Year-End Critics' Polls '07

re: indie-centric critical perspectives.

Is indie a genre or is it an approach to form or is it a production philosophy or is it... what exactly? We ask because we want to draw connections between the music of M.I.A. and LCD Soundsystem and you know, Band of Horses or whatever. We want to understand what quality is being privileged by our metacritics, pitchforks, etc. But thats backwards. Indie is a term that only describes the listener and what the listener likes; not specific musical qualities or studio recording techniques or the shelf in the record store where it is found or anything else. Perhaps in 1985, indie was a meaningful designator for a specific model of music production and distribution. But, nope, probably not; probably by this point indie is synonymous, in America, with 'college rock'. College rock, what a wonderful term! Completely unsatisfying, but honest; because the only thing that unites what falls under its umbrella is the affluent demographic that collects and sorts and fetishizes it. R.E.M., the pixies, sonic youth, the replacements--these are white, (mostly) male, not distributed via the mainstream (and thus, determined by an oppositional relationship to the mainstream) guitar rock, but not belonging to other anti-mainstream guitar rock styles like punk, metal, or goth. Punk, metal, and goth are genres, in the sense that they each contain certain musical prescriptions; but much more importantly, they are exclusive subcultures, teenage, high school subcultures. The musical exemplars of these subcultures are undesirable (insufficiently sophisticated) icons to the older, college educated white students; but in any case, they are already taken; they already belong to a (not collegiate white male) group, are already attached to that group by ties of mutual self-definition, already serve that group as a signet of authenticity. College rock is whatever doesn't already first belong to the mainstream, or to black people, or to exclusive groups like high school punk, metal, and goth. And whatever isn't tainted by an association with an undesirable group like businessmen or old people or women or gay people. The college rock fan adheres to idols which don't already have other ties and which resemble himself. These idols become 'college rock' because students have the time and money to classify, sort, listen to, worship, rearrange, share, acquire and trade and sell every disparate vinyl release by all sorts of independent (independent here means: not taken, not already the exclusive property of some other subculture) labels. This music is the particular drug, the key exchange commodity and (simultaneously) the intoxicant of choice, for gangs of white college kid types. Thats the mid-eighties.

At some point the perjorative 'college rock' falls out of favor, and 'indie rock' (isn't this a british term?) becomes the descriptor of choice for the whole musical preferences of this demographics. Maybe this reflects a growth out and away from college campuses, expanding into hipster enclaves in NYC for example (maybe not, I'm making that part up). Indie in the 90s is wide enough to encompass elephant 6 and post-rock, but not R&B or hip hop; hip hop always belonged to someone else already; first to a black youth subculture, then co-opted into mainstream pop, and thus was always off limits for the indie audience. At some point this starts to change.

When did american indie become the dominant cool discourse (not just for college ed. music geeks)? And why? I don't know, but this is true: in 2000 Pitchfork is (a website that covers canonical) indie; in 2007, indie is (whatever) Pitchfork (decides to cover). At some point in between, indie became large enough to draw the cool people, hip-hop heads, poptimists, gay britishers into its gravitational field. This, in turn, forces indie (kids) into the confrontation/conversation with pop that they had always avoided. The result is greater self awareness of where indie is situated in the whole culture, and with increased knowledge (facilitated by the internet), grander ambitions. Now its much harder to think you are cool and at the same time maintain a smug, antagonistic distance from pop culture. The derision of ILM types was absorbed and actually made indie stronger (while violently mutating it, to be sure).

Even though this is a terribly reductive picture, its pretty obviously true that there is an antagonism between a practice of identifying with whatever doesn't fit into its genre/doesn't belong to any other subculture (music identified this way always becomes the beneficiary of a cult of the artist); and on the other hand the worship of exotic, powerful, sexual, the most beautiful things, the chart toppers, the middle of the road in other cultures and in our own. The universality of knowledge of everything local means that, since rare knowledge is currency, everything outside indie (jazz/'world music') will be slowly absorbed into indie by either of these two mechanisms.

