October 7th, 2006 @ 12:26CT by kangsta
So, I can’t help but intermittnetly wander back to Sufjan Steven’s album Illinois. Now I am cognative of my glaring bias towards the album versues his other albums such as Greetings from Michigan: The Great Lakes State since I am a resident of Chicago. But, hopefully, I believe myself capable of minimizing my bias and pretences. I firmly think allmusic/AMG/pitchfork tend to be a bith harsh. AMG tends to go for the older is better, and artists can generally only get worse or repetative route in judgement. I find this incredibly unfair. Just because something sounds old, unrefined, etc dosn’t mean it’s BETTER indie. I think producation value can add a lot to some artists, and Sufjan Steven is definately one of those artists. Illinois just seems a lot more polished and tied-together than his former albums.
Of course, if either place gives an 8-10, you know it must be really good for them to admit it. They’re just pretentious about most things, but they’re a good resource to find good artists. Like most things, you can’t make it your new bible or false idol but merely an aid to your own decision making.