pitchfork is dumb (#34985859340293849494 in a series.)

(I mean I guess pop music can "progress," in a purely descriptive sense, in terms of incorporating new styles, production elements etc. – but that shouldn't be a value judgment thing, and would make some of the most "progressive" recent artists people like Taylor Swift, whom they certainly would exclude from their definition.)

(They're using it aspirationally, like - "artists whom we hope are influencing the next direction of pop...")

Which I guess it fine actually - I don't even know what I'm complaining about now. It just sounds kinda snobbish, lol

what is new about taylor swift? i could see like an artist like sophie fitting that, just in terms of ok this doesn't sound like it could have been created in the past, swift is pretty traditional

Just in that she's influenced other artists to write songs like her, and so the direction of pop styles has "progressed" as a result of her popularity – in the sense that change is "forward movement" (but I get that's not what "progress" is supposed to mean)

all songs progress toward silence

Not fast enough, in many cases.

Any particular reason why it took them forever to review Ground Groove?

this is an objective discrepancy-

if i'm listening to music on my smartphone (android+spotify) and i navigate to pfork on my browser (brave), something on the site commandeers the volume on my phone and knocks it down significantly (both via headphones or bluetooth, whatever i'm using at the time).

it's a minor annoyance, but also very wtf-ey. leave my shit alone, damn.

what is new about taylor swift? i could see like an artist like sophie fitting that, just in terms of ok this doesn't sound like it could have been created in the past, swift is pretty traditional

― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Wednesday, December 14, 2022 3:59 PM (two weeks ago) bookmarkflaglink

Just in that she's influenced other artists to write songs like her, and so the direction of pop styles has "progressed" as a result of her popularity – in the sense that change is "forward movement" (but I get that's not what "progress" is supposed to mean)

― Wet Legume (morrisp), Wednesday, December 14, 2022 4:01 PM (two weeks ago) bookmarkflaglink

I think tim f made a good case that compositionally/formally she is 'progressing'

xp oh yes, pitchfork site famous for commandeering audio. because when would you ever possibly be wanting to read about music while listening to music?

it's infuriating! one of the few sites left that completely stops my audio when i click to it

Good to know that's not just my phone setup. I'll only check out Pitchfork on a computer.

... where lately I always take a minute to stare at the short preview loop of the Alvvays interview video. Molly nodding and turning and adjusting her shirtsleeve is oddly mesmerizing.

That just me?

I mean, it *was* just you. But now that you've mentioned it, I can't look away.

https://media.tenor.com/wm5HEerpuNoAAAAC/the-usual-suspects-benicio-del-toro.gif

lol wrong thread, or not

Quite a few of “The 34 Most Anticipated Albums of 2023” are dated “TBA,” and the blurb says something like, “we don’t know if this artist has music coming out anytime soon, but we can hope!”

Some really terrible writing in a few of those entries, too

Also, maybe I live in a bubble, but is anyone out there actually "anticipating" a new Gorillaz album?

Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd is Lana Del Rey’s first album since 2021

Will anyone remember her after such a hiatus?

Rihanna’s long-awaited follow-up to 2016’s Anti somehow seems closer than ever.

I mean, it would be

If there’s one thing the Smashing Pumpkins at which have always excelled, it’s making melodramatic rock.

the choices in that article are almost perfectly emblematic of the prevailing dual critical focus on chartpop and yet also dinosaur rock, for some reason

mush for brains

https://i.imgur.com/kgcuRmj.jpg

saw that 'anticipated albums' thing yesterday and had all of the exact same issues that you guys do. i'm actively trying not to be a grump so i didn't say anything.

but it's also good to know i'm not alone in my cynicism lol

i have seen the light. metallica have always banged hardest

Pitchfork stumps for far worse bands than current day Metallica on a regular basis

what's that new one -- Horsepaste or something?

Mac DeMarco: Five Easy Hot Dogs

*screams into the void*

the problem with all these most-anticipated albums list is that artists don't announce their albums months ahead of time anymore! the only hard release dates in there are in february. the rest is just baseless speculation

apologies to expert planners fever ray (march) and smashing pumpkins (april)

you guys really enjoy getting mad over nonsense

Where's Magna Carta...Holy Grail 10th Anniversary Deluxe Edition?

i'm not really screaming into the void jordan i just don't want to work

Mac DeMarco: Five Easy Hot Dogs

*screams into the void*

― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Tuesday, 10 January 2023 16:05 (eight minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

good point, well made

god seriously

chartpop, dinosaur rock and bon-iver-esque vibesy bilge

mac demarco is hella cringe

music
makes the people
come together

If there’s one thing the Smashing Pumpkins at which have always excelled, it’s making melodramatic rock.

The next sentence says that their expansive new album "plans to do just that" (make melodramic rock?)

speculation: pfork is experimenting with publishing articles composed by ai

As long as we're piling on, I really can't believe "whatever comes next will be the icing on the cake" made it past an editor

Kate NV is on the list, so it's not all bad

So is Fever Ray

"whatever comes next on the cake will be the icing"

You can't eat your cake and have it make melodramatic rock too

So is Fever Ray

― Evan

"Temperatures are running high for this hotly anticipated release."

After the superstar’s outstanding seventh studio album shook the table yet again for pop, R&B, and dance music, a cake that was sitting on the table was disturbed... so the cake needs to be reassembled, and fresh icing applied. Whatever comes next will be that icing! Too many Beyoncé albums have shaken the table; it's time for a Beyoncé album that ices a cake.

Fever Ray's new album "The Resulting Paste and the Icing Done"

Has anyone prompted the chat ai thing to rewrite this listbait piece yet?