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deejaydoubleyou

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The Streets were in Pitchfork's Top 50

Permalink for HarshBrowns's comment on NME's 50 Greatest Albums Of The '00s at November 17, 2009 4:21 PM
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This. I'm American, but I was thinking the same things as I read most of the comments here.

Anyone who's bitching about the absence of Modest Mouse and Animal Collective in one breath and the high rankings of bands like The Libertines or Arctic Monkeys or The Streets in the next is completely missing the point. The reason the NME thinks Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is just a pretty good alt-country-ish album is the exact same reason most Americans think Up The Bracket is just a pretty good garage rock album. Disagreeing is one thing, but disparaging the selections (and omissions) that are obviously based in cultural differences is like complaining because British people like soccer better than baseball.

(And on a sort of related note, I think both of The Libertines' albums are fucking great, and I always thought it was a shame that the American music press either treated them as a novelty or ignored them altogether.)

Permalink for lily's comment on NME's 50 Greatest Albums Of The '00s at November 17, 2009 8:01 PM
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obviously, everybody who has said that the omission of modest mouse etc. from this list is to be expected because NME caters to british readers that view music through a different, culturally specific scope, are quite right. i'm not going to disagree with you.

on the other hand, i don't think it's fair to accuse anyone complaining about the absence of their favourite bands of laughability, stupidity, or of missing the point. those people didn't buy a copy of NME, get upset at the list, and then write a shit-nosed hate letter to the editors; they came onto a music website that posts these (absurd) "top albums" lists as a jumping off-point for a discussion of what should and should not be on such a list.

again, you make a good point, but begrudging people their opinion on the basis of cultural bias on an internationally-read website doesn't seem fair to me.

Permalink for c.'s comment on NME's 50 Greatest Albums Of The '00s at November 18, 2009 8:30 PM
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Touché. My point still stands (ish). How am I doing at this internet thing? :)

In reply to HarshBrowns's comment on NME's 50 Greatest Albums Of The '00s at November 17, 2009 4:41 PM
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Pretty respectable list for NME all things considered.

I'm probably going to end up ranting here but the "zomg brits don't get our music!!!" comments are so needlessly defensive it's almost laughable. They're missing the point of a localised music magazine: NME is not going to rank acts if they haven't broken right through into the British indie-consciousness and don't have any real cultural resonance with their readership. These two reasons are why Modest Mouse and Wilco have never become household names for British music journalists in the same way that The Strokes and Arcade Fire have. You could probably put it down to PR but I think it's a little more complex than that.

The same principles explain why The Libertines and The Streets feature in NME's top 50 but not Pitchfork's. NME editors and readers know all too well how bad a state British indie music was in after Britpop fizzled out. They also remember just how fucking brilliant the two acts were at giving voice to Britain's disillusioned urban youth culture through the stories their albums told. Of course you Americans aren't going to appreciate these bands in the same way that us Brits do because the stories aren't about you. No need to get all uppity about it. I for one would love to "get" Wilco and The Gaslight Anthem but at the end of the day they're not really writing music about Brits like me. Anyway (Y) for Is This It.

on NME's 50 Greatest Albums Of The '00s at November 17, 2009 4:19 PM
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I thought the same thing. Having said that, the idea of Ben writing in a character "tall in stature and exceptionally red" amuses me greatly so more inadvertent plus points for Ross Ching.

In reply to hunter w.'s comment on New Death Cab For Cutie Video - "Little Bribes" (Fan Video) at May 22, 2009 5:21 AM
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The deals may be price-friendly but they're not Brit-friendly *insert unsmiley face*. Amazing deal though. Grab this one while you can...

on Stereogum X Amazon MP3 Friendly Deals #10: Grouper's Dragging A Dead Deer Up A Hill at April 29, 2009 6:44 PM
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I think Gabe is secretly in love with Abby Elliott.

on Finally, A Gwyneth Paltrow Roast Chicken Parody Video at August 18, 2009 10:02 AM
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