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.
Mmmm. Another Beck album. As much as I hate to call myself a Beck fanatic, I have to say I have yet to hear a Beck album that generally let me down. In fact, I would say Beck is the iconic representation or epitome of the alt. rocker/pre-indie/funk sound I grew up on. While maintaining musically brillant, generally approach, not overlally serious, yet with a grow on you factor beck is a refreshing listen to. I had been in somewhat of a dry spell for new music, and I remembered his CD came out today.