Year-End Critics' Polls 2013

djp otm about yeezus but after the stupidity of the praise lavished on the stupid MBDTF, i'm fine with it getting some props. hugely flawed album but it does feel like a vital release

The first four tracks might be the best album of the year but I don't know how it could be anyone's top choice on a song-for-song basis. The idea of Yeezus >>>> the reality of Yeezus.

Surprised by McCartney and Fogerty over Bowie in RS.

what Al said about Neko...her worst album ever, one I wish I could love.

Weird. It's the first Neko solo album I actually do like.

The idea of Yeezus >>>> the reality of Yeezus.

kanye post-2005 summed up

well, that and his whole personality

his personality doesn't automatically bother me; usually I find what he's doing musically to be compelling enough to make it worth my while to grapple with and parse through the grosser aspects of his artistic persona but "Blood on the Leaves" is just a visceral top-to-bottom NO

Jake Bugg at 12 on the RS list btw

kanye's personality is fine, he's a good pop star

people really overreact to it, in both directions

but "Blood on the Leaves" is just a visceral top-to-bottom NO;

Not really ready to let him off the hook for the "I'm In It" either. I'm sure that's exactly what Kanye wants me to do, too. But I don't think that makes him or his music more interesting or provoking.

Was surprised that DaftPunk wasn't higher in the SPIN poll, actually.

Isn't this Kanye's fourth Spin AOTY?

DJP and dandy otm re: Blood on the Leaves and I'm In It. Can't listen to either of those.

I'd make a crack about RS putting John Fogerty in the top 10, but Arctic Monkeys above it at #9 is actually way more egregious

"I'm In It" is ignorable compared to the deathslog that precedes it and the wholly misconceived mistake that follows it.

I salute you for being able to ignore those lyrics. They leap out and punch me in the face "like a civil rights sign".

yeezus' worst lyrics are probably on the songs i like. this is actually a pattern throughout kanye's career for me :/

thinking of the hampton spouse one and the croissants one

I salute you for being able to ignore those lyrics. They leap out and punch me in the face "like a civil rights sign".

well quite honestly I've only listened to it recently because Rev mentioned on another thread that he liked it; aside from that I have intentionally not played anything past the first 4 tracks on the album since release day

also lex, I feel that the pattern you've identified has existed throughout Kanye's career because most of the time, all the way back to the beginning, dude has written terrible lyrics

The reason I found MBDTF so annoying is that the best and the worst bits were intermingled so I couldn't even create an edited highlights version. It's not that the album is patchy — every song is patchy, with the exception of Power.

Blood on the LEaves was the first thing I heard off Yeezus and I decided not to check out the rest of it on the basis of that.

i like kanye's endearingly shitty lyrics

dog latin, you should listen to the first four songs on Yeezus because they are great; "Send It Up" on the second half is also good but everything else is either inconsequential or actively, horrifyingly terrible

Basically listen to New Slaves and all the ones with Daft Punk and skip the rest.

I'd make a crack about RS putting John Fogerty in the top 10, but Arctic Monkeys above it at #9 is actually way more egregious

Have you actually heard the Arctic Monkeys album or is this just a kneejerk reaction to the NME lovefest over their first one? Because the new one is actually really, really good and a slight departure for the band. I'm not sure I'd quite put it top ten, but it's earned that spot.

kneejerk reaction

Haven't heard these from RS list:

37. The So So Glows - Blowout
36. Waxahatchee - Cerulean Salt
29. Bombino - Nomad

Is today List Day or something?

it's the first business day of December, I'd expect everyone was targeting their lists for today

Strange to read that a breakup with Alexa Chung is what inspired the Arctic Monkeys album. She's the worst thing about FUSE News. You'd think the songs would be more celebratory. Perhaps when Alex Turner dates a real woman the songs will be even better.

Uh.

In terms of EOTY wipeouts, Mosquito is this year's Centipede Hz. RIP GAPDY.

