Yesterday, Paste released its list of the 50 Best Albums Of The 2000s, and the list was topped by none other than Sufjan Stevens’ Illinoise, which honestly seems like it was released way longer ago, so established has he become in the indie-rock firmament. Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, the Arcade Fire’s Funeral, Radiohead’s Kid A, and Bright Eyes’ I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning rounded out the top five. Full rundown after the jump, but first, a few reactions.
THE GOOD: Hey, look, Stankonia! At No. 8! Three places beneath… Bright Eyes. Sigh.
THE BAD: Instead of noting the male-white–breadiness of the list—because that is, after all, the way of Paste, and you can’t expect them to change their stripes just for the sake of a mid-autumn pageview-generation ploy—I’m going to zero in on one totally questionable choice. Namely, the selection of M.I.A. albums on the list. Arular (No. 10) and not Kala? Really? I mean, Arular is fine, but Kala is kinda next-level. Is it because of the (admittedly unfortunate) Timbaland track?
THE WHAAAA? Dear Paste fact-checkers: Not for nothing, but Radiohead’s In Rainbows was not entirely “self-released,” as you claim. I know that would screw up the “it changed everything with its revolutionary pricing methods” that serves as the angle for your gushing write-up of the record. Pity that you muffed the opportunity to write about something so (yawn) groundbreaking by regurgitating a tired, half-true spiel. MORE »
Search Results
decade-end analysis
“Paste” Makes A Very Tasteful Illinoise
names in the news
Wilco (The Irresistible Journalistic Construct)
Yesterday Wilco’s new album was made available for purchase, and the double-whammy of it being titled Wilco (The Album) and having its first single be called “Wilco (The Song)” proved to be too much for some writers out there to resist. After the jump, a selection of Wilco (The Parenthetically Assisted Reactions) that have appeared over the past few days, rated on a scale of zero to two camel humps in honor of the album’s cover: MORE »
it's the economy?
“Paste” Throws A Hail Mary Pass
Rumblings about Paste being in financial dire straits started over the weekend, and the news that the magazine will soon launch an appeal for readers to donate money to its cause–in exchange for downloads from the mag’s marquee artists, and, of course, the continued survival of the publication–would seem to confirm suspicions that the economic crunch–not to mention the music industry’s hard times–has adversely affected yet another music-related media outlet. MORE »
the last word
Annie Clark Gets Into Her Role
Our look at the closing lines of the week’s biggest new-music reviews continues with a roundup of reactions to Actor, the second full-length by St. Vincent: MORE »
the biz
What Happens To An Album’s Pre-Release Cycle In An Era Of Leaks, Low Sales, And Dead Magazines?
One of the main reasons for album leaks is the nature of the traditional press cycle. Press outlets–in particular, print outlets–have what’s called a “lead time,” a reasonable (but sometimes unreasonable) amount of time necessary for them to have the record in order to cover it around its release date. The industry standard is three months, but it can vary based on frequency of publication. And as print media tries to compete with online media for timeliness, some outlets have demanded even longer lead times–which, of course, means more time for a record to be out there, and more time for it to leak. Preventive measures like watermarking can help, but in a big office, it can only take one unscrupulous writer or an intern who didn’t know better to screw the whole thing up. MORE »
noon as the news
Headlines: John Mellencamp’s Son Has His Dad’s Fighting Hoosier Spirit
The new format has inspired me to experiment with our content-delivery techniques a bit. Join me after the jump for a rundown of headlines on John Mellencamp’s kid, Sean Combs’ career and name changes, and Paste’s continued experimentation with the whole “getting people to pay for things to read” idea! MORE »
the last word
Bat For Lashes Creep Toward The Pop Life
Our look at the closing lines of the week’s biggest new-music reviews continues with a roundup of reactions to Two Suns, the second album by Bat For Lashes, which comes out in the U.S. today: MORE »
The Bad Brains Documentary: Finally, A Way To Bring Ian MacKaye Together With Lil Jon
The documentary on the legendary hardcore band… MORE »
the last word
Antony And The Johnsons’ Album Is Not Exactly The Feel-Good Record Of The Year
Our look at the closing lines of reviews of the week’s biggest new music continues with a look at reactions to the new album by Antony and the Johnsons, The Crying Light, which arrives in stores today: MORE »
the biz
“Shhhh-it!”: Idolator’s Super-Secret Music Interview Series Oscillates My Metallic Sonatas
Every week in the “Shhhh-it!” AnonIMous Super-Secret Music-Biz Interview Series (S-I!AS-SM-BIS for, uh, short) we interview a grizzled music industry veteran via the topsy-turvy world of instant messaging. This week brings an interview with TheThingThatShouldNotBe, an editor at a metal magazine and a longtime aficionado of the genre. TheThingThatShouldNotBe has a lot to say about the state of metal today and is fairly sanguine about the prospects for metal print magazines in this deleterious time for the music industry. He poses a theory as to why metal fans are so devoted, chastises Idolator for its lack of metal coverage, and takes on the lack of metal on year-end lists, particularly that of Pitchfork:
TheThingThatShouldNotBe: i mean, pitchfork reviewed a fistful of metal releases throughout the year, some quite favorably, but when it came time to make up their top 50 list, not one metal title was on there
TheThingThatShouldNotBe: same with the onion av club list - not one metal title
StumpyPete1975: I think it’s the problem with consensus
StumpyPete1975: there is that one metal guy on staff
TheThingThatShouldNotBe: it bugs me because they’re not claiming to be parochial indie-only sites, they’re claiming to be covering the best of current music
StumpyPete1975: yep
TheThingThatShouldNotBe: and yet, when the year ends, their true colors are revealed
TheThingThatShouldNotBe: i mean, i don’t have to pretend to like bon iver or whoeverthefuck, you know?
TheThingThatShouldNotBe: when i make a list of the best albums of the year, it’s gonna be the best METAL albums of the year, and everyone reading it knows that going in
TheThingThatShouldNotBe: but pitchfork wants to expand their stylistic purview - until they don’t
TheThingThatShouldNotBe: and it winds up being disrespectful
TheThingThatShouldNotBe: and an inaccurate portrayal of culture as it exists on the ground
Metal machine music after the jump! MORE »
