pitchfork is dumb (#34985859340293849494 in a series.)

yeah, i mean i can understand the utility (and god knows things like the spin record guide etc turned me on to things) but i kinda hate that weird mix of canon and curriculum they work w/, the way they codify 'here is precisely how to approach this artist'.

yeah for example usually every single primer in the av club in their "where not to begin" section will have something egregiously incorrect imo.

I think we'd all be better off discussing why so many PF interviews are so bloody SHORT.

i do feel like i've been seeing more and more reviews there where i get to the end of the 4th paragraph and go "that's it? i thought we were just getting started"

I think that primers like this are pretty helpful for people. I checked out so many bands because of obsessively reading the blue Trouser Press record guide.

Al, I wrote a splice piece about this very issue. Ran today.

http://splicetoday.com/digital/get-your-act-together-pitchfork

TOO FAR

Haha I don't even know how to read that

I'm not a Future Islands fan but that piece was what really tipped the scales for me, like WTF three questions?

i dunno i just think the difference between griping about that kind of thing on a message board and writing an actual article about it is pretty significant

I mean, I just am a guy who digs long interviews and expect a certain approach. If something bothers me I tend to write an article about it, if I'm able.

Not hating, just saying to P4K "don't think we don't notice this"

Considering the low barrier to entry to be a Pitchfork writer, I really have no idea why you'd write a thinkpiece on this as opposed to just writing some long interviews for pitchfork and be the change you want to see.

Can I rewind this thread a bit and ask who is Jon Fahey

Sufjan Steven's father

Got it. So he is from the Midwest and plays a guitar??

http://eil.com/images/main/John+Fahey+-+Sea+Changes+%26+Coelacanths%3A+A+Young+Persons+Guide+To+John+Fah+-+4+LP+SET-399757.jpg

Yes. Maryland is in the Midwest

Considering the low barrier to entry to be a Pitchfork writer,I really have no idea why you'd write a thinkpiece on this as opposed to just writing some long interviews for pitchfork and be the change you want to see.

― Whiney G. Weingarten, Wednesday, January 29, 2014 9:18 AM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

RC does state in his piece - in the first sentence - that he's applied to write for Pitchfork many times. You didn't see that part?

For all the bashing (deserved or otherwise) re: low barrier for entry, I'd argue that the caliber of writing on Pitchfork is generally a cut above some of the other shit we make fun of around here (AV Club, etc). Which is why when someone really, really stinks, it's glaring.

I'm speaking about reviews, of course. I don't read the features or interviews regularly enough to comment too much on that, but I really have liked The Out Door and Show No Mercy, among others.

If your first name is Sam or Brandon it's pretty easy to write for P4k

Ah, well I see Raymond's byline plenty, he's got lots of places he can do long interviews iirc

Three questions and three answers do not in any way constitute an interview, in any sense, unless you're working for a glossy teen magazine or generating margin content for GQ

or creating content you want people to actually read in this post-Neil Postman kinda world. Hey, I don't like it any more than you do! Also, this piece could have been much longer.

Just razzing ya. Enjoyed this.

Ha! Good times

maryland's in the big ten now waterface!

skot's review of the pitchfork top 100 tracks was great

link?

whiney is there really a band called perfect pussy?

yep
they are ok too

Spottie, here you are:

http://skotrok.blogspot.com/2014/01/i-listened-to-all-of-pitchforks-top-100.html

ty, sorry didn't know skot was THAT skot.

Loved this bit from the Skot blog post:

I love that the Prurient dude is called “unfathomably prolific” in the Pitchfork blurb! Like you couldn't possibly fathom how prolific this guy is. Welcome to noiseland. Where prolific artists are very very fathomable. The norm, really. There are dudes that make Prurient look like a three-toed sloth. Noise people are like sci-fi writers. If they are awake they can probably make a tape/art/start a zine/start a label/play in 20 different side-projects. They are really BUSY for people who often move slowly and don't always have steady employment. If we could harness the inner nervous energy of America's noise musicians, I think we could reach Mars in a matter of days.

Haha that Skot thing is ridiculously quotable!

The album’s okay. File it next to the first Elastica album that you sold years ago.

It's endlessly OTM, afaic.

4AD was one of the greatest independent record labels of the 1980's.

Also the repping for people as probably a nice guy.

We really do need a poll of best Skot lines in this thing.

This single should come with a car. In order to buy this single, you must drive it away from the showroom.

Wait, did he say that the demons want his dome? In any case, A$AP Scott approves.

This has been the best morning. Thank you, Skot!

My 8-year-old son might like this one. He’s been listening to a lot of Deadmau5 and he’s eight so he’s very familiar with alternate spellings. This just makes me feel like Mount Rushmore.

Man, this would really freak out my cats. This is future music!

awesome work all around, loved reading

I enjoy selling Fleetwood Mac records to teenagers. I really do.

If this music excites you, you're already dead.

87. The National - “Pink Rabbits” (4AD)
The link on Pitchfork is to a song by The National called “Sea Of Love” so I'll just listen to that.... We may never know what “Pink Rabbits” sounds like but if “Sea Of Love” is any indication, we will never know what “Pink Rabbits” sounds like.

Lol but pink rabbits is a great track.

Haha xp so good

And theoretically I like the IDEA of genre-smashing superheroes like M.I.A. And Santigold, but for some reason I hear their stuff and when it's done it's gone. Right out of my head. Like a bird. Like a bird that knows Diplo.

glad you liked it, you guyz! hugz & kissez! your pal, SS

post more often please

You certainly helped articulate my feelings towards mbv in a way that I never quite could: I am definitely a fan of the old stuff. When the new album came out, I was happy for even bigger fans in the way that you are happy for a relative who gets a promotion or a friend who posts pictures on Facebook of them finishing some sort of charity road race. Good for you!