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pazz jop
by Sean
Please note: MP3s are only kept online for a short time, and if this entry is from more than a couple of weeks ago, the music probably won't be available to download any more.
So yes - the results for Pazz and Jop 2003 are in. Critics have responded in droves and democratically declared the best of the year to be... ALBUMSThis is cool if only because it's, uh, not by white rockers. (This is relevant only because most critics I've met do happen to be white rockers. And, tokenism or not, this result suggests OutKast=Wilco (2002's #1 album), in the eyes of the critical commons. That is, prog hip-hop is as well-received as prog country-pop. And that's interesting.) It's also cool because I think it's a very, very good (double-)album. (Andrew will not be pleased.) 2 The White Stripes Elephant (V2)Three okay albums that just make the list feel depressing. I guess it's how lots of other people felt about Wilco's win last year - these are picks without energy, vim, sparkle. Yes, the White Stripes do the white stripes thing well: but can you still get excited about Elephant? Yes, the Fountains of Wayne are catchy (I do like "Stacy's Mom"), but aren't they also really plain? Yes, Radiohead did record some fine songs. But songs; an ILMer put it best: what would Radiohead have to do to not crack the P&J Top Ten? Should these albums really consist of #2, #3, and #4? 5 Yeah Yeah Yeahs Fever to Tell (Interscope)Argh. The Shins!? What a boring, dumb-witted, donut-hole of a record. And it didn't even have "New Slang" to redeem it! 7 New Pornographers Electric Version (Matador)I'm surprised (why did so many indie kids - YYY, FoW, Shins, New Pornos - rank so high?), but I can live with these... 9 Drive-By Truckers Decoration Day (New West)Who? 10 Dizzee Rascal Boy in Da Corner (XL import)! Wow Dizzee! I don't think this album had even been released in the States in 2003... SINGLESBut this list I like very much. The only one that wasn't among my favourite songs of 2003 was the Kelis track. I seem to be the only human being in the planet who isn't thrilled-to-pieces with "Milkshake" (well, apart from those cymbal things in the chorus). Sorry for the lack of updates - I had a friend in from out-of-town, and I'm working on a v. large post about my pop and hip-hop trajectory. (MP3s will accompany it.) Posted by Sean at February 10, 2004 6:20 PMComments
jeez, i didn't know people hated the shins that much. i don't love the record, but i didn't find it anywhere close to offensively bad Posted by peter at February 10, 2004 8:24 PMYeah, I have been surprised by the venom that the Shins seem to inspire in a lot of blogs and on ilx. It seems largely a reaction against what seems like a force-feeding by indie radio and record shops, which I admit is a little much. When I bought the record it seemed overdone and silly and bordered in places on sounding like new age Jethro Tull. But the songs have grown on me, and they put on a hell of a live show. I can see why people would call them boring, but it seems like a lot of the hate directed at them is more about their popularity than anything else. BTW, The Drive By Truckers record has some amazing songs, and I nominate Dizee Rascal for the most over-rated thing to come out of England since the Mayflower. It seems to me like most people enjoy the idea and phenomenon of Dizee more than they actually enjoy the music. Was there a more annoying single in '03 than Fix Up, Look Sharp? Posted by Scott at February 10, 2004 9:12 PMeek! you guys are right! If anyone asked me if I hated the Shins, I'd reply with a negative. Of course I don't - they're far too good-natured to hate. But what DID get me mad (as you can see!) was that they showed up so high on the "critics concensus" for BEST album of the year. Ahead of Broken Social Scene and Songs:Ohia and the Long Winters and Bubba Sparxxx. What's enraging isn't (for me) the "force-feeding" by the indie community, but rather seeing one mediocre album raised up so high *in the face of* dozens and dozens (hundreds?) of better records. If The Shins were at #30, you'd hear nary a peep out of me. > But the songs have grown on me, and they put on a hell of a live show. I can see why people would call them boring, but it seems like a lot of the hate directed at them is more about their popularity than anything else... I understand what you mean - I guess for me, it's just that the songs on Chutes Too Narrow never 'grew' (and I didn't get to see them live). Maybe the popularity thing comes into play, but my favourite songs of the year were "Hey Ya!" and "Crazy in Love"... I like to think I'm on my way to having the [indie] elitism thing mostly beat' re: dizzee, absolutely correct! i like the idea MUCH more than I like his music (ie, I don't like "Boy In Da Corner," except [ironically] "Fix Up Look Sharp"). He'd definitely not be on my "best of 2003," but I -am- impressed than an import record zoomed up all the way to #10. I'll check out the Truckers - what do they do? Posted by Sean at February 10, 2004 9:49 PMas the officially uncool guy here (I bear the burden), i totally agree with you that the singles chart is mostly spot on, while the albums have a lot of stuff that i could care less about. The Truckers play unironic Southern rock, they get drunk and they frickin LOVE Skynyrd. I wouldn't say the album is great, but it has a few great songs, particularly "Outfit." And a few just great lines like "Rock and Roll means well but it can't help tellin young boys lies." sean, i wish i could give you my ears so you would understand the sheer genius that is the shins. they are beyond merely pleasant. the songwriting is at a level of intelligence you rarely encounter in modern pop songwriting and hooks are delicious. give 'em one more chance! but bubba sparxxx? you can't be serious.... and broken social scene are one of the most overhyped bands to come out of canada since, well, the unicorns....ouch.... Posted by k at February 11, 2004 10:49 PMRadiohead would have to make a bad album not to make the top 10. They made a great album this year, so they are in the top 10. I'm not going to get into another Fountains of Wayne argument, but suffice to say that if you think they're "really plain," you need to listen closer and/or investigate their back catalog. Posted by Eppy at February 13, 2004 6:03 PMPost a comment |
 about said the gramophone
this is a daily sampler of really good songs. all tracks are posted out of love. please go out and buy the records!
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all songs are removed within a week or two of posting. said the gramophone launched in march 2003, and added songs in november of that year. it was one of the world's very first mp3blogs. if you would like to say hello, find out our mailing addresses or invite us to shows, please get in touch: montreal, canada: sean toronto, canada: jordan montreal, canada: dan please don't send us emails with tons of huge attachments; if emailing a bunch of mp3s etc, use a service like MailBigFile. if you are the copyright holder of any song posted here, please contact us if you would like the song taken down early. please do not direct link to any of these tracks. please love and wonder. "and i shall watch the ferry-boats / and they'll get high on a bluer ocean / against tomorrow's sky / and i will never grow so old again." we are a member of MBV.
about the authors
Sean Michaels lives in Montreal, where he is writing a novel. His work also occasionally appears at McSweeney's. Follow him on Twitter or reach him here.
Dan Beirne is an actor and writer living in Montreal. He writes fiction fiction fiction on here. It may feel true, but it is never True. He is most proud of his most recent project The Bitter End. Email him here Jordan Himelfarb lives in Toronto, where he is editor in chief of The Mark. Jordan's posts appear at Said the Gramophone only on the last Wednesday of every month. Email him here. Site design and header typography by Neale McDavitt-Van Fleet. The header graphic is randomized: this one is by . 
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