Pitchfork ain’t all that bad, I guess

If you have been following my posts this weekend, you will have noticed a flurry of posts and music.  Yes, I was left alone all day yesterday and mostly today, so I have been raging all across the internets and posting at will.  This brings me to Pitchfork.

I do tend to visit Pitchfork on a fairly regular basis but have not gone in the last week or so.  I did swing by this weekend and found some nice surprises.  Don’t get me wrong though I do agree that there is a lot of resistance on the Pitchfork halo effect and in turn the soul crushing it can have on artists.  I mean, it is still just an indie zine that is online…right?  You would notice from my Animal Collective post below that I sometimes just don’t get their rating of albums (mostly not on their review, but personal bias).  Long story short, I found two things I liked.

~First off, the review of J. Tillman’s new album “Vacilando Territory Blues”.  7.6 is pretty good from Pitchfork and although I would have rated a bit higher because that is just me.  I have decided that I would make a horrible Pitchfork reviewer anyway, as I would only cover bands I like and they would all get ridiculously high scores.  Check out the album review in full here.

~Secondly I found a nice surprise in a live Bon Iver track.  Pitchfork led me to the Australian ABC affiliate stream of an interview that took place last week (as he is currently touring down under – check a review with video from Burgo here).  The track is a cover of Feist’s “The Park” from her Reminder album from last year and it was a favourite on the album for me.  Although I think Leslie Feist’s original is superior, Mr. Vernon’s solo effort is worth a listen.  Check out the Pitchfork Article that led to the streaming interview.  I have included a rip of the Feist cover on this post, but head over for more chit chat and a live version of “Creature Fear” as well.

~Smansmith