Pitchfork's Top 50 Of 2005
Pitchfork revealed their Top 50 Albums. Better luck next year Kanye.
50: Orthrelm OV
49: Fiery Furnaces EP
48: Okkervil River Black Sheep Boy
47: The Boy Least Likely To The Best Party Ever
46: Fiona Apple Extraordinary Machine [Jon Brion Version]
45: M83 Before the Dawn Heals Us
44: Vashti Bunyan Lookaftering
43: Spoon Gimme Fiction
42: My Morning Jacket Z
41: Róisín Murphy Ruby Blue
40: Young Jeezy Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101
39: Robyn Robyn
38: Devendra Banhart Cripple Crow
37: Dominik Eulberg Kreucht & Fleucht
36: Keith Fullerton Whitman Multiples
35: The Game The Documentary
34: Silver Jews Tanglewood Numbers
33: Bloc Party Silent Alarm
32: Beanie Sigel The B.Coming
31: Konono No. 1 Congotronics
30: Franz Ferdinand You Could Have It So Much Better
29: Serena Maneesh Serena Maneesh
28: Sunn O))) Black One
27: Jamie Lidell Multiply
26: The Decemberists Picaresque
25: Alan Braxe & Friends The Upper Cuts
24: The Mountain Goats The Sunset Tree
23: Ladytron The Witching Hour
22: Broadcast Tender Buttons
21: Bonnie "Prince" Billy & Matt Sweeney Superwolf
20: The Hold Steady Separation Sunday
19: Sleater-Kinney The Woods
18: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
17: The Clientele Strange Geometry
16: Love Is All Nine Times That Same Song
15: Clipse We Got It 4 Cheap, Vol. 2
14: Vitalic OK Cowboy
13: Various Artists Run the Road
12: New Pornographers Twin Cinema
11: Isolée We Are Monster
10: Wolf Parade Apologies to the Queen Mary
09: Cam'ron Purple Haze
08: LCD Soundsystem LCD Soundsystem
07: Animal Collective Feels
06: Deerhoof The Runners Four
05: Antony & the Johnsons I Am a Bird Now
04: M.I.A. Arular
03: Art Brut Bang Bang Rock & Roll
02: Kanye West Late Registration
01: Sufjan Stevens Illinois
Posted at 3:23 AM
Tags: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
No Andrew Bird?!? Goddammit, Pitchfork.
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Cam'ron at #9 ?!?
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this list is seriously flawed, on the hip hop side alone:
jeezy is on it. beanie sigel is on it. cam'ron is at #9 ... unreal. and if i'm not mistaken, that's Clipse and MIA aka "galang chick". those are five projects of questionable artistic merit.
where is danger/doom? where is mariah carey? where is pharrell? where are the black-eyed peas? (if you can forgive the dipset for jacking "We Built This City", you can s.t.f.u. about how much "Humps" sucks!!) even ciara's project deserves some consideration for the production by jazzy pha...and if not, then missy elliott...
i'll give you that kanye should be on there...but it's debatable that he should even be in the top 10.
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wtf is up with pitchfork and rap. i like rap. kanye's album, common's album and the dangerdoom album have gotten alot of play this year. but it seems like they through really off the wall shit in there just to be hip to the mtv crowd or something. could you imagine these kids in their tight shirts and emo glasses at a young jeezy concert... HA
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no lucksmiths? i have a hard time believing that album isn't one of the 50 best of the year...
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What a ridiculous list! Where's Springsteen's "Devils & Dust"? I've heard of maybe 5 of these bands.
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It makes no sense. They gave The Woods 9.0 in their review, which is higher than at least one of the albums in the top 10, yet The Woods only makes #19? Huh?
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It's a solid list. I'm surprised Andrew Bird isn't on it, nor Danger Doom, but this was an amazing musical year with a truckload of good albums.
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Fiery Furnaces mere presence therein immediately throws their entire credibility into doubt.
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It would be impossible to put together a year end list that everyone agreed with. So while there are albums that I think are missing or don't belong long on a list I would make, I'm not going to waste my breathe complaining about it. Although I have to say that I agree about the rap items on this list. Some of them don't seem very noteworthy, even by pitchfork's standards. Is this a case of afirmitive action in a year end list?
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I can't believe Kanye got number 2. His album was all hype and maybe 3 good songs. Probably the worst album I got this year. Also, did anyone hear about MIAs crazy shenanigans at her Philly show a few weeks ago? Where she refused to come out because she said the soundsystem was underpowered and then started crying? Wack.
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"They gave The Woods 9.0 in their review"
They didn't give the Woods anything. A specific reviewer gave the Woods a 9.0. The end of the year list gets voted on by the entire staff, so there are always going to be differences.
