Pitchfork's top 50 of 2002

Perhaps you could supplant annoying with challenging.<P>I would.

Sorry, white guys rapping are always just annoying to me. Maybe his lyrics are relevant and all, so maybe I'll just stick to reading the lyric sheet.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Arial, Veranda">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by markie:<BR><B> they put a hot wire to your head beacuse of the things you did and said?<P>Oooops, Sounds about right to me. He was an urban punk poet very much in the streets style.<P>I keep meaning to buy his old albums….</B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>So it is him in the movie. He is beyond funny, starts his poem with a heckler who I guess yells "Turn the lights off!", then he says "Turn the lights off? What do you mean I'm a visual act". Hear he has a live album that is the best, someday I will get that one. Better not buy my copy!

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Arial, Veranda">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Henry Dark:<BR><B>Kind of hard for me to take seriously a list that only includes one (Neko Case) alt-country/country/folk/bluegrass/rockabilly/blues/roots rock album out of 50.</B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>My God!!! An indie-oriented hipster-zine not including alt.country – oh the horror!!! You don't think this list might be….dare I say….<I>subjective</I>? And geared toward its readership??<P>Should we discount altcountrytab.com's year-end list because it doesn't include hip-hop?<P>Should we ignore No Depression because they don't include any electroclash?<P>Pitchfork's list was in keeping with the zine's general worldview. No surprises.

Those fuckers didn't include Lawrence Welk.<P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Arial, Veranda">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by ggw:<BR><B> My God!!! An indie-oriented hipster-zine not including alt.country – oh the horror!!! You don't think this list might be….dare I say….<I>subjective</I>? And geared toward its readership??</B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Arial, Veranda">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by ggw:<BR> altcountrytab.com's year-end list B]&lt;HR&gt;&lt;/BLOCKQUOTE&gt;&lt;P&gt;1 - Rhett Miller - The Instigator&lt;BR&gt;2 - Tift Merrit - Bramble Rose&lt;BR&gt;3 - Josh Rouse - Under Cold Blue Stars&lt;BR&gt;4 - Johnny Cash - American IV: The Man Comes Around&lt;BR&gt;5 - Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot&lt;BR&gt;6 - Chris Mills - The Silver Line&lt;BR&gt;7 - Ryan Adams - Demolition&lt;BR&gt;8 - Richmond Fontaine - Winnemucca&lt;BR&gt;9 - Peter Bruntnell - Ends Of The Earth&lt;BR&gt;10 - Neko Case - Blacklisted&lt;P&gt;I have two of these, but should eventually have 4 of them. No hip-hop, hmmmm.

And two of them are on the Pitchfork list too. Wilco is number two IIRC.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Arial, Veranda">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Sir HC:<BR><B> John Cooper Clark, wasn't he a poet from the late 70's early 80's who would do live performances at concerts? He is in the movie "Urgh, A music War" and his albums are reviewed in Trouser's Press. This is from memory, so I could be wrong, I could be right.</B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR>Yes, he is. In fact, he had just recently (this past Spring/Summer) been doing a few readings in England before a some shows….possibley Doves but not sure of that. There is a possibility that it may have just been a film of him reading but I think he was actually there. <P>

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Arial, Veranda">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by markie:<BR><B> I have not even heard/heard of that many. It seems that only obscure new bands and Eminem need apply.<P></B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR>I've heard of 30 of them but it is an odd list. <P>

Not being a reader of Pitchfork, I had no orientation of what their musical direction was. Whereas the name "altcountrytab.com" pretty much tells me the musical agenda that that zine is pushing (I don't read that online zine either, but could guess what their best of list would be like based on the name), the name Pitchfork really tells me nothing about what music they would cover (unless I hearken back to the days of growing up on the farm, using a pitchfork to scoop up three feet of calf shit in the back stalls of our cow barn…and that would remind me of the bad mainstream country radio my Dad would play because my Dad said the cows would give more milk listening to that than the classic rock I wanted to hear).<BR> Based on a few links that you had posted in the past, I would have hoped for Pitchfork to be a more musically eclectic site that (ala KEXP) embraced the vital new music of both somewhat established artists (eg the ones Markie mentioned) as well as newer artists…with a mix of rock, jazz, country, world, folk, hip hop, bluegrass etc.<BR> What it appears to be (based on reading these 50 reviews) is a site with people writing reviews that make me go "What the fuck did he just say?" about obscure indie bands and a sprinkling of mainstream rap (presumably to prove how "down" they are with the hip hop nation?)<BR> Thus, perhaps my guesses about what type of site it it were just wrong. Given the slant toward obscurity and the non-inclusiveness of it genre wise (in my opinion), I think I'll stick to listening to KEXP or reading the Village Voice Pazz and Jop Poll. <BR> <A HREF="http://www.villagevoice.com/specials/pazznjop/01/" TARGET=_blank>http://www.villagevoice.com/specials/pazznjop/01/</A>; <P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Arial, Veranda">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by ggw:<BR><B> My God!!! An indie-oriented hipster-zine not including alt.country – oh the horror!!! You don't think this list might be….dare I say….<I>subjective</I>? And geared toward its readership??<P>Should we discount altcountrytab.com's year-end list because it doesn't include hip-hop?<P>Should we ignore No Depression because they don't include any electroclash?<P>Pitchfork's list was in keeping with the zine's general worldview. No surprises.</B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>

