Dylan, Ninja, Kanye Appear On List Together
Thanks James for the heads up about this Londonist post. Sadly, it's now deblogged, but in case you missed it...
The site claimed to have seen evidence that NME's list of the top 50 albums of the year had been doctored, with less commercial stuff slipping down/off the list to make way for Oasis and Babyshambles. Then the real fun began: NME's editor, Conor McNicholas, joined the discussion, claiming bloggers are "highly subjective" and have no claims whatsoever to the "code of journalistic conduct." It then degenerated into a musical Watergate, with people weighing on the merits of protecting unnamed sources. Surreal.
Anyway, I wonder if they'll debate the veracity of NME's "Cool List" as well.
01. Alex Turner (Arctic Monkeys)Controversial! The CD is tops though.
02. Liam Gallagher (Oasis)
03. Kanye West
04. Antony (Antony and The Johnsons)
05. Brandon Flowers (The Killers)
06. Devendra Banhart
07. Pete Doherty (Babyshambles)
08. Jemina Pearl (Be Your Own Pet)
09. Bob Dylan
10. Carl Barat (Dirty Pretty Things)
11. Ian Brown
12. Damon Albarn (Blur/Gorillaz)
13. Ryan Jarman (The Cribs)
14. Julian Casablancas (The Strokes)
15. Ninja (Go! Team)
16. Paul Epworth
17. Billie Joe (Green Day)
18. Tom Atkin (The Paddingtons)
19. Henry Harrison (The Mystery Jets)
20. Gerard Way (My Chemical Romance)
Posted at 4:08 PM
Tags: Kanye West
Simply release cool with column inches dedicated to the bands and you're half way there.
If you missed Londonist pretty much said "NME may have chosen to publish a doctored version of the aforementioned poll." I would have expected editorial control but to have Connor McNicholas mouth of about blogs and journalistic integrity made me resent his awful excuse for a music magazine even more.
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Simply replace cool with column inches dedicated to the bands and you're half way there.
If you missed Londonist pretty much said "NME may have chosen to publish a doctored version of the aforementioned poll." I would have expected editorial control but to have Connor McNicholas mouth of about blogs and journalistic integrity made me resent his awful excuse for a music magazine even more.
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SCOOP - NME Album Of The Year
Today, NME publishes its annual Album Of The Year poll. For the benefit of our overseas readers, that's the New Musical Express, the UK's longest-running weekly music journal. The NME being the tastemakers that they are, this is a well-respected poll, with a coveted #1 spot. Well-respected, that is, until now...
It has come to our attention that this year, NME may have chosen to publish a doctored version of the aforementioned poll. According to our source, the list of albums printed in this week's publication does not reflect the opinions of its writers, as you might expect. Instead, we're told you'll find a heavily edited version which, we have on good faith, takes some commercial and political factors into consideration.
In the document we saw were the actual results of the poll, according to the votes of the NME staff, which we can now compare with the version that appears in today's NME.
We notice, for example, that Babyshambles appear at #9 in the published poll, despite fairing particularly badly in the 'genuine' poll. Dare we speculate that Mr. Doherty shifts too many papers for him to be outside the top 10? At least we can glean what NME's reviewers really think of Babyshambles album...
Another band who seem to have shot up the rankings according to the list in today's paper is Oasis, who appear at number 24. This hefty leap is nearly matched by Elbow, who have also made the move from near the foot of the chart to a quite respectable number 35.
There are four other artists whose positions in the published chart are nothing short of miraculous when compared to the original: Madonna, Kate Bush, the Brakes, and Test Icicles.
These entries might be excused on the basis that they are relatively recent albums that might have been released after the votes were counted. But hang on, the Brakes album came out back in July, did it not? So why do the Brakes now find themselves at #40? And how come their sibling band British Sea Power drop down several places from their initial standing?
Others disappear completely, having featured in the writers' votes. Whither have New Order, Patrick Wolf, Beck, Wrens, Cut Copy and the Tears fled?
Lastly - and this is probably the most contentious discrepancy of all - the order of the top four or five results (including the number one spot, which is taken by Bloc Party in the published list) appear to have been shifted around slightly to reflect what is presumably editorial bias. If we were Arcade Fire, we'd be feeling pretty cheated right about now.
As any music lover will know, end-of-year polls are important, as are lists in general (see High Fidelity). Hence, it would be extremely disappointing if the Album Of The Year list we spend hours discussing in the pub is almost completely arbitrary. They might as well have plucked the results out of a hat, for God's sake...
Care to explain what external factors could possibly have influenced the poll to this extent, NME?
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The NME seems to be under the impression that the the source of coolness mostly stems from...straight white men.
No offense, straight white men, but...HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
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I didn't even make it down the list when I started laughing at who was at #2. I mean come on. Liam Gallagher? Bwahaha!
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Jemina Pearl is 17 years old. Most people heard of her band because they're so young and were name dropped by the kills and kings of leon and thurston moore likes them. too me they're pretty pop punk... and thats one cooler than Bob Dillon because shes a 17 year olf girl with a "rising" band that people tend to like. so: I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT COOL IS. I was always under the impression that John Darnielle was the coolest. him and Josh from "Drake and Josh".
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i wonder if kanye west....
feels that the NME.....
doesn't really care about black artists?
i ain't saying she's a....
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