Have they only heard 15 or so albums?

Pitchfork's 200 Best Tracks of the Decade So Far list actively makes me dislike a decade that I thought I was kind of okay with:

[pitchfork.com]

Mainly, I'm perplexed by how limited their scope seems to be. They seem to have picked their pet artists, chose a shitload of songs from each, and compiled that as a list.

I do like Grimes' "Oblivion" a whole bunch, but not sure I'd be crowning it the song of the decade so far. Then again, I'm not sure I wouldn't. It's a catchy beast.



Post Edited (08-19-14 10:29)

Off the top of my head, songs that are better than 175 or so of the songs on their top 200, by artists that they completely ignored:

Stornoway - "Zorbing"
Iceage - "White Rune"
The Joy Formidable - "Whirring"
Cee Lo Green - "Fuck You"
Kate Nash - "Kiss That Grrrl"
Phoenix - "Entertainment"
PJ Harvey - "The Glorious Land"
Bishop Morocco - "Last Year's Disco Guitars"
Juliette Commagere - "Impact"
Lower Dens - "Brains"
Warpaint - "Undertow"
Maria Minerva - "Ruff Trade"
Marissa Nadler - "The Sun Always Reminds Me of You"
Seapony - "Dreaming"
The Radio Dept. - "Heaven's On Fire"
The Love Language - "Brittany's Back"
Anna Calvi - "Desire"
Melody's Echo Chamber - "Crystallized"
Toy - "Kopter"
Here We Go Magic - "Collector"
Cults - "Abducted"
Math and Physics Club - "Jimmy Had a Polaroid"
Memory Tapes - "Sunhits"
Washed Out - "Amor Fati"
Something Fierce - "Empty Screens"
Maktharverskan - "Asleep"
Grand Resort - "Night is Dark"
Austra - "Lose It"
Johann Agebjorn - "Watch the World Go By"
Archie Bronson Outfit - "Run, Gospel Singer"
Tammar - "Heavy Tonight"
Mike Adams at His Honest Weight - "Bad Weather"
My Bloody Valentine - "In Another Way"



Post Edited (08-19-14 08:52)

Glancing at that list, my top 200 share maybe 2. But I routinely sneer at Pfork's bad taste, so, no surprise (though their album reviews are close, they don't follow their own accolades, ignoring their own top-reviewed albums).

---

How to understand the math of a P-fork list:

Writer 1*:
1. Kanye - I am Your God (feat. $leepy and Bon Iver)
2. Azaleia Binks - $tanky Ta$te (feat. Tyme Tramp and $onic Ho)
3. Beyoncé - Party Yo Face (remix feat. Hoi$t and $leepy $tank)
4. Jessie Ware - Wild Devotion
~
6. Grimes - Oblivion

Writer 2**:
1. Death Slop - Evil Incarnate Parts XVII & XVIII
2. Blood Haven - Satan's Moped
3. Hell Send - Writhing Spawn
4. Terror Reign - Horror Pain (Hell mix)
~
152. Grimes - Oblivion

Writer 3***:
1. Tinkle Pony - Heaven Beach
2. Tyre Shop - In Yo Street (Dance mix feat. $tanky Tyme and $ta$h King)
3. Karyn - Beeest in Me (feat. King $ta$h and $leepytyme)
4. Sarah Jane Webelo - Pony Dance
~
14. Grimes - Oblivion

Writer 4:
1. Jack White - Sixteen Saltines
2. Metric - Breathing Underwater
3. Best Coast - The Only Place
4. Jake Bugg - What Doesn't Kill You
~
48. Grimes - Oblivion

Writer 5:
1. Daft Punk - Rotibotus Vomititus
2. M83 - Reunion
3. LCD Soundsystem - Bam Bam Yrself
4. Eurostar - Beepin' Bloopin' (Disco mix)
~
24. Grimes - Oblivion

Writer 6:
1. Jagwar Ma - Come and Save Me
2. White Denim - Is and Is and Is
3. Japandroids - Young Hearts
4. Girls - Honey Bunny
~
37. Grimes - Oblivion

Writer 7:
1. Piss Stained Couches - Shocken Ah
2. The Wet Spots - She Sucked
3. Wrecking Car - We Came, We Puked, We Partied
4. Shmoot - But Not Last Night (w/Kevin Seconds)
~
102. Grimes - Oblivion

*representing advertisers and buyers
**teenage male readers and Camaro owners
***etc.

---

tl;dr Breno - Pitchfork are sales-and-tween-pandering idiots. The lists are contrived for profit. Why would you let them make you rethink yourself?



