quote:

Originally posted by m.leland:
I'm a little surprised some of you start ranking leaked albums several weeks before you can verify the songs on a hard copy. The versions I found of Picaresque and Hail to the Thief weren't the final master, and sounded it. Admittedly, my overall opinion didn't change much, but isn't it a little premature?

Short answer: No.
Long:
You should know two things: I received a high bit rate version of Takk from a friend who got it off Indietorrent, which has never led us to any misnamed or unmastered tracks. Additionally, it sounds 100% perfect (in sound AND song), so how could it not be the real deal? The tracks are the same as the listing that's been released, and the songs match up with the various samples and live version mp3s that have been released. Unless there's some kind of last minute change, which is insanely unlikely, I've got the real deal. And it would be easy for any other moderately experienced file sharer to also get the it, you just have to know what your looking for. The more you can share with friends and not random people, the better off you'll be.

Also, I, like many people, do most of my listening through my iPod, so the fact that I don't have a physical disk is completely meaningless to me.

This is my process, and I'm pretty good at it. And the process showed me Takk is easily the most breathtaking album I've heard so far this year. The only premature statement would be me calling it the best album of the entire year, because I haven't yet heard everything, but, even then, I doubt anything will take it over or that my opinion of it will decrease.

You could have stopped at the short answer.

Usually when something leaks this close to the actual release date you can be pretty sure of it's quality.

That's all well and good, it's just premature to be ranking albums that haven't been released since a) there's no guarantee and b) you haven't lived with them beyond a couple weeks. I find it rather pretentious, actually, if the goal is just to get the jump on everybody else, an intent I'm sure plays out in some lists around here. (I point fingers at no one.)

M Leland, I think you're reading sinister motivations into everybody where they aren't there.

I can't speak for everyone else, but I include them...partly because everybody else is including them, but also because I think two or three listens is enough to have some sort of reasonable estimate about how much I'll like them later based on how I've enjoyed them so far. I make no claim that these are final rankings, and nobody else has either.

But really, what's the difference between ranking something that comes out in a month, and ranking something that came out yesterday, if you've listened to it a few times?

There are some people on metacritic who call everything 'pretentious' that they don't have the taste for, but I've rarely seen the word used accurately in any music discussion, period.

I wasn't aiming my comments at anyone in particular, only making a general observation.

quote:

There are some people on metacritic who call everything 'pretentious' that they don't have the taste for, but I've rarely seen the word used accurately in any music discussion, period.

Pretension is an effect of intent, and my use was accurate. I'm bothered by the lists I see with three or four unreleased albums in the Top 5–10. My interpretation, insofar as the lists are concerned, is that the aim is to show off (the very definition of "pretentious," if I'm not mistaken). I typically reserve the word for shallow, melodramatic, over-the-top bands like The Arcade Fire (zing!), but, you're right — it's used entirely too often to describe things one just doesn't "get."

So you're saying people are pretending to like albums that leaked, just so everyone's aware they've heard them...

And how long do you have to live with a record before you can decide if you like it? Some records only take a handful or so to get a grasp on. I usually listen to new albums 2 or 3 times the day I get them. If I still want to keep listening to it, I know there's at least some potential there. It only takes a another few listens to form an opinion. And opinions are subject to change anyways, what's wrong with sharing your initial one?

As for the validity of the music on a leak, most of the time leaked albums are promo copies, which get sent to publications for review. Artists aren't likely to send an unfinished product out to critics.

quote:

Originally posted by dano:
So you're saying people are pretending to like albums that leaked, just so everyone's aware they've heard them...

I don't think he was saying they're pretending...only that they are showing off. If you really get off on impressing people that you can find leaked advances, but you actually don't like the record, you're a sad, sad person. But that's not the way I read m. leland, nor did he have any "sinister intentions", but was questioning the reliability of leaked records vis a vis the actually record. I have to imagine there are some people who like to show off by including records that are months away in their current playlists, but I don't think there was any insinuation or generalization that ALL who do so are being disingenuous.

I have to admit...I added Bob Mould's Body of Song to my list several weeks before it officially streeted. But I was confident that it was going to be the same as the "official" version. There have been some albums whose mixes, track listings, and whatnot have changed considerably from advance to official release, so leland seems to have a fair point. Not to mention the amount of theft and piracy of mixes and masters going on these days. But Dano's point is a good one...most of the stuff is advances sent for review or to stores for instore play...as a former reviewer and former record store employee, I admit that I often played the things I liked that were advances in the store before the release, but I never did it to try to impress anyone. I played them because I liked them. I think that's the same case with most of the folks here...they include leaked discs because they like them, not to show how cool they are for getting stuff ahead of the game. It's really not that hard to do...it only takes a little effort. Or a coupla friends in the music biz.

I should also admit that I often add things to my faves prematurely...but everyone's listening curve is different. Some people need months with an album to let it sink in...others can tell after a few spins. I'm still grooving on Bob Mould's new one, but the luster is off somewhat. I'm not sure it will stay my fave at year end...but I had listened to it often enough to have felt it was fair to include it on my best-of 2005 when I did.

So far my top CD's for 2005 are ...

Sufjan Stevens, "Illinois"
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, "CYHSY"
Bloc Party, "Silent Alarm"
Antony and the Johnsons, "I Am A Bird Now"
Spoon, "Gimme Fiction"
The Boy Least Likely To, "The Best Party Ever"

Well, my feeling is 'If everybody else is already including these albums, why shouldn't I?'

I wouldn't say that's pretentious. I listen to the albums because I like them and I've already committed to buying them, so why bother waiting for the official release to talk about them? If the final release is different from the one I have, I'll change my opinion as soon as I find out accordingly.

