Pazz & Jop 2004 Appreciation Thread

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Let's back away from the already bloated anticipation thread and start fresh right here. Let's hit 500 posts by tomorrow night, okay?

― Matthew "Flux" Perpetua, Tuesday, 8 February 2005 19:00 (twenty-one years ago)

I have to say, I like the site design this year. Looks classy.

― jaymc (jaymc), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 19:04 (twenty-one years ago)

I think my highest album placement was #152 or something with Allison Moorer. I'm a little proud of this but I feel lonelier than ever.

This is SO our Critmas (Miccio OTM) but also kind of the World Series too.

― The Obligatory Sourpuss (Begs2Differ), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 19:06 (twenty-one years ago)

I feel like the biggest, coolest dork.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 19:07 (twenty-one years ago)

it's funny that the cover of princess nicotine is on the front page. that was my number one album (and i think only one other person voted for it).

― stockholm cindy's secret childhood (Jody Beth Rosen), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 19:10 (twenty-one years ago)

Wow. My singles ballot matched up with the final tally.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 19:11 (twenty-one years ago)

what, exactly?

― The Obligatory Sourpuss (Begs2Differ), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 19:12 (twenty-one years ago)

it's pretty weird that Purple Haze is all big on that intro page, considering that Cam only made 93 on the albums list (and lower on the singles list).

― Al (sitcom), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 19:13 (twenty-one years ago)

154 last year, 257 this year... I don't think I've seen them on any big year-end lists either years. Can somebody explain to me why the Blood Brothers get no love? They're one of the only Top 30 albums of 2004 on Metacritic that's been completely ignored. Sorrow...

― We Hate All Movement (Brian Now!), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 19:14 (twenty-one years ago)

It's weird to me that the U.S. presidential election is all over this poll, from Christgau's essay to a lot of the comments. It just never occurred to me when writing about the year in music to make any reference to Bush vs. Kerry; I guess I just keep politics separate.

― jaymc (jaymc), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 19:14 (twenty-one years ago)

check out trife's singles ballot!

― teeny (teeny), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 19:16 (twenty-one years ago)

he and I were the only ones to vote for chingo bling!

― The Obligatory Sourpuss (Begs2Differ), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 19:19 (twenty-one years ago)

I am so having a good, expensive dinner on this one*. Thanks, voters!

*see posts elsewhere about betting on the top 40

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 19:20 (twenty-one years ago)

*checks through comments, smiles at familiar names, sees this:*

"Galang" was the year's weirdest/best pop single. British-Sri Lankan Maya Arulpragasam, the Zadie Smith of grime, seemed engineered in a critic's laboratory: young, gifted, mixed-race, female, politically minded, art-school educated, child of a bona fide revolutionary, populist enough for the polyglot dancehall, punk enough to co-write with Justine Frischmann and hire Diplo as her DJ, gorgeous enough to work as a model. As a life-during-war-time party anthem, peerless.

Will Hermes
Saugerties, New York

USE OTHER EXOTIC FETISHIZATIONS PLEASE. (Then again it's true how when comments like this were written that nobody had seen anything like the MIA thread yet -- not that that fully excuses it at all.)

I was surprised at that myself, or at least the vehemence. I don't THINK I made much reference to it in my comments, if at all.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 19:20 (twenty-one years ago)

Babasonicos' Infame (EMI Latin): This Argentine sextet had already demonstrated it was one of Latin rock's most visionary outfits with 2001's Jessico. Few, however, could have expected a follow-up as gorgeous and subversive as this one—a darkly humorous cross between the glam-rock of Roxy Music and the greasy melodrama of retro Latin popstars such as Sandro and Jose Jose. A defining moment in the history of the rock en espanol movement.

Ernesto Lechner
Glendale, California

Dude! I didn't even know there was a new album from them, so clearly I have not been following Mr. Cibula's comments as I ought, as he surely has heard this. I loved Jessico so this is a good sign...

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 19:23 (twenty-one years ago)

http://images.villagevoice.com/issues/0506/pjcovers/pjbrianwilson.jpg

"Whee! I was almost number one!"

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 19:24 (twenty-one years ago)

Are we going to do a thread this year where we post all of our submitted comments?

― Sean Carruthers (SeanC), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 19:25 (twenty-one years ago)

Wow, two of the records I voted for wound up in the top 40 this time (Björk at #18, Ghostface at #32). That's a first. As usual, I was the only voter for almost half my list (Anata, Decapitated, Electric Wizard and Necrophagist). Good to see some other folks supporting Pig Destroyer!

― pdf (Phil Freeman), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 19:25 (twenty-one years ago)

Incredibly, I think I'm getting burned out on lists.

― MindInRewind (Barry Bruner), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 19:25 (twenty-one years ago)

List the reasons why.

― Sean Carruthers (SeanC), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 19:28 (twenty-one years ago)

This is my first P&J, is it normal to feel kinda smiley cos stuff I voted for made the list?

― Matthew "Flux" Perpetua, Tuesday, 8 February 2005 19:29 (twenty-one years ago)

No. I always hate myself when that happens.

― Mr Deeds (Mr Deeds), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 19:34 (twenty-one years ago)

Surprised that I was the only voter for Sean Paul's "I'm Still in Love with You," which seemed like a pretty big hit here in San Diego, at least. (Yeah, it was out prior to the beginning of the year, but it didn't really become a big radio song until spring/early summer.) Also, I was one of only two who voted for Postal Service's "Such Great Heights" on singles ballot. It had some votes last year, but didn't break through on radio til this year (at least in my home town).

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 19:38 (twenty-one years ago)

USE OTHER EXOTIC FETISHIZATIONS PLEASE

uh, I think he used them all--and I think that was his entire point.

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 19:38 (twenty-one years ago)

*checks* Ah, you're right, I missed the 'scientist's lab' comment -- but it still doesn't sit right with me even with that. In fact I think it makes it worse!

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 19:41 (twenty-one years ago)

here's a p&j easter egg for ya

http://www.villagevoice.com/specials/pazznjop/04/critic.php?criticid=4711

― Nick Sylvester, Tuesday, 8 February 2005 19:42 (twenty-one years ago)

yup -- if he's scoffing at critics for lapping that stuff up, why does "that stuff" make up 80 percent of the paragraph?

