Day 22

I got bored the other day and visited Idolator, always a bad idea. Even if the posts themselves aren't vitrolic and inane, the comments inevitably are.

The striking thing was how personally people react to lists. As some sort of attack on character or value. Much of the time I think this is a negative outcome of popism vs. rockism, the largely successful argument for all musical styles and sounds as potentially worthwhile, the idea that a critic or engaged listener ought to be not only open to but perhaps enthusiastic about hearing any/all things at any/all times.

Not that individual scenes (and they still exist) wouldn't or don't create their own internecine squabbles, but the discussion on Idolator re. year-end lists thus far suggests that debates aren't so much over the relative merits of individual works as charges of genre-ism, ie How dare your website not include my second through fifth favorite metal/country/teen-pop records on your list?

All this seems to have very little with the actual enjoyment and appreciation of music. In a pragmatic sense, that's what list-season ought to be about; comparing notes, figuring out what you might have missed or forgotten about, then putting your headphones back on, closing your eyes, and not worrying about it anymore.