Post Edited (08-21-14 06:00)

I didn't. I was just kind of amazed at how crap they were able to make this half decade look when it really hasn't been too bad at all. While I always take their lists with a grain of salt, this one required the entire Bonneville Flats to get through.



Post Edited (08-19-14 10:32)

I've apparently lost complete touch with pop music culture, and taking a glance at that list I'd say I'm okay with that. But hey, they did have a Yo La Tengo song on there. I know them!

And few weeks ago I decided to hear what the kids are listening to nowadays, so I torrented Pitchfork's Top 100 tracks of 2013.

The first hour I was listening to it I was just hemming and hawing and shaking my head. This is what people consider as the best of today's Rap? This sounds exactly like the EDM of a decade ago, and I don't even listen to EDM. And so on.

Eventually it shuffled around to a track that sounded really good to me. After a few minutes I liked it so much had to get up and find out who this new good band was.

Apparently they were named Ohm, and the song was called "Yo La Tengo?"

I stood there confused for a minute until I processed what was really going on.

Quote

While I always take their lists with a grain of salt, this one required the entire Bonneville Flats to get through.

Ha, gotta remember that one.

I was disappointed by the list. I mean, I don't listen to hiphop or much electronic dance music, so my opinions on the genres are valueless, but so much of the emphasis was there, so I was alienated immediately. I liked some of the stuff I had heard, and some was described in terms that made me interested enough to check it out ... but meh overall. But I sure do like Robyn. Here is the top 50 in more readable form with my remarks - if I liked it. If I don't know it had

Pitchfork’s best tracks of the decade so far
50. EMA – ‘California’
49. Drake – ‘Marvins Room’
48. Bon Iver – ‘Holocene’-- not a big Boni Iver fan, but I think he had done better
47. Rihanna – ‘We Found Love’ [ft. Calvin Harris] -- this is ok as chart pop goes
46. Frank Ocean – ‘Thinkin Bout You’
45. Mac DeMarco – ‘Ode to Viceroy’
44. Beyoncé – ‘Drunk in Love’ [ft. Jay Z]
43. Destroyer – ‘Bay of Pigs’ --- I am not a big Destroyer fan, but where are AC Newman or the New Pornographers?
42. Cass McCombs – ‘County Line’ -- I have had this on iTunes for years and it doesn't strike me
41. Waka Flocka Flame – ‘Hard in Da Paint’
40. The-Dream – ‘Yamaha’
39. Ciara – ‘Body Party’
38. Bat For Lashes – ‘Laura’ --- Natasha Khan, amazing ... I preferred "Daniel" as a single but the timing doesn't work out, that was '09
37. Deerhunter – ‘Desire Lines’
36. Jay Z / Kanye West – ‘Niggas in Paris’ -- genuinely gripping, more for the ever-heightening levels of braggadocio that the two push each other to.
35. Katy Perry – ‘Teenage Dream’ -- eh, ok, but it sounds like "California Girls" too much for my taste
34. Crystal Castles – ‘Not in Love’ [ft. Robert Smith]’
33. Miguel – ‘Adorn’ -- Sure, got a lot of acclaim, very classy and very classically-minded R&B, very well crafted of course
32. Jai Paul – ‘Jasmine (Demo)’
31. Kendrick Lamar – ‘Swimming Pools (Drank)’ -- I just don't like Kendrick Lamar that much, based on what I've heard... sigh.
30. Autre Ne Veut – ‘Play by Play’
29. Robyn – ‘Call Your Girlfriend’ -- In my mind, this one competes for Song of the Decade. Damn straight.
28. Japandroids – ‘The House That Heaven Built’ -- It's fine, really, but it's not too innovative. Titus Andronicus has stuff very similar; where are they?
27. M.I.A. – ‘Bad Girls’ -- not my favorite M.I.A. of the past five years...
26. Vampire Weekend – ‘Hannah Hunt’
25. Disclosure – ‘Latch’ [ft. Sam Smith]
24. Drake – ‘Worst Behavior’
23. Solange – ‘Losing You’
22. Arcade Fire – ‘Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)’ -- I really, really like this, even if the Springsteenian influences are so strong. Maybe because.
21. Real Estate – ‘It’s Real’
20. Daft Punk – ‘Get Lucky’ [ft. Pharrell] -- Got too tedious.
19. Beach House – ‘Zebra’
18. Kanye West – ‘Monster’ [ft. Justin Vernon, Rick Ross, Jay-Z, and Nicki Minaj]
17. LCD Soundsystem – ‘Dance Yrself Clean’ -- Not my favorite LCD of recent years...
16. Todd Terje – ‘Inspector Norse’
15. Nicki Minaj – Super Bass’ [ft. Ester Dean]
14. Sky Ferreira – ‘Everything Is Embarrassing’
13. Usher – ‘Climax’
12. Beyoncé – ‘Countdown’
11. Tame Impala – ‘Feels Like We Only Go Backwards’
10. Drake – ‘Hold On We’re Going Home’
9. Deerhunter – ‘Helicopter’
8. Frank Ocean – ‘Pyramids’
7. Azealia Banks – ‘212’ [ft. Lazy Jay]
6. Robyn – ‘Dancing on My Own’ -- ok, I like this a lot too but I thought "Girlfriend" was better"
5. Kendrick Lamar – ‘Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe’ -- Again, I don't get Kendrick. However I'm amused by the BEETS DON'T KALE MY VIBE t-shirts of recent days.
4. M83 – ‘Midnight City’ -- This is great, sorta classic soundtrack material, in the way that the Jan Hammer MIAMI VICE sound was classic soundtrack of its era.
3. Kanye West – ‘Runaway’ [ft. Pusha T] -- don't know it but I will give Kanya credit for introducing some absolutely weird sounds into hit radio. Where is "No Church in the Wild?"
2. Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – ‘Round and Round’
1. Grimes – ‘Oblivion’ -- It's very good. Best song of the past 4 1/2 years? Huh.

