pitchfork is dumb (#34985859340293849494 in a series.)

and "Wut". Most of the stuff I really like from this list I got from ilx actually.

like, what if there were 200 alphabetically listed blurbs where the authors described their personal engagement with the song and described its lyrical and musical character without waxing poetic about the artist's iconic stature and universal importance in a desperate attempt to dignify canonhood

admittedly, far fewer people would bother to check it out

I so don't care about narrative arcs of musicians at this point. I get why a lot of critics do (they get to help write it! at last, validation) but it just isn't how I engage with music.

xp

musicans' careers

that should say

like, what if there were 200 alphabetically listed blurbs where the authors described their personal engagement with the song and described its lyrical and musical character without waxing poetic about the artist's iconic stature and universal importance in a desperate attempt to dignify canonhood

― da croupier, Monday, August 18, 2014 4:33 PM (42 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

admittedly, far fewer people would bother to check it out

― da croupier, Monday, August 18, 2014 4:36 PM (39 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i would definitely have bothered clicking if this was the case!

you guys should read my "window seat" blurb it's about me being scared of flying

aw

love that blurb j0rd

yeah thanks for no "erykah makes us all feel more confident on this rocky plane ride we call life" shit

there is definitely a divide between their rankings of tracks vs albums - much more rock in the album list.

― skip, Monday, August 18, 2014 8:31 AM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

This is a pretty common divide critical poll divide, right? I feel like if you look at Pazz n Jop polls for the past 20 years, the songs are always a lot more pop-oriented, while the albums are always more dominated by rock.

common critical poll divide, I mean.

is there a Tumblr for Pfork synth "fart" mentions yet? another gem in the Jai Paul blurb for "wet synth farts".

you guys should read my "window seat" blurb it's about me being scared of flying

― le goon (J0rdan S.), Monday, August 18, 2014 1:17 PM (53 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Yes, that one was awesome! Mostly because I also a) love that song, and b) hate flying.

man, "midnight city" could still use an actual chorus

― emo canon in twee major (BradNelson), Monday, August 18, 2014 11:24 AM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yeah...it's become this huge mainstream alt-rock radio staple but every time that intro storms in suddenly the actual song starts and it sounds like someone put the stereo on the 'karaoke setting' and the next 3 or 4 minutes are absolute dullsville, depending on how excited you are about saxophone solos. the canonization of that song is a total triumph of aesthetic positioning over anything resembling songwriting.

the canonization of that song is a total triumph of aesthetic positioning over anything resembling songwriting.

― some dude, Monday, August 18, 2014 2:34 PM (7 minutes ago) Bookmark

preach

vibes y'all

Linkin Park's "Burn It Down" kinda functions well as a "Midnight City" knockoff with actual hooks

it sounds like someone put the stereo on the 'karaoke setting'
the canonization of that song is a total triumph of aesthetic positioning over anything resembling songwriting.

these are both true of all new songs that get played on the radio

I genuinely thought the collective delusion that MBDTF is good would have disappeared by now

― Number None, Monday, August 18, 2014 10:55 AM (3 hours ago) Bookmark

Perhaps but Pitchfork was Patient Zero, er, Patient 10.0 in the outbreak

All my feelings about this list are encapsulated by

33. Miguel - Adorn
32. Jai Paul - Jasmine (Demo)

man i was very glib about "midnight city" when it dropped, felt like yet more m83 but now man it's sooo good you can aesthetically position yourself and spin

if you wish there was a part where they went "oooh, ooh MIDNIGHT CITY" that's on you

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWTLSZottgc

oddly enough this video is what got me into the song, fuck are you saying there's no hooks in this thing that's a hook right there

CITY IS A CHUUURCH that's a hook

da croupier otm, the intro that storms in is a monster hook.

is cute to learn that grumpy old dudes asking whatever happened to songwriting will now be telling kids about the wild, shirtless lyrics of chester bennington and the competent turntable work of dr. hahn.

woops, mr. hahn. shoulda consulted my local library

my test for whether a song has a "hook" is if I can sing it without queing up YouTube, so sorry midnight city

"One Step Closer," on the other hand....

idk i'm like five years old and "midnight city" seems mostly empty to me, full of signifiers that fail to thread into a song

i'm also generally pro mr. hahn

I don't even want to stir up a debate again about Pitchfork's weird relationship with metal but, Deafheaven being the only "metal" entry on the list is all kinds of lol.

it sounds like shoeguzz!

man watch that vid if you can't go BAH boo boo BAH! BAH boo boo BAH! by memory after that...

although i guess "dream house" is the closest i got to a screamo jam on the list

Not sure if I've ever purposely listened to midnight city but I for sure can him that opening squawk

midnight city is definitely "empty" and if you sweat importance yeah you'll wonder whatever happened to good music and big questions like what's spring clean for the may queen but man it is classic epic nonsense

i don't like it that much, but my almost 5 year old kid loves midnight city every time it comes on the radio

I don't even want to stir up a debate again about Pitchfork's weird relationship with metal but, Deafheaven being the only "metal" entry on the list is all kinds of lol.

― Bus Sex Teen Busted After Queef Beef (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Monday, August 18, 2014 3:22 PM (4 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

name one metal song that's reached any type of critical mass in the last 5 years tho

what was spring clean for the may queen

xp for all the metal they review, it is kind of weird. easily 1/5 of every record reviewed is a metal record

name one metal song that's reached any type of critical mass in the last 5 years tho

wish it had been "rocket skates" instead

i was definitely very "hey if you like midnight city you should check out this dude named limahl" but once i gathered what was FUN about midnight city, whimpering about substance felt very, very besides the point

I feel like everyone bitching about "Midnight City" needs to rewatch "The Breakfast Club" to reset their context.

the new slipknot song is certainly better than anything Deafheaven's ever done

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGkQrzSG1u4

probably there is a lot to complain about in midnight city but 'no hooks' is a bit ridiculous in my opinion

ahahaha omg that slipknot song rules

"Midnight City" has a massive hook and a massively dull singer who gets smothered by it. A lot of these songs have the same trouble (Ariel Pink). I get that when Boz Scaggs went New Wave he had to shout really loud but

you guys are arguing about m83 when I posted new slipknot in here