Year-End Critics' Polls '08

monthly update for...

UPDATE : 01/12/08 : MEGA-CRITIC : Best Reviewed Albums Of 2008 So Far
http://pub37.bravenet.com/forum/3172289350/show/926600

THE MEGA-CRITIC CHART :

The current position is followed by last month´s position in brackets, then the adjusted score, followed by the average rating and the number of reviews in brackets.

The scores after the title are the individual positions/adjusted scores for Europe, the UK and the US, followed by the current Metacritic score.
http://pub37.bravenet.com/forum/3172289350/show/926600

50. (47 ) 65,00 - 72,43 (21 ) Joan As Police Woman ´To Survive´
EU : 00000000 - UK : 14. 71,43 - US : 00000000 - MC : 76

50. (47 ) 65,00 - 74,75 (16 ) Neon Neon ´Stainless Style´
EU : 00000000 - UK : 23. 70,41 - US : 00000000 - MC : 79

49. (46 ) 65,04 - 75,47 (15 ) Al Green ´Lay It Down´
EU : 47. 65,29 - UK : 00000000 - US : 43. 67,44 - MC : 81

48. (44 ) 65,20 - 71,52 (25 ) Beck ´Modern Guilt´
EU : 55. 64,65 - UK : 00000000 - US : 69. 65,80 - MC : 77

47. (43 ) 65,24 - 73,58 (19 ) Spiritualized ´Songs In A & E´
EU : 00000000 - UK : 65. 67,05 - US : 46. 67,28 - MC : 76

46. (42 ) 65,24 - 71,58 (25 ) Cat Power ´Jukebox´
EU : 30. 66,72 - UK : 00000000 - US : 91. 64,90 - MC : 72

45. (41 ) 65,31 - 71,68 (25 ) Magnetic Fields ´Distortion´
EU : 25. 67,78 - UK : 00000000 - US : 40. 67,50 - MC : 79

44. (40 ) 65,33 - 74,36 (11 ) Opeth ´Watershed´
EU : 14. 69,56 - UK : 00000000 - US : 00000000 - MC : 82

43. (39 ) 65,33 - 74,71 (17 ) Why? ´Alopecia´
EU : 00000000 - UK : 00000000 - US : 11. 70,10 - MC : 76

42. (38 ) 65,33 - 71,98 (24 ) The Breeders ´Mountain Battles´
EU : 00000000 - UK : 39. 68,37 - US : 19. 68,93 - MC : 75

41. (36 ) 65,42 - 75,44 (16 ) Lindström ´Wherever You Go I Go Too´
EU : 100.62,60 - UK : 89. 66,18 - US : 31. 68,04 - MC : 82

40. (00 ) 65,42 - 80,00 (11 ) Q-Tip ´The Renaissance´
EU : 45. 65,48 - UK : 00000000 - US : 55. 66,67 - MC : 84

39. (35 ) 65,46 - 72,77 (22 ) Lykke Li ´Youth Novels´
EU : 37. 65,90 - UK : 83. 66,33 - US : 00000000 - MC : 76

38. (34 ) 65,47 - 77,85 (13 ) Robert Forster ´The Evangelist´
EU : 23. 67,89 - UK : 00000000 - US : 00000000 - MC : 81

37. (00 ) 65,51 - 80,18 (11 ) Amadou & Mariam ´Welcome To Mali´
EU : 00000000 - UK : 10. 73,08 - US : 00000000 - MC : 93

36. (37 ) 65,55 - 77,11 (14 ) Gang Gang Dance ´Saint Dymphna´
EU : 00000000 - UK : 00000000 - US : 09. 70,45 - MC : 77

35. (33 ) 65,67 - 73,43 (21 ) The Black Keys ´Attack & Release´
EU : 31. 66,69 - UK : 83. 66,33 - US : 00000000 - MC : 76

34. (32 ) 65,70 - 77,36 (14 ) Bonnie ´Prince´ Billy ´Lie Down In The Light´
EU : 48. 65,18 - UK : 46. 67,65 - US : 100.64,52 - MC : 81

