Paste Magazine ranks its 50 best albums of 1994. The music of our youth is truly the best music; there are some bands on here I’ve never heard of, which is why these stupid lists are sometimes valuable.
This is mostly for music nerds of a certain pre-Spotify age, but I found it fascinating: the oral history of Pitchfork from Slate magazine.
Greene: It was always, and only ever, a bunch of nerds writing essays about records. It was that before it became famous. And it was that after it became famous. It was only ever that, and those are the people who still come to Pitchfork, but I guess it wasn’t enough.
I read this morning that Pitchfork, the music review site that basically set the tone for criticism and indie approval in the early days of weblogs, is being folded into GQ Magazine after mass layoffs. Apparently they were bought by Condé Nast a couple of years ago and weren’t getting the kind of eyeballs some algorithm required. They lost their hold on the critical pulse of modern music years ago but they were still good to check in on every couple of days to see what was new. Stereogum is still going (and is an independently owned site again) and there are a couple of others out there, but this is sad news.
Pitchfork just posted their list of the 200 Best Albums of the 1980’s. There are so many excellent albums to choose from in that decade; I guess their top 10 is a pretty good (if not uninspired) group.
I’m happy to see Boards of Canada and Massive Attack in the top 10 of Pitchfork’s 50 Best Albums of 1998 list. There are a bunch of other good ones in there too.
Pitchfork’s 2017 top 10 Best Song list: I don’t give a fuck about any of these artists. I am officially old.
Underworld’s never had trouble getting listeners to their feet. This gorgeously love-drunk finale makes Barbara a record that can bring them to their knees.
Pitchfork’s review of Barbara Barbara, we face a shining future has good things to say. I’m happy to see them back.
This lineup totally motivates me for a road trip to North Carolina in June: Chvrches, Death Cab for Cutie Announce Joint Tour. Interestingly, Death Cab is touring with Metric up in Canada right now–another Venn diagram of music I like. Related: M83 is releasing a new album and will be at Meriwether Post Pavilion, about 10 miles from the house, in June.
The Cure just re-released Disintegration, their seminal album from 1989, to excellent reviews.
A whole lot of this album’s appeal is that it’s comforting, practically womblike– big, warm, slow, full of beauty and melody and even joy. The trick, I think, is how well it serves as a soundtrack to that feeling that everything around you is meaningful, whether it’s beautiful or horrible or sublime…
I’d have to say I agree. This album was in heavy rotation my freshman year of college, along with Metallica’s Master of Puppets and Siamese Dream by the Smashing Pumpkins. There’s an interesting mix of music, huh?
Wow. Apparently, somehow, an album of vintage live La’s recordings was just released. Pitchfork gives it an 8.1, comparing it (unfairly, probably) to their ’90 studio release. The band’s chief songwriter is brilliant, perfectionist, reclusive, and unstable, so this is a nice surprise. More information, via Wikipedia.
By all accounts, the recent Jane’s Addiction tour has been canceled after Perry Farrell attacked Dave Navarro in the middle of a song, and had to be dragged off the stage. Reading some first-hand accounts from fans who posted video of that show, the consensus is that the band sounded fantastic but he sounded like shit, was drinking heavily through the whole show, and was dropping verses in the middle of songs. His wife immediately went on social media to attack the band, and today they announced the tour was dead.
Having read about him and his treatment of the rest of the band I can’t say I’m surprised, but I’m bummed out for them. I would love nothing more than (and would, frankly, be more interested in) the three musicians touring together with a guest vocalist, just to hear them play live together.