DocMcCoy"Go and laugh in your own country!" 5,913 Posts
crazypoprock said:
also..don't forget that Mojo is a "rockist" publication...why even discuss their lists? I'm frankly amazed they have 24 karat black in there!
That's a little unfair. It doesn't focus exclusively on rock, and the writers it commissions to write on soul, jazz, hip-hop and reggae usually do so authoritatively. Unfortunately, in this instance, you get all the worst characteristics of by-committee, list-based journalism - daft notions like "one album per artist" and the inclusion of performers who, regardless of how talented they are, have never made anything you'd describe as a great soul album - and the whole enterprise ends up looking like a space-filler.
also..don't forget that Mojo is a "rockist" publication...why even discuss their lists? I'm frankly amazed they have 24 karat black in there!
That's a little unfair. It doesn't focus exclusively on rock, and the writers it commissions to write on soul, jazz, hip-hop and reggae usually do so authoritatively. Unfortunately, in this instance, you get all the worst characteristics of by-committee, list-based journalism - daft notions like "one album per artist" and the inclusion of performers who, regardless of how talented they are, have never made anything you'd describe as a great soul album - and the whole enterprise ends up looking like a space-filler.
If you HAD to do more than "one album per artist," you'd have to expand it to more than 75 records - 100, maybe.
The list would look pretty boring if it were top-heavy with the same artists showing up more than once.
DocMcCoy"Go and laugh in your own country!" 5,913 Posts
pickwick33 said:
DocMcCoy said:
crazypoprock said:
also..don't forget that Mojo is a "rockist" publication...why even discuss their lists? I'm frankly amazed they have 24 karat black in there!
That's a little unfair. It doesn't focus exclusively on rock, and the writers it commissions to write on soul, jazz, hip-hop and reggae usually do so authoritatively. Unfortunately, in this instance, you get all the worst characteristics of by-committee, list-based journalism - daft notions like "one album per artist" and the inclusion of performers who, regardless of how talented they are, have never made anything you'd describe as a great soul album - and the whole enterprise ends up looking like a space-filler.
If you HAD to do more than "one album per artist," you'd have to expand it to more than 75 records - 100, maybe.
The list would look pretty boring if it were top-heavy with the same artists showing up more than once.
Perhaps, but picture MOJO doing a '100 Greatest Rock Albums' list with similar criteria - one Dylan album, one Beatles album, one Stones album, etc. Personally I think they bottled it, out a fear of getting it badly wrong, and instead went for a lot of easy middle-of-the-road consensus choices that most people would find it hard to argue against.
Mojo isn't remotely rockist in the way that a lot of mainstream American publications are. As far as old music is concerned (50s-70s that is) they generally know their shit.
also..don't forget that Mojo is a "rockist" publication...why even discuss their lists? I'm frankly amazed they have 24 karat black in there!
That's a little unfair. It doesn't focus exclusively on rock, and the writers it commissions to write on soul, jazz, hip-hop and reggae usually do so authoritatively. Unfortunately, in this instance, you get all the worst characteristics of by-committee, list-based journalism - daft notions like "one album per artist" and the inclusion of performers who, regardless of how talented they are, have never made anything you'd describe as a great soul album - and the whole enterprise ends up looking like a space-filler.
If you HAD to do more than "one album per artist," you'd have to expand it to more than 75 records - 100, maybe.
The list would look pretty boring if it were top-heavy with the same artists showing up more than once.
Perhaps, but picture MOJO doing a '100 Greatest Rock Albums' list with similar criteria - one Dylan album, one Beatles album, one Stones album, etc.
See, if Mojo did a "Hundred Greatest Rock Albums" list, they would include more than one album apiece by Dylan, the Beatles and the Stones because they would have enough space to do so.
If they shortened it to 75 titles or less, that list would look pretty monotonous seeing the same artists showing up all the damn time. THAT'S when it would make solid sense to include one album per artist, rather than having the same few acts hogging the chart. Don't want it to become the 75 Greatest Marvin Gaye Albums.
Comments
That's a little unfair. It doesn't focus exclusively on rock, and the writers it commissions to write on soul, jazz, hip-hop and reggae usually do so authoritatively. Unfortunately, in this instance, you get all the worst characteristics of by-committee, list-based journalism - daft notions like "one album per artist" and the inclusion of performers who, regardless of how talented they are, have never made anything you'd describe as a great soul album - and the whole enterprise ends up looking like a space-filler.
If you HAD to do more than "one album per artist," you'd have to expand it to more than 75 records - 100, maybe.
The list would look pretty boring if it were top-heavy with the same artists showing up more than once.
Perhaps, but picture MOJO doing a '100 Greatest Rock Albums' list with similar criteria - one Dylan album, one Beatles album, one Stones album, etc. Personally I think they bottled it, out a fear of getting it badly wrong, and instead went for a lot of easy middle-of-the-road consensus choices that most people would find it hard to argue against.
See, if Mojo did a "Hundred Greatest Rock Albums" list, they would include more than one album apiece by Dylan, the Beatles and the Stones because they would have enough space to do so.
If they shortened it to 75 titles or less, that list would look pretty monotonous seeing the same artists showing up all the damn time. THAT'S when it would make solid sense to include one album per artist, rather than having the same few acts hogging the chart. Don't want it to become the 75 Greatest Marvin Gaye Albums.
is egregiously missing
probably one of my all time favorite soul albums
This list looks like it was assembled by someone who learned about soul music solely by reading Mojo.