Pitchfork is a place I visit everyday and I simultaneously love it and hate it. I like finding new music and news form them but then at the same time I find its blatant hipsterism offensive and predictable.
Lately, when there is an album review of a band I know - I try to guess the score before I click on it to see just how predictable they have become. Most of the time I'm pretty close. For example, I clicked on the new Broken Bells album yesterday, guessed 6.8 and it was 7.2. I was way off with the Gorillaz album, I said 5.4 and they gave it 8.5. But I did pretty well with the rest BRMC (JH 5.2/PF 4.0), Liars (JH7.5/PF 8.1), Pavement (JH9.0/PF10.0).
Of course, this is mostly without hearing a single note of music. I base it on my understanding of the band, how they are perceived generally and what Pitchfork's feeling is for them. For example, I don't really like Pavement but PF's slavish devotion to their reunion tipped me off their Greatest Hits would be a high, high number.
Ahh, the little games we play...
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i won't allow you to bundle Pavement in with hipsterdom. It's just not right. They are different, they are worthy. The kids that write for PF are probably so young that they think Pavement is retro cool and secretly never heard of them until about six months ago. This may warrant a new category altogether in your rating system/predictability. Discuss.
ReplyDeleteTHEY GAVE PAVEMENT A 10?????
ReplyDeleteWhat is with people's blind devotion to this band? Is this something to do with listening to them during formative teenage years? I am way out of the loop on this one.
You might dig this article Rino sent me a while back re. P4K's rating system. Once again, The Onion delivers...
http://www.theonion.com/content/news/pitchfork_gives_music_6_8
x K
I'm sorry Claire but a chink in my indie armour was always my disinterest in Pavement and my disdain for Sonic Youth. I get it, I know why people love them but it's just not my cup of chai. As for Pitchfork revisionism, that's totally understandable but I'm surprised they've even heard of pavement because they're too pretentious and busy hugging their Phoenix twelve inches (something insulting in that sentence for everyone).
ReplyDeleteKatie, I'm with you but that article is pure class - I wish I'd written it. "In the end, though music can be brilliant at times, the whole medium comes off as derivative of Pavement." Bwahahahah!