3OH!3 10 Albums List

[goldy]

3OH!3 recently compiled a list of their 10 favourite albums. Not going to lie, it contains a few surprises.

Check it out HERE (http://blaremagazine.com/2009/04/07/10-albums-3oh3).

[Poe-tryGirl]

Nice.

[getdamaged!]

Props to the DFA1979. But they could have listed my top 10 albums of all time and I would still hate them with a fiery passion.

[TotalCollapse]

Don't expect much from an awful band.

[MADSTA]

I kind of hate myself for this, but I actually find two of their songs catchy.
Also props for the Buck 65!

[Rawrr]

I remember their list of 08's best albums as solid, No Age, The Dodos, Why?, etc. Whatever, still make bad music.

[Rodeo]

hmmm.... Robert Johnson and Neutral Milk Hotel?



This seems a little forced to me.

[fly_guy]

Still hate them. A lot.

[c_rob2700]

I call bullshit on most of that list

[fly_guy]

That's what I thought, haha

[sweepthenation]

Who gives a fuck

[circatbs]

NMH shocked me.

[Robototron]

I remember their list of 08's best albums as solid, No Age, The Dodos, Why?, etc. Whatever, still make bad music.

Wow you mean a couple of hipsters rated a bunch of 08 albums that basically all hipsters liked? Color me shocked.

The albums on that list are pretty boring as well. I mean, NMH, Justin Timberlake, and a bunch of other Pitchfork-approved type albums? What's surprising about that?

[themadsilentist]

Learn how to read. It's not their 10 favorite albums.


"Fittingly, here’s Nathaniel Motte’s list of…
10 Pop Albums To Listen To…ALL THE WAY THROUGH"

[Robototron]

Are you talking to me? Because I never said it was their favorite albums. No matter what they decided to call it that list wouldn't be very remarkable, it's a bunch of safe albums that pretty much everyone on the internet likes.

[Keagan Ilvonen]

Good list.

[poi]

I read the AP story on these guys, and they're pretty smart. One of them is an Astrophysics major, and the other is an English major over at University of Colorado.

[Robototron]

I read the AP story on these guys, and they're pretty smart. One of them is an Astrophysics major, and the other is an English major over at University of Colorado.

Being smart =/= enjoying good music =/= making good music

[TotalCollapse]

I read the AP story on these guys, and they're pretty smart. One of them is an Astrophysics major, and the other is an English major over at University of Colorado.
Obviously their "high intelligence" is not in music.

[Keagan Ilvonen]

While they don't make good music I don't see why there is so much hate. People don't hate on Tenacious D for what they do. Sure there is more comedic substance to the music, but do you all really think 3OH!3 take them self seriously?

[goldy]

Are you talking to me? Because I never said it was their favorite albums. No matter what they decided to call it that list wouldn't be very remarkable, it's a bunch of safe albums that pretty much everyone on the internet likes.

People have similar tastes right? Musicians are like you and me, of course they're gong to like albums everyone likes.

[erinfxs]

Was surprised to see NMH on there and Lily Allen's album is pretty damn new, so to say that's a favourite already must mean they realllly did like it.

[Robototron]

People have similar tastes right? Musicians are like you and me, of course they're gong to like albums everyone likes.

Which is why the list isn't very surprising. Get it?

[Rawrr]

Wow you mean a couple of hipsters rated a bunch of 08 albums that basically all hipsters liked? Color me shocked.

The albums on that list are pretty boring as well. I mean, NMH, Justin Timberlake, and a bunch of other Pitchfork-approved type albums? What's surprising about that?

Cool duder.

[thesafeword]

We can name drop them, but we ain't fucking scared of them!

[lightcollapse]

Are you talking to me? Because I never said it was their favorite albums. No matter what they decided to call it that list wouldn't be very remarkable, it's a bunch of safe albums that pretty much everyone on the internet likes.

Not really. It would be safe for a pitchfork band, I would expect 30h3 to have more all time low/new found glory.

[Robototron]

Not really. It would be safe for a pitchfork band, I would expect 30h3 to have more all time low/new found glory.

Given how popular Pitchfork has become in recent years and the influence it has over music in general, I'm not really surprised when anyone listens to a lot of the bands they hype, no matter what scene they belong to.

[bobby runs]

That's what I thought, haha
Do they rep yo area code?

[fly_guy]

Do they rep yo area code?

No, luckily!

[poi]

3OH!3 isn't a joke band, but they don't take themselves selves seriously in anyway, and I don't think they think there music should be respected as an art form or anything.

[lightcollapse]

Given how popular Pitchfork has become in recent years and the influence it has over music in general, I'm not really surprised when anyone listens to a lot of the bands they hype, no matter what scene they belong to.

