Pitchfork's Top 50 Albums Of 2007 List Gets Person Pitched
Well finally here it is, the undisputed and anticipated biggie list we've all been patiently awaiting so as to begin the lobs and insults of pretension. But honestly, P4K's done well by their readers, and mostly well by us, too. After the cavalcade of mag lists that've been tolerable to shitty (for the record, no list will go by without complaint, but really only two were bad enough to merit the Shit stamp -- and we're still in shock over that Rolling Stone catastrophe), the list reads like a sight for sore eyes. Where else will you see No Age not only being remembered by getting a well-deserved #11, the Field's sonic experiment in the top 10, Bon Iver getting a top 30, etc. And how about that, remembering Deerhoof's awesome Friend Opportunity. Much like you guys, Pitchforkmedia.com thought it was a top 10 year for Noah Lennox and Animal Collective, putting both the Panda and AC album within a few of each other at the top of the pops. During the Gummys reveal, we called Panda the year's VIP (#7 Hottie, two top 8 albums). Pitchfork agrees, and puts Person Pitch atop 'em all. A little agenda-based statement-making, that choice, but that's what these lists are, after all. And shit, given that we're still listening to Noah's little opus, and next year's bound to have a rush of aesthetic-incorporating sound-alikes, it's a good choice. So all in all, good show. Obligatory bitch session after the jump, of course.
50 Tinariwen - Aman Iman: Water Is Life
49 Dizzee Rascal - Maths + English
48 Robert Wyatt - Comicopera
47 Yeasayer - All Hour Cymbals
46 Marissa Nadler - Songs III: Bird on the Water
45 Ricardo Villalobos - Fabric 36
44 Les Savy Fav - Let's Stay Friends
43 Stars of the Lid - And Their Refinement of the Decline
42 Ghostface Killah - The Big Doe Rehab
41 Life Without Buildings - Live at the Annandale Hotel
40 Beirut - The Flying Club Cup / Lon Gisland EP
39 The White Stripes - Icky Thump
38 Wu-Tang Clan - 8 Diagrams
37 Grizzly Bear - Friend EP
36 Iron and Wine - The Shepherd's Dog
35 Black Lips - Good Bad Not Evil
34 James Blackshaw - The Cloud Of Unknowing
33 King Khan & the Shrines - What Is?!
32 Sally Shapiro - Disco Romance
31 Deerhoof - Friend Opportunity
30 Caribou - Andorra
29 Bon Iver, For Emma - Forever Ago
28 Dinosaur Jr. - Beyond
27 Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
26 Various Artists - After Dark
25 The Tough Alliance - A New Chance / New Waves EPOK, Boxer at #17? Really? Sometimes they make it too easy to draw that "you're popular, so we'll keep a slight distance lest we seem populist -- unless you're Justin Timberlake or Rihanna 'cause hey we're totally not pretentious!" (See also: Neon Bible at #27.) More complaints? Well that Les Savy Fav record's too low, which is surprising given how repeat-worthy it's proven to be, and how much love its been getting outside Forkland (or maybe, that explains it?), the retroactive Dirty Projectors correction to #21 wasn't nearly as drastic as we predicted it'd be/should've been (Rise Above got a gun-shy 8.1 and not even Best New Music, but really it's one of the year's very finest records, bar none), and finally -- where the metal be at? For the annotated goods, click.
24 Dan Deacon - Spiderman Of The Rings
23 Studio - Yearbook 1
22 Okkervil River - The Stage Names
21 Dirty Projectors - Rise Above
20 Liars - Liars
19 Feist - The Reminder
18 Kanye West - Graduation
17 The National - Boxer
16 Lil Wayne - Da Drought 3
15 Justice - †
14 Deerhunter - Cryptograms / Fluorescent Grey EP
13 Jay-Z - American Gangster
12 No Age - Weirdo Rippers
11 Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala
10 Burial - Untrue
09 The Field - From Here We Go Sublime
08 Battles - Mirrored
07 Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
06 Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam
05 of Montreal Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?
04 Radiohead - In Rainbows
03 M.I.A. - Kala
02 LCD Soundsystem - Sound Of Silver
01 Panda Bear - Person Pitch
Posted at 10:27 AM in Year-End List
Tags: Panda Bear
Leave it up to P4k to put Arcade Fire where it belongs.
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menomena and patrick wolf.
and tell adam from WI to e-mail you the top 100 tracks again.
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You know, I was really expecting to hate this list, but it seems pretty well thought out. (Maybe overthought?) For once, it doesn't just sound like Pitchfork jizzing all over itself.
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!!!, low, and pissed jeans were robbed. otherwise, one of their better year end lists.
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Beirut should be higher.
And I like Panda Bear, but I did not think Person Pitch was that good.
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Agreed, Neon Bible's placement on P4K's list is the most dead-on. A great list all around, really. Maybe now, I will listen to my girlfriend when she tells me to listen to Panda Bear.
My gripes: Boxer is waaay too low, and where is Andrew Bird?
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No St. Vincent or A Sunny Day In Glasgow, but overall, a very tolerable list. Not to mention a fairly deserving number one album for the first time in a few years.
