The futility of LISTS: Rolling Stone edition

It is standard TP practice to point out the worthlessness of lists, and I agree with that practice, as lists try to render empirical something that is simply not empirical. But I think it's interesting to look at the forces behind some of these lists. For Rolling Stone, it has always been about pluralism and inclusiveness--as well as seeming to be current by East Village hipster standards. (Hey we aren't a bunch of jive-ass white guys in our 30 to 50s, look how we pepper our list with color and cutting-edgisms!) For your own scrutiny, the RS Top 50 list is posted below. . .

(And is it just me, or does Arcade Fire's "Keep the Car Running" evoke John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band's "On the Dark Side"?)

[www.rollingstone.com]



Post Edited (12-27-07 12:17)

Actually, it's not too bad a list although there are some obvious "we'd better include some people Jann Wenner has actually heard of" inclusions - Maroon 5, for instance.

And even discounting my admittedly pathological dislike of Lucinda Williams these days (I probably need professional help to get past this), I was surprised to see WEST on here (in the top 20, yet) - from as near as I can tell, even her most fawning minions conceded it was a pretty crap disc.

This is all subjective obviously, but even in light of that I found it strange that Lucinda Williams and Fall Out Boy made it and there was nary a mention of Modest Mouse, a band I never was really into in the past, but one that made a remarkable album. AND that album sat for a short time at number-one on Billboard, supplanting Daughtry, I think. Now *there's* a story. I also thought that Talib Kweli was better than any of the hip-hop albums they mentioned and that (yes) the Arctic Monkeys need to be in there. I agreed with the Springsteen and Fogerty nods, not much else. And what about the Good, the Bad, and the Queen?

The Good, the Bad and the Queen has been the glaring omission on almost every best of list this year. I really don't understand why it has gotten next to no love whatsoever.

I don't think it's an easy album for American ears...it's a pretty subtle album with weird colors (afrobeat; dub; Albarn's esoteric, distinctly English themes). And there is no recognizable single. I think Gorillaz is the only purchase Albarn will get on these shores.

[www.pitchforkmedia.com]

And driving this list is. . . willful obscurantism (with the occasional concession to hip-hop and classic alt-rock favorites/godheads...Radiohead, Spoon).

So: Panda Bear had the best album this year, and the Knife had the best album of 2006. RIIIIIIIIIGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHT.

I'm going to make a year-end list that is not linear--which has no numbers and in which Feist is played by 6 different characters of varying ages and races. The part of Arcade Fire will be played by Pitchfork freelancers.



Post Edited (12-28-07 11:03)

Quality over quantity is what matters unless you plan on getting paid to know such things. Rolling Stone is covering all the bases, demographically speaking. They get paid for doing such things. i don't need fifty CD's of 2007, just ten or twelve should do it.

I mean hell, I have played a total of one CD today, six times in a row.

Bob Sharkey Quartet 2005 'Foolish Nightmare'

Once again, less is more.

(illustrations by satch)



Post Edited (12-28-07 17:51)

"Rolling Stone is covering all the bases, demographically speaking. "

Agreed, obviously. But why bother numbering them if it's an exercise in pluralism? Therein lies the futility.

hey they liked deerhoof!

You know how there are movies that get released in time for "Oscar season"? The Good, the Bad and the Queen thing came out in January- that's not "Year End List Season"...

Plus, it had been available as an import for several months before its US release, as I recall, further muddying the critical mass.

Not that any of this justifies overlooking what is a truly remarkable, well thought out and topical (Dare I use the word "concept"? No.) album.

Echoing in another vote for TGB & Q. The record is astonishing on all fronts. A four dimensional masterpiece. Its lyrical qualities are lucid enough to speak simultaneously to the person and the people. Now that they have your attention, the listener is ready to be transported from a psychic garden of eden to a bombed out militarized zone. An incredible and moving piece of work.

Even the Clash would be proud.

(rhythm guitarists pin me to the cross now!)



Post Edited (12-29-07 02:00)