33. (00 ) 65,77 - 75,41 (17 ) El Guincho ´Alegranza´
EU : 00000000 - UK : 56. 67,35 - US : 49. 67,17 - MC : 78

32. (30 ) 65,83 - 73,32 (22 ) Wolf Parade ´At Mount Zoomer´
EU : 24. 67,84 - UK : 00000000 - US : 29. 68,21 - MC : 78

31. (29 ) 66,10 - 73,71 (22 ) Santogold ´Santogold´
EU : 26. 67,58 - UK : 00000000 - US : 18. 69,13 - MC : 77

30. (28 ) 66,18 - 79,16 (13 ) Late Of The Pier ´Fantasy Black Channel´
EU : 60. 64,28 - UK : 09. 73,47 - US : 00000000 - MC : 00

29. (27 ) 66,20 - 75,56 (18 ) Los Campesinos! ´Hold On Now, Youngster´
EU : 72. 63,68 - UK : 39. 68,37 - US : 48. 67,22 - MC : 81

28. (26 ) 66,37 - 74,48 (21 ) Okkervil River ´The Stand Ins´
EU : 46. 65,30 - UK : 74. 66,67 - US : 39. 67,55 - MC : 79

27. (25 ) 66,41 - 75,89 (18 ) Drive-By Truckers ´Brighter Than Creation´s Dark´
EU : 08. 70,70 - UK : 00000000 - US : 99. 64,71 - MC : 83

26. (24 ) 66,43 - 73,26 (25 ) R.E.M. ´Accelerate´
EU : 67. 63,93 - UK : 25. 69,39 - US : 44. 67,35 - MC : 79

25. (22 ) 66,51 - 74,69 (21 ) The Gutter Twins ´Saturnalia´
EU : 16. 68,85 - UK : 42. 67,95 - US : 00000000 - MC : 80

24. (21 ) 66,86 - 73,88 (25 ) Hot Chip ´Made In The Dark´
EU : 39. 65,87 - UK : 00000000 - US : 13. 69,51 - MC : 78

23. (20 ) 66,90 - 74,54 (23 ) MGMT ´Oracular Spectacular´
EU : 10. 70,24 - UK : 23. 70,41 - US : 00000000 - MC : 76

22. (19 ) 67,12 - 75,60 (21 ) Black Mountain ´In The Future´
EU : 21. 68,19 - UK : 65. 67,05 - US : 68. 65,88 - MC : 79

21. (45 ) 67,32 - 79,33 (15 ) Fucked Up ´The Chemistry Of Modern Life´
EU : 00000000 - UK : 34. 69,23 - US : 05. 72,35 - MC : 84

20. (18 ) 67,38 - 76,90 (19 ) The Dodos ´Visiter´
EU : 51. 64,91 - UK : 20. 70,46 - US : 40. 67,50 - MC : 83

19. (17 ) 67,61 - 75,93 (22 ) Sigur Ros ´Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust´
EU : 13. 69,89 - UK : 25. 69,39 - US : 00000000 - MC : 81

18. (16 ) 67,66 - 78,47 (17 ) No Age ´Nouns´
EU : 18. 68,56 - UK : 00000000 - US : 21. 68,73 - MC : 79

17. (15 ) 67,87 - 75,96 (23 ) The Last Shadow Puppets ´The Age Of Understatement´
EU : 05. 71,53 - UK : 83. 66,33 - US : 00000000 - MC : 77

16. (31 ) 67,90 - 77,20 (20 ) Deerhunter ´Microcastles´
EU : 69. 63,86 - UK : 74. 66,67 - US : 04. 72,86 - MC : 81

15. (14 ) 67,92 - 79,56 (16 ) The Bug ´London Zoo´
EU : 43. 65,53 - UK : 13. 71,59 - US : 51. 67,10 - MC : 90

14. (13 ) 67,94 - 78,91 (17 ) Elbow ´The Seldom Seen Kid´
EU : 58. 64,42 - UK : 06. 74,49 - US : 00000000 - MC : 82

13. (23 ) 68,50 - 83,31 (13 ) Glasvegas ´Glasvegas´
EU : 03. 72,66 - UK : 25. 69,39 - US : 00000000 - MC : 82