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I still think Battles' Mirrored is the most over-rated album of the year. National should have been top 10 at least. I also think The Shepherd's Dog should have been way higher, at least top 20.
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Could have done without Radiohype in the top ten, but very glad to see arcade fire not in there.
I actually was quite surprised with how well it went, and super pumped that No Age got 11 and that Dirty Projectors made the list (didn't see that one coming at all). The left field support for Tinariwen is slightly odd but totally great as well.
P.fork may be slightly inconsistent due to their immense use of various freelance writers, but it is lists like these that bring their credentials back together, (now only if they could get weaned off Murphy's cock).
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where the hell is random spirit lover on that list.
that's a crime
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A very decent list, I have like 35 of those albums, boy do I read p4k too much! It's missing a few of my faves like Patrick Wolf, Future of the Left, Field Music, but I kind of expected that, so no biggie. The quality of the top 10 shows its been an awesome year for music in 07!
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They got it mostly right, can't complain other then the fact that two of my fav albums of the year weren't on there (Myth Takes, Friend & Foe) but hey, that's hip-hop.
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Where the hell is Modest Mouse on ANY year end lists?! It's a crime!!!
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can we now give this shit a rest? everybody hates what you like and nobody in their right mind would put it in a list. and if they did, there's probably too much hype. and if they put it low, they're populist. and if they put it high, they're unoriginal.
seriously, this endless list "criticism" is the most depressing thing to happen to music this year. you and idolator.
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No love for Gummy top 20's Sunset Rubdown, Wilco, and Band of Horses.
Love how they evalauated the two Deerhunter offerings as one collective unit. Same with Beirut and The Tough Alliance. Seems like cheating.
Lil Wayne???
No excuse for leaving Boxer outside the top 10, but I guess that's a classic P4K move. That my only real complaint about an otherwise solid list.
Don't understand all the Arcade Fire bashing. Neon Bible is no Funeral (how could that masterpiece ever be duplicated), but, by comparison to everything else out there today, it is truly an excellent album.
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@ fs 11:11,
church. no love for sun rub in the either the tracks or albums list is kinda ridonk. but these lists can't/never please everyone.
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While perusing their individual lists, I noticed that there wasn't one from Rob Mitchum this year. Does anyone know if he stills writes for them? I hope so, because after Brent DiCrescenzo, he's the best reviewer they've ever had.
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The list is really dead-on. They nailed Boxer and Neon Bible, two good albums that have been way too hyped this year (and not even the best albums from those bands). Person Pitch, Sound of Silver and Hissing Fauna have been favorites of mine since they came out . . . they really bring you into their artists' respective worlds, and I like that in music.
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The Stages Names is a top ten album, so they got that wrong.
Anyway, this list seems to represent -- rather precisely -- how a lot of my friends feel about music this year. Still, they'll probably bitch about how lame P4K is.
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OH LORDY
WHAT THE DAMN
You can kiss my grits in Guantanamo Bay long before I'll accept any list sans Klaxons!
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It's missing Patrick Wolf, St. Vincent, and PJ Harvey (my favorite album this year), but it's a good list nonetheless.
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this is the best list so far.
i previously only had any regard for the stylus list.
i hardly noticed no sunset rubdown on this.
but now, to put it mildly, that really is a shame.
but otherwise.
you can't ever disagree with the pitchfork.
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anyone complaining about lil wayne being on here has obviously not taken the time to listen to the drought 3..quit being an idiot and download it for free.
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No Supersilent?..
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Yeah, 'cause no corporate magazine is going to nail a list like a shitty elitiest website.
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supersilent
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am i the only one who hates The Animal Collective and Panda Bear? pretentious, boring and not in the least enjoyable. does anyone care about songwriting or craft anymore?
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"The Stage Names" is shockingly low. Also, there's no way in hell that "American Gangster" was a better record than "Da Drought 3". Weezy can do no wrong.
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Person Pitch is a heaping load of tuneless noise. I honestly hate this record, and it pisses me the fuck off that it gets praised like this, because it doesn't deserve it.
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Heres an idea : Make your own lists & you can put anything you want on it! what a country !
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Why am I the only one who thinks The White Stripes "Icky Thump" is the MOST overrated, yet perfectly titled, piece of crap all year?!!! It's "Icky" & is like a "thump" to ones psyche when played!
Baahumbug!
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@kidacomputerok 11:31 AM
I hope to god you're joking. Brent DiCrescenzo leaving Pitchfork was the best thing ever to happen to music criticism. He's what made people hate Pitchfork in the first place.
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I love you, Evan.
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It's an OK list; I can't really quibble too much with the top 10. I'm still seething with rage over the crap review of the Forms record, though, which was my undisputed album of the year.
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This is the first year that I actually agree with the fork's list.
Including the National at #17. And I'm a huge National fan.
I think it would be about perfect if they just swapped Person Pitch with Hissing Fauna, and In Rainbows with Stage Names.
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A sign of being self-conscious: P'fork starts a CMJ riot by heaping praise on Black Kids, but not a single voter put that EP in his/her top 25.
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Ummm...Modest Mouse? Easily in the Top 10 of the year.
