Pitchfork Wants Your...Opinion?

I know, right? They'll probably just use it later to bash your ideas and make you feel horrible about your taste in music. I could be wrong. They are one of the premiere alternative music web sites and I enjoyed filling out their poll. The poll itself is filled with fancy, hipster lingo, for all of you out there who are into that sort of... thing. Just look at the section "Trend You Wish Would Go Away". Clearly made up genres, but I guess they have that power now. Fill it out and be heard. Hopefully.

http://2k9survey.pitchfork.com/

Los Campesinos! - "We Are All Accelerated Readers"

Pitchfork: Top 50 Videos Of The 00's

Pitchfork's P2K series is nearing the halfway mark on all fronts: it's countdowns, it's lists, it's essays, it's insanity. It recently hit the The Top 50 Music Videos of the 2000's landmark and we've got the list for you, right here, without all their silly rants. Only my silly rants. But, they are short. And they are only for the one's I've actually sat down and watched patiently. And that's all there is to it:

50. Flying Lotus - "Parisian Goldfish"
Tim Heidecker at his best. Other than when he's doing the Awesome Show.

49. Escort - "All Through The Night"

48. N.A.S.A. (Feat. Amanda Blank, Sizzla, & Lovefoxx) - "A Volta"

47. M83 - "Kim & Jesse"
80's throwback. In sound and visual. I Facebook like this.

46. Röyksopp - "Remind Me"

45. The Dead Weather - "Treat Me Like Your Mother"

44. Fever Ray - "If I Had A Heart"

43. Gnarls Barkley - "Who's Gonna Save My Soul?"
For love of Christ, please win a Video Music Award this year...

42. Fionn Regan - "Be Good Or Be Gone"

41. The Tough Alliance - "Silly Crimes"

40. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "Maps"
A.k.a.:" MAAAAaaaaAAAAaaaaAAAAaaaaAAAAaaaaps"

39. Boards Of Canada - "Dayvan Cowboys"

38. MGMT - "Time To Pretend"
Was your head blown the first time you witnessed this 2008 psychedelic mind-freak of a video?

37. Vitalic - "Pony (Part 1)"

36. Cat Power - "Lived In Bars"
Relieved that one of the most underrated female artists of the decade made it onto the list with such a great video. Salute.

35. The Shins - "New Slang"
One of the most peaceful tunes of the decade.

34. Girl Talk - "Feed The Animals"

33. Junior Senior - "Move Your Feet"
Um - why isn't this closer to the Top 20?

32. Battles - "Atlas"
All hail the percussion overlord from beyond the stars.

31. LCD Soundsystem - "Someone Great"

30. Kanye West - "Can't Tell Me Nothing"
This one made it over "Touch The Sky"? Fail. Oh wait, the Zach Galifianakis version? Win.

29. Rock-A-Fire Explosion - "Pop Lock And Drop It (Remix)"

28. The Chemical Brothers - "Star Guitar"

27. The Rapture - "House Of Jealous Lovers"
Enjoy one of the coolest videos of all time or die.

26. Grizzly Bear - "Knife"

25. Radiohead - "House Of Cards"
Despite negative comments on discussion boards from hipster jerks, I think this was the most experimental video of the entire decade and it deserves praise for being different.

24. Basement Jaxx - "Where's Your Head At?"
This song reminds me, and the entire world, of one thing and one thing only: Pringles.

23. Elton John - "This Train Doesn't Stop There Anymore"
...Elton?

22. Dinosaur Jr. - "Over It"
Very impressed by the band's ability to still be able to skate and do tricks (and beef). If, of course, there aren't stunt doubles.

21. Björk - "Wanderlust"
Now I understand what students in the visual arts majors at this college hope to do once they graduate. Masterful.

20. Arcade Fire - "My Body Is A Cage"
I thought the Fire swore off music videos because of "what MTV had done to them". Oh, it's unofficial.