You could say the same thing about this site, but how often is a member of deerhunter talking about how awesome brand new and say anything are? Speaking of which, that would be much more impressive/unpredictable than a scene band talking about indie music.

[Robototron]

You could say the same thing about this site, but how often is a member of deerhunter talking about how awesome brand new and say anything are? Speaking of which, that would be much more impressive/unpredictable than a scene band talking about indie music.

I'm sorry, but AP is not even close to Pitchfork level. How often do you hear it talked about outside of this scene? Never? Whereas on the interwebs even people who've never even read Pfork are at least aware of its existence. I mean, Pitchfork is practically an adjective now to describe basically an entire musical aesthetic.

[lightcollapse]

I'm sorry, but AP is not even close to Pitchfork level. How often do you hear it talked about outside of this scene? Never? Whereas on the interwebs even people who've never even read Pfork are at least aware of its existence. I mean, Pitchfork is practically an adjective now to describe basically an entire musical aesthetic.

I'm pretty sure pitchfork gets more unique pageviews per day but ap.net in general gets way more hits. I guess because people only look at pitchfork once and check AP multiple times per day.

Still waiting on les savy fav and arcade fire to talk about how cool manchester orchestra and brand new are, that would probably make my day.

[Robototron]

Les Savy Fav aren't a Pitchfork band. You shut up.

Pitchfork and AP aren't even close to comparable. Come on. Go on just about any major message board or any big torrent site and you'll see Pitchfork's influence all over everything. Hell, just look at last.fm or something like that. AP is barely a blip on the radar compared to what Pitchfork has turned itself into in recent years.

[lightcollapse]

Les Savy Fav aren't a Pitchfork band. You shut up.

Pitchfork and AP aren't even close to comparable. Come on. Go on just about any major message board or any big torrent site and you'll see Pitchfork's influence all over everything. Hell, just look at last.fm or something like that. AP is barely a blip on the radar compared to what Pitchfork has turned itself into in recent years.

May be true but the bands AP promotes generally sell more records than the bands pitchfork hypes. Indie scene may get more blog press but it still doesn't touch this one in terms of size.

[Robototron]

Ok, so I typed up a really long response to that, but then my Firefox crashed when I went to Spin's website to try and prove a point. So fuck you, Spin, no wonder I haven't read your magazine since I was like 13.

To make a long story short, AP bands may be more popular in sheer numbers, but Pitchfork is way more influential in terms of critical acclaim. An AP review won't get you on the cover of Spin ( have no idea who is currently gracing the cover of Spin, hence why I was trying to go to their website to prove this point), but a Best New Music mention sure as hell will. Just look at the Village Voice's Pazz & Jop poll or Metacritic's end of the year lists. They're packed with Pitchfork bands, not AP ones.

Not say that AP isn't a great site in its own right, I can't really think of another website for this scene that's nearly as big, but it's not quite as much of a cultural touchstone as Pitchfork is.

[lightcollapse]

Ok, so I typed up a really long response to that, but then my Firefox crashed when I went to Spin's website to try and prove a point. So fuck you, Spin, no wonder I haven't read your magazine since I was like 13.

To make a long story short, AP bands may be more popular in sheer numbers, but Pitchfork is way more influential in terms of critical acclaim. An AP review won't get you on the cover of Spin ( have no idea who is currently gracing the cover of Spin, hence why I was trying to go to their website to prove this point), but a Best New Music mention sure as hell will. Just look at the Village Voice's Pazz & Jop poll or Metacritic's end of the year lists. They're packed with Pitchfork bands, not AP ones.

Not say that AP isn't a great site in its own right, I can't really think of another website for this scene that's nearly as big, but it's not quite as much of a cultural touchstone as Pitchfork is.

Yeah I know I didn't say that critically this scene mattered. The bands in this scene wouldn't dare send their albums to critics because critics are looking for a different sound than most of them are putting out. And the point of getting critical acclaim is to sell more records (unless hipsters take personal pride in positive entertainment weekly reviews) and apparently it's not working out for them so well. Critics suck anyway.

[thesafeword]

Doesn't hockeyguitar work or do something for Pitchfork? Point proven.

[Robototron]

I always thought critical acclaim was about being recognized for your achievements, but whatever.

Also I think saying that the bands in this scene create a different sound than what critics are looking for is a cop-out. There are bands in this scene who've been received favorably by critics, so to say that these bands aren't what they're looking for is just selling them short.

And I don't really see how anyone can dislike critics as a whole. How exactly do you hear new music if not from someone you respect and consider to have at least some knowledge on whatever style of music you're a fan of?

