pitchfork is dumb (#34985859340293849494 in a series.)

i'm defaulting to this new one:

https://pitchfork.com/?verso=true

at least Weezer isn't the lead review

it's funny to me that pitchfork reviews on mobile always have an ad running that pauses the music on my phone lol

Is the horizontal white line below the logo supposed to be there? Or is it a glitch?

interesting!

https://i.imgur.com/nzF9eDR.png

all websites suck these days, though. there's no way to make one that makes money, or doesn't bleed money, without also making it really suck

forbes.com, though

forbes is a good one, quality writing, fun atmosphere

also love the houston chronicle, especially how they give voice to so many non-houston issues

Oh ok, the new Pfork layout does look worse on the desktop than mobile (I hate when menus etc. move/shrink/animate as you navigate a page)

I'm glad this thread exists as a distraction from the SCOTUS thread.

Pitchfork should have a 9 critic panel that rates albums. Most of them over 60 years old.

Former members too, like Justice Pl@genhoef.

lmao @ that Karl screencap

I’ll probably never listen to a Jack Johnson album, but I thought this was a really well-written review.

the proportions feel generally off in this new design, like why is the album art for the lead review that big on the home page?

xpost i think this is a pretty good summary of Jack Johnson:

More James Taylor or even Jackson Browne than the cash cow that Mister Margaritaville became, his preternatural sense of sangfroid has sometimes crowded out his surprising depth as a world-weary songwriter in search of small moments of respite and delight.

plus, i learned a new word! i don't think i have *ever* seen the word "sangfroid" in my life.

It means literally "singing while very cold."

btw I respect Jack Johnson because I was at a Bonnaroo where Mumford was supposed to be the Saturday headliner and had to cancel, and they called Jack Johnson on like two days' notice and he showed up. I didn't go (wouldn't have gone to Mumford either), but reports were that it was a good show. I just liked the idea of guy who can show up on no notice and charm the masses from the big stage.

blake mills produced the new one

Jack Johnson is Raffi for grown ups

It means literally "singing while very cold."

Jack Johnson is Raffi for grown ups

and he clearly knows it, as evidenced by his curious george soundtrack album

My brother-in-law's fiancee asked me to play a Jack Johnson song at their wedding, it was all good until the minister introduced me as Jack Johnson.

and he clearly knows it, as evidenced by his curious george soundtrack album

I really do enjoy singing along to the de John song in the craziest voice possible

I really do enjoy singing along to the de John song in the craziest voice possible

My brother-in-law's fiancee asked me to play a Jack Johnson song at their wedding, it was all good until the minister introduced me as Jack Johnson.

― Halfway there but for you, Friday, July 1, 2022 11:40 AM (two hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

lol

I bought Brushfire Fairytales back when it came out and played the hell out of it. I guess I lost interest because he didn't really grow much after that.

It means literally "singing while very cold."

LOL

Jack Johnson is like really authentic folk music, I first encountered him covering sublime’s “garden grove” at Coachella and he seemed like the ultimate “guy who brings his acoustic guitar to parks and parties”

https://pitchfork.com/news/r-kelly-sues-metropolitan-detention-center-brooklyn-over-suicide-watch-conditions/

Weird piece… not sure why it deserves a big story at the top of the page.

(or, more precisely, why I need to see a giant picture of R. Kelly’s face when I visit the site, just because he’s suing the jail)

well at least somebody is facing some sort of consequences.

cool to see the groove theory album get some love in yesterday's archive review. they underrated it and were kind of shitty about amel's role in the group, but if it gets more people to revisit the album, i say good. it's a really unique record for 90s r+b; kind of street smart MOR.

it's funny to me that pitchfork reviews on mobile always have an ad running that pauses the music on my phone lol

Oh so that's why that happens! Very annoying. Every time I click into a new review, Spotify pauses.

Only happens when I'm listening on my phone through headphones. When I use my phone to control my Yamaha music streamer, there's no issue.

the redesign has taken over the mobile site too

personally, not a fan

The redesign finally reached my mobile view, and, not a a fan.

jinx

Yeah, saw it this morning on my laptop and it suuuuucks.

I mostly check it out of habit, part of my morning routine, but this is probably where I stop. The redesign is a headache.

yeah, putting a huge ad in-between the news and the reviews is a killer

on mobile

You can always just bookmark the Reviews page: https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/

Here is a handy link to the 8.0+ rated reviews, too: https://pitchfork.com/best/high-scoring-albums/?page=1

yeah but what if I miss some Stranger Things news?

You shall be relegated to knowing about more normal things

Lol

The songs that Sorey has selected for Mesmerism range in style and time period. “For a long time, I felt an intense desire to record some of my favorite songs from the Great American Songbook as well as those by composers whose work I feel should also exist in this canon,” he has stated, and the selections range from standards like “Autumn Leaves” to modern compositions like Muhal Richard Abrams’ “Two Over One” and Paul Motian’s “From Time to Time.” Like Sorey, Abrams was a renowned composer who also taught composition, while Paul Motian was the drummer of the Bill Evans Trio. Sorey makes it clear they belong alongside older classics.

Come the fuck on. Do five minutes' worth of research. Especially given that that piece wasn't written during the Evans era; it was first recorded by Motian's trio with Joe Lovano and Bill Frisell in 1991. (Also, side issue, but...using the verb "range" twice in one paragraph, the first time so clumsily? Ugh.)

ahh yes, pfork finally wising up to the fact that time doesn't exist. well played, indeed.

"We reached out to Franz Mesmer for comment but have not heard back."

To balance this somewhat, I will say I thought the Alice In Chains piece was terrific

As long as we're griping about accuracy, it is interesting to read a news item about Cat Power recreating the iconic (and famously not performed/recorded at Royal Albert Hall) "Royal Albert Hall" concert at Royal Albert Hall