"Also, did anyone hear about MIAs crazy shenanigans at her Philly show a few weeks ago? Where she refused to come out because she said the soundsystem was underpowered and then started crying? Wack."
I think you're referring to Lady Sovereign.
http://www.thebmrant.com/?p=656
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My bad Ben, I stand corrected, guess I was too quick with my fingers, and not my brain.
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holy jesus.
i understand trying to broaden your list and welcome different types of music, but they should stick to good albums while doing so...beanie siegel/the game/young jeezy...cam'ron at 9? all that and 5 unforgivable exclusions (andrew bird, the national, caribou, broken social scene and barlow) makes this one of pfork's weakest lists...art brut and mia 3/4? really!?
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I very rarely agree with Pitchfork, this list has some of the right albums just in the wrong order. But the glaring problem with their list is the Camron placement at #9??! No matter how they explain the reasoning behind it, it still just doesn't make any sense!!
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Pitchfork really don't get what is good anymore. There is no way that Art Brut released the third best album this year. The album is decent upon first listen and grows tiring very quick. It shows a very poor opinion from "the writers". There are numerous UK bands who released infinitly better albums - Dogs, Paddingtons, The Cribs, The Rakes; but Pitchfork have to go for the least commercial. Go over to http://tommyshots.blogspot.com and see the new UK bands. I hope for their sake they all sell millions and Pitchfork overlooks them all, it will do them better.
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No, The National-Alligator? WTF?
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This is the best list I've seen. Keep in mind that Pitchfork is a collection of writers, many of whom are more interested in hip-hop than others, like that guy from themack who reviews the Juelz Santana mixtapes for the singles section every so often. It's not a listing of the fifty highest reviewed albums - go to Metacritic for that. Jamie Lidell and Ladytron both could have been higher, but as a comprehensive assortment of the best albums of the year, I don't think you could do much better.
Responding to other comments above: Black Eyed Peas?
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Hey, at least they got number one right. My biggest complaints are that Twin Cinema didn't make the top ten, and that "Young Jeezy" was somehow better than My Morning Jacket. Overall it's a pretty decent list (at least Kanye wasn't number one, right?).
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My thoughts on the single biggest omission: No Rogue Wave?!? IMO, that's a Top 5 album for this year.
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As always, there's a few head-scratchers.
1. Sigur Ros = missing.
2. Andrew Bird = missing.
3. Xiu Xiu = missing.
4. Kanye & Cam'ron?! Psh. How about Edan and Common?
5. Six Organs of Admittance and Thee Silver Mt. Zion nowhere to be found, but Dominik Eulberg and Bloc Party made the list?
6. And how did Isolee make #11?
Still, I'm pleased enough with the list this year. Sufjan deserves his place at the top. Art Brut, while maybe not #3, has been too underappreciated, so I'm glad they're recognizing. Wolf Parade and CYHSY rightfully not in the top 5. And they made sure to rep Fiona Apple and Roisin Murphy, which was a pleasant surprise as I'm a huge fan of these great great albums.
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How bout Frank Black's "Honeycomb." A lovely record.
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andrew, i've taken the time to listen to Jeezy, Black Eyed Peas, and several Cam'ron/Juelz/Diplomats efforts and i can honestly tell you that Pitchfork is needlessly riding Cam's d*ck over nothing. don't let the fact that you hate the Black Eyed Peas singles cloud your judgement. do this little experiment: find a copy of "We Built This City" by Cam and The Diplomats somewhere. listen. realize that it's a rip-off of Starship. then tell me that you still take them seriously enough to tell me that one of their number should ever be in the *top 10* on any list...
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Kanye got #1 on Rolling Stone's list, narrowly beating out ... the Rolling Stones (!)
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No Ryan Adams? Cold Roses and Jacksonville City Nights should be on there.
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I like the placement of the hip hop records on this list. Cam might be a little high on there but it is a far better record than DangerDoom and especially that Common album. Jeezy, Beanie, Clipse, and Game all deserve to be on there.
And I LOVE that Art Brut record but there is no way it deserves to be in the top 5.
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Any 2005 year end list that ignores Kate Bush's "Aerial" is hereby deemed irrelevant.
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There is nothing funnier than a bunch of indie snob hipsters attempting to be "down" with hip hop. I laugh at the thought of a bunch of skinny white dudes with assymetrical haircuts and ironic t-shirts discussing Dip Set and whipping coke with serious looks on their faces. Needless to say, the Lil' Wayne album is much better than Cam'Ron, Late Registration was good, but not #2 of the year good, and I have neither the time nor the desire to check out half these albums b/c quite frankly, not too much music really captivated me this year. Illinois was really good, as was My Morning Jacket, but half the albums on this list didn't get a second listen.