[You Won't Know]

NMH shocked me.

Yeah. A lot of props though. NMH is not an easy listen.

As completely disposable as their music is, I think that's kind of the point. I don't think they take themselves so seriously. And I feel less guilty by the day listening to their music at parties. I guess it beats Soulja Boy, right?

[Robototron]

NMH is not an easy listen.

lol wut

[You Won't Know]

I always thought critical acclaim was about being recognized for your achievements, but whatever.

Also I think saying that the bands in this scene create a different sound than what critics are looking for is a cop-out. There are bands in this scene who've been received favorably by critics, so to say that these bands aren't what they're looking for is just selling them short.

And I don't really see how anyone can dislike critics as a whole. How exactly do you hear new music if not from someone you respect and consider to have at least some knowledge on whatever style of music you're a fan of?

I can agree that critical acclaim is supposed about "artistic achievements" but it's undeniable that the vast majority of these bands come from a "punk aesthetic." There has long been a critical backlash for any kind of band that has sort of a punk background instead of the whole indie rock mystique. At its roots, punk is played fast and sloppy and with any real lack of technicality.

Now to me, MO or BN or Thrice are hardly punk in terms of their music at this point. But they have played on Warped Tour and are loosely worshipped as leaders of the scene. Because of this, they are generally not as well received by indie critics like Pitchfork. Even though to dismiss TDAG or say The Alchemy Index or The Shape of Punk to Come or Relationship of Command or Catch For Us The Foxes or other landmark albums are not creative and musically invigorating is straight up ignorant. I like to think I'm open minded and I like some indie rock, but a vast majority of it is no more experimental or better than some of the best bands of the scene. (NOT ALL THE BANDS, BUT THE BEST BANDS.) Anyone who makes fun of Full Collapse or War All The Time for being too passionate, but is obsessed with the extremely simple sounds of Vampire Weekend just because they throw in a little world flavor, is someone I don't agree with. (And I like Vampire Weekend, they're pretty fun, but to say it's more than that is ludicrous.)

As for critics, for my money, Alt Press and AP.net are usually pretty good barometers of the music I enjoy the most. Not all the time, mind you, but both mediums GET IT. They don't ostracize a band just because it's a part of the scene - they embrace it. And I love that.
/rant.

[You Won't Know]

lol wut

Compared to the All Time Low, Lil' Jon or Gym Class Heroes I would've probably expected the band to listen to, NMH is a much more experimental listen. Don't get me wrong, I love the band. In The Aeroplane Over the Sea is a fucking amazing album, especially since it still has catchy hooks despite being very unorthodox and bizarre at times.

[Robototron]

Even though to dismiss TDAG or say The Alchemy Index or The Shape of Punk to Come or Relationship of Command or Catch For Us The Foxes or other landmark albums are not creative and musically invigorating is straight up ignorant.

I don't really recall the critical response to TDAG or The Alchemy Index (although IIRC Brand New are pretty highly regarded even by Pitchfork), but Relationship of Command and especially The Shake of Punk to Come are pretty much considered classics by most critics.

So again, I don't really see how this stuff is at all overlooked. I mean, Pitchfork overlooks a shit ton of great electronic music, for example, but I'd never say that they simply write off Techno completely. I think this whole "Pitchfork doesn't like our music because they don't understood our scene" argument is just oversimplifying things and making excuses for a lot of bands that aren't very good. Props are given where they're due.

Compared to the All Time Low, Lil' Jon or Gym Class Heroes I would've probably expected the band to listen to, NMH is a much more experimental listen. Don't get me wrong, I love the band. In The Aeroplane Over the Sea is a fucking amazing album, especially since it still has catchy hooks despite being very unorthodox and bizarre at times.

Fair enough. I think that was just a knee-jerk reaction to NMH on my part, since they're such a standard "indie" classic at this point that I barely even consider them anything special anymore.

[harveyn590]

wow cool stuff on that list

[You Won't Know]

I don't really recall the critical response to TDAG or The Alchemy Index (although IIRC Brand New are pretty highly regarded even by Pitchfork), but Relationship of Command and especially The Shake of Punk to Come are pretty much considered classics by most critics.

So again, I don't really see how this stuff is at all overlooked. I mean, Pitchfork overlooks a shit ton of great electronic music, for example, but I'd never say that they simply write off Techno completely. I think this whole "Pitchfork doesn't like our music because they don't understood our scene" argument is just oversimplifying things and making excuses for a lot of bands that aren't very good. Props are given where they're due.


Fair enough. I think that was just a knee-jerk reaction to NMH on my part, since they're such a standard "indie" classic at this point that I barely even consider them anything special anymore.