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animal collective/panda bear haters, did you actually listen to person pitch? its incredibly beautiful. i can understand not liking strawberry jam (I didn't at all), but person pitch is a much different story. To call it "tuneless" seems highly ignorant. If nothing else, it was at least tuneful.
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There are a few things I could nitpick on (I don't really care for Panda Bear/AC too much and there's no love for Andrew Bird, and Boxer should still be top ten, I liked it before I read a damn thing about it), but it's the best list I've seen so far. Pitchfork is suprisingly good at pleasing the masses with this sort of thing despite how terrible most of their album reviews are.
And did anyone else besides me actually like Filter's list?
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Oh Wow, you think I'm fucking with you? I am not fucking with you. Brent DiCrescenzo was great. His review of NIN's "The Fragile" is a laugh riot. Not to mention that he's one of the few American critics who realizes the greatness that is Blur. Their reviewers now are mostly bland. At least you couldn't accuse DiCrescenzo of being uninspired.
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@ Ben
I listened. Many times. I kept giving it chances. Trying to put some positive spin on it. I mean, so many people liked it.. I must be missing something, right?
No, I was missing nothing. It sucks. Not as much as his last record, but still sucks all the same. He should stick to playing drums and percussion.
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the absence of Menomena and Andrew Bird is inexplicable.
pitchfork, i've been true for so long, but you are now officially full of shit in my book.
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To Evan and everyone who hates Person Pitch: Thank you. God. I tried, I honestly tried. Closest AC praise I've ever given is thinking "Fireworks" was a pretty decent song. Ugh.
And Brent was a genius. I wrote a few times to give him his due as best I could.
Missing Modest Mouse but oh well.
No Age also sucks. :(
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I hate lists.
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I agree with a significant portion of their list, but where the hell is Menomena? I guess it was not included because that album came out in January and people were not listening to it too much in the second half of the year. But it was, without question, one of the Top 50 albums to be released this year.
*Also, that Burial album has to be the most overrated of the year.
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Where the f**k is The Twilight Sad?!?!?!?!?!??!!?!??!
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One major problem with all of these lists is the fact that Lupe Fiasco's album hasn't come out yet. Because holy shit, it's amazing. Definitely deserves to be somewhere on these things. As for Person Pitch... I just can't get into it. It's sure interesting, but it's just not my thing. I'm kinda in awe over how many lists it's coming out on top of.
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modest mouse doesnt deserve to be on any of these lists. that album and icky thump were very disappointing for me. arcade fire behind feist though? thats a crime.
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I'm not sure exactly how Pitchfork ranks their albums, but I think LCD SOundsystem should be #1 and Panda Bear #2. LCD was on 26 lists, Panda Bear was on 19. Lcd beat out Panda Bear at about 22-9. And most of LCD's rankings were in the top 6, with many 1's and 2's. Take a look for yourself.
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All things considered it's a pretty good list. I don't think Person Pitch is the album of the year, but it's still good. Some random points:
-I've said it before, but I agree SpikeXXX, Icky Thump is not that good.
-It's funny seeing Dan Deacon a few spots ahead of Arcade Fire. lol. Sure, ok.
-This gives me a few more albums to check out that I haven't. Yay end of year lists for that reason!
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Ummm.... maybe i missed it but where is Sunset Rubdown on this list? All yelpiness aside, it is easily in the top fifty.
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Over 40 comments in less than 10 hours. Impressive. And people say the youth is apathetic.
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Since no list pleases everyone, I thought this pleased as many as possible. I would have switched Spoon and The National. Based on the last two years, it seems like P4K just takes the least heralded of their top five and puts it number one. I feel like LCD this year and TVOTR last year probably would have been first, but they wanted to be different. And where's Pop Levi?!
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Great to see No Age (one of my Gummy Top 3) finally get some real love after not showing up on many lists and getting only light P4K praise initially.
And I'm glad they finally stopped heaping slightly unjust praise on Boxer just cause they dropped the ball on the National the year (the superior) Alligator came out.
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Dear Stereogum & Stereogum Readers,
Am I the only one out there that remembers the Besnard Lakes album? What happened? Try it. You'll like it.
Skip
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Feist at #19?
Lil Wayne at #16?
American Gangster at #13?
I love White Stripes but Inky Thump was shit.
Neon Bible was a better album than the ones above. This isnt a list of Arcade Fire's best work. Just best albums of this year. funeral shouldn't be factored in.
Modest Mouse deserves a little more love, but not too much...
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I wasn’t too excited with Animal Collective’s Strawberry Jam (didn’t think it was as good as Feels), but holy shit—Panda Bear. This came out of nowhere. What I hear on this record is a grown man who has the confidence and brilliance of a young child. I remember the music gently washed over me the first few listens, and it wasn’t until about the tenth listen where things started coming together for me. I heard someone mention this somewhere, and I think it was put perfectly, that this album is like the space between where the conscious and unconscious meet, which is truly where all great art comes from. It’s dreamy, and often puts me in a trance listening to it, yet then it sneakily slides into an almost euphoric dance tune and has the opposite effect, making me want to move; this happens throughout the whole album. I really can’t picture people disliking the album if they’re into 60’s pop in the least bit, specifically The Zombies or Beach Boys. But then again I feel a certain audience who reads these lists expect benign and conventional indie rock bands to come up on top. With this said, I was happy to see Pitchfork get it right with Neon Bible (in fact, I thought it should’ve been lower); yet I, like most people here, am wondering why Menomena didn’t crack the list—in my opinion, their album ranks just a notch below Spoon’s. Also, stop being cynical, Person Pitch wasn’t just thrown on the top of the ‘to make some kind of statement’, Lennox has been helping make the best albums of the decade since the beginning of A.C., it’s not like he’s some unknown Swedish pop-star coming out of nowhere flavor of the moment.
