Suburban thoughts

What does a girl who returns to her parents suburban home to do on Christmas day?

She listens to Arcade Fire in her old room, while the plumbing rumbles through the house. It's the suitable background noise for an album that captures angst in suburbia. Lovely.

I can see why so many people love this album. But I have to admit, I'm slightly concerned with the overwhelming number of people (from critics to bloggers) who named Funeral their #1 album of 2004. I am by no means saying the record is unworthy of such a title, but does anyone find the idea of music tastes being so unanimous kind of troubling?

Let's be honest, it was a decent year for music — especially Canadian music, so it's not like Arcade Fire didn't have respectable competition. But this makes me wonder how much of an influence the opinions of critics, websites and bloggers have on our own enjoyment of music or best-of-listmaking. I mean, if PopMatters says Arcade Fire is brilliant, do I listen to their album with a less critical ear than I would another band? And if Pitchfork and Tiny Mix Tapes says Funeral is the best album in 2004, am I more likely to put it at the top of my own list?

This isn't a dig at Arcade Fire. It's a good album, really good, and I would bring up this debate whether it was Arcade Fire, Feist or Eminem. I am just trying to come to terms with the relationship music critics have on their readers. I fear unanimous crowning of what is supposed to be the "best" in music takes away from our own personal interpretations and experience with music. Perhaps I'm an idealist. Or a cynic, depending on which way you look at it, but the way I see it is if music is supposed to be a personal experience — which I believe it is — then I think something is wrong.

Anyway, I'm sincerely curious about what people think. So please, share your thoughts.

Comments

[frank]

...and this is why I copped out and didn't rank my list. I don't have any trouble saying definitively that "these are my ten favourite albums of this calendar year", but if you ask me to state unequivocably (sp?) that one is better than the other in some quantitative manner, I can't do it. This is why we have the alphabet.

[mishie]

i think i am the only person who thinks the arcade fire are a tad over-rated.

i have the album, it's fine...but hardly top 10 of 2004 material. that's why it didn't show up on my list at all!

[mike]

Hey what's wrong with your commenting system? It was showing zero but there were actually 2 comments. Well, I just want to throw my 2 cents in...yes I think music critics(eg. in Magnet Magazine, Exclaim, Pitchfork, etc...) have an undeniable influence on what I purchase because as a music consumer I only have so much time and financial resources to seek out and decide on new purchases. Though, every now and then I'll have the opportunity to judge an artist in a more objective manner, for example if I go see a live band that I've never heard of and or read about, but end up liking. For example: Toronto band The Old Soul who I caught a partial set of but was enamoured with almost immediately.

[brian]

i guess it could work either way--pitchfork orgasms over a record and then everyone else will love it too; or, critics can give mad love for a record and it will make you listen closer, perhaps make you really wonder what all the fuss is about and/or let the hype ruin the whole damn thing for you.

[Andrea Chiu]

Whoa, there are actually comments on here!

My Movable Type has been acting funny lately.

Thanks for the comments.

[chris]

I've been thinking about this for some time - not Arcade Fire specifically, but how even though there tend to be more sources to read about music, there's more groupthink than ever. I don't know how many times at least 2 of 3 of NOW, Eye and Thursday's Star will have their main music story about the same thing - you'd think it was a city of 50,000 with 2 venues sometimes.

I don't doubt that most people are sincere, but I also can't help but think some people don't want to be left out on something that's trendy or new - i.e. why tab an old fogey band like the Jayhawks or Trash Can Sinatras when you can pick My Morning Jacket or Franz.

I just seem to remember a helluva lot more diversity in best of lists 'back in the day'.

[Jamal]

Andrea, your musings on these end of year lists inspired me to make my own (devoid of arcade fire until I get a better listen of it) http://blogeist.blogspot.com/