
35. Girl Talk – Feed the Animals: You know, in the end this is just a gimmick, very well played.
36. Wale – The Mixtape About Nothing: First of all, we should get over that show already (I’m also looking at you, Titus Andronicus). Second, I was bored by this album.
37. Grouper – Dragging a Dead Deer up a Hill: I found this captivating, in spite of myself. Lazy playing and listless singing covered by literally gobs of reverb, but it worked for me.
38. The Bug – London Zoo: Kinda cool. Nice sounds, could work well as part of a dance mix.
39. Times New Viking – Rip It Off: Nice fuzzy stuff.
40. The Very Best – Esau Mwamwaya & Radioclit Are The Very Best: I heard this guy on FMU over the weekend. This is a mixtape with him singing over some of the songs. Schizophrenic but lively and enjoyable.
41. David Byrne & Brian Eno – Everything That Happens Will Happen Today: It’s no My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, but it’s still worth a listen.
42. Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy – Lie Down in the Light: You know the drill by now. This one is clearer, more worn-in.
43. Shearwater – Rook: I liked this, although the melodrama is a bit much at times.
44. Marnie Stern – This Is It And I Am It And You Are It: Maybe my favorite album of the year. So much energy, such progtastic guitar wizardry.
45. Lykke Li – Youth Novels: Nice voice, but I was tempted to write the whole thing off — the first few songs are flat and affectless. Things get better, though; “Tonight” saves the album.
46. Beach House – Devotion: Slow and dreamy; probably nice for late at night.
47. The Tallest Man on Earth – Shallow Grave: Decent country-inflected folk.
48. High Places – High Places: Amazing what these guys/girls do with samples. I love it. Super fresh, not a gimmick.
49. Crystal Stilts – Alight of Nigh: More heavy ’80s influences, this time on the guitar and reverb end of the spectrum. Don’t argue with trends, it just makes you sound cranky.
50. Ponytail – Ice Cream Spiritual: Lots of sharp guitar. This was good enough that even though it was the end of the whole ordeal, I voluntarily played the album again when it ended.
Okay, that was more like 1:20 per review, says the clock. Anyway, there you have it. Next year I will remain blissfully ignorant.
huh,
you spell that sound meh.
Pitchfork’s list is incredibly predictable, even for them, and it pains me a little bit to think of you cranking up Fuck Buttons loud enough to hear it over subway noise (or listening to the Kanye album at all).
What did you listen to most in 2008, regardless of when it was released?
What is your favorite music of 2009 so far? (Mine’s Neko Case.)
Dave, I really admire that you undertook this project, and admire even more that you finished it. Thanks for translating Pitchfork’s reviews into something more comprehensible and less poseur-esque. Now I’ll check out Marnie Stern.
I dunno what I listened to most in 2008. A lot of Steve Reich? Tracks that either Nathan or I had recorded? I feel seriously out of it regarding most music. I saw the Pitchfork thing as a way to remedy that, but it didn’t work — it just made me feel more out of it.
The other day I joined eMusic, finally, and downloaded this and this. eMusic seems to have enough out-there music that I can stay comfortably away from Pitchfork territory, which frankly rarely interests me these days.
My favorite thing of the year so far is the new Antony & the Johnsons. I’m also looking forward to downloading the new Mountains release; they’re always great.
What is your favorite music of 2009 so far?
Dude you have got to listen to the new Robyn Hitchcock record. (“Goodnight Oslo” by the Venus 3.) It is seriously some of his best work in the past 20-30 years.
TMK is like a Mormon missionary for Robyn Hitchcock.
#34 is the best thing on this list — the most rewarding release of the last year, maybe the last several years. And to bury it at #34? That’s the problem with letting a bunch of twenty-somethings tell you what the best of anything is.
p.s. Great idea for a post!
TMK is like a Mormon missionary for Robyn Hitchcock.
Gotta start wearing the uniform, and cut my hair more regularly.
Thanks for doing all that listening for us!
I need to listen to the Arthur Russell some more. One time through it was not enough, and when I first heard it I had no idea who Arthur Russell was or (since it was a download with no liner notes) why the songs all had different production styles, etc. After just one listen, I don’t feel like I can really say anything about it.
Also:
the problem with letting a bunch of twenty-somethings tell you what the best of anything is.