You are nabisco w/ new s/n, y/n?

^ I didn't write this. But W.B. did write this:

"*Fiat ars--pereat mundus*," says Fascism, and, as Marinetti admits, expects war to supply the artistic gratification of a sense perception that has been changed by technology. This is evidently the consummation of "*I'art pour l'art*." Mankind, which in Homer's time was an object of contemplation for the Olympian gods, now is one for itself. Its self-alienation has reached such a degree that it can experience its own destruction as an aesthetic pleasure of the first order. This is the situation of politics which Fascism is rendering aesthetic. Communism responds by politicizing art.

Indie has reached such a degree that is can experience its own destruction as an aesthetic pleasure of the first order?

"Oy, MIA, you've got me all bugaboo."

http://www.braungardt.com/Theology/Benjamin/Benjamin.jpg

At some point the perjorative 'college rock' falls out of favor, and 'indie rock' (isn't this a british term?) becomes the descriptor of choice for the whole musical preferences of this demographics.

this post is funny and also mostly true, but this bit of the trajectory misses the big vigged-up elephant of nirvana and the attendant "alternative nation" era, which complicated the calculus considerably by briefly pitching a sizable chunk of the college-rock-era underground squarely into the mainstream, getting major-label deals for everybody and for a little while making it hard to separate out what was what. when the dust settled "indie" was on one side, veering off toward pavement, tortoise, gybe and lord knows whatall, and various other forms were left lodged in the commercial marketplace, including most obviously grunge but also assorted popped-up takes on '80s forms (the replacements begat the goo-goo dolls and gin blossoms, the pixies begat the breeders, soul asylum begat soul asylum, etc). no surprise then that '90s amerindie, as it became "indie," wrapped itself in lo-fi and post-rock and whatever other kinds of sonic and compositional signifiers it could use to put some distance back between itself and the gaping mass culture maw.

has there been a link to all these ilxors making 2007 mix-tape yet:

http://www.paperthinwalls.com/feature/mixtape2007

probably. i'm slow.

The universality of knowledge of everything local means that, since rare knowledge is currency, everything outside indie (jazz/'world music') will be slowly absorbed into indie

This has a really ominous ring to it.

They give a whole top 50 along with top 10's for each of their review genres, but I can't be bothered typing those right now...

-- krakow

more please!

or it should read, can you post of the rest of the Wire list.

Metacritic with my predicted rankings (not very insightful):
1 Untrue by Burial - Will make top 20 (more critics seem to be listening to metal, but i don't think enough to get it in the top 10)
2 From Here We Go Sublime by the Field - Will make top 20 and maybe sneak in at 9 or 10
3 In Rainbows by Radiohead - Top 10, obv. Probably Top 5
4 And Their Refinement Of The Decline by Stars Of The Lid - Will make top 30 and, maybe, just barely make the top 20
5 Raising Sand by Robert Plant And Alison Krauss - Not that cool with hipster critics, a Top 20 for sure...I think the old people might get this into the top 10
6 Let's Stay Friends by Les Savy Fav - Not that cool with the old people, right? 25-30, probably
7 Neon Bible by The Arcade Fire - One for the whole family! Top 5, probably
8 Children Running Through by Patty Griffin - She's old. Probably in the 20-25 range
9 Kala by M.I.A. - A welcome guest! Top 10 for sure, hopefully top 5
10 Sound Of Silver by LCD Soundsystem - Same as M.I.A.
11 Comicopera by Robert Wyatt - Old. Probably around 40?
12 Person Pitch by Panda Bear - Top 15
13 Mirrored by Battles - For sure top 20, probably in the 8-12 range
14 45:33 by LCD Soundsystem Nowhere (last year, right?)
15 Boxer by The National A favorite for the old people and the hipsters...Top 15 at least
16 New Moon by Elliott Smith Too old. Around 33-37
17 Crazy Ex-Girlfriend by Miranda Lambert Hmm...An interesting one...Hopefully top 10 but probably around 15-20
18 Ire Works by The Dillinger Escape Plan 25-30
19 The World Has Made Me The Man Of My Dreams by Me'Shell NdegéOcello She's on a Batman soundtrack. Uh, 50-60?
20 Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga by Spoon - Top 10. Not sure why it's this low on Metacritic. Actually, I know why it's this low. I don't know why so many magazines are rating it really high. But they are. I think it's because a huge number of people list it in the 8-20 range. That starts to add up.