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only 2 of those albums made my top 10
what idiots
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like a few others, i was most disappointed and confused at not seeing any broken social scene or ryan adams + cardinals "jacksonville city nights" on the list. i thought their top 50 singles was rather underwhelming too.
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no broken social scene??? what is going on pitchfork?
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I'm not sure why Art Brut is so high--I like it, but not that much. M.I.A.'s album is amazing, and I fully expected it to be in the top ten.
And really, Broken Social Scene's album is much better than a bullshit Fiery Furnaces EP.
Overall, I find it kind of dull. Nothing past Broadcast is surprising. And who didn't think Illinois would get number one? Where are those amazing albums that passed under P-fork's radar during the year? Where is Hot Chip (even though it came out last year in the UK)?
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Love Is All got number 16... but the album isn't even out yet. How is that possible?!!?
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No White Stripes "Get Behind Me Satan"?
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Malkmus and Super Furry Animals should have at least cracked the top 50. Foolz
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First of all, have you guys heard the Kanye West album, in its entirety? It has a bunch of amazing songs, in which Kanye pours his heart out on the subject. Like "Roses", Kanye raps about how his Grandma is dying and poor people pass away, even though "Magic Johnson got a cure for AIDS."
Even if it did, come down to beats, Kanye blows BEP out of the water.
That being said, keep in mind that Pitchfork really takes lyrics into account, for more than just rap. That's probably why ArtBrut's at #3. They regard originality very highly too. Explaining why Illinois is at #1.
And yeah, no Broken Social Scene?
And who said Black Eyed Peas deserved to be on there?
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I laughed when I saw Sufjan at the top. Illinois is a bloated hysterical album, but the man's hip!
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Look, the list could be worse, Kanye could have been #1. And ease up on the Friedbergers. Yes, RMC missed big time (though Rob Mitchum still had it seventh on his list), but their EP is a strong record.
Sleater-Kinney should have been in the top 10 and CYHSY shouldn't have made the top 20. And no BSS is just criminal.
But is anyone really surprised? This is Pitchfork afterall. They always put out a divisive best album list. Shit, Rapture was #1 in 2003.
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no broken social scene
no common
no iron & wine
no boards of canada
no sigur ros
no doves
no dangerdoom
bloc party not even in the top 20!
and then you got young cheesy, cam'ron (who is one of the wackest rappers of our time) and beanie sigel on the list. not cool.
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No Lindsay Lohan?! Preposterous!
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With this list, I think Pitchfork has officially humped the shark.
It's all downhill from here.
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no Akron/Fmaily.
This list is weak.
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re: Broken Social Scene...I can't be the only one who thought it was kind of a snooze. fine, but not in the top 50.
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would have loved to see akron/family in there
as well as cass mccombs, sigur ros, grizzly bear, chad vangaalen, OF MONTREAL!!
oh dear pitchfork. at least it's mildly fun to complain about their lists
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I agree with Jim about the new Broken Social Scene being kind of a snooze. I just feel kind of bored listening to it... that doesn't mean I don't like it, but it's... ::shrug::
I also agree that Ryan Adams should be on this list... even if it's only Cold Roses.
Where are the Eels? Ben Folds?
The Fiery Furnaces EP (!) gets in the top 50, but Death Cab is no where to be seen.
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I think the list at popmatters.com would be more to your liking, oh readers and writers of stereogum. I especially liked the comment from the guy who had only heard of 5 bands on the entire pitchfork list. Hey, at least you're digging on The Boss.
http://www.popmatters.com/music/best2005/cds1.shtml
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Does anyone else remember all the pitchfork induced hype leading up to Silent Alarm? Aprox 4,762 features and reviews + 6 months = #38.
kiss your cred goodbye.
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no broken social scene = dissapointment
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ok that popmatters is a little better to my taste... but no cyhsy????
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Is there anything more in tune with the zeitgeist than arguing about a list.
There's a war on, people.
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so you're saying just because there's a war going on... we aren't "allowed" to have a discussion?
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Top 50 Albums about the War.
Go!
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3) Art-Brut
2) Kanye West
1) Sufjan Stevens
Hahahahahahahaha.
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where's OUT HUD?????
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Andrew Bird just barely missed the cut (51-55 or so), along w/ I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning
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they seem to ignore ms. difranco. her record was pretty f-ing good, and the andrew bird disc was on her label.
and come on. no kate bush? no mary timony? dangerdoom?
good lord.
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Alls I'm sayin is my friends are dyin and alls I'm doing is discussing the fact that the Fiery Furnaces suck royal dongage. I'm guilty too, bitches.
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Well here's something thats just a little strange. If you look at all of the individual (which I what I would hope that make the final list out of), Broken Social Scene is on many of the lists, and in the top 20 or 10 in most of the lists it is on. It's also scattered in the top 30 or so for a couple lists.
