beyond aworks :: pitchfork top 10 albums of the decade /half new, half fossil/

Cover of Kid A

Prompted by my Facebook link, Steven Rubio posts about Pitchfork's top albums of the decade list, specifically #1 on the list:

Pitchfork, and Radiohead, and Kid A, are the music culture equivalent of the youngsters at last year’s family Xmas party. It’s their turn. I’m a fossil who prefers Nick Hornby to Pitchfork or Radiohead.

I'm all over the map on this one. I loved Hornby's Fever Pitch and High Fidelity but lost interest just as his writing skills presumably grew more sophisticated. I only read Pitchfork on an irregular basis although I like their lists since they also include links to free lala streaming. I admit to being a Radiohead obsessive, although I didn't buy the Thom Yorke single when it came out today. Finally, MediaMonkey reports for the month of September that four of the top ten tracks I listened to were from the re-release of Magical Mystery Tour.

To complete the exercise, I thought I would comment my reactions to the Pitchfork Top 10:

10. Since I Left You. The Avalanches. Never heard of the band.
9. Person Pitch. Panda Bear. Heard of the band, heard the album, I didn't really "get it," a reaction that in turn makes me feel old.
8. Ágætis Byrjun. Sigur Rós. Despite my esoteric tastes, I've heard little of the band and none of the album.
6. Is This It. The Strokes. Loved the album, grew tired of the band.
5. The Moon & Antarctica. Modest Mouse. Never heard the album, grew tired of the band anyway.
4. The Blueprint. Jay-Z. Never heard the album, need to listen to more of the artist.
3. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Wilco. Hate the album, hate the songs and singer, but nonetheless like the drummer and especially the guitarist when he plays jazz.
2. Discovery. Daft Punk. Heard the album and when listening to it again, still don't really like it.
1. Kid A. Radiohead. MediaMonkey says I have listened to Hail to the Thief tracks 614 times, Amnesiac 524 times, and Kid A only 280 times. But all are equally worthy in my aesthetic world. Strangely, I don't particularly like their earlier guitar-oriented albums although Creep as played by bass clarinets is fascinating, as is that bootleg I have of Radiohead playing Neil Young's guitar rocker Cinnamon Girl.

Comments

[Steven]

I confess, I'll forgive Nick Hornby for anything, after Fever Pitch.

I think the key point for me isn't that I don't like Radiohead, which isn't true anyway. It's that I don't have an opinion about them, which says more about me than about Radiohead. And ultimately, I think that's what Hornby was saying, as well ... it takes time and effort to appreciate difficult works, and the older you get, the less time you have to make the extra effort. Which is more about Hornby than it is about Radiohead.