Even more annoying than these writers using valuable space to offer their opinions in list-form is the fact that half the time I don't even think it is their real list. Most of the time these lists are just an excuse for the writer to try and show how interesting they find themselves by digging up some obscure band which the reader has most likely never heard of. For example, if you scan the list for the Top-Ten of 2013 from your average film critic it will be filled with documentaries, foreign films and independent pictures, none of which have ever been screened in front of a full theater. Meanwhile a movie which makes $200 million its opening weekend will never get mentioned. I know that popular doesn't equal quality but that equation works the other way as well, because being an underdog doesn't make you noble either. These lists get even more obnoxiously self-congratulatory when you read anything concerning the album of the year. It is all about trying to find the most obscure musical act and pump them up like the writer has found the next Rolling Stones even though the reality is most of these bands will have to break up by the end of 2014 because they aren't selling enough tickets. Seriously, sometimes reading album reviews are enough to make me wish for the fall of the music industry completely. That is why I was really happy that someone put together the following video of all the top songs of 2013. There is no bias against popular musicians, just a mash-up of all the songs which performed well on the radio, presented without commentary. Letting the music speak for itself is something we should all resolve to let happen more in 2014.
Sunday, December 29, 2013
The Year In Music
As we quickly approach the end of 2013, it is time for pop culture watchers to start compiling their lists of "The Best ____ Of The Year." I'm sure you have seen more than a few of these in your travels - the best movie, the best television show, the best moment. They are so abundant because everyone loves them. The writers love them because they are pretty easy to come up with, their editors love them because they are simple to put together and the readers love them because they make for a great debate. I don't know why this is, but few things get people heated as quickly as the concept of ranking things in a specific order. I mean, I would understand it if these articles were ranking something which you held near to your heart, such as members of your family ("How can you put Uncle Jim at 7th?") but all they ever rank are movies and albums, none of which have been out long enough for you to get attached to them. I will admit to reading more than my fair share of these articles but I have to say that I have never been a big fan of them because in my opinion it is nothing more than a microcosm of the entire insane concept that you can make a living as a critic in the first place. I have always maintain critic is the weirdest job in America because the second the reader ask themselves "Who are these people and why should I care what they think?" the job becomes pointless. Working through that premise, why should the order in which you put the opinions which I don't respect matter?
Even more annoying than these writers using valuable space to offer their opinions in list-form is the fact that half the time I don't even think it is their real list. Most of the time these lists are just an excuse for the writer to try and show how interesting they find themselves by digging up some obscure band which the reader has most likely never heard of. For example, if you scan the list for the Top-Ten of 2013 from your average film critic it will be filled with documentaries, foreign films and independent pictures, none of which have ever been screened in front of a full theater. Meanwhile a movie which makes $200 million its opening weekend will never get mentioned. I know that popular doesn't equal quality but that equation works the other way as well, because being an underdog doesn't make you noble either. These lists get even more obnoxiously self-congratulatory when you read anything concerning the album of the year. It is all about trying to find the most obscure musical act and pump them up like the writer has found the next Rolling Stones even though the reality is most of these bands will have to break up by the end of 2014 because they aren't selling enough tickets. Seriously, sometimes reading album reviews are enough to make me wish for the fall of the music industry completely. That is why I was really happy that someone put together the following video of all the top songs of 2013. There is no bias against popular musicians, just a mash-up of all the songs which performed well on the radio, presented without commentary. Letting the music speak for itself is something we should all resolve to let happen more in 2014.
Even more annoying than these writers using valuable space to offer their opinions in list-form is the fact that half the time I don't even think it is their real list. Most of the time these lists are just an excuse for the writer to try and show how interesting they find themselves by digging up some obscure band which the reader has most likely never heard of. For example, if you scan the list for the Top-Ten of 2013 from your average film critic it will be filled with documentaries, foreign films and independent pictures, none of which have ever been screened in front of a full theater. Meanwhile a movie which makes $200 million its opening weekend will never get mentioned. I know that popular doesn't equal quality but that equation works the other way as well, because being an underdog doesn't make you noble either. These lists get even more obnoxiously self-congratulatory when you read anything concerning the album of the year. It is all about trying to find the most obscure musical act and pump them up like the writer has found the next Rolling Stones even though the reality is most of these bands will have to break up by the end of 2014 because they aren't selling enough tickets. Seriously, sometimes reading album reviews are enough to make me wish for the fall of the music industry completely. That is why I was really happy that someone put together the following video of all the top songs of 2013. There is no bias against popular musicians, just a mash-up of all the songs which performed well on the radio, presented without commentary. Letting the music speak for itself is something we should all resolve to let happen more in 2014.
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