Probably. What are these critics smoking? They have the nerve to complain about the state of music yet they swoom over crap like this and TV on the Radio and Pavement. They were doing well with MIA because she's cool and cutting edge. Stop being such nerds. This is why guys like Bill Mahar like to ragg on music critics.
I'd heard Ys about 11 times so far...most because (probably like many of you) I'm considered by my friends as their go-to source for what's musically high-quality and what isn't (partly because I'm both smug and sincere about my feelings). And as pop music fan, I can't consider that album with the rest of what will probably end up on the Acclaimed Album list for 2006. I'd like to classify it as a folk or neo-classical album, because I can't deem it as pop. Listen, I can see why critics love this album, and Joanna Newsom is a pretty good songwriter and musician (she can make that harp cry! =) ), but this isn't a pop (as in POP-ular) music record, and I'd personally like people to stop treating it as such. It's a valid piece of MUSIC, but it's still very selective in its audience. If critics want people to stop thinking of them as cynical assholes, how about lavishing more praise on more albums that EVERYONE has the opportunity to hear? Keep showing love to the Indies (lord knows they need it), but keep your head up towards the scene, so layman-folks can still identify with you...And yes I'm still pissed that Antony and the Johnsons - I Am A Bird Now still rates higher than Kanye West's Late Registration in last year's poll...did anyone else HEAR both of those records?
There are some really cute pop songs coming out this year from Corin Bailey Rae, KT Tunstall, Regina Spector, (soon to be) Lily Allen and I guess Daniel Powter. Although "Bay Day" is a total ripoff of "Strong" by Robbie Williams. I see this as being one of the best years in pop in the past 6 years. Indie rock is pretty darn cute and catchy as well. Look at Belle and Sebastian, Camera Obscura, the Concretes, the Pipettes, the Feeling, the Decemberists, the Hidden Camera and Jenny Lewis. These are the records and albums that need more praise. They're sweet, melodic and fun. That's what was missing in music for a while. The Go! Team, Art Brut and the Artic Monkeys changed that last year and now we have so many sweet gems to be praising. Let's not try to be so artsy fartsy when it comes to what gets the best reviews. We're not going to see another Bjork or Radiohead any time soon. Deal with it.
