#^d 2015-01-05 #^h Music Week

Music: Current count 24286 [24247] rated (+39), 505 [509] unrated (-4).

A bit out of sync here, having closed the count last night but adding two incoming discs today -- otherwise last week was pretty barren at the mailbox. Actually, I could have posted this early, but what's held me back was stuffing the EOY aggregate list -- now up to 310 lists, 3470 new records, 524 reissues/comps/vault jobs. I'm getting close to wrapping that up -- the last step is usually to fold in the Village Voice's Pazz & Jop album results, or Christgau's Dean's List, whichever comes last. I've picked up some more jazz lists, including the Jazz Critics Poll (down to 150), and I've also picked up a cluster of lists from the Christgau-focused Expert Witness group -- close to two dozen ballots to Odyshape's Expert Witness Pazz & Jop album poll (see below), plus some longer lists from that direction (including 150 albums from Jason Gubbels). The top twenty albums in Odyshape's poll, followed by their bump in my aggregate file:

  1. Wussy, Attica!: +30 (9 to 39), 254th place to 67th
  2. Withered Hand, New Gods: +21 (9 to 30), 253 to 93
  3. Miranda Lambert, Platinum: +38 (36 to 74), 54 to 26
  4. Old 97's, Most Messed Up: +23 (8 to 31), 278 to 83
  5. Drive-By Truckers, English Oceans: +15 (11 to 26), 202 to 106
  6. Lily Allen, Sheezus: +13 (4 to 17), 456 to 167
  7. Azealia Banks, Broke With Expensive Taste: +27 (44 to 71), 38 to 28
  8. Parquet Courts, Sunbathing Animal: +33 (44 to 77), 39 to 25
  9. D'Angelo and the Vanguard, Black Messiah: +41 (13 to 54), 171 to 42
  10. Angaleena Presley, American Middle Class: +14 (16 to 30), 137 to 91
  11. Young Thug & Bloody Jay, Black Portland: +17 (14 to 31), 169 to 86
  12. Tune-Yards, Nikki-Nack: +19 (33 to 52), 64 to 46
  13. Toni Braxton & Babyface, Love, Marriage & Divorce: +12 (12 to 24), 185 to 116
  14. Jason Derulo: Talk Dirty: +10 (4 to 14), 497 to 204
  15. Run the Jewels 2: +63 (150 to 213), 4 to 3
  16. Taylor Swift, 1989: +23 (71 to 94), 21 to 19
  17. Jenny Lewis, The Voyager: +21 (47 to 68), 34 to 32
  18. Against Me!, Transgender Dysphoria Blues: +22 (42 to 64), 43 to 34
  19. Spoon, They Want My Soul: +33 (81 to 114), 18 to 13
  20. Sisyphus: +4 (3 to 7), 790 to 422

The EW voters aren't the only factor here: Run the Jewels has been gaining ground steadily for several weeks, and D'Angelo has picked up speed after a very late start. Nor is their (or should I say our?) representation untoward: I expect that close to two dozen critics will vote in both Odyshape and Village Voice polls, so if they/we weren't counted here, that would introduce a skew there. Even so, it's likely that a dozen or more of this list of twenty will place higher in P&J than in my aggregate.

There's probably a lot more interesting data that could be mined from the aggregate chart, but the one thing I want to point out here is that the top four have narrowed: the points are 236-223-213-205 (with Run the Jewels passing St. Vincent). Fifth place Caribou is down at 159, followed by 152, 144 (twice), 138, and 125. Usually at this point the top few slots are spreading out, so this is about as close a top bunch as you'll ever see.

Recommended music links:

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Unpacking: Found in the mail last week: