With the ease of a google search, and a plethora of bloggers who have built strong reputations, including largheartedboy, Aquarium Drunkard, Daytrotter, My Old Kentucky Blog, Pop Matters and hundreds of others, one has to figure that the more omnipresent music magazines such as Rolling Stone, Spin and Paste, have to be on their last legs. And whether they're struggling financially or not, what truly matters is that real fans of music have lost all trust in these magazines. There is SO MUCH great music being made today, and given the popularity of bands like Radiohead and Wilco, and sites such as Pitchforkmedia and Stereogum, the bigger rags are finally jumping on board. But if you look closely, they really haven't changed much. Out of all the fantastic records released this year, the aforementioned three listed the following as their top ten records of the year:
Rolling Stone: 1. TV on the Radio 2. Bob Dylan 3. Lil Wayne 4. My Morning Jacket 5. John Mellencamp 6. Santogold 7. Coldplay 8. Beck 9. Metallica 10. Vampire Weekend
This list is so terrible that it's almost impossible to even comment. Mellencamp, Coldplay, Metallica and TV on the Radio....seriously? JOHN MELLENCAMP???? And the Bob Dylan record while very good, is a collection of outtakes. Should this even be in contention? And Vampire Weekend was thrown in to please the hipsters in Kanye shades. Just terrible.
Spin: 1. TV on the Radio 2. Lil Wayne 3. Portishead 4. Fucked Up 5. Fleet Foxes 6. Santogold 7. Deerhunter 8. Hot Chip 9. Coldplay 10. MGMT
I suppose this reads slightly better, but it's just a collection of what's considered hip. There is absolutely no depth to this list. Deerhunter, Fleet Foxes, Lil Wayne....zzzzz. Do you folks listen to anything that's not praised on the "trend-setter" sites? I will give Spin some credit as it's been attempting to re-brand itself, but they still have a ways to go.
Paste: 1. She & Him 2. Sigur Ros 3. Vampire Weekend 4. Bon Iver 5. Okkervil River 6. Fleet Foxes 7. Girl Talk 8. Sun Kil Moon 9. Lucinda Williams 10. Deerhunter
Ok, this is certainly the most open-minded of the three, but Paste has always maintained an independent spirit, yet She & Him, Sigur Ros, Vampire and Bon Iver top their list? The She & Him record is grossly overrated by you guys. The Sigur Ros is a bore. Vampire is ok and Bon Iver is the most overrated songwriter in the history of recorded music. To give them credit, at least they didn't include elevator-music extraordinares, Coldplay.
Finding great music today takes a little work. But it's just that, a little work. Hundreds of bloggers let you sample new music before you buy, and sites like eMusic, which has finally gone through a much-needed site redesign, Last.fm and other easy-to-find services, let you sample, listen, discover, and buy. The aforementioned magazines are a waste of your time and money. Skip them, do a little digging and you'll find an endless sea of music.
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