I agree about those albums being classics. I actually looked on the top 50 albums of 2006, and I cannot believe BN isn't even top 50. I'm mostly just lashing out at Pitchfork, not all critics. And yeah, realistically, a lot of scene bands aren't truly transcendent artists in any way. Some of them don't even last more than two or three albums. But I think there is a certain amount of backlash to many bands just because of their background - and I think you know it's true on some level. Again, not all bands deserve the love or are special. But neither are all the bands Pitchfork hypes. I feel like just because of the background, some critics automatically write off the scene (not all critics, but too many). I wish I knew what mwY's last two albums received, because they were extremely creative and "outside-the-box" way more than the Bravery or the Decemberists or Vampire Weekend.

I'm sure AP.net overlooks a lot of great indie music that a lot of fans on this site would love if they gave them a fair chance. So it goes both ways, you know?

Honestly, I don't think our opinions are that far apart. I don't worship all the bands, I just like some. A very select few have reached "elite" status in my mind because they are more creative/better artists. What do you think?

[Undue Noise]

They get credit just because of Neutral Milk Hotel - In The Aeroplane Over The Sea, but it doesn't make their music any less shitty.

[chronomic]

TDAG got them to be regarded as "Americas Radiohead" ... by some critics , don't remember who said it though

[underthetalking]

Neutral Milk Hotel is the default cred answer to give in a list like this.

[thespearkid]

haha bullshit. No one who likes neutral milk hotel would make that kind of music.

[underthetalking]

TDAG got them to be regarded as "Americas Radiohead" ... by some fucking morons , don't remember who said it though

Fixed.

[IWasaCamera]

I agree about those albums being classics. I actually looked on the top 50 albums of 2006, and I cannot believe BN isn't even top 50. I'm mostly just lashing out at Pitchfork, not all critics. And yeah, realistically, a lot of scene bands aren't truly transcendent artists in any way. Some of them don't even last more than two or three albums. But I think there is a certain amount of backlash to many bands just because of their background - and I think you know it's true on some level. Again, not all bands deserve the love or are special. But neither are all the bands Pitchfork hypes. I feel like just because of the background, some critics automatically write off the scene (not all critics, but too many). I wish I knew what mwY's last two albums received, because they were extremely creative and "outside-the-box" way more than the Bravery or the Decemberists or Vampire Weekend.
I'm not sure what you expect from critics. Most publications operate within a certain niche and obviously, Brand New doesn't fit within Pitchfork's. It'd be akin to losing your mind because a hip hop rag didn't put Merriweather Post Pavilion as top album of the decade.

[Troggy]

I'm not sure what you expect from critics. Most publications operate within a certain niche and obviously, Brand New doesn't fit within Pitchfork's. It'd be akin to losing your mind because a hip hop rag didn't put Merriweather Post Pavilion as top album of the decade.

You're exactly right, Pitchfork does that to me every year. I say 'how is it possible that X really good album isn't even in the top 50??' but they probably just don't care about it because it's a metal album or something.

[underthetalking]

Its not like this website is open to countless genres of music. Pitchfork has it's own and AP has it's own. Anyone that tries to compare the two and gets upset over one giving Deja Entendu a 6.9 and the other giving a 96, is just whining that their precious album isn't universally panned as the greatest of all time.

[IWasaCamera]

You're exactly right, Pitchfork does that to me every year. I say 'how is it possible that X really good album isn't even in the top 50??' but they probably just don't care about it because it's a metal album or something.
I usually share a few inclusions in their year-end junk, but always below the hype releases.
Its not like this website is open to countless genres of music. Pitchfork has it's own and AP has it's own.
Boils down to this.

[goldy]

haha bullshit. No one who likes neutral milk hotel would make that kind of music.

anybody can pretty much like anything. the point of the list is to show what they're into, not what heavily influences them to do music. i like the Beach Boys and Kanye West, but you don't see me writing a rap song about a girl named Mary Ann who hangs at some soda shoppe.

[You Won't Know]

I'm not sure what you expect from critics. Most publications operate within a certain niche and obviously, Brand New doesn't fit within Pitchfork's. It'd be akin to losing your mind because a hip hop rag didn't put Merriweather Post Pavilion as top album of the decade.


Right, I get that. I'm not really arguing it. I'm just saying that if you took the music for what it was: thoughtful, intelligent, experimental (at times) and truly inspired rock, it should be in their wheelhouse. Christ, we all know how much Lacey loves Morrissey and NMH. But because of where Brand New (or Manchester Orchestra) came from, they get panned.

That was the point, and I think you sort of agree with it.