12. (12 ) 68,86 - 79,18 (19 ) Silver Jews ´Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea´
EU : 22. 68,03 - UK : 17. 70,51 - US : 25. 68,53 - MC : 78

11. (11 ) 69,26 - 80,39 (18 ) Erykah Badu ´New Amerykah : Part One (4th World War)´
EU : 17. 68,60 - UK : 34. 69,23 - US : 10. 70,11 - MC : 82

10. (10 ) 69,53 - 81,47 (17 ) Lil Wayne ´Tha Carter III´
EU : 06. 71,06 - UK : 46. 67,65 - US : 16. 69,22 - MC : 82

09. (09 ) 69,77 - 81,19 (18 ) Randy Newman ´Harps & Angels´
EU : 04. 72,12 - UK : 46. 67,65 - US : 52. 67,08 - MC : 85

08. (08 ) 70,63 - 78,89 (26 ) Vampire Weekend ´Vampire Weekend´
EU : 07. 70,97 - UK : 14. 71,43 - US : 14. 69,46 - MC : 82

07. (07 ) 70,89 - 79,94 (24 ) Hercules And Love Affair ´Hercules And Love Affair´
EU : 20. 68,23 - UK : 06. 74,49 - US : 71,18 - MC : 86

06. (06 ) 71,84 - 80,92 (25 ) The Hold Steady ´Stay Positive´
EU : 12. 70,14 - UK : 05. 75,51 - US : 08. 70,80 - MC : 85

05. (05 ) 71,87 - 81,76 (23 ) Bon Iver ´For Emma, Forever Ago´
EU : 11. 70,19 - UK : 01. 77,55 - US : 23. 68,63 - MC : 89

04. (04 ) 73,15 - 82,40 (26 ) Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds ´Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!´
EU : 09. 70,29 - UK : 02. 76,53 - US : 02. 74,11 - MC : 87

03. (03 ) 73,30 - 82,62 (26 ) TV On The Radio ´Dear Science´
EU : 15. 69,16 - UK : 02. 76,53 - US : 01. 76,16 - MC : 88

02. (02 ) 74,07 - 83,69 (26 ) Portishead ´Third´
EU : 02. 74,48 - UK : 06. 74,49 - US : 03. 73,13 - MC : 85

01. (01 ) 76,56 - 88,06 (24 ) Fleet Foxes ´Fleet Foxes´
EU : 01. 79,83 - UK : 02. 76,53 - US : 06. 71,96 - MC : 87

THE BUBBLERS :

99. (00 ) 63,16 - 73,69 (13 ) Metronomy ´Nights Out´
EU : 63. 64,04 - UK : 83. 66,33 - US : 00000000 - MC : 70

96. (00 ) 63,20 - 73,00 (14 ) Friendly Fires´Friendly Fires´
EU : 99. 62,69 - UK : 65. 67,05 - US : 00000000 - MC : 74

92. (00 ) 63,45 - 71,22 (18 ) Wild Beasts ´Limbo Panto´
EU : 00000000 - UK : 30. 69,32 - US : 88. 65,00 - MC : 78

89. (00 ) 63,57 - 75,33 (12 ) High Places ´High Places´
EU : 00000000 - UK : 00000000 - US : 25. 68,53 - MC : 75

86. (00 ) 63,59 - 74,46 (13 ) Juana Molina ´Un Dia´
EU : 00000000 - UK : 00000000 - US : 12. 69,57 - MC : 77

84. (86 ) 63,71 - 75,58 (12 ) The Week That Was ´The Week That Was´
EU : 00000000 - UK : 65. 67,05 - US : 00000000 - MC : 82

76. (00 ) 64,09 - 72,71 (17 ) White Denim ´Workout Holiday / Exposion´
EU : 00000000 - UK : 20. 70,46 - US : 00000000 - MC : 76/73

74. (00 ) 64,11 - 73,28 (16 ) Los Campesinos! ´We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed´
EU : 00000000 - UK : 74. 66,67 - US : 22. 68,66 - MC : 81