But The Fiery Furnaces are barely on any of the lists...Same with a couple other albums. Or, in the case of Art Brut, it tops out a couple of the weaker lists and then doesnt show up anywhere else.
Just givin out the facts.
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http://www.dustedmagazine.com/features/303
dusted, always a fan of the more out there musics. still, an interesting list.
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The Onion AV Club also gots there lists up. Pretty similar looking, although one writer made the same mistake of listing Fiery Furnaces near the word "best" which is always unfortunate.
They also give props to Eels, MMJ, and many others pitchfork forkot about.
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GREAT LIST!
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hey, y'know what would improve this list? taking out the six or so hip-hop albums and replacing them with the 39th-45th best indie rock albums of the year.
hell, then you could take the five or so electronic albums out and include the 46th-50th indie rock albums of the year. perfection.
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things are always going to be missed on a list...especially when they use a point system etc...but there are a few that i'm surprised didnt make it....most of which have been mentioned...but i'm going to to do it again...just because i'm bored at work..
rogue wave - descended like vultures
stars - set yourself on fire
feist - let it die
broken social scene - s/t
iron & wine/calexico - in the reins
bright eyes - i'm wide awake...
why? - elephant eyelash
among others i'm sure...
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and i forgot...
the national - alligator
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I am really psyched that Art Brut was ranked #3.
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The TinyMixTapes list should be up this week. It should be interesting to see what they think, since they aren't catering to their advertisers, like P4K is.
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I don't get how Common and Dangerdoom can be left off a list with so much, well, standard hip-hop fodder. I guess by ranking Madvillainy so high last year they feel they gave Doom his due? I don't know. I don't even like Adult Swim, and thought Dangerdoom was way more fun than the other rap CD's on the list (although I never heard Clipse, to be fair). And Young Jeezy over Common? Common is fantastic, and released one of his best CD's this year, and couldn't get on above Jeezy? Jeez. Y. Dammit.
I guess the rest of the list is fine (I personally love Art Brut, and had no problem with them being so high), except I don't understand how Broken Social Scene wasn't there. What a great cd! And, I know it's just a list, but I secretly look forward to it each year. Shh.
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lshismp
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Metacritic has a lot of year-end lists compiled at http://www.metacritic.com/music/bests/2005.shtml .
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As usual with any Pitchfork list, some hits and some misses. We've posted our shorter (and hence, more discerning) top 10 lists over at the 'Stamps if anybody wants a different take.
http://www.badmintonstamps.com/zarchive0512.html#251
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Fresh Air on npr is putting out their list today. Someone should make a list of the best lists.
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Do you guys read any of the rap reviews at Pitchfork? Sometime recently, they realized that cocaine was cool again, and that everybody raps about it. So many of their positive track reviews are all about showing they're not just indie-rock snob-fans, and that they're actually so street. It's funny to watch.
I don't know a lot about "indie" music (wtf does that even mean?), and I turn to pitchfork when looking for new things to listen to. I do know quite a bit about hip-hop, and I would never, never, ever, suggest relying on pitchfork for hip-hop reviews. So, really, it's pretty stupid that I visit that website at all.
The people on this list would probably like Nathan Rabin over at The Onion. I'm a fan of Sasha Frere-Jones in the New Yorker.
My favorite hip-hop albums of the year:
Bun-B - "Trill"
Blackalicious - "The Craft"
DJ Muggs + GZA - "Grandmasters"
The Clipse - "We Got It 4 Cheap"
Purple Ribbon All-Stars - "Got That Purp"
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catering to advertisers? i think that would have meant putting stuff like death cab on there. but seriously, just because you don't like non sad white boy music don't get all huffy about people's rap picks...
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the popmatters list was alright, but no Deerhoof, come on!
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No Gorillaz? Are they joking? Considering how much they obsess over all things Albarn...
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function outrage()
where x = band you like
and y = insult or perhaps epithet
and z = group of people you hold in contempt
then output "I can't believe Pitchfork didn't select x on their top 50 albums of the year, they're such y's and just trying to be like z"
QED!
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calm down people! there can only be 50. i was hoping it was bright eyes year too. maybe in 2006.