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"where is Andrew Bird?"
my thoughts exactly. somehow i feel like if armchair was an october or november release it would be a lock for the top 20, yet as a january release it is completely absent.
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LCD Soundsystem is overrated. Am I the only one who hates James Murphy's vocals?
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Am I the only one who doens't get the fuss about Battles?
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Are you polishing your writing skills in the hopes of landing a job with P4K with that dissertation on "Person Pitch," Derek, or are you repaying Lennox for using your namesake on Strawberry Jam? Either way, it's a bit much.
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doubt you'll read this 'the karlos' but i agree with you 100%
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The Besnard Lakes Are The Dark Horse.
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"American Gangster" is too high. I understand it is the token rap album, and it is much better than his laughing stock "Kingdom Come." However, there are plenty rap albums, not to mention tons of albums in general, better than "American Gangster." The Drought 3, a mere mixtape for example, is a better display of lyrical ability, flow, humour, etc. Despite some of the amazing production there is no denying how lost and simply uninspired Jay-Z sounds on most of these songs.
(Examples of hip-hop efforts more deserving: Pharoahe Monch - Desire, Talib Kweli - Eardrum, Brother Ali - Undisputed Truth, etc.
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Where are the besnard lakes?
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Marnie Stern got the shaft...everywhere.
In Advance of a Broken Arm
am i the only one or something?
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Bitch bitch bitch bitch bitch bitch bitch bitch bitch bitch bitch bitch bitch bitch bitch bitch bitch bitch...but seriously, Okkervil River needed to be higher so I could sleep at night.
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Why no link to the Pitchfork list? Seems odd to lift their list wholesale without linking to them, yes?
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@ kidacomputerok 11:31/12:25, oh wow 11:59, Kevin 12:37
mark richardson is the best thing to happen to pitchfork since mark richard-san.
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this list is shit, i'll pass on 7 of their top 10.
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Lil Wayne and Jay-Z should not be above Kanye in any of these lists. Rapping aside, Graduation is easily the most musically interesting hip-hop album this year and it has way more re-listenable value than those other two albums.
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everyone talks about pitchfork writing bad reviews... who's doing it better?
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Person Pitch is good, but not number one, not by a longshot. Not even top-ten material. Strawberry Jam is better. In Rainbows is the only valid choice for number one.
Where's Menomena and Blonde Redhead?
Lil Wayne? Jesus. Funny how they pretend to enjoy pop music and mainstream rap in an effort to not look pretentious but refuse to acknowledge a rock band as being good if they become "popular." Hypocrites. Obviously their polyester, two-sizes-too-small, American Apparel clothes are cutting off the circulation to their heads.
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Wow, I'm pretty surprised at how I'm not indignant toward their list for once. I'm mostly just upset with the complete absence of Menomena.
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Blitzen Trapper, Clientele, Sunset Rubdown, BESNARD MOTHERFUCKING LAKES!!!!?
WHA HAPPENED?
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@ uncle grambo
non-link was entirely unintentional, fixed! and yeah, i fogot to mention disappointment with the lack of sunset rubdown, blitzen, andrew bird, menomena, phosphorescent, and besnard lakes. guess after rolling stone having mounted the apex of shittyness, i was vulverable, wounded, ready to be seduced -- and pitchfork's list was just the sweet-talking rebound i was looking for.
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Sunset Rubdown?
Frog Eyes?
Menomena?
Patrick Wolf?
Phosphorescent?
Aside from those omissions, probably their best list in years.
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To all the commentoors remarking "am I the only one who didn't get _______": no, you just wish to be. You don't have some great musical genius buried away that nobody else in the world has.
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no random spirit lover is just plain fked up.
will people be listening to lcd in 20 years time??
i must be the only one that really liked icky. prob my third fav record that they have put out. jack fell in love with his guitar again, which to me was joyous.
sans prickly/st andrew, i thought every track was great. i guess in these days of fluro, red and white just isn't kickin it anymo.
agree with sean, american gangster is waay good, but there is something about graduation that brings you back time and time again. (the Ye's flow being easy enough to imitate in the car for this white boy, might be one reason)
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Where is Zeitgeist?
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Really? No Devendra Banhart?
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Battles SUCK.
That LCD Soundsystem record SUCKS.
Deerhunter SUCKS.
And I like the first song on the Panda Bear record, but that's it.
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random spirit lover and bowerbirds album should be on that list.
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No Andrew Bird = Shit List
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This is the only list I've seen that acknowledges the sad fact that 2007 was full of mediocre (or at least less than great) albums from otherwise great bands. Putting Arcade Fire so low feels like an act of insufferable music snobbery and contrarianism, but at least it's honest. MIA at #3 is a little bullshitty, though, and reeks of hip-hop tokenism.