― stockholm cindy's secret childhood (Jody Beth Rosen), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 19:43 (twenty-one years ago)

http://www.villagevoice.com/specials/pazznjop/04/critic.php?criticid=2028

take note of his #1

GOD I'VE BEEN DYING TO TELL ALL YOU GUYS THIS STUFF

― Nick Sylvester, Tuesday, 8 February 2005 19:47 (twenty-one years ago)

well, Will is a friend (and my editor at Tracks); he's also one of the most broadly knowledgeable writers I now, especially when it comes to non-western music, and he's not prone to other-fetishization as a rule. so I have a hard time seeing it as that.

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 19:48 (twenty-one years ago)

As if Christgau's taste wasn't highly suspect already, Encore as his #6 of the year is baffling and pathetic.

― polyphonic (polyphonic), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 19:49 (twenty-one years ago)

How is Tracks doing? I actually corresponded with Alan Light briefly by e-mail after seeing him at SXSW last year, but then never pitched anything.

― Mr Deeds (Mr Deeds), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 19:50 (twenty-one years ago)

Courtney, give me a call when you're ready to follow Kurt's path up to the pearly gates. I'll supply the bullets.

Fred Mills
Wadesboro, North Carolina

Oh sweet Jesus.

― Michael Daddino (epicharmus), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 19:50 (twenty-one years ago)

fred also said he hates singles.

― stockholm cindy's secret childhood (Jody Beth Rosen), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 19:50 (twenty-one years ago)

I guess it's in the middle of being sold, Deeds, but I don't know much more about it than that.

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 19:51 (twenty-one years ago)

God I hate Joshua Clover/Jane Dark/Felizitas

― miccio (miccio), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 19:52 (twenty-one years ago)

Nick, J. Neo gives a decent explanation as to why he nominated his album in his list in one of the comment areas (though, after typing that, I imagine YOU don't need me to tell you that, as you, like, worked on the list & such).

― David R. (popshots75`), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 19:53 (twenty-one years ago)

If only one could choke to death on their own meta

(x-post)

― miccio (miccio), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 19:53 (twenty-one years ago)

I find it impossible to keep my music and my politics separated, 'cause both of them are intimately connected to my general sense of horrible anxiety.

― Michael Daddino (epicharmus), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 19:54 (twenty-one years ago)

Fred Mills is a fucking turbodouche.

I hope he finds that via Google. He needs to know.

― Matthew "Flux" Perpetua, Tuesday, 8 February 2005 19:54 (twenty-one years ago)

Matos, sold? To who?

― Mr Deeds (Mr Deeds), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 19:55 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm more surprised Xgua would print Mills' stuff then that someone would write it. Maybe its a tokeny thing so that the whole thing isn't so nakedly xgau-speaking-thru-us

― miccio (miccio), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 19:56 (twenty-one years ago)

Beastie Boys at No. 148? Love it. I couldn't stand that album.

― Mr Deeds (Mr Deeds), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 19:56 (twenty-one years ago)

actually i did some research on clover's ballot, this is what i found:

iTunes 4.7 minipink smart playlist=Van Lear Rose

Toast Lite 5.2 Critical Karaoke comp= Speicher 2 (out of order)

Danger Mouse The Grey Album= College Dropout

― Nick Sylvester, Tuesday, 8 February 2005 19:57 (twenty-one years ago)

November 3 was only the second time that I felt too depressed to listen to music. The first time? September 11.

Amy Phillips
Brooklyn, New York

What a retard.

― don weiner, Tuesday, 8 February 2005 19:57 (twenty-one years ago)

re: j neo -- you weren't supposed to find his comment until AFTER you saw my post! (i agree though)

― Nick Sylvester, Tuesday, 8 February 2005 19:58 (twenty-one years ago)

don't know who, Deeds. someone who wants to keep it rolling as is, presumably/hopefully.

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 20:01 (twenty-one years ago)

well, Will is a friend (and my editor at Tracks); he's also one of the most broadly knowledgeable writers I now, especially when it comes to non-western music, and he's not prone to other-fetishization as a rule. so I have a hard time seeing it as that.

Well, I trust your take on him, certainly -- but I think it was poorly phrased. He might have been making a joke on such constructions, it's just not that funny in the end (not that I'm innocent of bad jokes or anything).

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 20:01 (twenty-one years ago)

I don't get this:

"Hey Ya" - 322 points last year
"Roses" - 8 points this year

I think "Roses" might actually be a better song.

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 20:02 (twenty-one years ago)

only me and you voted for "Y Control" and everybody else voted for "Maps" dude! (Though I'm not shocked)

― miccio (miccio), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 20:03 (twenty-one years ago)

Scissor Sisters are gayer than Elton John's bathroom. Franz Ferdinand would take it in the ass for a song as good as the staggering Elton ripoff "Take Your Mama."

Rob Tannenbaum
Manhattan

meooowwwwww

― don weiner, Tuesday, 8 February 2005 20:06 (twenty-one years ago)

Joshua Clover: "CDs are antiquated! Just like fax machines!"
Me: "I work in an office. You are TALKING OUT OF YOUR ASS."

― Stupornaut (natepatrin), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 20:06 (twenty-one years ago)

One thing that I AM shocked by is the total lack of love for the annoyingly bland Los Lonely Boys. Somehow, I figured more than two shmucks would vote for them.

― Mr Deeds (Mr Deeds), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 20:07 (twenty-one years ago)

i just want to point out that i voted for only 'happy people,' and not 'u saved me,' and i voted for both 'doll in the box' and 'sleep it off.' ah well.

― maura (maura), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 20:07 (twenty-one years ago)

fair enough, Ned

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 20:08 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah, but "Roses" is a 2003 song, even if it is a 2004 single. Most people probably just figured that they got their Outkast vote in last year with the album.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 20:08 (twenty-one years ago)

I can proudly state that the RIAA did not make one cent off me this year. I did not buy any new major-label albums. Now if only I could shake that pesky Clear Channel . . .

Amy Phillips
Brooklyn, New York

This woman has no idea what she is talking about.

― don weiner, Tuesday, 8 February 2005 20:09 (twenty-one years ago)

I knew Neo in SF, was close to some of his good friends. Hope the album is good. (A friend burned it for me, but I haven't gotten to it yet.)

The Jacki-O song that Joshua voted for is real good.

