Now…, as for you doing reviews over at TWR headquarters, bravo!! I look forward to that very much. More to argue with and so on, and it will only show how much music I get from you which will expose me for the shallow follower that I am, which is a good thing in that my fans (all 4) will finally see that I indeed have no taste but depend on the trendsetters like you to pave the way. (no that’s not sarcasm, darling)

But yes, we do have “fringe” taste and that’s not just because I feed off of your collection, but also because as you say we present ourselves as being open ears to new/unsigned artists and to artists on the fringe of the music scene (well maybe me more than you, frankly… I do love me some experimental noise and whacked out 90s synth throwback tracks). So what do we expect? Of course our lists are not going to reflect even the average of the left of center of the blogging voice (which is in and of itself a strange slice of the wider culture’s musical taste)and so be it! Yay us! (and of course this extends beyond you and I, duh!)

So … bring that list on! I can’t wait to see what goodies you’ve got up your sleeve this year thank fuck your job is so tedious
xoxo

Anyway cool vibes!

I know for a fact your choices would have been a little more obscure & not so, um, Hype Machine friendly; as would have mine. But then I put that down to a number of different things that set you & I apart, as well as a recognizable handful of blogs & ventures, not to mention a little off message when it comes to music taste & hunger for more/new/better. We certainly do like the chase, do we not?

That said, if I had voted for my top 50, most of my choices would have not made the list on the basis of mine being their only nomination. This is, of course, purely because the greater sum of my ‘favorites’ this year are from an entirely different racecourse, let alone stable, to that of the average blogger. I dare say your choices are along the same lines.

But the question remains: why are so many people chasing the same vanishing point? I was actually surprised to see The Decemberists’ 2009 offerings in the list given the sound thrashing it got on most blogs I frequented. But I’m not at all not surprised to see Meursault – having 4 songs featured, though, is a little much. Not that they’re not a good band – on the contrary – but their proximity to the voting bloggers (who have been in the same circle conversationally as their label & champion) is a where bias & familiarity share a bed.

It’s the same point raised re: the Top 10 albums of the (any given) decade – frankly, any list worth its salt, chosen before the end of the last year of the decade, should disallow choices from the last 6 months of the final year AT LEAST. This would in some way get past the whole over familiarity with recent releases etc. vs albums released 4, 5, 6, 7, 8yrs ago.

Anyway, I’ll be voting in peenko’s poll, but I will be sticking with my choices rather than the herd. I think it’s this frustration at not seeing the right bands getting the blogtime they deserve that’s helped us decide that as of next year we’re going to be opening a reviews section on TWRHQ.com. It will feature reviews of our ‘favorite’ albums by some of those artists we playlist the month previously & will host downloadable MP3s etc.

Of course, this kind of thing has the potential of turning into a long love letter to an increasing number of bands. Well, we’ll keep an eye on that – you know me by now, if an album has a duff track, a duff track I shall therefore say it is. It’s a good excuse to spread the word a little thicker about field-proven bands that are ripe for exposure. I mean, fucking hell, I get sent 1000’s of albums every month it’s about time I did the goods ones justice.

That, of course, & also proving there is far more superb music out there than the usual blog pieces would have you believe. Which, nicely, brings me back round to the lists of 2009. I read somewhere a blogger stating this year had been quite fallow for good albums.

My reaction, manyfold as it was, is that bloggers with a somewhat captive audience, declaring the lack of albums (good or bad) over the course of the year, in turn meaning a lack of GOOD albums over the same period, inferring that the direct result of which affected the quality of the blog, I’d wager, really don’t like music that much. Or they are seriously unlikeable characters &, because of, the many many many many pluggers etc. out there, avoid sending anything to said blogger.

There are hundreds & hundreds of albums plopping through my virtual & actual mailbox every week. Over 3/4s are unsolicited having heard of us through favorable word of mouth. Over half of the 3/4s is awful, dreadful cack. The remainder of that 3/4 varies from good to excellent. Rarely do I find the ONE in unsolicited submissions. Of the 1/4 I actively solicit about 3/4s of that is so-so. Again, the ONE is rare.

But, point being, if you are in any way half decent at getting your passion for the medium across to those you are looking to appeal to, as well as those whom appeal to you, then you’ll receive far more GOOD albums than you’d ever need to fill a top ten of the year. If you’re not receiving that kind of quantity then, hmmmm. Yeh. Hmmmmm. You don’t really have the right to say what was or wasn’t a bad year, then, do you? Mmm?

(I’m very bored in work, btw, Tart; hence the epic nature of this ramble)