My main beef with this list and most others: where the hell is Patrick Watson? He only won the friggin Polaris Prize.
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Yawn.
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Anyone else fall in love with that Arthur & Yu record? It's in my Top 5 - in very good company with these other records.
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i would say 95% of these shit bands won't have a career in music 5 years from now.
complete shite.
what the fuck is with you yanks.
shameful.
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Very Happy with the following bands getting recognized:
Deerhunter
Yeasayer
The Tough Alliance
Very Dissappointed with the
lack of Menomena(especially), Blitzen Trapper, and The Clientele, Matthew Dear
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No sunset rubdown? that alone is a total disgrace, let alone the omission of phosphorescent, andrew bird, and handsome furs.
Also, does anyone REALLY REALLY think, like, really believe deep down inside of them that Dan Deacon deserves to be above all of those other albums, let alone the genius ones that aren't on the list?
Seriously, Pfork leaving out sunset rubdown is the equivalent of the infamous rolling stone-pinkerton decision, if not worse. yeah, it's definitely worse.
depressing...
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sunset fucking rubdown.
andrew fucking bird.
fuck mia. fuck lcd. those records are horseshit. now i'm just angry.
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i've said it once and i will say it again..
new pornographers' "challengers".
also, the immaculate machine got robbed hard this year. which is too bad because "fables" is pretty fantastic.
big points for inclusion of iron & wine's "the shepherd's dog" though.
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ummm so no one has a viable response... figures.
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Arcade Fire and The National deserve way higher positions than that, regardless of whether you think they're "overblogged" or not. This is the worst list yet. Putting those bands lower on a list simply because you personally liked their last album a little better does not make sense at all. Based on all the albums that came out THIS YEAR, Arcade Fire and The National should at least be near Radiohead on any and all lists.
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after reading the p4k article where annie clark recommends james blackshaw acoustic licks, i had a venture.
if you like ambient/instrumental stuff (e.g. eluvium, mice parade), check out 'cloud of unknowing'. puts you in a bit of a reflective euphoria, so have a comfortable spot on the couch ready.
on a side note, in an effort to go 'legal' and 'support music' i've subscribed to rhapsody (awesome service) and purchased 2-3 cds a month from my queue. 'return to cookie mountain' just came today - i'd say a year later it still deserves the praise it received on lists 365 days ago.
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Really though, has anyone noticed that LCD should be number 1? It did way better on individual lists than Panda Bear. Can someone please explain this to me?
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Finally Person Pitch gets the nod it deserves. That album is wonderful. It gave me hope for music. Also, good to see Mirrors up there. It IS deserving, and not overrated in the least.
I couldn't care less about The National or the Klaxons. THOSE are the overrated ones. Everyone loves to whine about these bands especially for some reason.
Neon Bible is decent, but as mentioned already, no Funeral.
But who really cares what I, or anyone else commenting thinks? Or Pitchfork, for that matter. Just enjoy the music you like!!
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P4k slept on two of my favorites this year. A SUNNY DAY IN GLASGOW & SUNSET RUBDOWN. Wah!
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ant, i loved icky thump too. i'm surprised at all the hate cropping up for it here, especially since that didn't seem to be around when the album came out. i didn't expect it to be any higher on pitchfork, as they've never really given them the attention i think they deserve, but i've been surprised at its place on other lists.
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TWILIGHT FUCKIN SAD. TWILIGHT SAD. TWILIGHT. SAD. SERIOUSLY NOW.
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has anyone here noticed this? https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=8wzvazG8Wv0P2H0S9_2fzNmw_3d_3d
kinda wondering if anyone even read the opening blurb of this year-end list....sorry, shouldn't use the word "read" with this group, i know how public education goes and the short attention spans, and the unending excuses...just stick to the numbers as you always have, and agree that the writing is awful.
LOOK they were even considerate enough (to you, of course, because YOU'RE THE MOST IMPORTANT MUSIC FAN IN THE WORLD!) to include Sunset Rubdown...man, p4k totally hated on that record with their 8.5 rating (see, the numbers, you know those)
hint: it says "The 2007 Pitchfork Readers Poll" at the top..yr welcome.
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I was very surprised and disappointed not to see Menomena on the list. "Friend and Foe" was unquestionably my favorite album of the list. Though I realize whether or not I like it was not one of the criteria Pitchfork used, it does seem odd that so many records that were Best New Music did not end up on the list (Menomena, Blitzen Trapper, Chromatics), whereas something awesome like Dity Projectors was not canonized in its review, yet placed quite high on the Year End list. How are these selection processes different? Or is it just a matter of attention span?
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NO EFFING WILCO???
Impossible (Germany)!
And seriously enough with the techno/rave/electronica/ garbage. My ears hate me for even exposing them to such poisonous sounds. What's so wrong with playing the geeetarrr?? Perhaps PFork is threatened by the EARTHLINGS whose audience they crave!
but srsly lol @ pitchfork. it's like they want to confuse they love you too much to tell you the truth, you know?
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NO EFFING WILCO???
Impossible (Germany)!