burial isn't metal

m.i.a. will be #1

Hahaha, Burial is most definitely not metal.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hI4bSCy9iE

I actually am optimistic that LCD will win.

i'm holding out for a panda bear sweep followed by a noah lennox/mordechai shinefield ticket in '08

gotta appeal to all bases

BURIAL NEEDS TO CHANGE ITS NAME

PEOPLE ASSUME THINGS, YKNOW

burial makes me yawwwwn

I hear Burial's next album is a collaboration with Sammy Hagar.

The first Burial album is quite yawnsome. I like the new one, though.

Hey, it's like the Postal Service meets a Michael Andrews score!

Whatdayaknow?!

And they call this 'dubstep'?

Yes, they do, although the way I understand it, Burial is peripheral to the scene.

My prediction still stands. A lot of critics are listening to dubstep. But not enough to get it in the top 10.

Fair 'nuff.

it won't even crack the top 20.

jackin pop (or w/e) it might but def not p&j

We should probably take this particular line here: Oh No, Pass the Lord and Praise the Ammunition--It’s Time for the 2007 P&J / Jackin’ Pop Prognostication Thread!

The Wire : 2007 Rewind 50 Records Of The Year

01 Robert Wyatt - Comicopera (Domino)
02 Burial - Untrue (Hyperdub)
03 Panda Bear - Person Pitch (Paw Tracks)
04 OM - Pilgrimage (Southern Lord)
05 LCD Soundsystem - Sound Of Silver (DFA/EMI)
06 Von Südenfed - Tromatic Reflexxions (Domino)
07 Pram - The Moving Frontier (Domino)
08 MIA - Kala (XL)
09 Battles - Mirrored (Warp)
10 Ricardo Villalobos - Fabric 36 (Fabric)

11 Grinderman - Grinderman (Mute)
12 Kassin+2 - Futurismo (Luaka Bop)
13 Matthew Dear - Asa Breed (Ghostly)
14 Strategy - Future Rock (Kranky)
15 Laub - Deinetwegen (AGF Producktion)
16 Björk - Volta (One Little Indian)
17 Pole - Steingarten (~scape)
18 Harmonia - Live 1974 (Grönland)
19 John Butcher - The Geometry Of Sentiment (Emanem)
20 Akio Suzuki - K7 Box (ALM)

21 Deerhunter - Cryptograms (Kranky)
22 Lil' Wayne - Da Drought 3 (Mixtape) (No Label)
23 Peter Evans Quartet - Peter Evans Quartet (Firehouse 12)
24 James Blackshaw - The Cloud Of Unknowing (Tompkins Square)
25 Kemialliset Ystävät - Kemialliset Ystävät (Fonal)
26 Pandit Pran Nath - Raga Cycle (SRI Moonshine)
27 Flower-Corsano Duo - The Radiant Mirror (Textile)
28 Electrelane - No Shouts, No Calls (Too Pure)
29 Zeitkratzer & Lou Reed - Metal Machine Music (Asphodel)
30 Gudrun Gut - I Put A Record On (Monika Enterprise)