71. (92 ) 64,33 - 76,75 (12 ) Dungen ´4´
EU : 82. 63,38 - UK : 00000000 - US : 93. 64,88 - MC : 79

65. (67 ) 64,56 - 72,53 (19 ) Deerhoof ´Offend Maggie´
EU : 00000000 - UK : 42. 67,95 - US : 45. 67,32 - MC : 81

56. (73 ) 64,79 - 74,41 (16 ) The Acorn ´Glory Hope Mountain´
EU : 77. 63,46 - UK : 65. 67,05 - US : 00000000 - MC : 00

55. (00 ) 64,91 - 79,00 (11 ) The Gaslight Anthem ´The ´59 Sound´
EU : 32. 66,64 - UK : 00000000 - US : 00000000 - MC : 00

54. (00 ) 64,95 - 82,22 (09 ) Johann Johannsson ´Fordlandia´
EU : 28. 67,02 - UK : 00000000 - US : 00000000 - MC : 81

FURTHER EU-POSITIONS :

19. (19 ) 68,51 Ry Cooder ´I, Flathead´
27. (27 ) 67,50 Madrugada ´Madrugada´
29. (28 ) 67,02 The Notwist ´The Devil, You And Me´
33. (00 ) 66,62 Rachel Unthank & The Winterset ´The Bairns´
34. (31 ) 66,42 Brian Wilson ´That Lucky Old Sun´
35. (32 ) 66,17 Elvis Costello & Imosters ´Momofuku´
36. (33 ) 66,10 Conor Oberst ´Conor Oberst´
38. (35 ) 65,89 Death Cab For Cutie ´Narrow Stairs´
40. (37 ) 65,77 Willard Grant Conspiracy ´Pilgrim Road´
41. (38 ) 65,70 Tindersticks ´The Hungry Saw´
42. (39 ) 65,61 Ron Sexsmith ´Exit Strategy Of The Soul´
44. (41 ) 65,49 Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan ´Sunday At Devil Dirt´
49. (45 ) 65,00 Sascha Funke ´Mango´
49, (45 ) 65,00 Emmylou Harris ´All I Intend To Be´

FURTHER UK-POSITIONS :

11. (10 ) 72,45 British Sea Power ´Do You Like Rock Music?´
12. (11 ) 72,41 Plush ´Fed´
16. (15 ) 70,59 Eliza Carthy ´Dreams Of Breathing Underwater´
17. (16 ) 70,51 Johnny Flynn ´A Larum´
17. (16 ) 70,51 Paul Weller ´22 Dreams´
20. (19 ) 70,46 Metallica ´Death Magnetic´
25. (24 ) 69,39 These New Puritans ´Beat Pyramid´
25. (24 ) 69,39 Mystery Jets ´Twenty One´
30. (29 ) 69,32 Cass Mccombs ´Dropping The Writ´
30. (29 ) 69,32 Roots Manuva ´Slime & Reason´
30. (29 ) 69,32 David Holmes ´The Holy Pictures´
34. (33 ) 69,23 DeVotchKa ´A Mad And Faithful Telling´
34. (33 ) 69,23 Teddy Thompson ´A Piece Of What You Need´
38. (36 ) 69,12 Thea Gilmore ´Liejacker´
39. (38 ) 68,37 The Raconteurs ´Consolers Of The Lonely
42. (41 ) 67,95 Cadence Weapon ´Afterparty Babies´
42. (41 ) 67,95 Sparks ´Exotic Creatures Of The Deep´
46. (44 ) 67,65 Toumani Diabaté ´The Mandé variations´
46. (44 ) 67,65 Benga ´Diary Of An Afro Warrior´
46. (44 ) 67,65 Fuck Buttons ´Street Horrrsing´
46. (44 ) 67,65 Flight Of The Conchords ´Flight Of The Conchords´
46. (44 ) 67,65 Kasai All Stars ´In The 7th Moon ...´
46. (44 ) 67,65 Lyindsey Buckingham ´Gift Of Screws´
46. (44 ) 67,65 Bellowhead ´Matachin´

FURTHER US-POSITIONS :

