Best Ever Albums

Re: Pitchfork's 150 Best Albums of the 1990s

Skinny — Sat, 1 Oct 2022 03:22:35 GMT

Author: Skinny

Posted: 10/01/2022 07:22

Hayden wrote:

In that case, I have some bad news for you :lol:

Link

Re: Pitchfork's 150 Best Albums of the 1990s

Romanelli — Fri, 30 Sep 2022 18:35:34 GMT

Author: Romanelli

Posted: 09/30/2022 22:35

Pitchfork. Scaruffi. Blah...blah...blah...these people and their over publicized opinions mean nothing to me. My opinion, and your opinion mean more than any pompous "Take me seriously, because I do this for a living" hack will ever matter in my world.

Re: Pitchfork's 150 Best Albums of the 1990s

Hayden — Fri, 30 Sep 2022 17:51:44 GMT

Author: Hayden

Posted: 09/30/2022 21:51

Skinny wrote:

My favourite Dilla beat.

In that case, I have some bad news for you 🤣

Re: Pitchfork's 150 Best Albums of the 1990s

MadhattanJack — Fri, 30 Sep 2022 15:58:13 GMT

Author: MadhattanJack

Posted: 09/30/2022 19:58

Skinny wrote:

I'm shocked that people were previously unaware of The Velvet Rope - it's an absolute classic.

I don't think people have been unaware of it so much as they just haven't heard more than one or two tracks from it...?

The long version of that statement is that the late 90s were the Worst Years Ever for centrally-controlled homogenous radio formatting, especially in the USA due to the Telecommunications Act of 1996 that allowed Clear Channel and other big corporations to buy up all the radio stations and put them on computerized playlists and national syndication. As advertising revenues went up-up-up, the number of actual different songs you were hearing went down, down, down. So, if you listened to "classic rock radio" or "alternative rock radio," you simply were never going to hear an R&B album, no matter how interesting or even groundbreaking it happened to be. The Velvet Rope was tagged as an R&B album, so in order to hear it you either had to watch MTV or switch to a completely different radio station.

And the worse it became, the more people started looking for alternatives, some of which came with their own set of problems. That's how we got Napster, "tape trees," In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, the iTunes store, digital satellite radio, and ultimately, streaming services. The amazing thing is that radio (or what's left of it) hasn't really changed since then, other than that some stations have given up on music altogether to go all-news or (mostly right-wing) talk-only.

This is sorta what I meant earlier when I wrote that "we could argue about why" we might expect that a critics' list for the 90s is likely to be more diverse than a fans'/listeners' list. And I'm just as guilty as anyone of not seeking out music from other genres in the 90s, if not my whole life — if you don't have people like DJs and music critics (or web-based chartmaking communities) nudging you in that direction, and instead all the nudging is being done by corporations who are mostly just trying to stabilize their revenue streams, this is what happens.

Still, The Velvet Rope did sell a lot of records and win a ton of awards, so it worked out OK for Janet Jackson herself at least.

Re: Pitchfork's 150 Best Albums of the 1990s

Skinny — Fri, 30 Sep 2022 09:40:14 GMT

Author: Skinny

Posted: 09/30/2022 13:40

Hayden wrote:

I thought it was fairly good too. I'm still lost as to how I'd never even heard of it (and, truly, I don't think I'd ever heard a single song from it). I'm surprised "Got 'til It's Gone" was a major single (apparently?). It's borderline a beat with a Q-Tip verse. There's a really nice run at the end of the record (last quarter or so) that makes it though. Good stuff. Somehow didn't feel overlong despite being a lengthy record.

My favourite Dilla beat.

I'm shocked that people were previously unaware of The Velvet Rope - it's an absolute classic. It was nailed on for their top ten, particularly in the wake of the recent critical reappraisal of Janet's oeuvre (the recent documentary, her induction into the Rock Hall, various articles and podcasts basically all reaffirming her status as a pop icon - there was a Guardian article covering her best songs a while back, and her ten #1 singles have an average score of 8/10 and plenty of deserved praise in Tom Breihan's ongoing series of articles The Number Ones over at Stereogum, which is a crazy hit rate). It's currently far, far too low on my own 1990s chart (which hasn't been updated in years), and I'm fairly sure it's featured on at least one past iteration of my overall.