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honestly, why are you all getting so fucking defensive like music you made is getting left off the list? its like this - do you guys READ pitchfork? If you do its not that hard to figure out what is going to be on the top 50. that said, im surprised that architecture in helsinki, super furry animals, wilderness, gang gang dance and black mountain weren't on it at all. and to all the people talking about hip hop - what makes you so sure these are bangs and glasses hipster kids writing these? and who gives a shit even if they are? they probably grew up listening to hip hop as well as other stuff. clearly these people know a LOT about hip hop no matter who they are, and have their reasons for liking this certain type of mainstream stuff - i feel a kinship. i grew up on everything from tribe to wu tang to nas to biggie. and then got really into underground hip hop - but it got boring. its like,what now every fucking white kid that heard the new sage francis album and turned vegan thinks he can freestyle over a beat at a kegger - undie hip hop doesnt have enough personality for me - this return to the mainstream is what hip hop is all about, bragadocious fantasy - clipse, dipset, swishahouse, jeezy, etc all have a certain jous ne se quo that oh you know, slug could never pull off. mf doom seems to bridge this gap succesfully vik vaughn, operation doomsday, king geedorah, madvillain, but danger doom's cartoon network tie in was a little cheeseball. anyway...
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where the hell was "hypermagic mountain"
it wasn't lightning bolt's best, but it sure as hell trounced Cam'ron.
i also didn't see beck, but beck really doesn't need pitchfork and pitchfork doesn't need beck anymore.
oh well.
poor brians
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oh by the way
congratulations Animal Collective
too bad they couldn't be included twice
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"It should be interesting to see what they think, since they aren't catering to their advertisers, like P4K is."
haha, wow, the conspiracy theories. American Apparel insisted on including Fiona- they rip their ads from the criminal vid anyway; neighborhodies are the big cam'ron fans, etc. Incredible that people believe this stuff...
fair play to the complaints, of course-- and most of the records people are stamping their feet over did just miss (national, andrew bird, common, edan, bright eyes, bss, plus, like, lil wayne), but it's a bit distressing to see so many blanket anti-hiphop comments, which I also noticed here after the vmas. Not talking about everyone naturally, but unless I missed it I can't recall seeing anyone claim that leaving an indie rock record out for pop, doom metal, drone, techno, etc., was a dealbreaker or proof that the site has lost its way or some sort of affront to good taste, whatever that is. People rightly don't feel emboldened to make blanket dismissals of the other non-indie roc lps-- most of which I'd guess they haven't heard. But indie listeners, supposedly the most open-minded of music buyers, are pretty free to sniff at or feel threatened by hip-hop records that I'd also guess many of them haven't heard. You don't have to like the stuff, of course, but to seemingly seek to barracade it from any open-minded discussion of the pop landscape is a bit saddening.
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At least CYHSY weren't in the top 10. Thank fucking god. [insert OMG NO IRON & WINE/BSC/BRIGHT EYES ETC. here]
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I'm glad that I'm not the only one who noticed that School of the Flower didn't make the list. No Architecture in Helsinki? I have friends who would cry about that.
I am, however, really glad that Bright Eyes didn't make it.
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why do i dislike the new pornographers so much? i mean... i like mass romantic but i dont think theyve released anything better than decent since. oh, and i saw them in tucson, arizona, which apparently was the site of a horrible incident where a truck carrying a ton of chicken fat (?) got in an accident and covered congress (main street downtown) in chicken fat. they joked about it between like 5 straight songs, gave it a rest, and then brought it back like 3 more times. i really wanted to choke carl "a. fuckin' c." newman and neko case. and ac's year-end list on pitchfork made me want to choke him more.
wow... rant... but yeah like so many others i think broken social scene deserved to be on there. yes some songs are boring at first listen but there is so much going on in each song that its really hard to say that this album isnt at least as progressive or original (which usually seems to make pitchfork swoon) as fucking art brut or CYHSY or spoon.
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pf has jumped the shark. the rap selection is laughable...no andrew bird. i don't get it at all.
HA, and what's so new about crack and hip hop?? it's like pf just discovered rap yesterday and they're all like, "omg...drugs! what an interesting new development."
this is a joke.
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where is mike jones?
oh, and fuck sufjan.
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Oh yeah, forgot about the Lucksmiths and Lightning Bolt. I was gonna say Stars, but that was actually 2004. It got reviewed at the beginning of the year though.
Props to Pitchfork for:
-Hank. In case you don't know, they're a riot girl band from Canada. They're also the most underhyped, underrated band of the year. As little coverage as they got, Pitchfork still gave them at least a little coverage.
Poor Sean Fennessey. In case you don't know, he's P4K's rap / hip-hop go to guy. They clearly overwork him. Honestly, how stressed do you have to be to exclude Common, Edan, and Blackalicious from a list that includes Jeezy and Cam'ron (in the top 10 no less). Come on, MF Doom is still alive you know.
Honestly, it could be worse. My bass player put Eisley in his Top 5. So Pitchfork's gotta know something.
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Oh, update on my bass player's top 5. #1 was From First to Last.
Yeah, I'm pretty sure I just kicked him out.
