part of the reason beyonce's album got so much press about OMG NEW MODEL IS MUSIC CHANGING is because no one had early copies and they needed immediate articles. iirc there was a rush to immediate judgement on most of the tracks and tempest in a teapot responses galore; I remember 99 thinkpieces on eat the cake anna mae alone. some of the subtext, to my eyes, was a bit of panic on the part of press that recognized the stealth release as an open declaration of the method of negotiation and scheduling with press for cover pieces and review as unnecessary for artists of a certain level. that there's only a score of artists at that level is sort of beside the point; that score provide the biggest reason to buy the magazine/click the article/buy the paper. it would not surprise me if the eoy round ups focus more on the method of release for Bey than the release itself.
BTW, the decision on her part to put the re-release and new material on spotify suggests that she and her team get that, at $26, the platinum edition is selling for the packaging/DVD/calendar as much as anything and that in this case (unlike the initial release), the music is NOT the commodity... it's pack-in.
― Face facts poptimism hacks, your a scam. (forksclovetofu), Wednesday, 26 November 2014 19:54 (nine years ago) link
Not a lot of Katy B and Jessie Ware so far, I would agree their new albums are not as good as their debuts but good enough to place higher than freakin Kasabian or Damon Albarn.
― Van Horn Street, Wednesday, 26 November 2014 20:07 (nine years ago) link
as of next week on the charts bey's streams will count toward album sales too lol, so i guess that helps?
― dyl, Wednesday, 26 November 2014 20:48 (nine years ago) link
I saw Primus this year and it was p good
― Whiney G. Weingarten, Wednesday, 26 November 2014 20:52 (nine years ago) link
Always annoys me how these lists come out earlier and earlier every year.
― rising stones cross (anagram)
It's really silly. There'll be a load of decent releases in December no doubt.
― millmeister, Wednesday, 26 November 2014 21:00 (nine years ago) link
eyes peeled for my "best of 2015" list, coming this March
― the farakhan of gg (DJP), Wednesday, 26 November 2014 21:12 (nine years ago) link
let's just vote on the best of the 2020s right now. that arbre mort comeback album is surprisingly consistent don't you think?
― I dunno. (amateurist), Wednesday, 26 November 2014 21:14 (nine years ago) link
I know it's gauche but I have to remind everyone that my madrigal re-imaginings of Nickelback songs is on its fifth reprinting before we start voting
― the farakhan of gg (DJP), Wednesday, 26 November 2014 21:15 (nine years ago) link
I have a song I haven't even done the vocals for, so.
― glenn mcdonald, Wednesday, 26 November 2014 21:18 (nine years ago) link
I remember 99 thinkpieces on eat the cake anna mae alone.
not to mention the 50 or so on eat the cake "anime"
― Number None, Wednesday, 26 November 2014 23:27 (nine years ago) link
Would've thought katy and jessie would be high up on the Graun's list but who really knows.
― uxorious gazumping (monotony), Wednesday, 26 November 2014 23:31 (nine years ago) link
― the farakhan of gg (DJP
how much did it cost to book Sting to imagine them onstage?
― guess that bundt gettin eaten (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 26 November 2014 23:33 (nine years ago) link
Damn I had forgot about Sting's lute phase
― i did it all for the 'nuki (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, 27 November 2014 00:11 (nine years ago) link
I'm still disappointed he never started a band called Lutepack.
― EZ Snappin, Thursday, 27 November 2014 00:20 (nine years ago) link
I've come around to the Jessie Ware album in a big way (minus two tracks) but tbrr I think that "Champagne Kisses" is going to slay in the ILM trax poll.
― death in Skegness (seandalai), Thursday, 27 November 2014 03:45 (nine years ago) link
I'm fond of the album, but if there were a fire and I could only save one track it would be "Sweetest Song".
― Johnny Fever, Thursday, 27 November 2014 03:48 (nine years ago) link
Couple of points to make regarding year end lists, It's not even December yet, and ok that was too obvious , second that Decibel left off the fantastic Judas Priest album Redeemer of Souls!!
Does December not count any more or does it just get rolled into next year? Last year, one of my favorite Hip Hop albums, Because the Internet, got short shrift due to it's december release.
― IckyMetal, Thursday, 27 November 2014 04:17 (nine years ago) link
I've got at least one track on my personal 2014 faves that came out in mid-December last year. I don't write for any publications so don't have deadline problems but in any case there's no way I could sufficiently process the record in that short amount of time to et a realistic feel for how it stacks up to songs or albums I'd lived with for months.
― sctttnnnt (pgwp), Thursday, 27 November 2014 04:53 (nine years ago) link
As this thread shows, print mag EOY lists still come out late November so that's the season for it.
