Oh dear.
The rock critic establishment of the US (and abroad bu this is NOT a UK list, believe me) have the same consensus as the individual website, lockstep into the ether, bereft of much more than the hive mentality, or do I mean intelligence?, they all get together to bore me silly with their mediocrity. Here is the Village Voice rock committee opinion (if you want more go here) and really, I remember when the Pazz And Jop polls was the de rigueur state of the state of the art. For me, for one, much, much , much more important than the Grammys. Not just because I voted either.
Well, here is the top ten with my take (for the umpteenth time, admittedly)… the promise isn’t the choices, the problem is the unchoices…
1 – Black Messiah – D’angelo – This won my most overestimated and two weeks later I never listen to it and don’t nobody anybody else who does. Still, it sounds great – B+
2 – Run The Jewels 2 – Run The jewels – Being lectured by these guys is like being told off by girlfriends kid brother – B+
3 – St Vincent – St. Vincent – Vinnie goes pop – B+
4 – LP1 – FKA twigs – Finally an album that deserves the praise – A
5 – Metamodern Sounds In Country Music – Sturgill Simpson – Sturgill is to Ray Charles what the Village Voice 2015 is to the Village Voice 1981 – B-
7 – 1989 – Taylor Swift – Nice and smooth – A
8 – Burn Your Fire For No Witness – Angel Olson – Docked from A- because of the lousy album name – B+
9 – They Want My Soul – Spoon – Pleasant enough indie rockers – B+
10 – Transgender Dysphoria Blues – Against Me – The honest roar of sexual freedom – A-
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