And seriously enough with the techno/rave/electronica/ garbage. My ears hate me for even exposing them to such poisonous sounds. What's so wrong with playing the geeetarrr?? Perhaps PFork is threatened by the EARTHLINGS whose audience they crave!
but srsly lol @ pitchfork. it's like they want to confuse you because they love you too much to tell you the truth, you know?
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okay so basically the only reason Person Pitch is number 1 is because Ryan Scheiber or whateverthefuck his name is wanted it to be and it is on his list. i think he did the same thing with arcade fire's funeral back in 2004. You could tell he did it when they released a best of 2000-2004 and arcade fire was at 55 after being their number one of 04 like a month or two prior.
basically lcd soundsystem deserved to be number one, and personally i think sunset rubdown deserves to be top 10, i don't know why hardly no one has it high on their year end lists
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Counting my Christmas Blessings: Thank God no Whinehouse.
Am I the only one who doesn't dig M.I.A. nearly as much as the rest of this community?
P4k has been tooting the American Gangster horn since the news broke.
I could have gone for some more Modest Mouse, Daft Punk, Justice and Icky Thump placement. Nothing's wrong with fun, even if you can find it in every record store.
Hate to sound like a fanboy, but: Fuck all of you for buying into the the blind Arcade Fire backlash. Go see them live and tell me they're still shittier than motherfucking Feist. In 20 years kids will still be listening to AF and Radiohead and LCD; and Animal Collective will be as well-revered as the Boredoms output from the '90s.
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Seriously, anyone who doesn't recognise that 'Random Spirit Lover' was the greatest album of the year knows nothing about anything. The fact that it wasn't even in the Top 50 is absolute insanity.
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A better list came out Saturday which at least narrows it down to 20 instead of just listing every indie release of 2007.
http://blogs.caller.com/left_of_the_dial/
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a possible explanation on why panda bear was #1 over lcd:
year end lists were compiled from staffers and other contributors. i assume that those listed on pitchfork's masthead would be given a greater weight as to their "best of" list.
as for sunset rubdown:
yes, it was a good album. so was "ola podrida". so was "friend and foe". so were "myth takes", "everybody", "a place to bury strangers", "drums and guns", "..are the dark horse" and "god save the clientele". but unless you're in the top 25 for quite a few writers, you're nowhere to be found. that's how an aggregated year-end list works.
people need to stop criticizing the "P4K" institution and start realizing this is just a group of 30-some moderately to extremely talented music critics/writers. most of them write for a wide spread of other publications as well.
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I'll echo the sentiment that Menomena, Sunset Rubdown, and Wilco are some pretty major omissions. Neon Bible needs to be higher. I don't care if you prefer Funeral, it's an amazing album. That said, P-Fork gets big points from me for putting Hissing Fauna in the Top 5 where it belongs.
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They got number one right and that's what counts most. I also liked at least half of the albums on the list, so that's saying a lot. Awesome to see Life Without Buildings on there, but I can't help but wish Monotract got some much-deserved love.
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To Evan: "No, I was missing nothing."
Do you like Steve Reich and/or the Beach Boys?
Now mash the two together, add a ton of natural reverb and found rhythms (trains... birds... shoes), obscure the sounds so they're from another planet, then bring it home with bubblegum melodies, BOOM! Unique, ghostly and ear-pleasing to those who may not have an avant garde weirdo fetish, too. The whole record sounds like a memory of a place that never actually existed. It's awesome.
Best album of the year. Totally no doubt. Literally miles ahead of everything including the guys own band. Compared to Person Pitch, Strawberry Jam (which I like a lot) sounds like a retreat.
I can understand long songs can be "difficult" and the reverb can put somebody off, but come on! The whole thing is obviously an extremely well-crafted and deliberate series of songs. Not a sound on there is incidental. It's perfect.
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Icky Thump's placed way too low, and I'm also at a loss about the hatred for the album. I guess hard rock is out of fashion and introspective, shoe-gazing, sound-alike meandering is in. I even like Prickly Thorn/St. Andrew, but I can understand how others don't. But if you think Catch Hell Blues sucks; if you think You Don't Know What Love Is sucks; if you think Icky Thump itself or Little Cream Soda suck, I can only figure you don't like hard rock or blues, or you reject accessibility for its own sake, or you were expecting the White Stripes to churn out 10 more 7 Nation Armys.
I'd put Icky as the #2 or #3 White Stripes albums overall. Toss another excellent album on the pile, and a few more experimentations on the way (Conquest, Prickly Thorn, St. Andrew, Little Cream Soda, Rag & Bone). If you're into blues, hard rock, and a even some country, I'm not seeing any album on this list that can touch it. Good luck finding a songwriter as consistently good as Jack White in the rest of these, as well.
I don't get Panda either, but I have to give it a few more listens. Some things are just growers. Same with some other stuff on this list.
The Battles album rocks; but again, if it's not your thing, it's not your thing. It's definitely out there, and it took me a few spins to get fully into it.
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I call: Andrew Bird, Sunset Rubdown, Menomena. And I raise Handsome Furs.
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A year-end list to redeem all others, imho. I'm not sure how the other pubs compile their rankings but the combination of highly-literate-music-reviewers with appreciably-diverse-tastes and the Pazz and Jop-style point system evidently serves P4K a nicely representative slice of the Year in Indie every time.