19. The Avalanches - "Frontier Psychiatrist"

18. Justice - "Stress"

17. Sigur Rós - "Vaka (Untitled #1)"

16. Depeche Mode/Liars - "Wrong"/"Plaster Casts Of Everything"
I guess Pitchfork can do this.

15. Kanye West - "Flashing Lights"
Hot chick music video - with a dramatic twist, of course. Still doesn't beat out hottest chick video of the decade; that belongs to The Virgins - "Rich Girls".

14. Kylie Minogue - "Come Into My World"

13. Andy Samberg & Justin Timberlake - "Dick In A Box"
I've lost respect for Pitchfork. Wow.

12. The Chemical Brothers - "Believe"

11. Björk - "Triumph Of The Heart"

10. OK Go - "Here It Goes Again"
I wish this could've started the fitness craze all over again, just like Olivia Newton John did in the 80's. Sadly, it didn't. Instead it promoted more laziness, as people watched it millions of times on YouTube.

9. Fatboy Slim - "Weapon Of Choice"
Dance, Walken, dance!

8. Justice - "D.A.N.C.E."
Coming soon: T-Shirts that will actually express your emotions... through animation.

7. Bat For Lashes - "What's A Girl To Do"
Never have I ever wanted to join a cooler bike gang. Saw this one in an American Eagle. Shame, shame, shame on me.

6. Pulp - "Bad Cover Version"

5. Feist - "1234"
iPods did nothing but promote a great music video when Apply took this one into an advertisement with them.

4. The Avalanches - "Since I Left You"

3. Weezer - "Pork And Beans"
This is one of the best music videos of the decade because it sums up what we've all become as a viewing audience member: a viral video-addicted anybody hoping to become a somebody. Overall: awesome.

2. R. Kelly - "Trapped In The Closet"
I see Pitchfork's got a funny bone.

1. The White Stripes - "Fell In Love With A Girl"
See, I remember this one when I was wee tike (age 14). I loved it. The lego-inspired video, the promise of a stellar band with a garage rock-revival sound, and the fact that it was only two people making the music. It's short, but oh so sweet, and it should suffice for the decade's best.

My thoughts: This list, as a whole, proves a lot about our music and art culture in the 00's. We're very far from the 90's and 80's in direction now. We were driven by animations - fusing together reality and fiction into one masterpiece of a video. Directors like Spike Jonze and Michel Gondry worked with artists and made their visions (and ours) come to life on the screen. I also see how Björk, Justice, Chemical Brothers, and The Avalanches, among other international acts, stole the show, proving that American music videos have some catching up to do. Stories were told, lessons were learned, and the landscape of music changed through these videos. We're a web society now and these videos are appealing to our time and our way of thinking. I think the list does a decent job. I give it a 7/10. Now, if only there was a place to see music videos on TV...

Just because I'm like this, I'll leave you with a few music videos that I believe deserve a place on the list over others. I'm sure we all have our own opinions, and here are mine.

dios (malos) - "I Want It All"

Daft Punk - "One More Time"

The Like - "What I Say And What I Mean"

Pitchfork Concludes Decade Countdown

So Pitchfork finally filled us in on their picks for the 500 Greatest Songs of the 00's (isn't the decade still going on?). The countdown is complete and I have to say, people who commented on other blogs were pretty accurate. Their guesses were right. Here's the page with all the info your dying to find out about. And to save time, I'll just post the Top 20. Deal?

20. The Walkman - "The Rat" (2004)
19. R. Kelly - "Ignition (Remix)"
 (2002)
18. Hercules And Love Affair - "Blind" (2008)
17. Annie -"Heartbeat" (2004)
16. The Rapture - "House Of Jealous Lovers" (2002)
15. The Knife - "Heartbeats" (2002)
14. Jay-Z - "99 Problems" (2003)
13. LCD Soundsystem - "Losing My Edge" (2002)
12. OutKast - "Hey Ya!" (2003)
11. Gnarls Barkley - "Crazy" (2005)
10. Arcade Fire - "Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)" (2004)
9. Animal Collective - "My Girls" (2009)
8. Radiohead - "Idioteque" (2000)
7. Missy Elliott - "Get Ur Freak On" (2001)
6. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "Maps" (2003)
5. Daft Punk - "One More Time" (2000)
4. Beyoncé (Feat. Jay-Z) - "Crazy in Love" (2003)
3. M.I.A. (Feat. Bun B and Rich Boy) - "Paper Planes (Diplo Remix)" (2007)
2. LCD Soundsystem - "All My Friends" (2007)
1. OutKast - "B.O.B." (2000)

I see a lot of hip/hop, R&B, and electronic music here. That has to be expected. They were very much apart of the decade. And whoa, a remix? I don't think I've ever heard the original "Ignition". Good to see Gnarls Barkley, Arcade Fire, Radiohead, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Daft Punk ranking high. But OutKast gets number one? I think Daft Punk deserved it over them.