But this isn't because of print deadlines, it's because the publication (whether mag, website or whatever) wants theirs to be the only one that people read/talk about/care about. If they get their EOY list in first then (or so the thinking goes) punters won't bother with any others. Same reason why shops start selling Christmas stuff earlier every year - you buy your Christmas crackers from the first place you see them.
― rising stones cross (anagram), Thursday, 27 November 2014 09:24 (nine years ago) link
But nobody only pays attention to one publication these days - it's an aggregate thing. Nobody on the publications thinks that theirs is the only list that people will talk about. Weirdly, the increasing earliness is because the likes of the Guardian and NME have moved to coincide with the monthlies in late November. They used to wait till a fortnight before Christmas but now there's a scrum.
― Re-Make/Re-Model, Thursday, 27 November 2014 09:49 (nine years ago) link
Although the Guardian's different because it rolls out so slowly - it took two weeks last year.
― Re-Make/Re-Model, Thursday, 27 November 2014 09:50 (nine years ago) link
the list i filed to the guardian weeks ago looks hilariously out of date already
― lex pretend, Thursday, 27 November 2014 09:53 (nine years ago) link
Same here. I don't know why we had to file a full month before the rollout. I don't think I'd have added many new releases but I've changed my mind plenty.
― Re-Make/Re-Model, Thursday, 27 November 2014 10:01 (nine years ago) link
a full month starting before a rollout that itself starts in NOVEMBER, in an era when big releases are more slanted towards Q4 than ever
the album that's belatedly gaining steam to be my AOTY had been out a couple of weeks at that point but isn't even in the top 10 i filed!
― lex pretend, Thursday, 27 November 2014 10:03 (nine years ago) link
I'd be all in favour of the Guardian's list staying in late Dec. But we do roll out gradually - starting this week means the No 1 gets revealed on Dec 12. I had to argue against a Dec 5 finish date this year: the thing is we're not just competing against the other music lists, but against all the other end of year stuff that will appear in the Guardian. If we leave till the week before Christmas, we won't get any play on the main website.
The weird thing is how much it has changed. I did the first Guardian end of year list in 2007, in the old Film&Music section, and no one gave a shit. Within three years it had started to become the two-week behemoth you see now.
Oh, and you had to file early because we needed to consult with the department that has overseen every department's end of year lists this year. They wanted a unified look, which meant getting the copy in early so they could start deciding the formats and sorting it all out.
― Unsettled defender (ithappens), Thursday, 27 November 2014 10:04 (nine years ago) link
But Dorian, Lex, you want to moan about it? Moan to me.
― Unsettled defender (ithappens), Thursday, 27 November 2014 10:05 (nine years ago) link
the album that's belatedly gaining steam to be my AOTY had been out a couple of weeks at that point but isn't even in the top 10 i filed
Kind of interested in what this is.
― Matt DC, Thursday, 27 November 2014 10:44 (nine years ago) link
tinashe (didn't even think it was that special for weeks after first hearing)
― lex pretend, Thursday, 27 November 2014 10:49 (nine years ago) link
Yes!
― Frederik B, Thursday, 27 November 2014 12:57 (nine years ago) link
Poll running earlier this year so it finishes before xmasAll welcome to nominate/vote etc~~~ End Of Year ILM Metal - Albums & Tracks Poll- Nominations 2014 (Ends friday11.59pm UK time Dec 5th) ~~~
― Cosmic Slop, Thursday, 27 November 2014 13:02 (nine years ago) link
Norman Records Top 50
1. Bracken - Exist/resist2. Ian William Craig - A Turn of Breath3. The Brian Jonestown Massacre - Revelation4. Last Ex - Last Ex5. Swans - To Be Kind6. Virginia Wing - Measures of Joy7. Morgan Delt - Morgan Delt8. Kate Tempest - Everybody Down9. Ought - More Than Any Other Day10. Memory Drawings - There Is No Perfect Place11. Neneh Cherry - Blank Project12. Sleaford Mods - Divide and Exit13. Scott Walker and Sunn O))) - Soused14. Tape - Casino15. Grouper - Ruins16. Ty Segall - Manipulator17. Mohammad - Lamnè Gastama18. Aphex Twin - Syro19. Timber Timbre - Hot Dreams20. Goat - Commune21. Fennesz - Bécs22. Perfect Pussy - Say Yes To Love23. EIAFUAWN - Birds In The Ground24. Shellac - Dude Incredible25. A New Line (Related) - S/T
https://www.normanrecords.com/features/top-fifty-2014.php
― death in Skegness (seandalai), Thursday, 27 November 2014 13:06 (nine years ago) link
Nice to see shoutouts for Tape, Ex-Easter Island Head, Soundcarriers, Jon Mueller's Death Blues on the full Norman Records list.
