@Ben: Yeah, it happens every time, and for the first few months doing these franchises, I would always step into the comments and explain that these are always and only assigned to writers who are passionate fans of the artist in question, and we've in no way asked them to either follow or reject consensus, but to present a list that reflects their feelings as honestly as possible. I stopped making that address in the comments because it made no difference; people accused of us trolling just the same. The only reason I called out Michael_ is because he's a longtime reader and a pretty established blogger himself and I think he knows in his heart that we don't operate that way. But it's a good opportunity for me to restate our editorial policies, even if they only go read by you and Michael_ and other people who comment here regularly anyway.
Nah, you have my word -- hand to heart -- we approached this with no such intention, and James was given no such direction (and to be clear, no writer with whom I've worked has EVER been told directly or indirectly to be "more controversial"). I'll be totally straight with you: In this case, we actually considered asking James to reconsider his decision to leave Teen Spirit off the list, before finally deciding that doing so would have been kind of invasive and dishonest. That said, if I had written this list, Teen Spirit would have been No. 1. But I hold James' opinions on music in the highest esteem, and they're presented here unaltered, and they are 100-percent sincere.
You think it's safe to assume we hired James Jackson Toth, an acclaimed songwriter (bka Wooden Wand) and outstanding critic in his own right, to write 3200 words on Nirvana ... to troll commenters?
For anyone not inclined to read the intro, I just want to highlight one section of it, which precedes the list itself:
"Many readers will note the conspicuous absence of Nirvana’s most popular and enduring song from this list. For the record, I concede that “Smells Like Teen Spirit” is a great song (possibly the best song to ever rip off the Pixies), but the fact is, Nirvana recorded better ones. At least ten better, as a matter of fact. Here they are."
Oh man, that Breakfast Stout is so good! But it's heavy as hell.
(Also, editor's note: the commenter to whom I am replying, Damian Master, runs Colloquial Sound. Buy his stuff!)
I don't think she "has to" tread carefully on this or any subject, and I'm not sure if she has ever treaded carefully on this or any subject, but I do think NOT treading carefully leaves her open to accusations of tactlessness! (Or, more harshly, grossness.) Is it insensitive or sanctimonious of me to make such accusations? Eh, maybe it is. But that was my reaction just the same. (Given the chance, I might revise my phrasing to say, "Her timing for announcing this news is a little awkward/cringe-inducing...") Also: "Awful" is my favorite Hole song!
The interview was conducted last night; I dunno how the question was phrased. In any case, it was at best tactless to reveal that information and not request that it not be made public in this particular week when Kurt Cobain Death Anniversary coverage is so ubiquitous. (Ex.: "Yeah, we are making some new music as Hole, but maybe don't publish that bit of news until after the Kurt stuff has passed? It might appear somewhat opportunistic and maybe even a little gross to have that trending on Twitter right now?") It's that kinda stuff that insures she continue to be defined by her unhealthy marriage that ended in suicide 20 years ago. (She doesn't do herself any favors by publicly continuing to go by the name Courtney Love Cobain, either.) And I say this as a fan of her music!
I actually think it's a little gross for Kurt Cobain's widow to announce the reformation of her old band -- the band that became famous while she was married to Kurt Cobain, at least in part BECAUSE of her marriage to Kurt Cobain -- a few days before the 20th anniversary of Kurt Cobain's suicide: a moment at which media interest in Kurt Cobain is especially intense. Maybe the timing is just coincidental, though, and she didn't realize this Saturday marks 20 years since her husband killed himself?
Kristen died in 1994 (not 1995, as I mistakenly wrote in my comment a few inches up). Then Melissa joined, and Melissa played bass on Celebrity Skin, for which recording commenced in 1997.
Celebrity Skin was great! Of course Live Through This is the true classic in her catalog, but the band that created that album died with Kristen Pfaff (RIP) in 1995.
Man, Nigel gives me the fucking creeps, just a very lecherous-seeming person. I stopped watching that show when all the good choreographers (notably Shane and ESPECIALLY Wade) started to disappear and they started going to Mandy Moore and Stacy Tooky for like five routines per episode. It became very boring for me. Also Mary Murphy may be the worst judge on TV today. Lil Mama is pretty good but I've only seen three or four episodes of that show. I'd agree that Sing-Off is inconsistent, but the good groups are really fun to watch -- the Beelzebubs in the first season, Pentatonix a couple years ago, that country group last year. I dunno, I just love watching that stuff.
At The Gates and Pallbearer maybe? Those are probably the two at the top of my list of as-yet-unheard albums. Tombs haven't released any songs yet, but I've heard that record and it's fucking ridiculous, absolutely a legit contender for AOTY, too.