15. (14 ) 69,24 Robyn ´Robyn´(2005)
16. (15 ) 69,22 The Mountain Goats ´Heretic Pride´
20. (19 ) 68,78 Times New Viking ´Rip It Off´
24. (RE ) 68,54 The Music Tapes ´Music Tapes For Clouds And Tornadoes´
27. (23 ) 68,48 Wire ´Object 47´
28. (24 ) 68,33 Torche ´Meanderthal´
30. (27 ) 68,06 Shugo Tokumaru ´Exit´
31. (00 ) 68,04 Marnie Stern ´This Is It & I Am It ...´
33. (29 ) 67,93 Leila ´Blood, Looms & Blooms´
34. (30 ) 67,72 Ellen Allien ´Sool´
35. (31 ) 67,68 Matmos ´Supreme Balloon´
36. (32 ) 67,65 Destroyer ´Trouble In Dreams´
37. (33 ) 67,56 Kelley Polar ´I Need You To hold On ...´
37. (33 ) 67,56 Harvey Milk ´Life ... The Best Game In Town´
40. (36 ) 67,50 Women ´Women´
47. (00 ) 67,26 David Byrne/Brian Eno ´Everything That Happens ...´
49. (44 ) 67,17 Calexico ´Carried To Dust´

NEXT UPDATES :

31/12/08 : THE 2008 EU-MEGA-CRITIC TOP 150
01/01/09 : THE 2008 UK-MEGA-CRITIC TOP 150
02/01/09 : THE 2008 US-MEGA-CRITIC TOP 150
03/01/09 : THE 2008 COMBINED MEGA-CRITIC TOP 150

Textura
http://www.textura.org/reviews/2008top10s.htm

TOP 20 ALBUMS • 30 HONOURABLE MENTIONS • 20 COMPILATIONS AND MIXES • 20 EPS / SINGLES / 12-INCH DISCS • ADDITIONAL HIGHLIGHTS • THANK YOUS

including: Top 20 Albums

01. Rudi Arapahoe: Echoes From One To Another (Symbolic Interaction)
02. Cyne: Starship Utopia (Project Mooncircle) / Pretty Dark Things (Hometapes)
03. The Foreign Exchange: Leave It All Behind (Hard Boiled)
04. Mathieu Ruhlmann + Celer: Mesoscaphe (Spekk)
05. Deepchord: Vantage Isle Sessions (Echospace [ Detroit ])
06. Rick Wade: The Good, The Bad, And The Deep (Yore)
07. Gregor Samsa: Rest (Own Records)
08. orchestramaxfieldparrish: The Silent Breath Of Emptiness (Faith Strange)
09. Mlle Caro & Franck Garcia: Pain Disappears (Buzzin' Fly)
10. Twine: Violets (Ghostly)
11. Willits + Sakamoto: Ocean Fire (12k)
12. Osborne: Osborne (Spectral Sound)
13. Michna: Magic Monday (Ghostly)
14. Nicolay & Kay: Time:Line (Nicolay Music)
15. School Of Seven Bells: Alpinisms (Ghostly)
16. Deadbeat: Roots And Wire (Wagon Repair)
17. Beneva Vs Clark Nova: Sombunall (Fenetre)
18. Jacaszek: Treny (Miasmah)
19. Flying Lotus: Los Angeles (Warp)
20. Dday One: Heavy Migration (Content)

