pitchfork is dumb (#34985859340293849494 in a series.)

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Is that news item all that different from something that might have appeared on Pitchfork 15-20 years ago about a quirky intersection between mainstream pop culture and the indie-rock musicians that the site trafficked in? Like the Blue's Clues guy recording an album with Steven Drozd of Flaming Lips. Or some guy from the Shins dating someone on America's Next Top Model. Japanese Breakfast is a core Pitchfork artist (shows up the site's year-end lists, has played the festival), so it's not that weird for her to be covered in the news section.

some guy from the Shins dating someone on America's Next Top Model.

Did you mean "beating"?

Oof, I forgot about that part of it.

It's true they've always had quirky items, but this is a particularly silly one (and feels a little like, yes, straining for clickbait – especially when it was the top item). It's moved down on the page this morning, though.

I guess it also gets at a pet peeve around the current atmosphere in which fans/stans/Courtney Love/etc. pounce on even slight similarities in cover art, songwriting, whatever, and declare that "theft" has occurred.

(on that score, I'm glad Zauner was cool and laughed it off, but it feels like Pfork was hoping to stir the shit)

Yes fans would like to have a word with both of them

Breakfast at Kelly's Cover Connection: Go Lightly

Yeah Jayymc, I think that when more and more of that kind of article started to be more prominent was around when I stopped reading every day.

So it might not be that different but I guess it feels/looks even worse than that, to me at least.

This week’s Sunday review is breezily written, but the figurative language in the final paragraph sure whips up a gale:

Like fashioning a house of cards in a strong wind, Maxinquaye held its destruction in its own creation and its failure in its success: a borderline unclassifiable work that was Tricky in both name and nature. If we can no more remake Maxinquaye than land another first man on the Moon, it remains a magnificent singularity, a full-on solar eclipse of an album that blotted out all precedent to seek refuge in the shadows.

(those random italics were meant to be a link)

SZNZ: Spring appeared on the vernal equinox, a Sunday; it is the first of four EPs inspired by Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons that Weezer plan to release throughout the year. It’s a fitting gambit for Rivers Cuomo, and not only because The Four Seasons might be considered The Blue Album of Baroque music.

(No justification for this comparison follows)

Struggling to find meaning in this. Is there any?

The Four Seasons is probably the most famous and familiar piece of Baroque music there is, whereas the blue album is pretty far from that status relative to rock/pop albums.

The blue album is Weezer's debut; The Four Seasons was published when Vivaldi was in his 40s and had many compositions under his belt.

Is the writer saying they have something in common musically? Thematically?

The writer goes on to compare this four-EP Weezer project to Wagner's Ring, I guess because they both have four parts...?

Don't you know that referencing Classical music makes you look like you know what you're talking about?

I can’t defend the Wagner reference, but on some oblique level I sort of got the four seasons/blue album comparison. They are both melodic and catchy, and disproportionately well-known and iconic relative to other comparable works. Now that I type it out it’s pretty flimsy but it did make sense in my head somehow

iirc The Four Seasons wasn't a popular work until the 20th century

The Blue Album also didn't achieve popularity until the 20th century

Makes you think

you know, Vivaldi only made music for 4 seasons

Rivers Cuomo made albums for 7 different colors

including PINKerton

Alfred—enjoyed your Rush review! I think this sentence is missing a word (“rather”?):

Rush experimented with a slight skank on Permanent Waves’ “The Spirit of Radio,” which might explain why it became an actual hit in reggae-drenched England than in an America that went through the trouble of keeping Black disco-tinged acts off the air.

Thanks! I'll take a look.

The mag's first Rush review!

Nice piece!

thank you

Yeah that was great and thanks for the new dn

Is the bonus live album any better/different than Exit Stage Left?

Good review, Alfred!

Meanwhile, P4k won’t touch the new Primus

Pitchfork putting Rush in the limelight is definitely a sign of changing times.

I know nothing about Rush, really, but this was a great review (that even made me a little curious).

an America that went through the trouble of keeping Black disco-tinged acts off the air.

Would like to learn more about this. I thought it was all MTV’s fault.

Not dumb at all: todays great Busta Rhymes review.

I've been nurturing a Busta Rhymes obsession for a month or two; it's kinda horrifying to me that he's not routinely discussed as one of the greatest rappers ever.

Six years since her last studio album, the veteran singer-songwriter and slide guitarist with a collection of robust professional rock that may inspire deep dives into her back catalog.

I'm just struggling to know if this is a sentence.

maybe missing the word "returns" before "with"?

It could be a sentence... if she is doing the diving and her collection of rock may inspire deep

alpine static is correct, otherwise that is a bad sentence

It's fixed btw.

hey, I've no control over subheads

https://pitchfork.com/news/t-bone-burnett-reveals-new-analog-reproduction-technology/

This article gets the name of its subject ("Ionic Originals") wrong four times ("Iconic Originals").

https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/kirk-hammett-portals/

Back then, Metallica found itself at a crossroads, struggling with interband tension...

Pretty sure that should be intra, not inter.

They were feuding with Barenaked Ladies.

Help me understand the point of this reporting: https://pitchfork.com/news/beyonce-2022-oscars-performance-was-taped-a-week-before-airing/

Through a Freedom of Information Act request filed with the City of Compton

??

“Pitchfork has contacted Beyoncé’s representatives for comment.”

Comment on what?

Right??

It has the air of "we're really onto something here!" about it, but I can't imagine anyone caring.

It feels like something because it has great clickbait keywords. People are probably already using it on Twitter to harvest engagement.

The news item didn't get into this, but it relates to an existing controversy about this year's Oscars telecast, regarding award presentations that were pre-recorded but inserted into the show as though they were live. So it's noteworthy that that happened not just with awards presentations but with a musical performance, too.

People who care about the Oscars care.

If it was previously acknowledged that the performance had been pre-taped, why does the timeframe matter?

It feels like a total college newspaper piece

with offsite performances like that unless the performer is holding up a copy of that days newspaper i assume its not live, i'm surprised anyone would be surprised by that