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SEAN FENNESSEY is an editor for STUFF!! HA!
STUFF started sending me free copies for some terrible reason, and I had to call them to make it stop.
What a miscalculation. I mean, why should indie kids embrace gangsta rap? It must be some kitchy inside joke that makes Nick Sylvester cum a little bit.
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In all the hip-hop naysaying I can't believe nobody has mentioned The Perceptionists' "Black Dialogue" yet ... without a doubt the best and smartest rap album of the year, even though it came out all the way back in March. And on that whole backpacker/conscious tip, J-Live's "The Hear After" kicks the asses of the most recent offerings by Blackalicious, Common, the Black Eyed Peas and yes, even Kanye.
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Does anyone read this far down in the comments?
For those slamming the kids who don't like hip-hop - to me, comparing indie rock albums and hip-hop albums (without including other top 40 stuff) is a tough proposition. While I appreciate pitchfork's open mind (some of their rap reviews are spot on), it's really a stretch to say Fiery Furnaces and Camron have ANYTHING in common.
I'm all for a big picture view of pop music, but it seems like just a ploy when you have a list that's 90% indie rock with a smattering of MTV hip-hop.
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Rob Mitchum, if you really love someone, you have to be honest with them. Yes, I can understand liking the Fiery Furnaces, but Rehearsing My Choir is no one's #7. Come on, guy.
Seriously, I wouldn't imagine Pitchfork staffers getting health benefits, but if Ryan really cares about his columnist, he should get Rob some help about his Kathy Bates a la Misery-esque obsession with the Friedbergers.
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Rob Mitchum, if you really love someone, you have to be honest with them. Yes, I can understand liking the Fiery Furnaces, but Rehearsing My Choir is no one's #7. Come on, guy.
Seriously, I wouldn't imagine Pitchfork staffers getting health benefits, but if Ryan really cares about his columnists, he should get Rob some help about his Kathy Bates a la Misery-esque obsession with the Friedbergers.
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any top 50 of 2005 list without the national & andrew bird is seriously flawed. Also, Black Sheep Boy by Okkervil River deserves a much higher ranking than it receieved (#48). the inclusion of Cam'ron at #9 is not only ridiculous, but is also a ploy/pose to seem hip-hop friendly...when we all know its not really the case.
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Bloc Party should be in the top 10 and Cam'ron need to go away. (Why does pitchfork have a vendetta against polished, catchy albums?)
A couple of glaring omissions, Ben Watt's Buzzin' Fly V.2 and arguably the best mix in years, Orlend Oye's DJ-Kicks contribution.
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What was up with having Robyn on the Top 50? They spoke about the album maybe once or twice, gave two of its singles 4 or 5 stars, but was it really necessary on the Top 50, or was that Pitchfork just adding some indie bubblegum pop to the mix, much like they did with Annie and that broad from S Club 7 in year's past? I think we could have all done without her there, and gave Black Mountain or Oneida its props.
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i haven't read the comments above, so apologies if i'm repeating...
no national!!!
no rogue wave!!!
did i miss these two? f'ing pitchfork and their ridiculous hip hop albums. they need to realize that they're a valued source for a lot of us and... not post their opinions. wait a minute, i see how this works now. as you were.
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I'm not one to talk shit about any artists work but I just want to know, is there anyone out there that just found Illinois decent? It's impressive but just not good.
I think there are alot of issues that make this list a joke that everyone has failed to mention:
Run the Road is a COMPILATION!! NOT AN ALBUM
Robyn is horrible POLISHED, CLEAN pop (for all you that say Pitchfork is agianst such things)
Alan Braxe is a single COMPILATION, if this is valid then so should Belle & Sebastian's comp (my fav. of the year)
Which brings to mind, NO JENS LEKMAN???
Love is All has release date of Jan. 23rd...2006...yeah
Cam'Ron was released last year and was on Stylus's 2004 list which went up at the same time as pitchforks. That laziness and deadlines is no excuse.
Also, I like Antony very much but you know (along with Art Brut) it's not even going to reach pitchfork's top 100 of the decade a couple years from now.
I could go on. Every cd on that list that you haven't heard isn't worth listening too, which is sad because there are alot that are that didn't make the list.
check out my top 75, which come with full description and best track:
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=29673477&blogID=68475285
also, Textura.org is a very notable site with a great list of conventional but solid albums.
Move on music lovers.
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Also, why does no one think of Annie - Anniemal as an 05 album? I mean, for crying out loud, it was only released in Norway in nov. 04. I wish Pitchfork took a stance on these things. Either take albums by the year they it the states (where the fork resides) or when albums are officially released from any label (in other words, take Sigur Ros off the best of decade).
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Whatever you want to say about this list - good or ill - this much is true...