― death in Skegness (seandalai), Thursday, 27 November 2014 13:08 (nine years ago) link
The absence of Owen Pallett's In Conflict in these lists (#64 on Rough Trade, thats it) is baffling. It was my #1 any time I was asked to vote and I thought I was going to be in good company but no.
― Re-Make/Re-Model, Thursday, 27 November 2014 13:43 (nine years ago) link
Yeah, no OP, no Sunny Day in Glasgow, no YG (though it's not that kind of lists yet). I am out of touch with consensus, more than I think I am. But I realize that every year.
― Frederik B, Thursday, 27 November 2014 13:48 (nine years ago) link
i keep waiting for the uk music press to have a country epiphany. when it comes 3 years late i'll probably be extremely annoyed
― lex pretend, Thursday, 27 November 2014 14:14 (nine years ago) link
no doubt.
― Piss-Up Artist (dog latin), Thursday, 27 November 2014 14:18 (nine years ago) link
10. Memory Drawings - There Is No Perfect Place
Woah I went to a Timberwolves game with a guy in this band w a mutual friend
― i did it all for the 'nuki (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, 27 November 2014 14:25 (nine years ago) link
That's the band with someone from Hood in them right?
― sosmix klopp (NickB), Thursday, 27 November 2014 14:29 (nine years ago) link
yes I guess: "Memory Drawings is the project of Minneapolis hammered dulcimer player Joel Hanson, Hood co-founder Richard Adams and former Lanterns on the Lake violinist Sarah Kemp"
― sosmix klopp (NickB), Thursday, 27 November 2014 14:38 (nine years ago) link
Unsurprising but love seeing Norman Recs sticking with the Hood shout outs. Both the Bracken and Memory Drawings albums are great.
The absence of Owen Pallett's In Conflict in these lists (#64 on Rough Trade, thats it) is baffling. ― Re-Make/Re-Model, donderdag 27 november 2014 14:43 (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
― Re-Make/Re-Model, donderdag 27 november 2014 14:43 (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
^^ Can only co-sign this. Truly baffling.
― a pleasant little psychedelic detour in the elevator (Amory Blaine), Thursday, 27 November 2014 14:45 (nine years ago) link
To be fair Lex, Uncut writes about a lot of country. Just not the country that you're interested in.
― Unsettled defender (ithappens), Thursday, 27 November 2014 14:48 (nine years ago) link
Kacey Musgraves was in a few lists last year but not as many as I'd hoped. Most country artists you like, Lex, don't play very big venues and even then the crowd is mostly expats. I think most Brits can't get past the sound of modern country so I really don't think there's going to be, say, a Miranda Lambert epiphany but maybe Kacey's next record could do it.
― Re-Make/Re-Model, Thursday, 27 November 2014 15:01 (nine years ago) link
Great to see Kogumaza sneak into the Norman list. I'd actually forgotten that album came out this year, it will now be in mine.
― emil.y, Thursday, 27 November 2014 15:03 (nine years ago) link
Oh wow I didn't know the Hood guy was in that! It was just my friend Joel plays in a band
― i did it all for the 'nuki (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, 27 November 2014 15:20 (nine years ago) link
Well, modern country (not alt!) is what I meant. Brits can get past trad country sounds when it's old established stars but not the relatively less heavy country signifiers of Angaleena Presley or Miranda Lambert? Or Lee Ann Womack if we're talking established names even. When Dolly played Glastonbury there was so much love for her which was great but zero interest in who her current equivalents might be
― lex pretend, Thursday, 27 November 2014 15:20 (nine years ago) link
Well if you knew the sales numbers on that OP record you'd know that basically nobody bought and/or listened to it *wipes away single tear* *accepts another film score gig*
― mango unchained (fgti), Thursday, 27 November 2014 15:22 (nine years ago) link
Whaaaaa, really? Boo everybody.
― emil.y, Thursday, 27 November 2014 15:40 (nine years ago) link
Damn, I just can't understand that! Reviews were good, too right? People suck :(
― a pleasant little psychedelic detour in the elevator (Amory Blaine), Thursday, 27 November 2014 15:42 (nine years ago) link
ya rly.
― Piss-Up Artist (dog latin), Thursday, 27 November 2014 15:44 (nine years ago) link
It's high in my top ten eyol, will campaign more.
― a pleasant little psychedelic detour in the elevator (Amory Blaine), Thursday, 27 November 2014 15:50 (nine years ago) link