― Frank Kogan (Frank Kogan), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 20:10 (twenty-one years ago)

The anti-rockist argument is what happens when the same bourgeois elitism that animates rockism shares a crack pipe with reverse snobbery.
Glen Kenny, Brooklyn, New York

KILL IT WITH NAPALM

― Stupornaut (natepatrin), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 20:11 (twenty-one years ago)

When I read about Elliott Smith's suicide, I was engulfed in anger. Another one gave up and let the side down, just like Kurt Cobain, and I'm sick of it. We need peers to be proud of, artists who can communicate deep emotional truths and infuse our culture with the empathy that's been sucked out of it by our corporate media.

J Neo Marvin
San Francisco, California

That dastardly corporate media strikes again!

― don weiner, Tuesday, 8 February 2005 20:11 (twenty-one years ago)

glenn is three times the critic any of us will ever be, tho

― Jams Murphy (ystrickler), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 20:13 (twenty-one years ago)

(and don, don't stop!)

― Jams Murphy (ystrickler), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 20:13 (twenty-one years ago)

Well what a shitty Christmas.

Of course you'd write about political stuff--second year in a row there's been a whole comments section devoted to it!

Hey, I got a P&Jwhack--Strong Bad Sings! Yay. Although, boo. Great album.

― Eppy (Eppy), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 20:15 (twenty-one years ago)

The comments section wasn't as good this year.

― don weiner, Tuesday, 8 February 2005 20:20 (twenty-one years ago)

I purposely didn't look at last year's comments cuz I didn't want to write the kind of quotes that I knew would get quoted.

― jaymc (jaymc), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 20:22 (twenty-one years ago)

Heh.

― Mr Deeds (Mr Deeds), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 20:23 (twenty-one years ago)

I hate the comments sections. It's funny how even writers I like end up sounding like annoying chuckleheads.

― Leon the Fatboy (Ex Leon), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 20:25 (twenty-one years ago)

I intentionally phrased everything in chucklehead form.

― miccio (miccio), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 20:30 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah, you sorta have to.

― Eppy (Eppy), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 20:30 (twenty-one years ago)

I have personally seen Amy Phillips buying CD-Rs! Over the course of a year that's gotta add up to a dollar or two RIAA-ward.

― nabisco (nabisco), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 20:32 (twenty-one years ago)

OWNED!

― teeny (teeny), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 20:59 (twenty-one years ago)

But but but Teeny you worked for a station that had something to do with Clear Channel and so you are a horrible person who should never never be doing nice things.

Er, wait.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 21:00 (twenty-one years ago)

I guess Amy Phillips, whoever she is, wasn't too depressed to listen to music the day Kerry said he still would've voted to authorize the war.

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 21:17 (twenty-one years ago)

I have no hatorade for Amy this year! Possibly because she's my friend on Friendster now. Maybe I'm biased.

― miccio (miccio), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 21:22 (twenty-one years ago)

Jimmy Draper: Real person or rockrit robot devised by NOW?

http://www.villagevoice.com/specials/pazznjop/04/critic.php?criticid=3170
http://www.villagevoice.com/specials/pazznjop/03/critic.php?criticid=3170
http://www.villagevoice.com/specials/pazznjop/02/critic.php?criticid=3170
http://www.villagevoice.com/specials/pazznjop/01/critic.php?criticid=3170

― asl, Tuesday, 8 February 2005 21:28 (twenty-one years ago)

amy is just alright with me!

not sure what asl's point is

― j blount (papa la bas), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 21:34 (twenty-one years ago)

re blount's last post: ditto

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 21:39 (twenty-one years ago)

It's good to see, judging from the Personals, I didn;t have have that bad a year after all. :-)

― Chris O., Tuesday, 8 February 2005 21:40 (twenty-one years ago)

The Jesus section in the comments is terrific, btw.

― Chris O., Tuesday, 8 February 2005 21:41 (twenty-one years ago)

S. Cindy, i voted for Princess Nicotine too, and if i coulda just stuck an entire label up as my number one, it woulda been Sublime Frequencies...

― Beta (abeta), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 21:45 (twenty-one years ago)

have you guys heard the new Sublime Frequency stuff, like Radio Sumatra? Maybe we should do another thread for this.

― The Obligatory Sourpuss (Begs2Differ), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 21:50 (twenty-one years ago)

xpost to jblount

point is, why apply a gender test to your ballot?

then again, why apply any test beyond "is it good"?

― asl, Tuesday, 8 February 2005 21:52 (twenty-one years ago)

Because essay tests are a bitch to grade?

― David R. (popshots75`), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 21:53 (twenty-one years ago)

i'm sorry, who exactly is applying a gender test to their ballot?

― j blount (papa la bas), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 21:54 (twenty-one years ago)

You know, maybe he's not doing it out of a sense of gender parity (like that's a horrble sin) -- maybe he's just inordinately fond of women's voices. I've known a couple guys like that...all gay, fwiw.

― Michael Daddino (epicharmus), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 21:57 (twenty-one years ago)

bad critic, voting for women! shame on you! etc.

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 21:58 (twenty-one years ago)

his ballots are 30-40% male too, but clearly NOT ENOUGH - who's he trying to fool?

― j blount (papa la bas), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 22:00 (twenty-one years ago)

I skew all my votes to mealworms, grubs and chiggers.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 22:00 (twenty-one years ago)

racist

― stockholm cindy's secret childhood (Jody Beth Rosen), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 22:03 (twenty-one years ago)

byron crawford's gonna be all over you for that chigger remark ned

― j blount (papa la bas), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 22:05 (twenty-one years ago)

have you guys heard the new Sublime Frequency stuff, like Radio Sumatra? Maybe we should do another thread for this.

the titles have had my mouth watering; once i get my computer working again i'm gonna investigate.

― stockholm cindy's secret childhood (Jody Beth Rosen), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 22:06 (twenty-one years ago)

I actually like the new SF stuff more than the earlier ones I heard (which isn't all of them, on either side of the old/new dividing line). faves so far are Streets Of Lhasa, Radio Phnom Penh, Folk and Pop Sounds of Sumatra Vol. 2, and especially Molam: Thai Country Groove from Isan.

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 22:10 (twenty-one years ago)

find someone else who voted a 95% female ticket for 4 years running, then i'll concede it's not worthy of comment

or don't

― asl, Tuesday, 8 February 2005 22:12 (twenty-one years ago)

fight the power!

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 22:13 (twenty-one years ago)

find someone who voted for a 95% female ticket this year asl!

