Tuesday, February 08, 2005

Sons of Bitches, It’s Pazz and Jop!

The Village Voice’s 31st (or 32nd) Pazz and Jop results are in, and, even though I pasted it in here a month ago, here is a link to my ballot. You can see who else voted for what I voted for by just pressing your finger on a mouse. Hours of fun.

It seems this year, I liked some songs/albums that a lot of people liked, and I liked some songs/albums that a lot of people seem to have overlooked. All in all, an okay place to be.

For those unfamiliar with P&J in all its glory, a few guidelines: There are essays I don‘t always finish reading, led by one from kingpin Robert Christgau; there are comments (one-liners, really) taken from an optional element of the ballot process. I’ve yet to participate in the latter tradition for a whole slew of reasons. I’ll usually think of something witty to say about the year in music, but by the time I fill out the ballot, I no longer think it’s all that funny. Also, I often think of bon mots to submit way past the January-ish deadline. (Like right now, for instance: Loretta Lynn -- Pang! Zow!) Besides, if I were to begin submitting comments, I could then quantify my lurking hunger for approval from the rock-crit upper echelon. And then I die.

On the whole, I feel less oppressed by Pazz and Jop this year than usual, less fearful that whole armies of bad-pop-loving, semiotic-spewing critics are out to make sure I can never secure a writing assignment again. It's almost as if this year's results, comments, etc., indicate that there are in fact different, valid ways to approach blighted hunks of pop culture nowadays. Almost.

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