SUFJAN STEVENS AIN'T ALL THAT AND YOU KNOW IT.
FIFTY STATES? GROW UP.
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WOW, almost no one is giving architecture in
helsinki any love. i honestly thought that would at least be in pitchforks top 25. the national should have been included as well. overall it isn't a bad list though. o and i dont even pay attention to their rap reccomendations any more. too many times i have been falsely informed about that. I am glad that animal collective was represented well but i am still mad at pitchfork for giving The Unicorns a measly 8.9 ive been known to hold grudges.
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LonelySpacePanda: you win 800000 e-stars for including Wind in the Wires in your list. And #4!? Awesome.
Patrick Wolf is a music genius.
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Anniemal was 2004 and it was on their list last year.
And I agree about Black Sheep Boy, but I honestly don't think they would've remembered to put it on there had it not been for the Appendix's recent release. Their end of year lists are actually unfairly biased towards the end of year stuff. Sure, there's stuff from the beginning of the year and on that would've obviously made the list, but they put a lot of the late year minor splash albums on there as opposed to the early and mid-year minor splash albums. That's why stuff like Sun O))) and Love Is All made the list. I'm amazed that The Boy Least Likely To made it.
I think Superwolf should be higher, but no matter how much coverage Pitchfork gives him, no one will listen to Bonnie "Prince" Billy.
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I think P4K could have made separate lists- One for indie and one for rap. That way the genres are separated, like they should be. Indie kids could read one list and not bitch about rap, and rap fans could do vice versa. Problem solved.
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Probably the only thing that offends me is when people try to classify indie as a genre. That's really irresponsible.
Sorry if my comments are poorly written. I'm writing these before and after an exam.
Oh, one more thing (for now), I'm actually glad that Pitchfork is the only publication that agreed with me on Blinking Lights and Other Revelations. I can listen to Eels recycle the same formula for 40 minutes in a row tops. 95 is too much.
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akron/family , johann johannson, & quasimoto, where o where ?
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sigur ros, BSS, the national and rogue wave were the worst omissions. If they wanted to fill the list with a bunch of mediocre rap why didn't they just make it a top 60?
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Doesn't Q magazine make a top 100 of the year? haha. Pitchfork should follow, or probably not. I was just trying to state before that pitchfork's lists are misleading on their release dates:
Sigur Ros - AE released in 1999
BSS - You Forgot it in Poeple 2002
Love is All 2006
To make things even more confusing, I was saying how Anniemal is on par with Sigur Ros in that it was only minorly released in her/their home country one year and the next year saw a release in UK/US and everywhere else.
Also, why do British mags/zines (NME, Q, Mojo, Playlouder.com) wait to review American albums upon English release (Arcade Fire is on all of their lists, which came out 2004 in the States). Yet American publications never wait (pitchfork, stylus, Spin, etc.) IE. Go! Team and Annie was on everyone's 2004 list. Anyway, I'm just confused and bored. I guess British are much more polite and patient.
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Alligator by The National is THE BEST ALBUM OF THE YEAR and probably one of the best albums of the decade.
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The list is O.K. I don't know enough hip-hop to say if they were right or wrong, though I think some of it may be too goofy or obscure. Kanye and DangerDoom were O.K. this year. My big irritation: I have no idea why Architecture in Helsinki didn't make it. That's No. 1 on my list. Also, though I wasn't that irritated about it, I'd still put Andrew Bird, Devin Davis and Rogue Wave high up there. Also, "Sugar, We're Going Down" should've been on the song list.
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cam & jeezy? no. clipse? yeah boy.
overall tho, too much coke sympathizing fromm the extra-medium set. it's an easy trick of product placement for awkward blow heads.
reup reup
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"Sugar We're Going Down"? How can you tolerate Fall Out Boy? I was watching the Radioactive Man Movie episode of the Simpsons and I couldn't stop thinking of that goddamn band (and their awful cover of "Love Will Tear Us Apart").
Did anyone notice that on the Artists' lists, Clipse put his own album at #1? I mean, I know we're talking about rap, but what an ego!
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Status Aint Hood called y'all "quasi-racist." Ha! I love that dude.
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I've been coming to this site regularly for about two years or so now and I had to post to say that the below comment is the most moronic comment I've ever read on stereogum :
SUFJAN STEVENS AIN'T ALL THAT AND YOU KNOW IT.
FIFTY STATES? GROW UP.
Good god, where does one even start on the intelligence level of this nitwit? Hey Gabe- can you tell all of us readers what is "all that" and what you consider "grown up" music? Throw a few more "ain't"s in too while you're at it. Also please further your education for the sake of all mankind. It's disgraceful you even breathe the same oxygen as everyone else.
