Maybe he’s trying to say he reached out to the people who the accusers’ statement could plausibly be referring to (ie. women he slept with in college)? IDK. I don’t want to speculate, but this is a little different from what we’ve seen before in that the accuser is not claiming she was the victim, only that she knows the victim. That might be what he means when he says the accusation is baseless. But who really knows. It’s a small scene and I’m sure the truth will get out.

Next week on Stereogum: “Rising: Walmart Yodel Boy”
Next month on Stereogum: “Album of the Week: Walmart Yodel Boy”
Next year on Stereogum: “Remember When the Walmart Yodel Boy Was Good?”

Do you even care about the children?

So as someone who works for YouTube, after this week, I’ve got a couple requests for y’all. If you’re having issues with monetization, 1. please email the right department and 2. please don’t try to shoot me and my friends. Thanks all! You’re the best.

“Shut Up, Dad: This Year’s Most Misguided Comments”

no offense but who is ben howard

Apparently it’s human garbage face tattooed rapper day on Stereogum.

Oh shit I just explained poptimism.

This is a lot better than I expected it to be, and genuinely quite good, so no shots @ Cardi. That said, it feels strange to me that the only rap albums that seem to get consensus acclaim (i.e. are discussed outside of a column like this) tend to work within a trap mold or – relatedly – make abundant pop concessions. It brings to mind the column published here about the most recent scallops hotel tape and “art rap” – will a rap album w/o commercial ambitions achieve widespread critical acclaim again any time soon? Thinking back on it now, the vibe is that we’re ghettoizing them with terms like “art rap” and taking away the potential for them to do so (or just plain aren’t interested in awarding them (thanks for the Saba shoutout tho)).

I’m also reminded of the praise for movies like Black Panther and The Last Jedi in tandem with this. Like, both are above average blockbusters to be sure, but the argument that they’re among the best movies of their respective years feels like an argument made by someone who doesn’t see a lot of movies. For better and for worse, works of critical acclaim and works with mainstream intent are meeting in the middle.

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not surprising that her core base comprises a bunch of snowflakes that would take supreme offense to this

Sorority Noise ’bout to get PWR BTTMed.

Meanwhile, 20 great records not released by the music industry oligarchy came out and went unnoticed by any music websites this month because they need to keep space free just in case Lorde makes a divisive Instagram post.

Killer Mike, SHUT UP ALT-RIGHT SCUM! i may be white, but you are EVIL and an enemy of the left-wing! guns are EVIL, and should all be banned! know your place!

Could you please just write about music instead of emotionally driven click bait garbage regarding some goofy pop teenager’s instagram transgressions? Apparently she is “one of the best of us” so she deserves tons of attention. And I know people LOVE to moralize and pass judgements on people they don’t know or have anything to do with and that’s what people use the internet for, especially when the moral failing is related to something as unimportant as an instagram photo, but no need to encourage this vapidity.

Haven’t listened to this yet, but it’s my AOTW.