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Greetings and Happy New Year to the Kittybrains Collective!
Here's a generalized breakdown of albums in which 2 or more people were in agreement -
Albums that appeared on 3 lists:
Bonnie "Prince" Billy
Bob Dylan
Guns N' Roses
Vampire Weekend
Lil' Wayne
Albums that appeared on 2 lists:
Dr. Dog, Kanye, Randy Newman, MMJ, Sun Kil Moon, Erykah Badu, Bon Iver, R.E.M, Tallest Man
To make things more interesting, I made a another list that gave extra weight to those albums that were listed in anyone's Top 5.
The major issue with this method is that Eric and the good Doctor K did not rank their selections. I tried to make a system that both didn't penalize them too much for this, yet still added some weight to the albums that the rest of us ranked higher on our lists.
If anyone has a different idea of how to do this, I say bring it on.
Here's what I did:
- I only included albums that were on more than one list
- Albums received 2 points for each list they appeared on in which they were listed in the Top 5
- All other albums received 1 point for every list they appeared on
- See the spreadsheet I linked to above for the tally
AND the results!
5th Place (with 2 points each)
Dr. Dog
Kanye West
Randy Newman
My Morning Jacket
Sun Kil Moon
Erykah Badu
The Tallest Man On Earth
4th Place (with 3 points)
R.E.M.
3rd Place (with 4 points)
Bon Iver
Vampire Weekend
2nd Place (with 5 points)
Lil' Wayne
And the Consensus Best Albums of 2008 (with 6 points):
Bonnie "Prince" Billy
Bob Dylan
Guns N' Roses
Friday, January 02, 2009
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16 comments:
I think that ranking system works really well. Couldn't argue with the top 3 plus Lil' Wayne, given the praise they've received in these lists.
Interesting how much love Vampire Weekend got at the end of the day. And kind of crazy that Tallest Man on Earth made the list at all, given that none of us had heard of him 2 weeks ago.
Also, I love how you used Blogspot's brand new title-link function... to link to a spreadsheet!
Nerds unite, indeed.
It's sort of funny how idiosyncratic our lists ultimately were. Missing many of the standby best albums from lots of publications' lists, and including ones that were largely overlooked (GNR, B"P"B, even Dylan wasn't included on most (probably considered a reissue or whatever)). I'm curious to continue to absorb 2008 stuff on and off this list-- I got the new Portishead used, which quietly got just as many nods as Fleet Foxes and TV on the Radio (but almost always came in at number 2 or 3). Relentlessly dark, but pretty compelling music.
Yeah, I think this is a pretty accurate evaluation of are combined lists. The top 4 were pretty clear, and a nice little batch of albums to represent 2008. Two fun notes just to increase the nerdiness:
Tex had all 4 of the top 4 albums on his list - the only one of us to do so. On the flipside, Eric had none (and again, was the only one). So Tex = the ultimate Kittybrains poster?
And, for those 4 albums, if you look at where we all ranked them and average those rankings out to get a definitive order you get:
1. Chinese Democracy
2. Tell Tale Signs
3. Lie Down in the Light
4. Tha Carter 3
Which means that I declare Chinese Democracy the Kittybrains Album of the Year! Someone alert Axl - I'm sure he'll be honored.
Since we're likely the only "publication" to do so, Axl SHOULD be flattered.
Another record that was ignored by me (and this crowd): Okkervil River's "sequel" to The Stage Names, The Stand Ins. I liked but didn't love the Stage Names, but this one tones down the Arcade Fire-isms a bit and is as strong an album as the last one (even if it breaks no new ground). I'm definitely liking it and would probably have included it on my list had I heard it in time.
I hope a new Arcade Fire album comes out this year. Not for the music. Just so that we can hear Tex rant about it.
It's true. I already hate the new Arcade Fire album.
Fuck those pretentious boarding school shits.
maybe the moral of the story of this consensus list is that if you post about it on the KB Collective, the odds of it showing up on multiple year-end lists goes up. Thus, the dearth of posts by Misters Eric and KBrains means their picks were less likely to surface. Though maybe I'm wrong...B"P"B didn't receive any posts i don't think...
As for Okkervil River, I didn't like the Stand Ins as much as the Stage Names or Black Sheep Boy (still their best). It just felt like castoffs from a superior album. They should have released is as an internet-only free download and they might have actually seen some press for it (same way I felt about Sufjan's The Avalanche). Just because you CAN put out everything you produce doesn't mean you should.
Though there are some great songs on it.
Fair point about the release of the Stand Ins. I got a promo copy for $2.50 from the CD & Game Exchange so I'm not complaining.
Also, I post plenty-- just not about new stuff (so I had little to add for anyone's consideration). But yes, the moral of the story is that we're all sheep but we're each other's shepards. It's a beautiful thing.
At the same time, having reviewed the past few years' lists (which I'll post some time later), I firmly stand by my statement that 2008 doesn't hold a candle to 2007 or 2005.
i totally agree with your last statement. My list was originally preceded by a missive on how terrible this year was, but I decided in the end to leave it out...
my apologies -
to restate:
Eric - are all 21 tracks of the Jesus Of Cool reissue offered by emusic essential listening?
I mean, not every track is amazing if that's what you're asking. But if you just mean are the bonus tracks just near-identical demos and castoffs, the answer is no. They're fully worthy b-sides, EP tracks, and tracks from the American version of the album (which was called Pure Pop for Now People-- and incidentally has a much better running order. The playlist of that, with the rest of the tracks as bonus tracks, is what I listen to on the iPod).
I don't really care. My name is hardly worth upholding at this point. I think it's kind of funny how we post exclusively with these internet handles. I'm not sure why we do it, but I like the tradition.
Especially the elusive "Eric." I thought it was more out of concern for googling people involved in more public ventures. Hell, I'm in corporate America, so I may as well avoid use of my first and last name-- especially in this economy when people need any excuse not to hire you (though I'm all too employed right now, to be sure). Although an intrepid investigator could put together real identities by following links from Dr. K's website. But at that point, if someone's putting that much effort in, they deserve to know the truth.
Currently Listening to: Beach Boys' Surf's Up. I haven't listened to the Beach Boys in ages and ages but this album is hitting the spot in a big way. I love the goofily didactic songs especially (Don't Go Near the Water, Take Good Care of Your Feet).
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