Albums that received the “Best New Music” tag, but didn’t make the year end list:
Gas - Narkopop
Brand New - Science Fiction
Various Artists - Mono No Aware
Broken Social Scene - Hug of Thunder
MIKE - May God Bless Your Hustle
Power Trip - Nightmare Logic
Visible Cloaks - Reassemblage
Ariel Pink - Dedicated to Bobby Jameson
Mount Eerie’s placement is disrespectful tbh. Not because making an album about your wife dying of cancer inherently deserves a place in the top 10 but because it is objectively better than at least five of the albums in front of it.
That’ what I’ve been thinking too, for me it’s either have it at number 1 or not on your list at all. Pitckfork isn’t as bad as other sites though haha, that Jay-Z right after is tragic though.
Brand New is my number 1, but I think because of the allegations against one of the members they’ve been thrown off all lists, which is weird to me. Always separate the art from the artist, I mean the best art tends to come from the most f***** up people but oh well ^^
yeah I’m gonna have to disagree with the separate the art from the artist shit. It’s 2017, we hold people accountable now and if I was making a list I certainly wouldn’t want to give them free publicity.
Yeah that’s a good point, giving publicity to someone whom has done something so vile is wrong, so it does make more sense to leave artists such as Brand New off the respective lists. I wasn’t really thinking about publicity I guess
My thinking is more that it’s a list about the best albums of the year not the best human beings of the year. The art isn’t affected by what the artist does, the bpm of the album doesn’t distort and become un-listenable once we find out the artist is a despicable human being. but I say again, oh well ^^
I agree with some things that @Aares said. Separating the art from the artist is important, but there’s still no denying that what an artist does can impact the enjoyment of an album. If you think of what the artist has done in the past while you listen to the music or anything like that, your enjoyment of the album could be removed. Jesse’s allegations could affect someone’s enjoyment of the music also if you put yourself in the place of the person / people that suffered from Jesse’s actions.
Also, doesn’t really surprise me that they removed those BNM albums and put Mount Eerie in that place. It seems that they want to please as many people as possible with that list, because there were some really safe picks in there. Those BNM albums and ACLAM didn’t really play safe or were all that “trendy” or anything like that, so I guess that’s why they chose to not include them there or just put low in the list (ACLAM). I knew that ACLAM would be lower on the list because of the theme surrounding it and all that, and I’ve never seen an album about this getting a spot in the top 5 or something. Usually it’s in the top 10 or top 20, but never higher. It was a predictable list, overall.
True, I was still pulling for it though- hoping for at least top 10. Phil is my guy. Met him after his concert in Boston this September and he was so friendly and humble. Also the album itself is, of course, amazing, but music politics are music politics I guess.
I called Brand New being absent since Pitchfork’s general policy is to dissociate themselves from acts with these allegations. Like when all the PWR BTTM controversy was happening they pulled their Over/Under video and didn’t review their album. Even that thinkpiece on the Brand New/Jesse controversy seemed to imply the staff regretted giving Science Fiction BNM.
But, how can you tell somebody to ALWAYS do that? What if that person’s actions have affected the way they see the art? Plus, year-end lists give a lot of shine to a lot of acts. Maybe they didn’t want to give positive publicity to a group, a member of which has been accused of pretty terrible stuff.
Kind of ignorant to say everyone should just always ignore how horrific some artists might be.
Don’t hang off of my every word, this is a forum, which has brought up the pretty common yet still controversial “Seperate the art from the artist”
Like said earlier in the discussion, It’s 2017 so people do hold artists accountable for their actions. And that makes sense. Just that this is a top 50 best albums list so it should be about the music, not the artist?
It was pointed out that giving publicity to an artist who has done something wrong is incorrect, which is very true.
Then it was pointed out that finding out what an artist has done does affect the way they see the art, so clearly its something that varies from person to person.
Maybe read the thread first next time ^^
And if I’m ignorant, for not really caring what an artist does, just the art they make, oh well then.
But bear in mind though If you wish to maintain your ignorance free lifestyle and notion that an artist must be held in the same regard as their art, then its time you actually do that, not just join the trend of being outraged for a week and then go on with your life. Research every artist you listen to, just the other day I found out David Bowie had committed statutory rape and that “baby-groupies” is still a thing. So goodluck, also Pitchfork should not add David Bowie, 2-Pac etc etc to thier best ever lists either by these notions because they have also done horrible things, and as such giving them publicity is wrong.
Phil is my guy. Met him after his concert in Boston this September and he was so friendly and humble. Also the album itself is, of course, amazing, but music politics are music politics I guess.