5. The five-slot is the "obvious-contenders" position: records I shouldn't have to tell you about, because it's a safe assumption that
-I probably find them interesting at least and spectacular at
best
-They're already getting plenty of coverage elsewhere, and
-The coverage they've been getting has been of such generally
poor quality that to open up more word-horde only puts the perfectly
blameless record at risk of being ignored and/or resented by
your good self. Don't read what people have to say about these
records — people don't know what the fuck they're talking
about and spend more time trying to sound clever than trying
to describe what's actually going on. Just make sure you give
a listen to:
The Hold Steady, The Hold Steady Almost Killed Me
Devendra Banhart, Rejoicing in the Hands
Destroyer, Your Blues
Iron and Wine, Our Endless Numbered Days
John Vanderslice, Cellar Door
Where are the albums by women on that list, anyway? I wish indie rock weren't such a festering pit of tired entrenched predictable attitudes toward gender, or that Sarah Dougher made at least four albums a year. >>