― j blount (papa la bas), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 22:14 (twenty-one years ago)

SHOW ME BITCH

― j blount (papa la bas), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 22:14 (twenty-one years ago)

racist

You're one of those frog activists, aren't you?

byron crawford's gonna be all over you for that chigger remark ned

I will stand for what is right!

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 22:15 (twenty-one years ago)

why are people here so near obsessed about this pazz and jop(the name!) thing? where's the fun in lists that are so predictable they'll make you consider reading nme's lists?

― Lovelace, Tuesday, 8 February 2005 22:22 (twenty-one years ago)

now bylaws demand it of us

― j blount (papa la bas), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 22:25 (twenty-one years ago)

Well, Lovelace...

1. It's got history on its side -- this is the 31st (or 32nd) year of its existence -- which lends it legitimacy.

2. No other critics poll anywhere surveys ~800 people, which makes it a pretty reliable indicator of tastes and trends from year to year.

3. Lots of us participated in it.

― jaymc (jaymc), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 22:27 (twenty-one years ago)

the nme lists are pretty much 'here's some rock. here's some more rock.' right? at least 10% of the p&j ballots aren't that (some people are even ~~brainwashed~~ crazy enough to vote for chicks if you can believe it!)

― j blount (papa la bas), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 22:30 (twenty-one years ago)

regarding your 3rd reason: I always forget how many writers flock to this place. and it's the only reason I can "accept"(cause I dont care about history or how many people participate when the result is so boring).

― Lovelace, Tuesday, 8 February 2005 22:33 (twenty-one years ago)

but clearly you do care!

― j blount (papa la bas), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 22:33 (twenty-one years ago)

oh gaaawd. okay, I really, really care.

― Lovelace, Tuesday, 8 February 2005 22:36 (twenty-one years ago)

Re "boring": I guess it depends on whether you look to P&J as some sort of "tastemaker" list (which is sort of impossible given the vast number of people, with different backgrounds and attitudes, voting -- as opposed to, say, the NME, where there's a clear editorial voice at work) or whether you see it as a sociological document and are interested in it on those terms.

― jaymc (jaymc), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 22:39 (twenty-one years ago)

I think I'm going to do my radio show this weekend about P&J, focusing on artists from the Top 20 that I didn't vote for. That should be enlightening. At least for me.

― Mr Deeds (Mr Deeds), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 22:44 (twenty-one years ago)

Wasn't there some ingenious blogger couple years ago who made a P&J search thingy where you could find the cri-hic whose taste most matched yours, or did i dream it?

I will have to make C Herrington my tentative homie for voting for Langford, Kimya, Loretta and the Streets...

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 22:45 (twenty-one years ago)

glenn probably yeah?

― j blount (papa la bas), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 22:46 (twenty-one years ago)

Matos likes 4/6 of the new Sublime Frequencies titles so far. and granted, getting six at a time is like beer-bonging lemongrass or something. very overwhelming and brain-burning. but that's prob'ly why i love them so much. think i have comments somewhere to that effect...

― Beta (abeta), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 22:47 (twenty-one years ago)

I think the online version is a sort of tastemaker list. What I do is take the albums I care most about, or the ones I like that were chosen by the fewest voters, and look at the lists of the critics who voted for them. So far, lists that include the Hold Steady and Madvillain have been pretty great.

― Pete Scholtes, Tuesday, 8 February 2005 22:55 (twenty-one years ago)

Y'know, Madvillain's high placement is the 2nd biggest surprise to me, after Franz Ferdinand's. Somehow it's more unexpected to find people genuinely enthusiastic about things I was indifferent toward than things I either hated or never heard of. Madvillain's fine, but it's one of those albums that disappears before my very ears. (Not as quickly as the Grey Album does tho, I'll give it that.)

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 23:09 (twenty-one years ago)

(but hell I had RJD2 on my list so who'm I to talk?)

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 23:12 (twenty-one years ago)

yeah the overall results are sorta more 'groan' or 'really?' or maybe 'go figure - yay!'. the essays are the only time to see something music lengthy in the voice nowadays (and even then only if you're xgau eek), the dean's list is fun, individual ballots are good for tipoffs. here's an idea for a game btw: find a ballot without a connection to a single (other) ilxor. trife came very very close.

― j blount (papa la bas), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 23:16 (twenty-one years ago)

Not enough love for "Charlene," "Pieces of Me" and "1,2 Step."

― milozauckerman (miloaukerman), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 23:16 (twenty-one years ago)

glenn probably yeah?

it was glenn, yes.

― don weiner, Tuesday, 8 February 2005 23:16 (twenty-one years ago)

"1,2 step" maybe too late in the year - i was pleased it did as well as it did. five minutes after sending my ballot in i remembered i forgot "charlene".

― j blount (papa la bas), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 23:18 (twenty-one years ago)

I've just discovered the City Pages-iest album ever!

― Stupornaut (natepatrin), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 23:28 (twenty-one years ago)

(well, OK, besides Hold Steady)

― Stupornaut (natepatrin), Tuesday, 8 February 2005 23:31 (twenty-one years ago)

I feel left out since I came THIS CLOSE to voting for Devin the Dude (and once wrote regularly for City Pages)

― chris herrington (chris herrington), Wednesday, 9 February 2005 00:04 (twenty-one years ago)

If memory serves, wasn't Xgau's essay last year exceedingly bitchy? I guess the poll results of this year chilled him out a little, for some reason, since I could actually make it through the whole thing without thinking I was being called an idiot (even if this year he calls all Americans idiots, and even if he curiously refers to Americans as "they" rather than "we").

― Josh in Chicago (Josh in Chicago), Wednesday, 9 February 2005 00:06 (twenty-one years ago)

Not enough love for "Charlene," "Pieces of Me" and "1,2 Step."

you didn't see my ballot, two out of three ain't bad

― The Obligatory Sourpuss (Begs2Differ), Wednesday, 9 February 2005 01:16 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm the only one who voted for "Love Rhymes With Hideous Car Wreck" by Blood Brothers? Come on, I'm the rap guy, how am I the only one to get that right?

― Rollie Pemberton (Rollie Pemberton), Wednesday, 9 February 2005 01:29 (twenty-one years ago)

People whose tastes most closely mirror mine: Geoff Himes, Jessica Hopper. And, like, no one else really. But that's some high praise for me.

― The Obligatory Sourpuss (Begs2Differ), Wednesday, 9 February 2005 01:31 (twenty-one years ago)

I noticed yours (I think you're also the only other poster to even mention "Charlene" on ILX). I think you and Blount are the only ballots that would be close to mine.

