This is a repeat of a post - something I don't really ever do except around this time of the year - that I wrote a couple of years ago about "best of" lists. I repeat it now with my intro from last year:
If you've ever read this blog around this time of year, or heard any of my year-end shows, you know I absolutely hate the whole concept of "best of" lists. It's arrogant in the extreme, & is nothing but a list of the opinions of one or more people, representing some magazine or other organization. It no more determines what is "best" than sales or awards do. Here's why I don't think anyone can say what is "best" in a list form:
1) No one has listened to every album or single or ep released that year. Sorry. You may think you have, but it's impossible. If all you're listening to is major label stuff, you are most definitely not listening to the best music out there. You've fallen into the trap of believing that commerce determines what is "best" like the Grammys. But it's almost guaranteed that half of the commercial shit you think is best will be forgotten in a few years. Anyway:
2) Fuck popular culture. Music is not about heavily choreographed events. Music is not about moments created by publicists & teams of "songwriters" whose contributions are focus-group-tested. Radio, as it always has, caters to the moneyed musical interests & plays the same shit over & over, but that no more makes something great now as it did in the past, where there's a graveyard of "successful" & "best of" records that no one thinks about anymore. & even imagining that you as a critic free yourself of the influence of the corporations that send you shit for free, there's the fact that:
3) You can't compare "best" albums through different genres. This may sound like somewhat fatalistic, but can you really say a hip hop album is better or worse than a bluegrass record? Even if you have an unusually broad taste in music, you surely have a favorite genre, & you're going to prefer one over another. In the end, when the jazz gal likes a record by some other genre, it's peer pressure & good ol' familiarity, it being played constantly around the office. & those sites that let every critic have a vote & somehow tally those votes? How fucking stupid is that? Because:
4) Nothing is "great" because of popularity. I repeat this for emphasis, because this is something that just baffles me. Why does anyone think something is good because a bunch of people like it? Perhaps I am genetically disposed to dislike something because of hype, but I most certainly don't believe something is great because of the money it makes or the fans it has. & when it comes to critics, listen: people usually like critics that agree with them, or challenge them, but if you believe that just because someone can write or talk eloquently about things they love or enjoy, you're dealing with an artificial insecurity, because:
5) No one opinion is better than another. At best, you can call an opinion better informed. For example, if you said you hated Bob Dylan because you didn't like his voice, I wouldn't put much stock in your opinion about his records. But that doesn't mean you're wrong that Bob Dylan isn't your cup of tea - it just means that you're wrong if you think his music is bad & music you like is good. That's just a personal opinion, & as I've said, that means you can never say what is "best" except for what you like & think. & therefore:
6) Everyone should retire stupid year-end "best of" lists. No one knows what's best. They can't. It's impossible. They can say what they like, & they can back it up with information & opinions & pretty words. But that no more makes it "best" than album sales or popularity or awards or the consensus of critics. What makes it "best" to you is personal to you. You see:
7) Opinion is always & forever subjective. Just say it's your favorite music of the year, or something else that isn't a statement that suggests it can be prove right or wrong. Because you don't have any clue whether something is the best of the year any more than any other person. Maybe in time - hundreds of years later - we'll know who stood the test of time. But a few months after it was released? Give me a break.
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