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Cam was released this year... get YOUR facts straight. Lay off the hip-hop hate. Why do people get so mad at a list? If this was the fifty hottest girls, would you still get mad if Jessica Alba was #3 instead of #1? Well, I guess I would, but that is a whole different issue...
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First of all, HOW DARE pitchfork put Love Is All on their list. It isn't even released yet! I mean honestly, what nerve! They'll get what's coming to them. Secondly I can't believe Architecture in Helsinki, Hilary Duff, and Jens Lenkmen were not included. If they leave these albums out, they must know nothing about music. Also, If I know nothing about Young Jeezy, then no-one should. The individual writers at Pitchfork are objectively wrong for enjoying Cam'ron and Robyn. I mean really, even if most of the writers did not vote for Broken Social Scene, don't you think they could've just thrown it in there anyways. I think it's the right thing to do. I Hate You Pitchfork!
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YOU GUYS ARE IDIOTS. It's the Best of Music list, not Best White Trend-Fucking Albums of Hip Genres Released on Indie Labels list. Music includes rap (commercial or not), so get over it. Pitchfork is indeed lame, but at least they recognize that this isn't the mid/late-90s anymore, and indie kids can't just live in a cave and keep listening to Royal Trux and other obsessively-indie music. Go home and fall asleep to that boring ass National album and cry about how Camron is higher on a list than your photography-major girlfriend's favorite band. Or cotton to a more diverse musical world, becuase it's about to be 2006 and Pavement still isn't reuiniting anytime soon.
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alot of people are bitching about the rap choices. alot of them are complaining about jeezy and cam and about how so and so needs to be on thie list, but no one is bitching about or praising the fact that beans is on the list. RECOGNIZE FOOL!!! beans is the shit and the b.coming is the best album all year. and who can slap on a delfonics track with vocals, rap over it and make it fire, GHOSTFACE!!!
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Boy the indie kids are some ignorant racist little fucks. What makes you think your preferred musical genre is a priori superior to others? Real people listen to Art Brut, M.I.A., Young Jeezy, New Pornographers, Antony & the Johnsons, & all sorts of other "indie" & "rap" albums (& jazz, & metal, & electronic . . .). Only adolescents or people who never grew up listen to only one kind of popular music. If you don't think yr opposition to the astonishingly good Cam'ron & Young Jeezy is the result of racism, you clearly think one-dimensionally. You don't have to be a white supremacist to be a racist. If I were you cloistered, privileged little shits, I'd consider broadening my musical horizons. Believe it or not, just because someone likes different music than you do doesn't make him WRONG. Read some Kant, listen to some rap, try to understand why what you're saying on here is so offensive & ignorant that the Village Voice has published an article about your inanity. I love Young Jeezy, love M.I.A., hate Andrew Bird - & guess what? I'm not "right" or "wrong" about their records. Kudos to Pitchfork for recognizing there's more to popular music than guitars. Hip hop IS catchy, at its best, geniuses. You're small-minded, racist, classist, & idiotic. That's how it is, chumps.
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whitebread assholes. do you all live in red states, in housing developments? fuck all y'all. you're in the middle, bland, mediocrity. too pussy to listen to really smart, deep, weird shit that you'll find in the experimental section, too pussy to be seen listening to a Z-Ro/Cam'ron/Tupac CD, too pussy to seek out some old school jazz or avant-garde classical, too pussy to listen to any music that doesn't fit into your pitchfork demographic (the long-gone circa '98 demographic, that is), liberal skin, conservative hearts. stick to the Hot Topics and the Paul Thomas Anderson movies that you're used to.
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I hope everyone realizes I was being sarcastic. No one can give props to hilary duff or claim "I hate you Pitchfork" with a straight face.
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i think all you guys that are discrediting the hip hop albums are full of shit and have never listened to any of these albums. I guess i wouldn't put jeezy on there but the B.Comining is one of the best albums of the year bar none. This is the voice of a man staring hell in the face, full of remorse and introspection. To put it in lehmans terms lyrically this album shits all over danger doom or whatever other token "underground" rap you indie assholes are pumping (with maybe the exception of the new Atmoshphere) stop fronting and check the album out before you criticize. btw Purple Haze is an end to end burner as well and the documantry was the best produced album by a collective thats come out in years, fuck Danger Doom, that dj is the most overated prodicer in hip-hop
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one more thing, i have not seen a beanie siegal, cam'ron or clipse video on MTV for years so if you think that this is catering to the "MTV" crowd you have once again displayed the fact that you have no idea what you are talking about
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I like pitchfork, but I think that there year-end lists are a bunch of kiss-ass bullshit. No organization as pretentious as pitchfork could form a list to please music-lovers AND stay consistent to their dynamic. I do think Sufjan had the best album of last year though.
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