What are your thoughts? Did Pitchfork do justice to this awkward decade? In my opinion - yes. But hey, we still have a few months to go in the decade. Anything can happen.

COME ON! (Pitchfork's 500 Tracks of the 2000's)

Who doesn't love lists? I sure do. VH1 pretty much bases 50% of their lineup on lists (the other 50% is dedicated to STDs). But even I have to ask if Pitchfork's Best 500 Tracks of the Decade is too soon. Whenever I put together a best of the year list, I try to wait until January to start it. Songs from November and December deserve just as much weight, but need time to settle.

Granted, we are mostly through the decade, but we're less than 2/3 of the way through 2009. So the potential number one song of 2009 may not even make the best of the decade. Nevertheless, this is purely for entertainment on P4k's part (don't tell me it's for journalistic value). They are unrolling a whole best of the decade slew of lists and articles, capping it off with the Top 200 Albums of the 2000-2009 era. That list however comes later. Right now they are jumping into the Top 500 Tracks of the 2000's. So far they've unveiled numbers 500-101, although they are pretty much consolation prizes. The real meat is in the Top 100, and knowing Pitchfork as any common reader does, I have what I think will be there Top 3 in my head. I'll wait until they get to the Top 100 to let that be known, but right now the list has been pretty solid. The only thing I noticed is two songs I thought would be easily Top 100, if not Top 50 are in 500-201:

#388: Sigur Ros - "Hopipolla"

This may be a bit biased since this is one of my favorite songs of all time (and I say this as Sugar Ray comes on my iTunes shuffle...shame). But let's be honest here. This is one of the most amazing and epic and beautiful songs of all time. I have it set as my alarm clock so I can wake up everyday knowing there is beauty in the world. To quote one of my favorite TV characters of all time: "COME ON".

#142 The Flaming Lips - "Do You Realize??"

For this song, I'm shocked not only because it's a great song, but also because, knowing P4k, I expected this to be Top 50 easy. This threw my whole guesses for the list out of whack. And I know there will be more of Wayne Coyne and Co. on this list, but COME ON.

And as a side note:

Kudos Pitchfork, for including what I consider one of the most underrated Elliott Smith songs at #236, "A Distorted Reality Is Now A Necessity To Be Free (7" Version)". Although I prefer the album version, there is hope for this list yet.

The Thermals - "Basket Case" (Live From Pitchfork Fest '09)

As said before, Pitchfork has been slowly adding a bunch of videos from the 2009 version of their festival in Chicago. This video is just further proof of why The Thermals are one of the most fun bands around right now. After 4 fantastic albums, they have plenty of songs to draw upon, but they still decide to throw some surprises. Their Pitchfork set turned into a bit of a 90's cover session, covering Nirvana, Sonic Youth, and as the video shows, Green Day.

The Thermals - "Basket Case"

The National - "Mr. November" (Live From Pitchfork Fest '09)

Say what you will about Pitchfork, (and I do...often) but they know how to put on a great festival. They are just now beginning to upload the videos from 2009's edition and this video of one of the best songs of the last ten years is a particular standout. Enjoy, and keep an eye on singer Matt Berninger, it's like playing Where's Waldo.

"So Much More Attractive...In The 1980's"

Ever the R.E.M. fan, I am very pleased to relay this link on our blog. The anniversary edition of 1983's greatest record "Murmur" is out now, with a bonus live show! It's epic, broskies. Get it now!

Pitchfork, damn you for being also accurate and witty: The Review.

Read NMTM. At all times. It's a great inspiration for songwriting.