Today we witnessed something quite unusual. Pitchfork, the crème de la crème of music review sites, busted out something it hadn’t used for a while: the legendary 10.0. What the 10.0 stands for is pure musical perfection, that solid score, the genuine article. For whatever reason, people tend to hold Pitchfork to some unimaginably high standard in musical journalism. So whenever they pan or promote an album, people take it unreasonably personally. You need to realize: it is just a music blog dressed in nice clothing, nothing more, and nothing less. It doesn’t care about your emotions towards itself, if it did, it would offer a comments section.
People were shell-shocked at what got the 10.0: Kanye West. All sorts of accusations went flying about how Kanye West is extremely main stream. Usually Pitchfork tries to be a trend seeker, but here it actually just follows the trend. Most of the time when it bestows its high scores, it tries to focus the readers’ attention on something that perhaps they hadn’t seen before. Here that is not the case: unless you’ve been living in a cave in Outer Mongolia, you’ve heard of Kanye West. So focusing on pop is something that feels a bit unfamiliar with the Pitchfork staff. Generally speaking, Pitchfork hates pop and tends to bash it with enthusiasm.
However, this only covers part of the dilemma. Reacting against the review is legendary among Pitchfork readers. Even those who hate it read it. They try to get ahead of the ‘Pitchfork wave’ as it is called. To be honest, Kanye West has been making music for a while. His taste is good, even if he comes across as a bit arrogant “voice of a generation” or rude “Imma let you finish”. So it shouldn’t be surprising to anyone that he had a 10.0 in him. It was inevitable based on the sheer amount of time he’s been doing this, and the amount of effort he’s put into this. The vitriol that people have been up in arms about this is surprising; everyone on twitter seemed to be obsessing about it.
Which leads me to the fact: Is Pitchfork mainstream? Has it decided that reviewing buzz bands just doesn’t pay the bills anymore? There’s already been discussion of the ethics related to blogs starting up record labels. Will Pitchfork simply streamline its review process, for when a band gets a high enough write-up, it decides to release the artist itself? Oddly enough, this is happening with smaller blogs and write-ups. Pitchfork does host various respected music festivals, it does have its feet wet. Why not plunge all the way in.
I don’t know what’s next for music reviews. Lately it feels like music reviews and actual quality have become two entirely separate things. Before I just thought that there was something I wasn’t getting with the endless coining of new genres and promotion of indie bands of dubious quality. Now I wonder whether or not Pitchfork or other so-called “indie” sites are really just extensions of the mass media that the cools kids try to escape. Is there really a way out of mass-produced, slick production? Or will the transformation of these so-called “hip” sites continue unabated as they begin to include more and more bands that may be defined as mainstream.
But overall, I’m happy for Kanye West. He deserved it. This is actually a great album. It proves that occasionally pop can really transcend its commercial aspirations and become an art. Besides that, it shows that Kanye can put his money where his mouth is.
Regarding Pitchfork, I just don’t know. It feels weird to criticize the reviewer even though you do agree with them. Yes, it is a wonderful album. Does it weld its influence properly? Do all of those albums really deserve “Best New Music”? Why do people feel the need to argue with each and every numerical score it gives, and record it only to use it against it later? Seeing how people saved the reviews for albums like Animal Collective’s Danse Manatee only to use it against other, recent reviews shows me the level of thoroughness people have for the site. Grade (score) inflation does happen, it is inevitable that reviewers often let personal feelings influence their writing. I know I have certain weaknesses, but I try to counter against them.
What do you think is next for online musical journalism? I have too many questions and not enough answers.