With that said, I was surprised and bummed to not see Menomena and St. Vincent. Though those sentiments are tempered by the fact the Top 10 is Person-Pitch-perfect and "Cease to Begin" is nowhere to be found. Stupid horse band.
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Wasn't Pterodactyl's Blue Jay out this year? That album deservedly belong's on more of these Top 50 Lists. Sure wasn't it you guys who gave them the BTW early this year too?
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Anyone hear the new lupe fiasco album yet? do you think it would be on this last had it come out earlier?
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Just a suggestion, but if you're disappointed with P4K's list, you should take their reader poll. Unless you're too cool to be recognized (however anonymously) that you read their site. My personal top five (to be ruthlessly picked apart by petty message boarding): #1 Strawberry Jam, #2 Kala, #3 Rise Above, #4 Hissing Fauna, #5 Night Falls Over Kortedala. There - everyone has their opinions. Further blasphemy: I really liked In Rainbows (gasp), and I also think the Arcade Fire are terribly overrated. Here's another one: Silent Shout is a great album (!oh no's!)
Not that they're top 50 material, but did anyone else wish Scout Niblett and Michael Gira would have gotten just a little more recognition this year? Or do those records only inhabit the minds of brooding misanthrope types like Jamie Stewart & Steve Albini?
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The lack of Sunset Rubdown and Blitzen Trapper on both lists is upsetting. "Wild Mountain Nation" is one of the best tracks of 07, methinks.
Otherwise, there isn't a single album on this list that I view as crap... It's refreshing to see a list that doesn't seem too forced, despite what Pitchfork-haters think... No mandatory Arcade Fire/National top 3...
I like Neon Bible, but if you haven't seen the songs performed live, it's about half as effective...
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MIA is the biggest scam ever perpetrated.
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Where is ELECTRELANE!?
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I am also sad that there is no Andrew Bird on this list. In addition why do people possess the need to bash the Arcade Fire. I will admit that I thought Funeral was better so fuck these people that pretty much think that Arcade Fire deserve to be at the bottom of these lists. If Neon Bible came out in October/November people would still be drooling about. So pretty much my argument is we all know that these lists suck, so just shut the fuck up already.
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I like Neon Bible a little better than Funeral, it just doesn't have Neighborhood 1 on it, which is their best song. I think Pitchfork's list is really good actually. I never "got" of Montreal's album after like three listens so I gave up on it, but the rest of the top ten is pretty nice. Person Pitch was far and away my fav. album. way better than strawberry jam IMO.
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The best thing about this list is the complete absence of Modest Mouse.
Worst thing is probably the complete absence of Random Spirit Lover.
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no Black Moth Super Rainbow or Prefuse 73?
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As an aside... does anyone else think Grizzly Bear was the biggest grower of last year and should retroactively made number one? Well, either way, I do.
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What??!?! Signet Memorandums?
clearly the best album put out all year!
pitchfork = SHIT LIST!!!!!!
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I saw Fall Out Boy on three of the individual lists.
FALL OUT BOY
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so I see Fall Out Boy on three lists and New Young Pony Club in neither of them.
stop complaining if you didn't agree with the lists.
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gah besnard lakes?! besnard lakes anyone???
totally unrecognised in every list, i thought pitchfork were at least going to acknowledge them
and also the twilight sad and sunset rubdown, pretty sad not to see them make an appearance
other than that it was fairly pleassing though
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Woow...This is totally interesting......
http://www.spymac.com/details/?2321441
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I just cannot believe that Random Spirit Lover is not there. It's a tragedy, really.
And MIA? That shit blows.
Fuck.
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menomena!
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Seriously! What's the deal with Panda Bear? I just don't get it..
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Has anyone heard of a band called Sunset Rubdown? I don't know...they seem pretty darn nifty to me. Certainly an album worthy of the Top 10 of the decade deserves a drop of credit. Don't even get me started on the neglection of Besnard, Bird, Bowerbirds, Handsome Furs and Harvey. WTF?! Bitchfork Sucks.
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I just think that In Rainbows just have got the first position, simply brilliant album!!! Ah, and M.I.A. in second!!!
Some of the other ones I've never heard of, bah!
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is it everyone that thinks Arcade Fire is overrated? I don't get all the bashing. I think they must be pretty damn good to get on all these lists and win "best live act" on this site...so what's with the hate? are they "too big" to like now?
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NICE TO SEE MY BOYS NO AGE ON THAT LIST GOOD JOB KIDS :)
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Adam: I think they must be pretty damn good to get on all these lists and win "best live act" on this site...so what's with the hate?
Adam, in the 1970s, Kenny Loggins and the Eagles were on many best-of lists, while I bet you'd be hard pressed to find any major list with Chrome's first records or Robert Wyatt's solo work (albums now recognized as much more unique than most others of the era).
I think a lot of these lists are silly Christmas shopping tickets for the musically clueless. How can anyone know after only one year how well something will wear, where it stands in relation to the culture, what inspired it and what it will inspire, and it's long-standing value as a piece of art? How can anyone even hear enough music in a year to know what's best of said year? Who knows what got released in the middle of the ex-Soviet Bloc or the Alps or wherever that no one has paid attention to yet?