30 HONOURABLE MENTIONS

21. Celer: The Everything And The Nothing / Discourse Of The Withered (Infraction)
22. Goldfrapp: Seventh Tree (Mute)
23. Benga: Diary Of An Afro Warrior (Tempa)
24. Susanna: Flower Of Evil (Rune Grammofon)
25. 2tall: The Softer Diagram (Content)
26. Masaoka: For Birds, Planes, And Cello; While I Was Walking, I Heard A Sound (Solitary B)
27. Aloof Proof: Piano Text (Infraction)
28. Kiln: Thermals (Infraction)
29. Dreamsploitation: Soft Focus Sound Of Today (From Here To There)
30. Peter Broderick: Docile (Kning Disk)
31. Autistici: Volume Objects (12k)
32. Mico Nonet: The Marmalade Balloon (Mico Nonet)
33. Yair Etziony: Flawed (Spekk)
34. Stephan Mathieu: Radioland (Die Schachtel)
35. Library Tapes: A Summer Beneath The Trees (Make Mine Music)
36. The Retail Sectors: Starlight Silent Night (Symbolic Interaction)
37. Sawako: Bitter Sweet (12k)
38. Motorcitysoul: Technique (Simple Records)
39. Rae Davis: Positive Thinking (Exponential)
40. Hatchback: Color Of The Sun (Backspin)
41. Windy & Carl: Songs For The Broken Hearted (kranky)
42. Slow Dancing Society: Priest Lake Circa ‘88 (Hidden Shoal)
43. Lisa Nordström: 7 States Of Passion (Kning Disk)
44. Ezekiel Honig: Surfaces of a Broken Marching Band (Anticipate)
45. Sleepingdog: Polar Life (Gizeh)
46. Harold Budd-Clive Wright: A Song For Lost Blossoms (Darla)
47. Stray Ghost: Losthilde (Highpoint Lowlife)
48. Sans Serif: Tones For Lamonte (Hypnos)
49. Spectral Lore-Underjordiska: Split (Stellar Auditorium)
50. Derek Carr: Digital Space Race (Psychonavigation)

48. Sans Serif: Tones For Lamonte (Hypnos)

The Stereo Image dude?

no

2008. Sans Serif is an alter ego of Forrest Fang, the talented multi-instrumentalist and composer whose most recent solo album Gongland was released on Projekt in 2000. He has also collaborated with Carl Weingarten on the album Invisibility released on The Foundry, as well as contributing instrumentally to the works of other artists such as Robert Rich.

Unlike the more traditionally structured and "musical" work Fang releases under his own name, the Sans Serif project is focused on minimalism. This project in particular is a tribute to the influential minimalist composer LaMonte Young, whose work was known for the use of long, sustained tones and alternate tunings. Of this project, Forrest Fang says:

http://hypnos.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/archive/newsletter/20080717155015/

i've heard of maybe ten of those fifty

That list is full of OK semi-experimental music that gets lost in the pile

from Vice London

Number 35: Bonkers novelty rap collective. Shows staff have sense of humour.
Number 34: Reserved for Britpop 'survivors' who’ve made 'their best album in years'.
Number 33: Wacky side-project of big-name band singer, which is a wacky electro-pop concept album about magic animals.
Number 32: Something from Iceland.
Number 31: The name that keeps turning up on every electro/house compilation CD released that year. eg. Simian Mobile Disco in 07.
Number 30: Real authentic alt.country dude who made the album in a cave in the Appalachians/once dated Joanna Newsom.
Number 29: Return of once-derided old-timer who used to symboise naffness, but has subverted expectations by making an album of honest, brooding ballads with a hip young producer.
Number 28: This space is reserved for Bruce Springsteen if he makes an album in the year of the list. If not, The Gaslight Anthem or Hold Steady should sub-in.
Number 27: Nick Cave.
Number 26: Disappointing third album from previously much-touted act, so bad editorial embarrassment means its been crowbarred in here as a Pravda-style exercise in shrinking them slowly rather than dropping them like a hot brick as would be most appropriate.
Number 25: The band that everyone was tipping as the year's biggest act in January.
Number 24: You've never even heard of this one. You never will. Even as your read the blurb, you find your mind simultaneously erasing the entry.
Number 23: Glitchy & worthy & difficult record you've listened to once. Squarepusher, basically.
Number 21: British Sea Power.
Number 20: Token world muso.
Number 19: The band who've got a reputation for being 'influential', and have a geographically specific 'scene' organised around them that they put on semi-mythical 'parties' for at a semi-mythical 'venue'. eg: No Age & The Smell, Chairlift & Concert Hall Of Williamsburg.
Number 18: Band who wrote album of songs inspired by the tragic accidental/drug death of their bass player last year. Somewhere, the blurb says 'courageous'.
Number 17: Laura Marling.
Number 16: Cheesy pop band masquerading as 'wonky-pop'/'nu-pop'/'underground pop', which only barely disguises the fact that they're Roxette with alt. dress sense.
Number 16: Put in a 'stunning' performance on Jools Holland.
Number 15: DJ who made “the year's party-starting mash-up compilation” that you've never actually heard at a party that wasn't put on by media-insiders. And never made any of those partygoers do more than pout extra aggressively.
Number 14: Elbow.
Number 13: Hyper-obscure album everyone was bamboozled into voting for cos Pitchfork gave it a 9.9, despite sounding like every other folk album ever.
Number 12: Rapper facing child sex charges.
Number 11: Dizzee/Bizzle (pop grime slot shared on a rotational basis)
Number 10: Album described as a 'groundbreaking fusion of dance and rock'.
Number 9: Tape of Bob Dylan coughing up some phlegm in June 1972, found in someone's attic, dusted off, reissued, and hagiographised in the Sunday papers as a heartbreaking work of staggering genius.
Numbers 8 – 2: Records that were OK: no one was mad about them, but no one disliked them much either, so they swum through the middle course, whereas intense records that some people were truly passionate about but others really hated all ultimately failed to make the cut.
Number 1: Coldplay (Q), Arctic Monkeys (NME), Sven Vath (Mixmag), Neil Young (Uncut), Neil Young (Mojo), Neil Young (Classic Rock), Neil Young (Home & Garden), people humming transcendentally over distorted tape loops of concrete being laid (The Wire).