Jimmy Draper's singles ballot was good, except for the Northern State inclusion.

― milozauckerman (miloaukerman), Wednesday, 9 February 2005 01:34 (twenty-one years ago)

hey blount, how in tarnation did you get a ballot?

― miccio (miccio), Wednesday, 9 February 2005 02:14 (twenty-one years ago)

KEEP COOL SON

― j blount (papa la bas), Wednesday, 9 February 2005 02:26 (twenty-one years ago)

Hahaha.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 9 February 2005 02:27 (twenty-one years ago)

beta less beer-bonging lemongrass plz

― Nick Sylvester, Wednesday, 9 February 2005 02:48 (twenty-one years ago)

yay! 3 comments in for me!

ok now I'll read the thread.

― Sterling Clover (s_clover), Wednesday, 9 February 2005 02:50 (twenty-one years ago)

"Charlene"

wait, the "i've never been to me" charlene?

― stockholm cindy's secret childhood (Jody Beth Rosen), Wednesday, 9 February 2005 02:53 (twenty-one years ago)

never mind. in the future, i'll actually read before i post.

― stockholm cindy's secret childhood (Jody Beth Rosen), Wednesday, 9 February 2005 02:54 (twenty-one years ago)

no, it's better this way. actually, i could see anthony hamilton covering "i've never been to me"

― The Obligatory Sourpuss (Begs2Differ), Wednesday, 9 February 2005 03:02 (twenty-one years ago)

I did notice that Xgau's essay seemed a less dense read; it scanned quite easily. As someone who loves him precisely because his prose accretes into impressive bulges that force you to reconsider what you've just read, it's an interesting development.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Wednesday, 9 February 2005 03:05 (twenty-one years ago)

haha:

I'll bet Condoleezza Rice does the Kanye West workout tape.

Darrell McNeill
Brooklyn, New York

― Sterling Clover (s_clover), Wednesday, 9 February 2005 03:16 (twenty-one years ago)

> anthony hamilton covering "i've never been to me"

If he's been undressed by kings then my life is not so empty after all.

― Joseph McCombs (Joseph McCombs), Wednesday, 9 February 2005 03:22 (twenty-one years ago)

It didn't sink in for me until this afternoon while I was driving: Franz Ferdinand fucking won Pazz and Jop! That's quite awesome!

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Wednesday, 9 February 2005 03:37 (twenty-one years ago)

I hope twas runs the stats again even tho it closed up.

― Sterling Clover (s_clover), Wednesday, 9 February 2005 04:06 (twenty-one years ago)

ilx classix feat. critical meltdown by yrs. truly:

P&J stats

― Sterling Clover (s_clover), Wednesday, 9 February 2005 04:25 (twenty-one years ago)

I was hoping for more votes for Rio Baile Funk: Favela Booty Beats. Did folks not like it, or could they not find it? So much for downloading...

― steve-k, Wednesday, 9 February 2005 04:49 (twenty-one years ago)

"Hey Ya" - 322 points last year
"Roses" - 8 points this year

I think "Roses" might actually be a better song.

Well, "Hey Ya" only got two votes this year, so "Roses" is clearly 4 times better at the last count.

― OleM (OleM), Wednesday, 9 February 2005 11:23 (twenty-one years ago)

meta-meta rappin about rappin...
this thread is better reading than the actual P&J stuff by so much it's not funny. (and I voted in the damn thing for 15 yrs w/o ever submitting comments so take that w/ salt & lime slices).

― lovebug starski (lovebug starski), Wednesday, 9 February 2005 11:47 (twenty-one years ago)

It's all in the give and take.

I have a dumb query -- would it be possible in future for them to include everyone's comments with their ballots? (Or are they in fact there in links and I've completely missed them!)

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 9 February 2005 13:54 (twenty-one years ago)

this year's p&j comments were very disappointing (except for, you know, the good ones). sorry amy phillips, i know everyone likes you now, but you still can't write.

― stockholm cindy's secret childhood (Jody Beth Rosen), Wednesday, 9 February 2005 14:29 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah, not that my comments were any screaming hell (thus none of them being used), but I did find that there was a certain facelessness to a lot of them that were used. Maybe I'm just being all sour grapes and shit though.

― Sean Carruthers (SeanC), Wednesday, 9 February 2005 14:47 (twenty-one years ago)

Are Armond White and Stephanie Zacharek the only voters best known as film critics? Dennis Cooper primarily as a novelist?

(Morrissey no surprise as Armond's #1. Next year it'll be the Wedding Present... What does Zacharek mean voting for "2046"? A soundtrack?)

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 9 February 2005 16:10 (twenty-one years ago)

glenn kenny, too, morbs

― Jams Murphy (ystrickler), Wednesday, 9 February 2005 16:15 (twenty-one years ago)

this year's p&j comments were very disappointing (except for, you know, the good ones). sorry amy phillips, i know everyone likes you now, but you still can't write.

Yeah, there were very few that seemed interesting or insightful this year.

― Leon the Fatboy (Ex Leon), Wednesday, 9 February 2005 16:17 (twenty-one years ago)

Are Armond White and Stephanie Zacharek the only voters best known as film critics?

Also Dennis Lim.

― jaymc (jaymc), Wednesday, 9 February 2005 16:19 (twenty-one years ago)

"sorry amy phillips, i know everyone likes you now, but you still can't write. "

er, yes she can.

and nothing anybody says on this thread suggests otherwise.

― live from kazakhstan, Wednesday, 9 February 2005 19:19 (twenty-one years ago)

Speakin of movis, me hate when writers seem to try to mimic movie trailers:

"In a year when..."

― Eric H. (Eric H.), Wednesday, 9 February 2005 19:30 (twenty-one years ago)

omg eric h i am now going to read every paragraph in that voice I KISS YOU

― miccio (miccio), Wednesday, 9 February 2005 19:34 (twenty-one years ago)

i know a few years back Nick Catucci and Christian Hoard put together a fake ballot for kixx, and all the comments were like "in a year when..." and "i'm not a rap guy, but..." and "missy elliott is the eddie vedder of female emcees" etc. yikes though, all that cross-genre comparison stuff got so played out this year too, everyone had at least one ("cam'ron is more freak-folk than newsom" is my new fave, thx beta)

― Nick Sylvester, Wednesday, 9 February 2005 19:39 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm reading Christgau's piece now in that voice! Hellious hilarity!