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surprising list, but i'll say i agree with most. nice to jens up near the top, but really where was andrew bird???
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this is not Pitchfork's list -- this is the same list that every critic for every major newspaper published this year. is there risk in thinking for yourself? where are bands like As Tall As Lions, Minus the Bear, and Wintersleep?
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This gets more and more interesting here
http://www.great.fx.to
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Totally in agreement about Menomena, 'Friend and Foe' was probably one of my favorite and most listened to albums all year.
Same thing with Handsome Furs, that album is just simply amazing, listen to it again. It's way better than any Sunset Rubdown album... sorry, but thems the facts.
In agreement about Andrew Bird, and what about Malcolm Middleton's 'A Brighter Beat'? Sure it wasn't as good as 'Into the Woods' but it deserved to be up there I think.
While Pitchfork does suck ass a lot of the time, and the writing can be absolutely horrible and sound often pretentious they do occasionally shed some light on albums I probably wouldn't have ever given a chance.
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one of the pitchfork artist's lists had the latest SEX VID 7", which is a totally rad record. never in a million years will sex vid make a pitchfork year-end list.
one of the guys from the tough alliance had a good list as well, imo.
PS, steve: minus the bear didn't make anyone's list because they are a paint-by-numbers "modern alternative rock" band so generic that they make the foo fighters sound like captain beefheart. just trying to help.
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im a little suprised that Tegan&Sara's 'The Con' didn't make this list. i thought that record was amazing.
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Where are The Shins? Surely 'Wincing The Night Away' is atleast in the top 50 albums for the year, especially if the american gangster Jay Z can make top 25.
W
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The Panda Bear placement is telling. I tried to like it, I bought a few tracks off iTunes to hear all the fuss myself. Here's the part where I turn into an elitist fuck. Although a noble effort at trying to create something nostalgic and dreamy this record points out how desperately in need of craft modern music is. The album uses Brian Wilsonesque sounds to deliver a secondhand experience of something far greater (an actual Beach Boys record). Just go to the source, and if it's not cool enough at least get Hippocamp Ruins Pet Sounds ( http://www.autistici.com/petsounds.htm ) which is free and far more imaginative reconstitution of these same elements. Person Pitched is for those that just don't know any better, god bless em they try, like AOL dialup users.
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Kings Of Leon? Stars? where are they? Pitchfork is cracked
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I'm a battles fan, but they ranked them too high in my opinion, Boxer needed to be higher. Wheres Besnard? Modest Mouse?.. I even think Kevin Drew should have atleast cracked top 50 over some of these albums, the same with Explosions in the sky.
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Leaving White Rabbits - Fort Nightly album off the list is my main complaint. That and Andrew Bird not being listed.
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Boxer should have been number one. Hands down. Arcade Fire should've been higher.
And yeah, PB's record was good...not great. And I think Grizzly Bear is terrible, myself. Someone said on this list that PB is like a bad second-hand version of Beach Boys (citing the need for real craft). That's how I feel about Grizzly Bear. Do not get the hype one bit.
Still, glad to see that Dan Deacon & Deerhunter did not get too high up on there (but still, they should've been lower.)
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I figured he wouldnt make it because of the review this year, but I think Josh Ritter's album was amazing this year. Two of the writers had him as top 10, as well.
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@ "everyone talks about pitchfork writing bad reviews... who's doing it better?"
On occasion, Coke Machine Glow and All Music Guide do the trick nicely. Of course, I'm one of those nerds who pays attention to whose name is on the byline. Some p4k writers I like. Others need to get their head out from up their own arse and stop believing that just because they pepper their reviews with pop culture references and SAT words that their convoluted shit is worth reading.
Does that answer your question?
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Don't get all the love the for the Kanye album. It's his worst album by far. I only liked a few songs on it. The best hip-hop album of 2007 was Shape of Broad Minds, "Craft of the Lost Art". A brilliant album.
Saw the comments mentioning Menomena . I didn't even know they released an album this year. I really liked "I Am The Fun Blame Monster!". I'll have to check out their latest release.
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I wish more people had listened to A Sunny Day In Glasgow.
My #2 record of the year and I haven't seen it on one list.
Such a shame.
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I'm also a big fan of a sunny day in glasgow. Finally a refreshing take on the shoegaze genre. Definitely in my top 10.
Another one of my favourites that doesn't seem to get much love is boris - rainbow. Maybe because it was originally a (very limited) 2006 recording, but nevertheless.
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LOL is it that serious people?
Compile your own fucking list if you don't agree with p4k (or anyone else for that matter).
Music is subjective, so keep it moving.
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It is one thing to rank M.I.A. at #3 for its musical interests, but pitchfork (and i am a pitchfork follower) made the mistake of namedropping M.I.A.'s politics. NOT GOOD. I know a good deal of Sri Lankan politics and M.I.A. is LTTE. Don't throw around these things lightly. LTTE is the al quaeda of Sri Lanka. So enjoy the music, support her even if she supports terrorism but DO NOT bandy about any interest in SL politics when you do not know what you're speaking of.
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