Re: Pitchfork's 150 Best Albums of the 1990s

Skinny — Fri, 30 Sep 2022 08:43:33 GMT

Author: Skinny

Posted: 09/30/2022 12:43

Myself and a colleague tried to guess the top ten before we looked. We were allowed to name ten albums, and gave ourselves two mins to write them down.

Of the ten we named, six were in the top ten (Miseducation; OK Computer; Nevermind; 36 Chambers; Homogenic; The Velvet Rope) and another two came in at #11 and #12 (Dummy; Aquemini).

Pitchfork is crazy predictable these days.

Re: Pitchfork's 150 Best Albums of the 1990s

Patman360 — Thu, 29 Sep 2022 18:32:02 GMT

Author: Patman360

Posted: 09/29/2022 22:32

Honestly don’t mind it too much as someone who pays little to no attention to Pitchfork generally, some real great stuff on there in surprising positions.

Small bit I haven’t heard and will have to get to at some stage.

And Rhythm Nation 1814 is where it’s at with Janet, she’s got a couple of quality albums though that I’m more than happy grooving to.

Must have a sconce at their song list next.

Re: Pitchfork's 150 Best Albums of the 1990s

kokkinos — Thu, 29 Sep 2022 18:06:52 GMT

Author: kokkinos

Posted: 09/29/2022 22:06

Well, I agree with most of the complaints that have been expressed so far (namely jazz and international music being underrepresented and of course the complete absence of metal), though I have to add I'm reasonably happy with the hip hop inclusions quantity-wise and quality-wise. I don't think I saw Doggystyle or Stress: The Extinction Agenda anywhere (I'm going by memory, so I could be wrong), but you can't fit everything in 150 spots, I'd say they got it right for the most part.

Re: Pitchfork's 150 Best Albums of the 1990s

Anonymous — Thu, 29 Sep 2022 12:43:46 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 09/29/2022 16:43

On the more positive side, Loveless is absolutely fine at #1. Seems the most Pitchfork album to go for. I never expected OK Computer in the top spot so #3 is pretty good. The top 6 are convincing choices and I’d say putting Exile in Guyville really high is an interesting in a good way choice. Nice to see Baduizm and Rid of Me high up as well. Ditto If you are Feeling Sinister.

Re: Pitchfork's 150 Best Albums of the 1990s

Tha1ChiefRocka — Thu, 29 Sep 2022 11:27:35 GMT

Author: Tha1ChiefRocka

Posted: 09/29/2022 15:27

RockyRaccoon wrote:

I know, that bothered me too. Symbolic, Unquestionable Presence, Nightfall in Middle Earth, At the Heart of Winter, Cowboys from Hell, Dopesick, so so so many great metal albums released in the 90s

Yeah, they could've have found some room for a few of those for sure.

I'm surprised they didn't even have something like Korn or Slipknot's self-titled to at least mention Nu-Metal as a genre.

Re: Pitchfork's 150 Best Albums of the 1990s

RockyRaccoon — Thu, 29 Sep 2022 11:08:05 GMT

Author: RockyRaccoon

Posted: 09/29/2022 15:08

Tha1ChiefRocka wrote:

According to pitchfork, Metal didn't exist in the 90s.

I know, that bothered me too. Symbolic, Unquestionable Presence, Nightfall in Middle Earth, At the Heart of Winter, Cowboys from Hell, Dopesick, so so so many great metal albums released in the 90s

Re: Pitchfork's 150 Best Albums of the 1990s

Tha1ChiefRocka — Thu, 29 Sep 2022 11:04:37 GMT

Author: Tha1ChiefRocka

Posted: 09/29/2022 15:04

According to pitchfork, Metal didn't exist in the 90s.

Re: Pitchfork's 150 Best Albums of the 1990s

RockyRaccoon — Thu, 29 Sep 2022 10:06:09 GMT

Author: RockyRaccoon

Posted: 09/29/2022 14:06

Also, I wasn't necessarily anticipating it being on the list, but I am still sorta kinda surprised Mule Variations isn't on here. It's a brilliant album, and Pitchfork even gave it a 9.5 back when it came out.

Re: Pitchfork's 150 Best Albums of the 1990s

RockyRaccoon — Thu, 29 Sep 2022 10:01:08 GMT

Author: RockyRaccoon

Posted: 09/29/2022 14:01

Hayden wrote:

EDIT: This is so odd. Don't think I've ever 'stumbled' upon a record this big 🤣 It's triple platinum, in RYM's top 500, and has slews of awards. Don't even remember seeing the album art before.