― Eric H. (Eric H.), Wednesday, 9 February 2005 19:40 (twenty-one years ago)

OMG!

Christgau-the-movie-trailer-guy: "In a year when pop musicians politicized with unprecedented unanimity... American Idiot was the sole Top 10 album to take a protesty tack, and got much love for it."

Starts out The Chronicles of Riddick and ends up Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

― Eric H. (Eric H.), Wednesday, 9 February 2005 19:42 (twenty-one years ago)

If only the pazz and jop had more people running away from explosions.

― Leon the Fatboy (Ex Leon), Wednesday, 9 February 2005 19:43 (twenty-one years ago)

Christgau again: "If the world wasn't coming to an end, this might equal reason to be cheerful."

― Eric H. (Eric H.), Wednesday, 9 February 2005 19:45 (twenty-one years ago)

too bad he didn't phrase it, "in a world where the world is coming to an end..."

― fact checking cuz (fcc), Wednesday, 9 February 2005 19:47 (twenty-one years ago)

And where has Greil Marcus been? Probably hiding in shame after voting for his number-one single.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Wednesday, 9 February 2005 20:10 (twenty-one years ago)

that is sorta odd!

― j blount (papa la bas), Wednesday, 9 February 2005 20:16 (twenty-one years ago)

How bout, "In a world where the world may or may not be coming to an end ..."

― Chris O., Wednesday, 9 February 2005 20:42 (twenty-one years ago)

And where has Greil Marcus been? Probably hiding in shame after voting for his number-one single

True, but how have I not been alerted until now to the fact that William Shatner has a cover of "Common People"?

― o. nate (onate), Wednesday, 9 February 2005 20:48 (twenty-one years ago)

Bob must've seen some "protesty tack" in the hardware store.

>Xgau's ... prose accretes into impressive bulges

Bulges, yes. Impressive or bilious?

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 9 February 2005 21:00 (twenty-one years ago)

> a few years back Nick Catucci and Christian Hoard put together a fake ballot for kixx<

Dear Chuck (and Robert),

Another year, another ballot! (Is it that time again?) And what a year it was—thanks to you, Chuck, I finally made it into the Voice music section. There was that 60-word review of Scarface (NOT Al Pacino, I learned soon after the assignment, but a former "Ghetto Boy"), and then 2500 words worth (wasn't he a poet? haw haw) of Celine Dion analysis: if most people get to put in their two cents, I got to put in a whole dollar! Of course, it figures that my writing career would begin taking off just when my band got its first gig. Everyone knows that we music journalists are just frustrated musicians who smear the stars with sour grapes, and it has always been my hope to become a real person by joining a succesful bar band. Well, they might not've served alcohol there, but, lemme tell you, those folks in the Howard Johnson were drunk on my fleet-fingered blues lickin'! Anyhow, a smeared byline in the Voice looks sorta like a name on a back-lit marquee, if you squint at it, and I sure appreciated the chance to make more money.

Anyhow, 2002 is in the books, and I'm pleased as punch we made it through the year without a single major act of terrorism on our shores—not including the Avril Lavigne's dive-bombing of the pop charts, of course! I swear, between Swedish guitar bands becoming the new teenpop androids and my wife leaving me, I felt as out of place as a muppet in a Weezer video most of this year. Thank god the Strokes, Ryan Adams and the Chili Peppers (and let's not forget the Boss) proved rock wasn't dead after all—it was just hiding in a cave in Afghanistan! Thanks also to Missy and Nelly, eclectic, forward-thinking rap stars whose indomitable sass penetrated my darkest hours and made me say, "Crack a window—it's getting hot in herre!"

Rock on,
Kevin McFrench

Nick Catucci
Brooklyn, New York
Christian Hoard
Manhattan

― p&j poobah 2, Wednesday, 9 February 2005 21:04 (twenty-one years ago)

Hi Chuck and Robert! Thanks as always for the invitation to vote. Hope this submission finds you well—and in shape to actually mail me a copy of Pazz & Jop as promised! Anyway, after a few tallboys and much soul/CD searching, I've contrived/arrived at my Top Tens and—yeesh!—not a year too soon.

PERSONAL INFO—per(sonal) the Poobahs' request:
Age: Over 20
Address: 3 Plain Lane, Cleveland, OH 14321
Phone: (937) 782-9391
Email: rockandroll@plaindealer.com
SSN (Not that you'll print any of this, but hey!): 937-78-2939
Still white, still male, still heterosexual—and still wishing I had a fatter paycheck! I've written for the Cleveland Plain Dealer nigh on 15 years now and am beginning to wonder whether pop music is as bad as I proclaim it is in my weekly column, or if I'm losing touch. My daughter opts for the former, and I'd have to say I do, too, haw haw! I mean, c'mon, between that floozy Britney and all this "bling-bling" stuff, everything the Rolling Stones stood for has been smudged beyond recognition, like a fresh Dealer after a thorough reading. I can't claim to know much about "keeping it real," but I'll f'sure tell you that Bob Dylan and Alicia Keys can. The knock-knock joke-crackin' trickster and proud young sister give a geezer hope. Don't get me wrong; I've got an open ear cocked toward trendy acts like Bush and—my daughter's fave—Eve 6. But man cannot live on airheads alone! Anyway, it's always been my dream to write for the Voice. Let me know if you're ever in a bind and could use a review or three!

COMMENTS: It's 2002—is teenpop dead yet??
Blonde Joke: Someone should tell Pink to change her name, now that her hair is blonde!
Moulin Rouge—Video, or semi-pornographic musical accompaniment? Eve and Gwen Stefani's "Let Me Blow Ya Mind"—Are you thinking what I'm thinking?
Bubba Sparxxx—Bill Clinton's long-lost brother?
Is anyone else having trouble keeping track of these remixes?
The Strokes—"Hey Dad, can I be in a cool band?"
Bob Dylan—The new Dylan?
Jakob Dylan—The new '80s Dylan?
Lost: Electronica
Found: Disco (Ouch, I know)
Someone to Chase These Boybands off the Charts—Wanted!
Osama Bin Laden—Also wanted!
Anthrax (the band)—Feeling pretty weird right now
Daft Punk—Not punk, but possibly daft
Jay-Z—Stabby McStab Stab
September 11th—What's up with that?!