I love the Liars record, and I think Hot Snakes could have been ranked higher. I also would have liked to have seen the new J Mascis and the Fog, The Catheters new record, the Mars Volta E.P. Tremulant, Sparta's Wiretap Scars, Queens of the Stone Age Songs For The Deaf, and the new Rocket from the Crypt. But that is just because of my own personal tastes. I understand that would be completely biased. Interpol is a nice record, certainly welcome in a top 50, but not the best record of the year.

Henry Dark - I can appreciate your feeling that pitchfork is slanted and disenchanted. But the Village Voice list has records from 2001. I am not sure that is much better.

Tis true, but we are still in 2002. Thus, the Best of 2002 really shouldn't come out until 2002 is over. I just put the link up as a point of comparison. I'm sure that one of us on the board will put up the 2002 list once it is revealed, probably next month.<P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Arial, Veranda">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by jsnow2:<BR><B>Henry Dark - I can appreciate your feeling that pitchfork is slanted and disenchanted. But the Village Voice list has records from 2001. I am not sure that is much better.</B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Arial, Veranda">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Henry Dark:<BR><B> What it appears to be (based on reading these 50 reviews) is a site with people writing reviews that make me go "What the fuck did he just say?" about obscure indie bands and a sprinkling of mainstream rap (presumably to prove how "down" they are with the hip hop nation?)<BR> </B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR> <A HREF="http://www.obscureindiebandssomemainstreamrapbecausewearedowntab.com" TARGET=_blank>www.obscureindiebandssomemainstreamrapbecausewearedowntab.com</A>; is a great site

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Arial, Veranda">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Henry Dark:<BR><B>What it appears to be (based on reading these 50 reviews) is a site with people writing reviews that make me go "What the fuck did he just say?" about obscure indie bands and a sprinkling of mainstream rap </B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Obscure indie bands like Tom Waits, Beck, Neko Case, Sonic Youth, Sleater-Kinney, and Wilco?<P>Under the name "Pitchfork" it reads "Independent Music Daily" which seems like a tip-off that it might be about independent music (and that it is updated daily).<P>You may not like it, but I bet you will see the Pitchfork top 3 (Interpol, Wilco, ..Trail of Dead) on more than a few year-end "Best of" lists.

Hey GGW, did someone not tell you that its the season of good will to all men?<P>Anyhow I kinda agree with Rhett, picking out 5 less obscure acts, if you like, although I doubt most people in the street know who Neko Case or most of the others are……<P>It is a very obscure list that refuses to even nod to the likes of Supergrass or Gomez, but likes Waits and Eminem and 30 other acts I have never heard of.<P>Besides if they had picked something else as their #1 album of the year I might give them some credit. As it is, I dont.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Arial, Veranda">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by markie:<BR><B>Hey GGW, did someone not tell you that its the season of good will to all men?<P>Anyhow I kinda agree with Rhett, picking out 5 less obscure acts, if you like, although I doubt most people in the street know who Neko Case or most of the others are……<P>It is a very obscure list that refuses to even nod to the likes of Supergrass or Gomez, but likes Waits and Eminem and 30 other acts I have never heard of.<P>Besides if they had picked something else as their #1 album of the year I might give them some credit. As it is, I dont.</B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Bah fucking humbug.<P>Pitchfork has always been pretentious and independenter-than-thou. I'm actually a little surprised at how "mainstream" their top choices are. And they definitely have a U.S. over U.K. bias. Although, I don't think Supergrass has been released in the U.S. yet, so you can hope for its appearance on the 2003 list.

alright GGW fair enough. One thing though. I have gone out of my way to get someone to give me their opinion of interpol, and no one has. <P>Why is that, and what do you think?

Okay, Pitchfork is too Amerocentric for me. Though I lean towards British music, I prefer my music sites, etc, to be more inclusive than just one nationality. It's just too limiting for my tastes. <P>Markie, I like Interpol though they can leave me a little cold at times. I do have to be in the mood for them but definitely like them. The best album of the year? Nope. Not in my opinion. What is? I don't know and don't even feel like thinking about it but Interpol would, at best, be somewhere in the top 10 but not #1. Personally, I tend to like very dark and somber music, which Interpol is. Must be something that resonates with my personality. I do think that they need to work with filling out their songs a little more. A few more dynamics or something. Hopefully, they will be there soon enough otherwise the Hip Set might just get bored with them when the next best thing comes around.

Interpol sounds to me like a lot of early 80s British post-punk bands, with somewhat atonal vocals and jagged guitars that go more for a sweeping sound than a series of riffs. Plus there often are either keyboards or heavy guitar effects. I admire the album more than I really like it, and the fact that it's a debut makes it more impressive. The great-sounding live show helped too.