that's not very funny

It's (not very) funny cos it's true

from Vice London

Concert Hall Of Williamsburg

CHOW

I always kind of liked Yancey Strickler's taxonomy of top 10 lists:

01 The Consensus Pick
The first choice sets the tone for the entire list. A critic can either go for the consensus top pick, which earn the trust of a reader, or could make a grand statement by choosing an unlikely number one. 95% of the time a critic will opt for the cultural product he likes that most other people like as well.

02 The Real Number One
I generally assume that the number two item on a Top Ten list is a writer's real number one, especially if it's something that's not especially familiar to the reader. It takes courage to put one's idiosyncratic tastes front and center; it's safer to tuck it in just a bit.

03 The One They Will No Longer Like Next Year
If any spot lends itself to listing something that a critic wants to like rather than actually likes, it's the third place. Maybe the critic likes the idea of the product more than the product itself. Maybe the critic thinks that the item gives him a certain amount of cultural capital to wield. In the movie world, this is known as The Foreign Film Slot.

04 The Disappointment
This is something that early on seemed like a potential number one, but that has not stood up well to repeated viewings/readings/listenings. Always avoid number four.

05 The Sentimental Favorite
Placed any higher and this would stick out as either pedestrian or foolhardy. Put here in the middle, it can instead be merely a curiosity. Number five is a good personality slot — you can tell a lot about a critic by what goes here.

06 Wish They Liked It More Than They Do
This is a retread of number four, only there were lower expectations going into it. There are good moments, but more than likely the critic is the only one who hears them.

07 The Popular Kid
The blockbuster/bestseller that the critic didn't completely dislike goes here, simply because it will give the reader a sense of comfort that will be needed through the final three.

08 The Token
Somewhere between number seven and number nine you'll get the token selection from a genre that a critic clearly has no business trafficking in. The token pick implies a much broader knowledge than actually exists. The token pick will almost always be laughed at by specialists in whatever genre, even if they too enjoy the product.

09 The Anonymous
It's here that the critic really shoves around his "heard it all" weight. Seemingly at random, a critic will pluck something from the abyss and declare it overlooked, then smugly sit back and admire his handiwork.

10 The Catch-All
Undoubtedly the preceding nine choices will omit some movement that the critic would be embarrassed to completely ignore, even if he did so during the previous year. To counteract that, the critic then arbitrarily chooses something that suggests that there could be 20 more items on the list that would be equally impressive and well-considered.

from the land of dad-rock (it's ok, i'm a certified dad), and as a longtime eye-roller at fanboys making a case for whatever boring album paul westerberg releases in a given year, lemme just say that i think the album paul westerberg released this year (49:00) is actually his most fun thing since forever -- in a way that all the grandpaboy stuff i think was supposed to be but never really hit for me. yes i like the gimmick, but i also like listening to it.