Hilarious. I'm the exact same way lol. Obviously I'm familiar with who Janet Jackson is and I've heard a handful of her songs, but never heard of this album before (though, if there's a decade I'm very weak on in my music knowledge, it's the 90s). Guess I'll have to give the album a listen

Re: Pitchfork's 150 Best Albums of the 1990s

Hayden — Thu, 29 Sep 2022 09:23:17 GMT

Author: Hayden

Posted: 09/29/2022 13:23

theblueboy wrote:

RockyRaccoon wrote:

A decent number of notable absences from the list. The fact that Pinkerton isn't on there is bizarre. Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness is missing too, as is any Alice in Chains.

And the lack of metal representation is pretty sad (though unsurprising for Pitchfork). Loads of metal classics were released in the 90s and basically none of them are here (not even Metallica's Black Album)

Yep, noticed no Pinkerton. Also, there is no Blur or Oasis album (yet they include Elastica and Garbage. Also Pulp, more justifiably).

Not much electronic/dance music. No Leftfield, Chemical Brothers, Prodigy or Moby as I recall.

The Cranberries not a great inclusion.

Pitchfork has always been this way, but they have an American bias. (Non-Radiohead) British praise is harder to come by.

Pinkerton may fall in-and-out of fashion. I think even Cuomo has kinda disowned it (at some point or another). Even I flip-flop on it.

craola wrote:

i listened to it for the first time earlier today as well and feel similarly stupefied. it's a good record too.

Re: Pitchfork's 150 Best Albums of the 1990s

Anonymous — Thu, 29 Sep 2022 06:34:06 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 09/29/2022 10:34

RockyRaccoon wrote:

Re: Pitchfork's 150 Best Albums of the 1990s

Anonymous — Thu, 29 Sep 2022 02:43:04 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 09/29/2022 06:43

Hayden wrote:

Just gave Sade's Love Deluxe a spin. Great stuff. No one quite vibes like her.

Quote:

Have you listened to Janet Jackson albums? Is it good, interesting, or is it just Pitchforks trying to be smart?

Diving into my first Janet Jackson album (Velvet Rope) as I type this. First two tracks are nothing like how I thought they would be. Bit like industrial/experimental/soul/trip-hop soup. That's as far as I've gotten so far.

EDIT: This is so odd. Don't think I've ever 'stumbled' upon a record this big 🤣 It's triple platinum, in RYM's top 500, and has slews of awards. Don't even remember seeing the album art before.

Janet. is a really good 90s pop blockbuster. It’s from a time when popstars wanted to outdo each other by making the most explicit record possible. I guess Janet Jackson won this game. I liked Velvet Rope but didn’t get into it quite so much and it left my 90s chart. Will give it another shot.

Also gonna give Love Deluxe a listen today.

Re: Pitchfork's 150 Best Albums of the 1990s

craola — Thu, 29 Sep 2022 02:10:24 GMT

Author: craola

Posted: 09/29/2022 06:10

Hayden wrote:

Just gave Sade's Love Deluxe a spin. Great stuff. No one quite vibes like her.

Quote:

Have you listened to Janet Jackson albums? Is it good, interesting, or is it just Pitchforks trying to be smart?

i listened to it for the first time earlier today as well and feel similarly stupefied. it's a good record too.

Re: Pitchfork's 150 Best Albums of the 1990s

Hayden — Wed, 28 Sep 2022 20:18:03 GMT

Author: Hayden

Posted: 09/29/2022 00:18

Just gave Sade's Love Deluxe a spin. Great stuff. No one quite vibes like her.

Quote:

Have you listened to Janet Jackson albums? Is it good, interesting, or is it just Pitchforks trying to be smart?

Re: Pitchfork's 150 Best Albums of the 1990s

Tap — Wed, 28 Sep 2022 19:21:54 GMT

Author: Tap

Posted: 09/28/2022 23:21

These lists are BULLSHIT. The songs list doesn't have Seal - Kissed By A Rose. And you're probably thinking "oh so that means they went with Crazy? What's wrong with that" well I'll tell you what's wrong with that: THEY ALSO DIDNT PICK CRAZY. NO SEAL. AT ALL.

Ok so that's just the song list, obviously they're just waiting to put the Batman Forever soundtrack as the #1 album of the 90s, right? WRONG. ITS NOT ON THE LIST AT ALL. WHAT IN THE HELL