It's a little early, and the demise of the site is unfortunate, but it's here and we should discuss it.

Question:
Which of the Stylusmagazine Top 10 do you like most?

Choices:
10. Radiohead - In Rainbows
09. The Field - From Here We Go Sublime
08. MIA - Kala
07. Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
06. Kanye West - Graduation
05. The National - Boxer
04. Lil Wayne - Da Draught 3
03. Panda Bear - Person Pitch
02. Miranda Lambert - Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
01. LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver

 

I mean this is a pretty boring and predictable list. Oh whoa LCD Soundsystem who is that ?@?!??!?!!?!

Straight up the best album on that list is In Rainbows.

I voted for Kala. It's almost definitely going to be my #2 album this year...my #1 wasn't an option here.

quote:

Originally posted by stereo:
...my #1 wasn't an option here.

Uh, 'hissing fauna'? Yeah, I was surprised not to see 'of montreal' on the list anywhere.

Hissing Fauna was #27 on their top 50. Only the top ten got write-ups, though.

quote:

Originally posted by hudson:

quote:

Originally posted by stereo:
...my #1 wasn't an option here.

Uh, 'hissing fauna'? Yeah, I was surprised not to see 'of montreal' on the list anywhere.

Nah, actually mine is Icky Thump, as I'm a shameless White Stripes addict. But I'm not entirely surprised it didn't make their list.
I am as surprised as you that Of Montreal didn't though, I thought that would do really well on end-of-the-year lists.

Sound Of Silver, though it's only my #5 and I haven't heard a vast majority of their picks.

I think their list was a pretty good depiction of how a lot of year-end lists are going to look. I was a bit surprised at how high the Kanye West album was; I haven’t heard it in a while and I need to give it some more listens because I do remember really liking it.

The list made me think of what would happen if my list was mixed with Pitchfork's potential list. With some Kanye thrown in there for good measure.

It's good to see The National getting the credit they deserve. Alligator didn't show up on nearly enough year end lists, and not high enough on the ones it did.

I don’t know, I think that maybe Alligator did get the recognition it deserved. As good as that album was, I think that Boxer is quite better than it. They truly took some huge leaps up with this one and top-5 rankings are expected. I think that Alligator was a top 10-20 album and got some good recognition but Boxer is pretty fantastic.

It's kind of strange: when I looked at this list, I thought it looked fairly standard and predictable (which it is), but then I realized that I'd only actually listened to 5 of the albums on it, and liked only 3. (Spoon, The National, and Radiohead) I guess it's just that they wanted to mix up the genres a bit more, and I, uh, don't.
I feel like I should ask, though - isn't Miranda Lambert a country singer? Is liking country now ironically cool, like liking Justin and Rihanna? Please, oh please, tell me I'm wrong!!

Their list doesn't look a whole lot like mine will (although I love and will miss their site). I really, really liked Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, but for me this comes down to In Rainbows versus Boxer, and Boxer wins by a nose. Ironic or not, I'm actually interested in checking out this Miranda Lambert buckaroo. I'll probably hate it

So, I decided to listen to a song by Miranda Lambert, so I at least would have a reason to be shocked and horrified that she would make #2 on Stylus' list, rather than being shocked and horrified based on the mere fact that she's a country singer. So, I went to YouTube, found a song ("Famous in a Small Town"), and promised myself I would listen to the whole song even if it was terrible.

Well, it was terrible. Not terrible in a 'worse than anything I've ever heard' way (that honor may have to go to Fergie...), but terrible in a 'have the critics all banded together to play some sort of ridiculous joke on us?' way. I mean, it sounded like every single other country song. What is there about this that makes it less hateable than any other country? Nothing.

Sorry about this rant, but I really can't stand country music. I think it comes from a childhood scarred by being forced to say that I liked an Alan Jackson song in order to get my snack while I was at a friend's house.

quote:

Originally posted by CoCoCo:
I feel like I should ask, though - isn't Miranda Lambert a country singer? Is liking country now ironically cool, like liking Justin and Rihanna? Please, oh please, tell me I'm wrong!!

I don’t know, I don’t think they added that album just because they wanted to have some country in there. According to these people, most of them like it as well.

I tried listening to the Miranda Lambert album and didn't really get it either. It didn't seem all that removed from Carrie Underwood type stuff. Pop Country is definitely not my scene though.

The country scene I like has past. Johnny Cash and Patsy Cline have gone. Why do genres that can be so great have to succumb to middle-of-the-road disgusting measures?

I can definitely dig Miranda Lambert's album. Every time I hear a critically acclaimed country album, I end up liking/loving it; Van Lear Rose, Taking the Long Way, Fox Confessor + Blacklisted, and now Crazy-Ex Girlfriend.

And then I wonder why I don't like country music...It's just because so much of it is cheesy and/or same-sounding, so as a genre on the whole I can't get into it. But I can get down with a good country album every once in a while.

I don't know about it making my year end list because I don't really have the urge to listen to country all that much. Then again, Taking the Long Way (Dixie Chicks) and Fox Confessor (Neko Case) both made my list last year. IDK

quote:

Originally posted by pianofaerie: solid brass. ring it!:
The country scene I like has past. Johnny Cash and Patsy Cline have gone. Why do genres that can be so great have to succumb to middle-of-the-road disgusting measures?

The major record companies pick what they can most easily market to the largest number of people, which rules out just about anything not mediocre. I consider myself something of a country (or at least alt-country) fan, but pop-country is something that repels me maybe more than any other genre.

Funny, after my first listen I never thought I'd say it, but "Icky Thump" would be my pick for best album of the year. At one time or another, every 'Stripes album has been my favorite, but at first, "Icky Thump" felt like a let-down. It sure does grow though, I think it's a modern masterpiece. I love every song. I also love Radiohead's "in Rainbows", Spoon's "Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga", the Arcade Fire's "Neon Bible, and the National's "Boxer". However, Jack White made another great album. I think every White Stripes album has been better than the last actually. Jack White, along with Thom Yorke and Bry Webb, is the songwriter of our time.