I mean, I know this is ILM, but that little slice of casual misogyny really did come from out of nowhere.

xp

Strange to read that a breakup with Alexa Chung is what inspired the Arctic Monkeys album. She's the worst thing about FUSE News. You'd think the songs would be more celebratory. Perhaps when Alex Turner dates a real woman the songs will be even better.

― Fastnbulbous, Monday, December 2, 2013 5:32 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

erm

xp

And still they come...

Magnet Magazine - Best Of 2013: Jazz/Improv
http://www.magnetmagazine.com/2013/12/02/best-of-2013-jazzimprov/

1 Nate Wooley - (Sit In) The Throne Of Friendship (Clean Feed)
2 Paal Nilssen-Love + Terrie Ex - Gored Gored (Terp)
3 The Rempis Percussion Quartet - Phalanx (Aerophonic)
4 John Butcher, Thomas Lehn, John Tilbury - Exta (Fataka)
5 Rob Mazurek Octet - Skull Sessions (Cuneiform)
6 Jeb Bishop/Jorrit Dijkstra - 1000 Words (Driff)
7 Ken Vandermark/Mats Gustafsson - Verses (Corbett Vs. Dempsey)
8 Taylor Ho Bynum Sextet & 7-Tette - The Complete Navigation Sessions (Firehouse 12)
9 Jeremiah Cymerman - Sky Burial (549)
10 Kidd Jordan/Hamid Drake - A Night In November (Valid)

Interesting Magnet list. I haven't heard all of those, but the Wooley, Rempis and Mazurek discs are all really good.

Bill Meyer's list, totally trustworthy guy as far as music recommendations go ime.

If you are going to express casual misogyny, you have to have good beats to go along with it.

Haven't heard these from RS list:

37. The So So Glows - Blowout
36. Waxahatchee - Cerulean Salt
29. Bombino - Nomad

― Fastnbulbous, Monday, December 2, 2013 12:24 PM (42 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Waxahatchee is Top 20 for me. Recommended if you think Kathleen Edwards might sound good doing Exile-era Liz Phair.

Waxahatchee + Bombino both great imo.

I don't know who Alexa Chung even is, but that didn't come across to me as misogynistic as it did a personalized Alexa Chung burn.

No, Alexa Chung is an annoying celebrity who is famous for being famous, it's still VERY CLEARLY sexist.

"a real woman" "a real woman" "a real woman" "a real woman" "a real woman" "a real woman" "a real woman" "a real woman" "a real woman" "a real woman" "a real woman" "a real woman" "a real woman" "a real woman" "a real woman" "a real woman" "a real woman" "a real woman" "a real woman" "a real woman" "a real woman" "a real woman" "a real woman" "a real woman" "a real woman" "a real woman" "a real woman" "a real woman" "a real woman" "a real woman" "a real woman" "a real woman" "a real woman" "a real woman" "a real woman" "a real woman" "a real woman" "a real woman" "a real woman" "a real woman" "a real woman" "a real woman" "a real woman" "a real woman" "a real woman" "a real woman" "a real woman" "a real woman" "a real woman"

that's all i saw too
i don't even know who she is but if she is a female human being, she is probably a "real woman"
it's disappointing to read shit like that

I can't believe people would even put themselves out there defending that statement from allegations from sexism until I remember that last month we had a poster defending the position that the dick-dressed-up-in-blackface picture Lily Allen tweeted at Azealia Banks wasn't actually in blackface

agree with emil.y and LL here

and Dan

Depressing that such basic shit still requires explaining

Nah, I wasn't really putting myself out there defending it. I was just sharing how it struck me the first time I read it. I agree there's no reason to bring up her womanhood qualifications.

Also, now I know who Alexa Chung is.

But really, thanks for the dogpile everybody!

i'm not dogpiling on anyone
i'm just disappointed that someone would use that kind of "real woman" language and i also wondered what on earth makes her less than real and who is an example of a "real woman"? just a lot of questions, as usual.

I guess you'd have to ask Fastnbulbous. I've carelessly gone overboard when trying to land a burn on someone before, so I just assumed that's what he'd done. I'd like to think he knows all women are real women.