I certainly don't get the impression that anyone's 'showing off'.

According to me, this discussion about "is it good to rate albums before their official release date" is rubbish. Everyone does what he wants. In my case, I don't download any albums and I wait to hold the definitive record into my hands, then I listen to it many times and try to have an opinion on it.
And so far my favourite albums in 2005 are :
HAL - Hal
MERCURY REV - The secret migration
QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE - Lullabies to paralyze
I'm looking forward the new albums of Super Furry Animals and Broadcast, two of my favourite bands.

There's an Australian band called Season. They released an album called Avatar this year and it's pretty incredible. Similar to Explosions in the Sky, and probably equally good. It's a shoe-in for my top 10. THe only problem is you can't buy it unless you live in Australasia.

My Top 10 favorite albums of the year, so far, are as follows:

1. Sleater-Kinney: The Woods
2. Edan: Beauty and the Beat
3. Sufjan Stevens: Illinois
4. Common: Be
5. M.I.A.: Arular
6. 13 & God: s/t
7. Dalek: Absence
8. Decemberists: Picturesque
9. Bloc Party: Silent Alarm
10. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah: s/t

after visting metacritic on a regular basis for almost a year now, i thought it time to sign up here:

so here's my list, in rough but not exact order:

jamie lidell - multiply
autechre - untilted
lcd soundsystem - s/t
silver mt zion - horses in the sky
MIA - arular
sigur ros - takk
sufjan stevens - illinois
white stripes - get behind me satan
gorillaz - demon days
m83 - before the dawn heals us
prefuse 73 - surrounded by silence
out hud - let us never speak of it again
beck - guero
the books - lost and safe
annie - anniemal
kraftwerk - minimummaximum
death in vegas - satans circus (US release)
daft punk - human after all
caribou - milk of human kindness
four tet - everything ecstatic
isolee - we are monster
kano - home sweet home

In an earlier post, I said that -- judging solely by the tracks available on the band's web site -- the Clap Your Hands Say Yeah debut CD was among the year's best. I've since bought the album, and I'm happy to report that it lives up to the buzz. It has a raw, energetic Talking Heads sound, and I really like the synth lines winding up, then into, the mix. Well worth the investment, if you can find it.

I also bought the Sufjan Stevens album. It's really good, but so far I appreciate it more than I like it. In fairness, I have to give it a longer, more attentive listen, and let the lyrics sink in. Stevens lyrical imagry can be really powerful, as in "Romulus," or "The Upper Peninsula" from Michigan. Sometimes his music is a little too precious for me, though.

I just heard four streamed samples from a new world-music album from Amadou and Mariam. It sounds like a really promising mix of African music, salsa music and American R & B influences. But it's hard to form an impression from the samples.

I heard some tracks from Clap Your Hands and I just didn't get them. I mean, they sounded fine, but they didn't really stand out from all the other indie to me.

Maybe I should give the tracks on their website some more listens today to see if I'm really just missing something.

quote:

after visting metacritic on a regular basis for almost a year now, i thought it time to sign up here

A year? About time! Welcome to the forums TRUC and Daniel. I like that you included the new Out Hud and Four Tet albums in your list. Those albums got no love from the critics, and I love them.

quote:

Stevens lyrical imagry can be really powerful, as in "Romulus," or "The Upper Peninsula" from Michigan. Sometimes his music is a little too precious for me, though.

I think Michigan is stronger lyrically than Illinois. I really don't understand many of the lyrics off Illinois, and in some of the songs it seemed like he just threw out words that had something to do with the state. The lyrics from Casimir Pulaski Day are brilliant though.

quote:

see if I'm really just missing something.

You're not, Bob. Check out the aforementioned Avatar by Season instead. Post-rock at its very finest. TRUC, you seem to like some post-rock. You should check it out too. I guarantee you won't regret it.

the clap your hands caused me great distress.
the music was okay but the vocals were a pain that was not worth "getting used to" or "listening to 10 times"

there's much more worthwhile and more challenging music to hear that someone can learn to appreciate.

as for sufjan, i rated him that highly because in his ridiculously long stretch of 74 minutes, there isnt a bad patch on it. that is **rare**
unfortunately, while all of it is good, the amazing bits are much too far and few in between... i think i may have rated it a bit too highly.

and thanks for the seasons tip, i'll see if i can find it.

quote:

One great album----IMO!!!!

The review is nothing special.Its just kind of hard to remember the spelling of her name and it was the first review i have seen for the album.

I tried that Hanne Hukkelberg album, Imprezu, but I really couldn't get into it at all. Of course, I couldn't stand the one Bjork album I've heard either, so maybe that kind of stuff's just not for me.

quote:

as for sufjan, i rated him that highly because in his ridiculously long stretch of 74 minutes, there isnt a bad patch on it. that is **rare**
unfortunately, while all of it is good, the amazing bits are much too far and few in between... i think i may have rated it a bit too highly.

That's kinda weird, because I feel kinda the opposite way. To me, the first 15 songs are consistently good, with a few outstanding songs sprinkled in (Casimir Pulaski Day, Chicago, Man of Metropolis, John Wayne Gacy). The next two real songs are fairly good, but not as good as anything songs before track 16. Then the last real song (The Tallest Man...) I don't like. Then he inexplicably chooses to end the CD with two interludes, one of which (Out of Egypt...) monotonously stretches to a ridiculous length of 4:20. On Michigan the interlude-type tracks were 1:20 and 2:20, and I think that was about right. Still, the good parts are so good and there are so many good moments that it will be somewhere in my top 3 at year's end.