31 Marnie Stern - In Advance Of The Broken Arm (Kill Rock Stars)
32 Throbbing Gristle - Part Two: The Endless Not (Mute)
33 Rhys Chatham - The Crimson Grail (Table Of The Elements)
34 Radiohead - In Rainbows (www.inrainbows.com/XL)
35 The Focus Group - We Are All Pan's People (Ghost Box)
36 The Terminals - Last Days Of The Sun (Last Visible Dog)
37 Sightings - Through The Panama (Load)
38 Anthony Braxton - 9 Compositions Iridium 2006 (Firehouse 12)
39 Steve Jansen - Slope (Samadhisound)
40 Haswell & Hecker - Blackest Ever Black (Warner Classics)

41 Colleen - Les Ondes Silencieuses (Leaf)
42 Dial - 168K (Cede)
43 Wooden Shjips - Wooden Shjips (Holy Mountain)
44 fORCH - Spin Networks (PSI)
45 PJ Harvey - White Chalk (Island)
46 Hanne Hukkelberg - Rykestrasse 68 (Nettwerk)
47 Susan Howe & David Grubbs - Souls Of The Labadie Tract (Blue Chopsticks)
48 Lichens - Omns (Kranky)
49 Low - Drums And Guns (Sub Pop)
50 Frank Bretschneider - Rhythm (Raster-Norton)

people voting for studio in this years idolator poll, are you voting for west coast or yearbook 1?

^^i was gonna ask this question in the studio thread but didn't bother. seeing yearbook 1 on the pfork list got me confused though. right now i have west coast even though i like yearbook 1 better. would like an answer to this.

west coast was "technically" 2006 right? not that i really care about being date-anal but this is a great record both ways and id love to see these guys place sorta high.

I still haven't gotten around to hearing the Studio at all.

oy i thought yearbook 1 was technically 06 but studio 07. or at least was released in the US in 07. like max i don't care about the release date as much as bumping the album up on the list.

Walter Benjamin (Sterling Clover?) OTM! (As is tipsy, duh--no surprise there.)

massive catching-up-with-ILM-in-da-morning x-post

It's impossible to search for the Studio on youtube, is there any specific song I should be looking for?

The first Burial album is quite yawnsome. I like the new one, though.

I never heard the first one, but the new one sounded to me like early Faithless with all the songs taken out, which seemed vaguely pleasant, though I still got bored with it pretty quick. (And I still don't get at all why people consider them so amazing.)

Two albums I'm surprised not to be seeing on any lists (which is okay, since people had totally overrating both of them, but it's still kind of sad):

1. The Stooges
2. Mary Weiss

Also, this:

From Here We Go Sublime by the Field - Will make top 20 and maybe sneak in at 9 or 10

is almost as funny as this:

Untrue by Burial - Will make top 20 (more critics seem to be listening to metal, but i don't think enough to get it in the top 10)

But I still can't tell if they're funny on purpose or not.

The Reverend, they have a nifty little promotional video on youtube here.

Also, fwiw, I thought this was (intentionally) funny too:

Let's Stay Friends by Les Savy Fav - Not that cool with the old people, right? 25-30, probably

But, from Robert Christgau's end-of-year-so-far list in Slate:

13. Les Savy Fav: Let's Stay Friends (Frenchkiss)

http://www.slate.com/id/2179977/entry/2180085

KERRANG Album Of The Year 2007 (BIFFY CLYRO WTF???)

i like the wire list. i haven't received my copy yet so i don't know the genre top 10s. but it's great that i can see that wire list and know that i'll have a lot of stuff to look into during the next few months. most other lists have virtually no surprises, though that's maybe because i read more reviews this year.

and yea, i totally forgot that bjork came out with an album this year!

i need to hear the robert wyatt album, too.

okay, time to ask the crowd: including an unreleased album from '06 that I first heard in '07 (and hardly anyone else has heard it and no one else will vote for it) on my top ten list because it is one of the best albums I have ever heard: awesome or stupid?

Awesome and stoopid!

Regarding Studio -- I'm voting for West Coast.