America: A Tribute to Heroes (Uni/Joint Network)
Bob Dylan, "Love and Theft" (Columbia)
Lucinda Williams, Essence (Lost Highway)
Alicia Keys, Songs In A Minor (J Records)
O Brother, Where Art Thou? (Mercury/Lost Highway)
Joe Henry, Scar (Mammoth)
Pete Yorn, musicforthemorningafter (Columbia)
Dolly Parton, Little Sparrow (Sugar Hill)
Ben Folds, Rockin' the Suburbs (Epic)
John Mellencamp, Cuttin' Heads (Columbia)

Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott, "Get Ur Freak On" (Elektra)
Alicia Keys, "Fallin'" (J Records)
Ryan Adams, "New York, New York" (Lost Highway)
U2, "Walk On" (Interscope)
Afroman, "Because I Got High" (Universal)
U2, "Stuck In a Moment You Can't Get Out Of" (Interscope)
Train, "Drops of Jupiter" (Columbia)
Lifehouse, "Hanging By a Moment" (DreamWorks)
Incubus, "Drive" (Immortal/Epic)
U2, "Elevation" (Interscope)

Cheers!
Kevin McFrench

Nick Catucci
Brooklyn, New York

― p& poobah 2, Wednesday, 9 February 2005 21:07 (twenty-one years ago)

True, but how have I not been alerted until now to the fact that William Shatner has a cover of "Common People"?

Weird, I thought that this was common knowledge by now...anyhow, I was very very skeptical of it, but it ended up as my #2 single of the year...some further comment about it over on Post your Pazz'n'Jop 2004 Comments HERE

― Sean Carruthers (SeanC), Wednesday, 9 February 2005 21:10 (twenty-one years ago)

don't put people's SSNs up here, man, that's not cool. mods, plz delete that part, okay?

― The Obligatory Sourpuss (Begs2Differ), Wednesday, 9 February 2005 21:22 (twenty-one years ago)

it's not a real person (or ssn), sourpuss, jeez!

― p&j poobah 2, Wednesday, 9 February 2005 21:23 (twenty-one years ago)

(that was a fictional reaction to a fictional character, I think)

xpost!

― The Obligatory Sourpuss (Begs2Differ), Wednesday, 9 February 2005 21:24 (twenty-one years ago)

"Stabby McStab Stab"

― Joseph McCombs (Joseph McCombs), Wednesday, 9 February 2005 22:20 (twenty-one years ago)

I was prepared to express pleasure over no one having "Coin Operated Boy" on their singles list, but one person did.

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Thursday, 10 February 2005 00:49 (twenty-one years ago)

For anyone who cares, my first-ever Personal Pazz & Jop Index can be found here. I'd love to see others' renditions of the theme!

― philip sherburne (philip sherburne), Thursday, 10 February 2005 05:34 (twenty-one years ago)

for the second year in a row, dammit, they have failed to make this a pullout section in the print edition and i hate them for that. dear village voice, please hire a designer who has at least rudimentary skills in practical newspaper design. thank you.

― fact checking cuz (fcc), Thursday, 10 February 2005 05:45 (twenty-one years ago)

To me, the Dirty South rappers are movie monsters who deserve equal billing. David Banner. Roar! Bonecrusher. Grrrr. Ying Yang Twins. Slash! Lil' Flip. (Cue evil Lex Luther laugh.) These guys should form a Superfriends organization and release an album under one name. Call 'em the Anger League or something.

Christopher O'Connor
Syracuse, New York

He could've saved a lot of time by just writing "Gosh, those guys sure are unhappy! Doggone if I don't get it!"

Instead he had to go and sound like a jackass.

― Forksclovetofu (Forksclovetofu), Thursday, 10 February 2005 14:01 (twenty-one years ago)

They're unhappy?

― Andrew Blood Thames (Andrew Thames), Thursday, 10 February 2005 14:02 (twenty-one years ago)

To echo something said much earlier, I really like the look of P&J this year. It avoids almost-illegible chic, and the layout is inviting.

― RS £aRue (rockist_scientist), Thursday, 10 February 2005 14:10 (twenty-one years ago)

Xpost:
I suppose that's the guy's point. The fact that he's so completely clueless that he conflates all these artists into one amalgam suggests to me that he just doesn't know what the hell he's looking at. That's fine if you don't get it; waving your hands above your head and screaming "I DON'T GET IT! AREN'T I PRECIOUS?" just makes you look like a dipshit.

― Forksclovetofu (Forksclovetofu), Thursday, 10 February 2005 14:20 (twenty-one years ago)

Ying Yang Twins are quite happy!

― miccio (miccio), Thursday, 10 February 2005 15:36 (twenty-one years ago)

how do you know he doesn't "get" it? he likes them! who gives a damn if he doesn't like the same thing about them that you like??

― live from kazakhstan, Thursday, 10 February 2005 17:34 (twenty-one years ago)

He could've saved a lot of time by just writing "Gosh, those guys sure are unhappy! Doggone if I don't get it!"

Instead he had to go and sound like a jackass.

Um, that was meant as a positive comment. ... I love the Dirty South ... I'm talking about the larger than life quality of the personas at work, which is what drives it.

So please, fuck you ... :-)

― Chris O., Thursday, 10 February 2005 17:35 (twenty-one years ago)

What do movie monsters do, btw? They take up the screen, they express themselves wildly and tear down and take over ...

Couldn;t you see Lil' Jon, banner and the Yin Yangs and Lil' Flip doing the same thing?

Get it now, dude?

― Chris O., Thursday, 10 February 2005 17:39 (twenty-one years ago)

"making a joke" = "sounding like a jackass," chris, duh! where have you been? southern rap must only be discussed in the most humorless manner available. or else. there is obviously nothing funny about it!

― live from kazakhstan, Thursday, 10 February 2005 17:40 (twenty-one years ago)

oh, of course. how careless of me to forget that the South is a existential theatre at its most intense ... ;-)

― Chris O., Thursday, 10 February 2005 17:42 (twenty-one years ago)

no shit. didn't you ever see the "never scared" vidio, forks??

― Jams Murphy (ystrickler), Thursday, 10 February 2005 17:42 (twenty-one years ago)

where are this year's critcal alignment stats - i can't find them!

― stelfox, Thursday, 10 February 2005 17:43 (twenty-one years ago)

There's a thread elsewhere on ILM with a link to Glenn's page.

― Chris O., Thursday, 10 February 2005 17:45 (twenty-one years ago)

which thread. i can't find it!