Also, look, I know I'm the biggest Metallica stan here, but I I truly can't say enough about their Dio medley, especially "Kill The King," which is legitimately ONE OF THE BEST SONGS THEY HAVE EVER RECORDED. I'm forcing it on everyone I know, and am about to begin bombardment of their management with demands that the band record an entire album in that exact style, with that exact sound. It's in the middle of the pack on this month's list because it's a cover at the end of a medley of covers, but if "Kill The King" was the new Metallica song -- and even as-is, they adapt it more than enough to make it their own, IMO -- it would EASILY be No. 1 on this list, IMO.
I'd agree with your assessment of Gin, and I think you'll find much to love on Serpent. You're not alone in going overboard with anticipation -- I've seen message-board discussions in which it's called AOTY by people who literally haven't heard a note. I'm trying to be as un-spoiler-y as possible: Agalloch is Wyatt's favorite band, and I promised him I wouldn't talk about the album publicly until he had head it. I really don't want to say anything that might affect the listening experiences of anyone who has been waiting for this album. Either way, my review will run soon enough, and I'll mention it on Twitter when it does.
It really depends on which elements of Agalloch are most exciting to you personally, I think. I've spent A LOT of time with the album, and in the review I'm writing (which will be published here eventually), I say something about how "Celestial Effigy" comes at the end of a three-song run that might be the best such sequence in Agalloch's catalog. For me, the two songs that precede it are the two best songs on the album, while "Celestial Effigy" is either the third, fourth, or fifth best song on the album. It's pretty hard to say because they all have unique identities and properties that make them stand out, and what I love about Agalloch might not be what you love about Agalloch. But I'll say this in the most evenhanded, unspecific, diplomatic way possible: I do not believe fans of Agalloch will be disappointed with the album when they finally hear it.
They do really subtle callbacks, too -- the family dog, which has appeared in every episode, was the one he stole in the first episode.
One thing I don't get, and which they are doing a terrible job of addressing: To what extent is his wife aware of his job? She appears to have no idea what he does for a living AND that there are cameras in her home. But it doesn't appear to be a secret otherwise? I dunno, unless I missed something, they really have to address that, because it made the events of episode 3 unnecessarily confusing.
Also, IMO Broad City is the best show on Comedy Central right now, but yeah, they are murdering it in every timeslot.
I got an advance for review. Perks, man. I gotta sit with it for a while -- it's not out till June I think? -- but my first few impressions were: it's a crusher, and a huge step forward. Garrett from Flourishing/Wetnurse (two godlike bands, IMO) is their second guitarist now, and he's added entirely new layers to an already core-deep sound.
Frankly, it could just as easily be Thou or Triptykon at the top of this month's list. I agree with you, Jim: I got the new Tombs album yesterday, and as I was listening to it -- while also having Triptykon, Thou, and Agalloch in steady rotation -- it kinda dawned on me that the bar is being raised this year.
My fault, just slipped my mind. I just added this one and Triptykon (two songs from which dropped totally unannounced last Friday) to Heavy Rotation; they're probably the two best metal albums of the year so far, although I have another one to add tomorrow, too.
There's a lot here that I find really encouraging. I'm eager to hear a better-quality recording, and especially eager to hear a studio recording. But what's here is good.
Sorry, I should explain this more often: In order to cover as much music as possible, we have a one-and-done policy with regard to eligibility. When an album has been represented on this list once, that's the endorsement, and it's not eligible to be represented on the list again. Otherwise we'd use valuable space covering the same record for two or three months in a row, at the expense of covering other records. If my response to you came off defensive, it was because you seemed to be suggesting we slept on the Artificial Brain record, when in fact we've already praised the hell out of it. My mistake, my apologies.
How was it? I saw them in suburban Long Island on this tour a week or so ago and I thought they were fantastic -- it was a marked upgrade from their Brooklyn shows for a number of reasons (crowd, room, vibe). I brought a buddy who'd never even heard them before and he walked away in awe. So did I, actually.
I feel the same way, but I think it's probably an album that works better played straight-thru than heard as random singles. (Altho I haven't heard the album yet so who knows.)
Edward, I can see both your point and Jeremy's, above. I think it's something we'll have to address on a case-by-case basis. It's not an easy one to resolve either way.
Also: Thanks for the kind words!
These are great, insightful points, Jim. Also, thanks for shouting out Aaron, whose work this month was exemplary.
Since I'm here, I gotta make a special point to strongly encourage everyone to listen to that Fluisteraars EP that Wyatt wrote about -- not just the song we posted (which is insane) but the whole thing. It's fucking amazing. It's so early, but I'll be pretty surprised if it's not in the top half of our year-end list. Really a standout.
http://records.eisenton.de/album/dromers
Yeah, that's a good idea. We already link to the labels at the end of every blurb, but starting next month, I'll include release date next to that link. If I have time, I'll post all the release dates for this month's records in the comments.
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