Haha Thanks for bringing this up here. My reaction was similar to everybody else's.
It made me realize how much I dislike Indie music. Deerhunter, The National, Grizzly Bear, LCD SS and Arcade Fire are some of the big Indie acts nowadays and I have tried to like them several times but can't.
Other acts that I like but don't blow me away also made the list: Tame Impala, Ariel Pink (a few great songs but nothing outstanding yet), Todd Terje (love the Robert Palmer cover but find his music just decent), Bon Iver, Grimes (a few great songs but think the album isn't a list maker), Autre Ne Veut, Disclosure, etc... These are all good acts but I would hardly call "best of."

Where I agree: Kanye, Real Estate, Chromatics (should be much higher), Frank Ocean, Vampire Weekend, Daft Punk (I still find RAM too cloying much of the time), Sun Kil Moon, Lana Del Rey, Future Islands, Blood Orange, John Maus, M83, Kavinsky, Beach House

Who I would add: Toro Y Moi, Washed Out, Neon Indian (2nd album holds up really well), BOC, Tycho, Ducktails (3rd album)...

And I can't comment on too much of the pop stuff (Beyonce, etc.) It might be amazing... who knows.

I resonate a lot with the Pitchfork list of best albums from the past 4 1/2 years than I did with the list of best songs. [pitchfork.com]

Chromatics placed very high on that list. But so generous to Tame Impala? I may be missing that. The Sun Kil Moon rating is tremendous considering that record just came out.

Quote

Who I would add: Toro Y Moi, Washed Out, Neon Indian (2nd album holds up really well), BOC, Tycho, Ducktails (3rd album)...

I can't be the only one who still thinks "Blue Oyster Cult" every time BOC is listed somewhere?

I found that puzzling as well. What does BOC stand for in this case?

Sorry, Boards of Canada = BOC

One more thing about all the big pop acts on the list: They use the best and most important producers, so that is why they make these lists. Or ay least, thats my theory.

I'm actually surprised at the omission of Florence & The Machine's "Kiss With a Fist" and post-CCM/pre-Top 40 Katy Perry's "Ur So Gay" - those weren't prior decade, were they?

And all the more surprised there's no Best Coast anywhere in the Top 10.

Still, I couldn't find any Radiohead (compared to the last "big" Pitchfork list where Radiohead occupied every other ranking and it was WHITER than a snowman), so I suppose that counts for something. Japandroids definitely deserves to be in the Top 20, at least - some contestant on AGT or American Idol will inevitably tackle that one. (Hey, if it happened to Tears For Fears' Mad World, it could happen to Japandroids, too.)

Florence & the Machine's "Kiss With a Fist" was 2009. Katy Perry's debut with "U R So Gay" was even earlier than that, but I don't know what year and am not going to bother looking it up. Probably 07 or 08.

> I can't be the only one who still thinks "Blue Oyster Cult" every time BOC is listed somewhere?

It would help if the O either was lower-case or topped with an umlaut. ("Blue Uhrster Cult.")