― stelfox, Thursday, 10 February 2005 17:55 (twenty-one years ago)

Something like "P& J stats."

― Chris O., Thursday, 10 February 2005 18:08 (twenty-one years ago)

P&J stats 2004

― Sean Carruthers (SeanC), Thursday, 10 February 2005 18:18 (twenty-one years ago)

This was a good comment, from Richard Torres of Brooklyn: "Annual lament: When are major U.S. publications going to wake up and give Spanish-language record releases the respect they deserve?"

Too bad he only had like three or four Spanish-language records out of 20 that he voted for! (Nina Sky and Luciana Torres and Gordo Jose y su Squad del Terror do not count.)

― The Obligatory Sourpuss (Begs2Differ), Thursday, 10 February 2005 18:30 (twenty-one years ago)

p&j poobah 2: for shame, posting the fake ballot/comment from 2002, whilst reading it took every effort I could muster to avoid breaking into wild, wild hyena-like laughter at work, which not only would have been very embarrassing but difficult to explain to anybody here.

― Raymond Cummings (Raymond Cummings), Thursday, 10 February 2005 18:52 (twenty-one years ago)

Are Armond White and Stephanie Zacharek the only voters best known as film critics?

I think Ken Tucker is a film critic now, but he was a TV critic for a long, long time, dating back to the 1980s with People and, until recently, with Entertainment Weekly.

― Vic Funk, Thursday, 10 February 2005 19:00 (twenty-one years ago)

Was anyone else surprised/shocked that Green Day finished so high on the albums poll? I didn’t realize so many people dug on American Idiot.

― Raymond Cummings (Raymond Cummings), Thursday, 10 February 2005 19:49 (twenty-one years ago)

"Annual lament: When are major U.S. publications going to wake up and give Spanish-language record releases the respect they deserve?"

The LA Times has Gus Gurza on that beat. He burps out a reviews column about once week, features more infrequently. The record reviews, however, appear reliably and along with Don Heckman's jazz reviews easily outnumber the pop reviews the Times publishes. And it doesn't publish many -- about four a week, only on Sunday. That's miniscule, even well below miniscule, compared to the size of the paper, its general scope and venue.

Gurza was in P&J in the past, maybe last year. Most of the Times' features staffers -- note, I said "staffers" -- who write about pop music don't appear to me to be in P&J. Maybe I'm mistaken. Hilburn is the only name that jumped out and anyone who reads him regularly could have predicted him in with the top scorers in the alignment stats.

― George Smith, Thursday, 10 February 2005 20:00 (twenty-one years ago)

This was a good comment, from Richard Torres of Brooklyn: "Annual lament: When are major U.S. publications going to wake up and give Spanish-language record releases the respect they deserve?"

Where was this? (In the comments in P&J? I didn't read every word of them.)

― RS £aRue (rockist_scientist), Thursday, 10 February 2005 20:25 (twenty-one years ago)

P&J sends ballots out to far more writers than actually reply; I personally know a couple people who write about music regularly who didn't vote this year.

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Thursday, 10 February 2005 20:29 (twenty-one years ago)

Too bad he only had like three or four Spanish-language records out of 20 that he voted for!

And two of those weren't too great really.

― RS £aRue (rockist_scientist), Thursday, 10 February 2005 20:31 (twenty-one years ago)

P&J sends ballots out to far more writers than actually reply; I personally know a couple people who write about music regularly who didn't vote this year.

Yeah, stands to reason.

― George Smith, Thursday, 10 February 2005 20:48 (twenty-one years ago)

Christgau never got the Incredible String Band. Maybe he didn't start receiving promo copies of their albums until '69 or '70 or so.

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Thursday, 10 February 2005 23:12 (twenty-one years ago)

Chuck Eddy responded to me last year here that he was gonna try to gather up US Latin music magazines, and "The Beat" world music magazine, and send ballots to some of their writers.

― steve-k, Friday, 11 February 2005 16:08 (twenty years ago)

Jizz & Slop

― latebloomer aka ashamed (latebloomer), Friday, 11 February 2005 16:19 (twenty years ago)

The Incredible String Band

Consumer Guide Reviews:
Changing Horses [Elektra, 1969]
The usual magic bullshit, often tedious but full of wondrous surprises. B+

Relics [Elektra, 1971]
Way back in the 1960s I tried to figure out whether these acoustic Scots were magic or bullshit and concluded that they were both. But lately they've lost something. Only two of the eighteen songs on this compilation postdate March 1968. Which seems fitting--they recorded "Way Back in the 1960s" in 1967. B+

(xpost)

― Sang Freud (jeff_s), Friday, 11 February 2005 16:55 (twenty years ago)

Chuck Eddy responded to me last year here that he was gonna try to gather up US Latin music magazines, and "The Beat" world music magazine, and send ballots to some of their writers.

There may have been some new writers like that this year (I haven't compared), but there's not enough interest from non-Latin-music-specialists, so the presence of some writers from Latin Beat or The Beat just ends up being diluted.

(What's that statistical breakdown thread called?)

― RS £aRue (rockist_scientist), Friday, 11 February 2005 17:11 (twenty years ago)

(Oh there's a link above--never mind.)

― RS £aRue (rockist_scientist), Friday, 11 February 2005 17:12 (twenty years ago)

(stevek, check out who is at the bottom of this list, and what's on her ballot.)

― RS £aRue (rockist_scientist), Friday, 11 February 2005 17:13 (twenty years ago)

As a music retailer in the South, I agree with Chris: a lot of rappers and their audience (the ones I'm most familiar with)are among those whose taste in music is much influenced by monster/horror/sf/martial arts/anime and other movies.(And of course this goes back and forth: Robert Altman said that one of his best movies, McCabe And Mrs. Miller, came out of reveries induced by listeing to Leonard Cohen.) DVD sales soared as CDs fell. I think part of this was that DVDs were interactive, like video games. But also, the last couple years, I've met a lot more rappers, bedroom mixologists, etc., who are experimenting with affordable, user-friendly home-editing software, for music as well as video. So maybe music is catching up with movies, as far as influences on music go.

― don, Friday, 11 February 2005 17:38 (twenty years ago)

another voter who votes for mostly latin stuff:

http://www.villagevoice.com/specials/pazznjop/04/critic.php?criticid=3167

― chuck, Friday, 11 February 2005 18:15 (twenty years ago)

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