(and i don't expect to see it on any of these polls, so i probably should have posted that on the other year-end thread, but whatever. i'm easily confused.)

i really wanted to hear that Westerberg album but by the time I got around to getting it off Amazon it'd already been taken down.

Go listen to it on Rhapsody like i did

And shut it off after five songs like I did.

Then google pictures of Katy Perry until lunchtime like I did.

well it's not great or anything. it just has a lot of nice tunes, and i like the shaggy wtf-ness of it all. i got several times my 49 cents' worth out of it.

done and done, at least on the last part (xpost)

you all find katy perry attractive?!

it's a guilty would blap, but a would blap nonetheless.

she has goggly eyes and in every photo contorts her face into a try-hard pout like the most attention-seeking 8-year-old only child you've ever met.

i like the complete absence of Chinese Democracy on these lists.

katy perry is basically kendley from project runway.

also at the top of my guilty would blap list

katy perry is the toyota to zooey deschanel's mercedes

BUT KATY PERRY IS BI-CURIOUS SO YOU COULD PROBABLY GET HER IN A THREESOME RIGHT

nah, Zooey's less hot and her music's even worse.

I was going to make a "poor woman's Zooey Deschanel" comment, actually.

it's encouraging to see a mention of Andrew Coltrane here!

also, new Prurient on Cold Spring is very very good. Might surpass And, Still Wanting. Cocaine Death is extremely good too...so good..man..but it's a compilation really

both very boinkable xp

not so much about polls, but back on the avant- digression, i'm surprised not to see lucky dragons anywhere.

Thanks for posting these everyone. The next ones to usually come are:

Clash Magazine
Drowned In Sound
Muzzle Of Bees
Gorilla Vs. Bear
Fact Magazine
NME

― Fastnbulbous, Sunday, November 30, 2008 4:49 PM (2 days ago)

GvB's list is up. can't tell if he's going for "20 best albums" or "20 best debut records by up-and-coming indie artists BONUS POINTS IF YR LOCAL."
predictably, it's terrible.

Any modern classical lists out there?

both very boinkable xp

― k3vin k., Monday, December 1, 2008 8:36 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

dont say this fyi

Keep it to the Katy Perry "blap or no blap" thread, guyz.

i hope you're not suggesting we invite Kevin Keller to 77

Like the guy who's sockpuppeting as him isn't already a 77 regular?

will plucky The Verve triumph in the Rocktimists poll?

http://bp3.blogger.com/_yRdvdP7_05I/R8Q5UyW-STI/AAAAAAAAAH4/J_Zl5DxLb2k/s400/Sock_Puppet_3_small.jpg

Talking about whether or not we want to have sex with Katy Perry is frankly much more interesting than talking about where the Black Kids are going to place in the Top 50 of some minor style magazine that nobody reads.

i think ilxor is a better sock btw

You talkin' to me?

Talking about whether or not we want to have sex with Katy Perry is frankly much more interesting than talking about where the Black Kids are going to place in the Top 50 of some minor style magazine that nobody reads.

I mainly use the lists to find music I may have overlooked. The good ones don't start coming for another week or two, so until then:

Favorite Albums You Haven't Seen In The Critics' Polls 08

Fact Magazine - Top 20
http://tinyurl.com/69ffhp

State Magazine - State’s 25 best albums of 2008
http://www.state.ie/blog/states-25-best-albums-of-2008/
Ireland's answer to Pitchfork magazine

Last.fm lists their db top 10 listened to artists, albums and songs from 2008:

http://www.last.fm/bestof/2008

Their top 10 songs feature is the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen. Should have added a rule not to repeat song from same artists.(Just so you don't waste your time there's 6 coldplay songs, 3 MGMT and Kate Perry)

Seems like the Last.fm lists would favor albums and songs that were released early in the year, thus having had longer to rack up plays.

One unusual entry in Fact's list:

03. ZOMBY – WHERE WERE U IN 92? (WERK DISCS)

Anyone heard it?

Haven't heard it but I noticed the eMusic bloggers were talking about it yesterday too.