DDN in 5 mins
 

Literally just watched this on Pitchfork.

HATERS: It was the only thing I clicked on Pitchfork this week, so shuddup.

What, you didn’t read the review of the new Taylor Swift record? I just picked up a copy on 180 gram red vinyl - thanks Pitchfork!

I didn’t read the review of ... uh... what’s the last album that was good? Like, Ben Frost or Fever Ray, maybe? Albums I really liked. I legit don’t read like three reviews this year. Certainly not Taylor.

ETA: Wow what a butchery of language I made of this post!

What I meant was: I really don’t read the site. A few albums a year. I peruse. If there’s a 5-minute video in Sonic Youth, I will watch it. If there’s a list, I will look at the top 20 and bitch. I think the only reviews I’ve can remember reading this year for Damn and 4:44.

Around 10+ years ago when Pitchfork was still worth checking out, I remember them playing an April Fools joke. On April 1st they featured reviews by Avril Lavigne and others of that sort. They stated they had sold out to a corporation and to stick around and check it out. Fast forward to November 13th, 2017 and today’s feature review is the new Taylor Swift album. They even give a separate article about her upcoming tour! I’m not here to bash Taylor Swift or anyone who likes her, but Pitchfork has become the embodiment of an April Fools joke. Pathetic.

For me "Daydream Nation" is probably the most important album in the history of rock music. It totally changed my way of thinking what you can do with guitar, bass & drums.

thanks for the link

Times have changed though. Genres are less significant than they once were, and Taylor is big. Pop is now “cool” in a way it wasn’t 10 years ago. Also, Pitchfork sold to Condé Nast, so... I kinda feel for them. Extra money, but they’re more limited in how radical they can be. Serves them right though. Some of those early reviews, where the writer would take the reader through an entire Seinfeldian life anecdote before even mentioning the name of the album at hand were goddamn atrocious.

And they made the decision EARLY on to modify their editorial opinions based on the ebb and flow of trends. They deleted reviews, they have these weekend old album reviews now that allow them to retcon their initial shitty review of, say, I dunno... Nine Inch Nails’ “The Fragile.” Now that NIN has a place in the world of pseudo-underground cool, they no longer think the album is a 2.0. NOW it’s an 8.5 or whatever the fuck.

Really very stupid. All of it.

The Needle Drop is no better. That asshole always hates the best shit! Who the fuck gives Burial’s “Rival Dealer” a crap review? What kind of sick mind must that shit take? Fucking sicko.

Neat. Thanks for posting.
I don't take music critiques very seriously unless the person doing the analysis is actually a musician of some form, even just a home player of an instrument.
Dudes like Needledrop that can talk the talk, but not walk the walk in any form.. yea. Fuck that guy. I wouldn't expect him to truly appreciate the finer points of certain records, because you sort of need to have your boots wet in really playing an instrument or even writing songs to really be able to talk shit about other people's music. Especially if you're judging them on so many levels.

"so you wanna impress Christgau? Na, let that shit die"

while I do check w/ Pitchfork fairly often - I read very few reviews there. It's more a place I look as a reminder "oh, that album's out! Right." TBH, I feel like the old guy at the party more often than not. I don't even know who like 60% of the artists they talk about are.

At any rate, to echo Sev's post - yeah, they're kind of a joke journalistically as far as changing scores and deleting reviews goes to suit their current coolness. It's really lame. And honestly, that NYCG&F review sort of defined Pfork's shortcomings to me ages ago.