i was so proud of my pitchfork 6.0
plus new music from PACKS, Corridor, Joy Orbison, METRIKA, and Wilco
I don’t have anything particularly novel to say about the (beginning of the) end of Pitchfork, but I will say I’m still really proud of the one Pitchfork review I finagled back in 2007.
I effusively emailed almost every writer on the site, offering a promo CD from my not-very-good band, and tenaciously followed up with everyone for MONTHS until someone decided to graciously give it a…6.0.
Not a great score? Sure! But was I SO FUCKING AMPED? Also yes.
Regardless of whether or not you agreed with the site, work like this matters – even when your band is deeply unworthy of a BNM (and perhaps then, even moreso). Pitchfork matters because it still is willing to give you a glimpse of what’s next, and fewer people writing seriously about new music is bad for everyone making records.
If you’re celebrating the site’s demise because you felt slighted by their coverage (or lack thereof) of your band, don’t forget we’re all on the same team to push culture forward. It hurts all parts of music when the engines for discovery and critical engagement are undervalued and desiccated by our corporate overlords. Because even if my contribution deserved that 6.0, Pitchfork were still willing to give my record time – and I’ll never forget that.
A bunch of people wrote much better takes on everything P4K
Nick Sylvester joined Substack, launching his Smartdumb newsletter with a retrospective of his time working at, then being reviewed by, Pitchfork, with easily the best subhead of the week
Eric Harvey’s overview of his time working there is also delightful
Ezra Klein wrote about the disappearing role of curation and criticism with the loss of Pitchfork – and the other waves of media layoffs
Unrelated, last week Matthew Schnipper dedicated Deep Voices to Lee Ranaldo’s best songs in the Sonic Youth discography, and it’s a great listen.
Anyways, we’re still here, and there’s always more new music. As always, you can follow along on our playlists on Spotify and Apple Music, which update every Tuesday along with the newsletter. Enjoy!
PACKS – Honey
I really couldn’t get enough of this album last week, and this song in particular. Don’t let “Honey’s” slacker pace and muted arrangement fool you – PACKS’ songwriting chops on their new album Melt The Honey are incredibly sharp and consistently fun. They have an ear for perfect grunge-adjacent chromaticism in their chord progressions, and the songs are so charming and memorable you’ll catch yourself singing along before they’re over.
Corridor – Mourir Demain
Montreal post-punkers Corridor announced their new album Mimi today, and the first single “Mourir Demain” sheds their former slinky, concrete grooving for something warmer and more tender. The song veers into Chad VanGaalen territory, especially in the paisley-tinged harmony of the chorus announced with a lap steel. This might be my favorite song from the band, who formerly felt constrained by the genre trappings of the nu-post-punk revival. There’s still a sense of agitated doom, but with the curtains slightly opened to let the light in.
Joy Orbison – flight fm
I’ve really loved the singles from Joy Orbison’s TOSS PORTAL Bandcamp – the tracks feel freer and somehow, correspondingly, more deadly. “flight fm” leans on a lurching, descending bassline that gives the fleeting drum programming a menancing counterpart, but the whole track shimmers with sweaty, loose energy.
METRIKA, D. Basto, Rico Rosa – Al Gimnasio En Tacones
An incredible find via NYC artist/DJ/vaping cover star Valley Latini. The title translates to “Going to the gym in high heels” and the song is the song's bleating autotuned reggaeton perfectly matches the high/low vibe of the title.
Wilco – Meant To Be
The loosest and most Cate LeBon-y track from Wilco's Cate LeBon-produced Cousins. I've been a sucker for a rollerskating video before, and I'll be a sucker again. Cousins never really popped off for me, but I was happy to hear "Meant To Be" again – it's slight but has a brighter sheen than their more hushed recent LPs.
throww www back
Mr Magic – WHBI NYC October, 1981
This was shared on Twitter by Noz, who flagged a few of these full episodes of Mr. Magic’s “Disco Showcase” show. His selects are uniformly great, a perfect slice of early 80’s almost-post-disco, but the real finds are his rapping breaks between songs. The show starts taking off around the seven minute mark. This was a few years before he moved over to WBLS, and you can hear why he was poached by the larger station.