It’s also part of the problem with lists, especially annual lists. Are there 50 good albums each year? Undoubtedly. Are there 50 albums you really shouldn’t miss hearing? Maybe, probably, but how can we know what they are so close to the event? I’d rather get one or two recommendations from a few people with broad listening habits.
I also have no idea how Pitchfork came up with this list, and I don’t want to look at their archives to find out.
Must see Arthur Russell
Asa L-O-V-E-S Vampire Weekend. We both like to shout at the top of our lungs in the car, “Who gives a fuck about Oxford Comma!” and then we kind of speak mumble the rest of the the song.
I agree with almost everything except Crystal Castles are actually really great. The songs bring me into a world of sadness and desperation, don’t be distracted by the very few 80s videogame samples, Courtship Dating and Untrust Us are classics.
Great project Dave. I’ve been listening to nothing but R&B and soul records lately — it seems much easier. I’m so glad I’m too old to be a hipster anymore.
Hey Dave, thanks, this is an extraordinary endeavor. It reminds me of the guy who read the whole bible for a year and wrote a book about it. what was that called? Anyway, i’m struck by how much crap you had to endure. God bless you. Even as a pitchfork regular–yes, a stop at that website is part of my daily internet comings-and-goings–I can’t say I have actually listened to more than a song or two of most of those albums mentioned. what i find crazy is how their “50 best” list never includes several albums that are so dear to me at the end of the year (she and him, learning music, MGMT, quiet village, plants and animals don’t even get mentioned). Ridiculous! I feel like pitchfork is much more useful at introducing me to singles or remixes or videos of some of those featured albums. I have no clue how they compile that list, but it doesn’t even represent what appear to be their greatest enthusiasms in a given year. And *I* know what those enthusiasms are. They are often my own. But they are really not represented at the end of the year (fyi, the were fucking gaga for ‘she and him’ all year.) I wholeheartedly agree with you that it is an exercise not worth repeating. Your comment about “getting one or two recommendations from a few people with broad listening habits” seems like a very good plan. I’d be happy to be one of those people for you. :) In the mean time, have you dl’d the new “dark was the night”? High recommendation, except delete the sufjan stevens immediately. much love!
shit, sockpuppet outed!
Jarvis — I’ll happily try Crystal Castles again. One problem with this little project was that if something wasn’t right for my mood at the time, I may have given it short shrift. Also, some time elapsed between hearing the album and writing it up, so my little reviews are keyed to playing parts of a few songs to jog my memory. So I’m happy to be wrong about any number of them. (Not Kanye, though. That shit suxx0rz.)
Scotty: Amen.
“renee”: That is odd but makes sense. I’ve read the blogs of a couple of people who have gone on to write for Pitchfork (I think maybe we link to them in the sidebar) and they seem really smart and interesting. So I imagine a lot of their staff are people I’d like to listen to records with. Then, somehow, they go through a process at the end of each year of deciding which records they ought to like, and they make a list of them. I imagine it’s a bit like during campaign season when journalists talk about whether a politician is likeable, or whether a speech will play in Peoria, instead of just, you know, talking about the politician or the speech and saying what they think. Is meta bullshit a key component of journalistic professionalism?
Dave,
funny, I like your version of how they make up that list of 50. Also, I’ve been thinking more about your reviews today and I’m just quite impressed with your one minute gestalt reviews here. I think you managed to give really helpfully descriptions/praise/dismissals. Quite a fine critic you are even if you feel like an outsider. I think it would be a nice thing to hear you give your opinions on the top 50 every year. fwiw, I agree with Jarvis about Crystal Castles. “Goodness” showed up on our best of list. Also, deerhunter’s “nothing ever happened” is exquisite, it ends with a stunning 2 minute racing guitar jam. (you asked for someone who cares to explain it). and, i’ll stop now, but the lil’ wayne, sorry about the misogyny dave, but this was a great album. pitchfork, although profoundly indie, isn’t so douchey that they can ignore an exceptional hiphop album. try again, in the summertime, in your jeep with the bangin bass.
Want to see something cool? http://thisisnotpitchfork.com/
Wow, I’m in love with that site. From the About page:
And hilariously, that writer also writes at the right-wing Pajamas Media.