BjorgenFjorgen
Well-Known Member
That and the abysmal state of the venture capital vulture-run media industry generally.
Hot Take/ Musical Confession Thread!
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Dirtbag Auntie
Well-Known Member
one of the most freeing things you can do as a music fan is stop ranking and listing and reading that. I full on stopped that last year and I’m much happier for it. The incessant need to rank is trash.
Melt Face Molly Drop
Well-Known Member
I hate ranking when it's pitting bands against eachother. End of year lists are exhausting and not worth anyone's time. However, I do find some solace in ranking an individual artist's body of work. It helps me clear my mind surrounding what I enjoy or perhaps what is a blind spot that needs more listens. I don't rank to hate, but to explore.
TenderLovingKiller®
Well-Known Member
He is slightly older than me and from the Midwest. I find him very relatable and an excellent writer. I also enjoy many of the same artists he has recommended over the years. I’ve read three of his books and am looking forward to his new book on Bruce Springsteen. I don’t understand how or why people find him upsetting nothing he says or does is insulting or condescending or otherwise controversial he is a white dude in his early 40s who enjoys guitar based rock music.
Do you feel the same about Chuck Klosterman and/or Andy Greenwald?
Klosterman literally wrote the book on the subject.
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Dirtbag Auntie
Well-Known Member
I get that.
My method is I make artist playlists, put all their albums/eps/singles and hit shuffle. I discover new faves out of context sometimes.
I do believe a great piece of music criticism can make you reconsider without a list.
TenderLovingKiller®
Well-Known Member
See the problem here is generational, these “label money grabs” forced down my throat were not seen that way amongst a large swath of people my age growing up. We enjoyed Hootie and Offspring and the like and while it’s obvious now as adults what these things were not to the same level as Pearl Jam or Guided By Voices; when I was a dumb kid I had no issue keeping my Pavement albums next to my Marylin Manson, Hootie and The Blowfish, and Snoop Dogg albums in my CD flip case. Most of what he is writing about when he is covering that stuff isn’t to say that it’s good music it’s to say that it had a place and was very popular and to acknowledge the reasons why that was the case is interesting.
I make playlists of bad late 80s early 90s adult contemporary music that they played on the radio when I was growing up. I make playlist of terrible 70s Yacht rock and playlist of music booming out of frat houses at the turn of the millennia. it all has a place.
It’s no different than someone waxing nostalgically about Poison or Motley Crue or Cinderella. The difference is Steve is about a decade younger than you.
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TenderLovingKiller®
Well-Known Member
Not a single listicle to be found in any of these…
Also, I feel like in the day and age we live he uses the list format more as an attention grabbing device than anything usually every entry on his list contain several paragraphs of explanation. It’s not like Buzzfeed AI generated content where the list is the all that is being offered up. Steve usually writes a ton for each entry.
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TenderLovingKiller®
Well-Known Member
Currently Uproxx
Steven Hyden
Since 2016, Steven Hyden has been Uproxx’s Cultural Critic. He is also the co-host of Uproxx’s weekly indie rock podcast, Indiecast, and the author of several books about music, including “Long Road,” “This Isn’t Happening,” “Hard To Handle,” “Twilight Of The Gods,” and “Your Favorite Band Is...
uproxx.com
TenderLovingKiller®
Well-Known Member
I think context matters a lot. I like ranking things to generate discussion and debate plus it provokes internal deliberation on what I like and dislike about artists, albums l, and songs. I enjoy stimulating my brain regarding things a care about and would rather spend time pondering which Sonic Youth album I enjoy more than deciding how many people I need to take call during a given time frame or if I should order a new pack of t-shirts as my current supply of undershirts is getting a bit shabby.
TenderLovingKiller®
Well-Known Member
He really doesn’t though.
The New Wilco Album Is Their Best In More Than A Decade
On ’Cruel Country,’ the re-energized indie lifers explore the cruel and compassionate sides of America.
uproxx.com
The 60 Best Wilco Songs, Ranked
On the eve of the band’s great new LP, ’Ode To Joy,’ we count down their 60 best songs.
uproxx.com
The Best My Morning Jacket Songs, Ranked
Uproxx cultural critic Steven Hyden breaks down the 30 greatest tunes by one of America’s great live rock bands.
uproxx.com
TenderLovingKiller®
Well-Known Member
I do this too.
Joe Mac
Well-Known Member
Yep and the best album reviews don’t need numbers or stars. The text lets you know how worthy of your attention it is, or isn’t.
Viking Dan
Well-Known Member
I read Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs and Fargo Rock City.
I have not read this book.
Rather than a "music critic" I lump Klosterman into the category of essayist.
I am unfamiliar with Mr. Greenwald's musical critique, taste or writing.
Viking Dan
Well-Known Member
He really doesn’t though.
The New Wilco Album Is Their Best In More Than A Decade
On ’Cruel Country,’ the re-energized indie lifers explore the cruel and compassionate sides of America.
The 60 Best Wilco Songs, Ranked
On the eve of the band’s great new LP, ’Ode To Joy,’ we count down their 60 best songs.
The Best My Morning Jacket Songs, Ranked
Uproxx cultural critic Steven Hyden breaks down the 30 greatest tunes by one of America’s great live rock bands.
He has Impossible Germany at #6. Anything higher than 1000 is too high.
No Evil Urges in the top 25 - and not 1 but 2 Waterfalls cuts ahead of that?
I rest my case your honor.
Viking Dan
Well-Known Member
Also - I feel the same way - only angrier and more likely to make the "someone" being punched an innocent animal when it comes to Rob Harvilla.
TenderLovingKiller®
Well-Known Member
Had to look him up. Ah, the 60 Songs That Explain The 90s guy. I don’t have any issues with him either. I have listened to a few episodes and it was entertaining enough.
I am starting to think that if we met IRL you’d wanna punch me too. Which is fine as you wouldn’t be the first, I tend to come off as extremely punchable to many.
Viking Dan
Well-Known Member
First - no.
Second - that is EVERYONE's first reaction to me - which is why I have no doubt we'd be fast friends....until it came time to choose which MMJ album to spin.
Joe Mac
Well-Known Member
I suppose the stars to me are in the abstract. The writing provides the framework and rationale as to whether I think like it or not. It’s also worth finding good reviewers whose writing styles speak to you because there are so many shit ones.
BjorgenFjorgen
Well-Known Member
I'm aware that he's written books. I read the Radiohead one and thought it was fine. I just find the "All of ____'s songs, ranked" to be very cynical and shallow. I don't particularly enjoy his writing or find him very insightful, even though our taste does overlap quite a bit. Uproxxx is perhaps also the least user-friendly, advertisement-heavy website I've ever seen, which doesn't help.
TenderLovingKiller®
Well-Known Member
This is the thing that I feel is lost with social media today. I see a lot of posts where people hate of writers or publication for committing the crime of not liking something that someone else enjoys. I was on the Sonic Youth subreddit and there was a page of people dancing on the grave of Pitchfork because they dared to give one of SY’s lesser albums a 6.8 (and TBH, they gave another arguably one of their worst albums a 0.0). It’s wild, pitchfork LOVES Sonic Youth and has done more to promote the band then probably any other major publication over the past 20 years but because they did give all their albums 10s they are clearly trash and should burn in hell.