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The Pitchfork 500: Our Guide to the Greatest Songs from Punk to the Present Paperback – November 11, 2008

by Scott Plagenhoef (Editor), Ryan Schreiber (Editor)

3.5 21 ratings

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FROM THE BRAIN TRUST BEHIND PITCHFORKMEDIA.COM -- THE WEBSITE THE LOS ANGELES TIMES DECLARED "AN ESSENTIAL PART OF THE IPO D GENERATION'S LEXICON, A MUST-READ" -- A FRESH GUIDE TO THE 500 BEST SONGS OF THE PAST THIRTY YEARS.

Named the "best site for music criticism on the web" by The New York Times Magazine, Pitchforkmedia.com has become the leading independent resource for music journalism, the place people turn to find out what's happening in new music. Founded in 1995, Pitchfork has developed one of the web's most devoted followings, with more than 1.6 million readers monthly who tune in for daily reviews, news, features, videos, and interviews.

In The Pitchfork 500: Our Guide to the Greatest Songs from Punk to the Present, Pitchfork offers up their take on the 500 best songs of the past three decades. Focusing on indie rock (Arcade Fire, the Shins), hiphop (Public Enemy, Jay-Z), electronic (Daft Punk, Boards of Canada), pop (Madonna, Justin Timberlake), metal (Metallica, Boris), and experimental underground music (Suicide, Boredoms), it features all-new essays and reviews written with the sharp wit and insight for which the site is known.

Kicking it off in 1977 with the birth of punk and independent music, The Pitchfork 500 runs chronologically, with each chapter representing a distinct period and offering a narrative of how the musical landscape of the day influenced its artists. The book opens with David Bowie, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, Kraftwerk, and Brian Eno, the "art-rock godfathers" who set the tone and tenor for the next thirty years, and wraps up in the present, when bands connect with new audiences through social networking sites and prime-time TV placements -- and when a single mp3 can turn a niche indie artist into a global sensation. Sidebars like "Yacht Rock," "Runaway Trainwrecks," "Nanofads," and "Career Killers" call out some far-from-classic musical trends and identify the guiltiest offenders.

Modernizing the music-guide format, The Pitchfork 500 reflects the way listeners are increasingly processing music -- by song rather than by album. These 500 tracks condense thirty years of essential music into the ultimate chronological playlist, each song advancing the narrative and, by extension, the music itself.

Print length

208 pages
Language

English
Publication date

November 11, 2008
Dimensions

8 x 0.6 x 10 inches
ISBN-10

1416562028
ISBN-13

978-1416562023
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Shameik Moore
12,743
Blu-ray
26 offers from $10.93

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Scott Plagenhoef, the editor-in-chief, lives in Chicago.

Ryan Schreiber, Pitchfork founder and president, lives in Brooklyn.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Touchstone (November 11, 2008)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 208 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1416562028
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1416562023
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.08 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8 x 0.6 x 10 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #607,968 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #445 in Music Encyclopedias
- #556 in Music Reference (Books)
- #1,373 in Music History & Criticism (Books)

Customer Reviews:
3.5 21 ratings

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3.5 out of 5

21 global ratings

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Carlton T. Barzon

For music fans and the people they like to annoy

Reviewed in the United States on June 4, 2010

Verified Purchase

Great reading whether you're trying to get into lesser-known pop music or are already a connoisseur. Would buy it again in a heartbeat.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

MLP

A Fun Read needs some editing

Reviewed in the United States on November 12, 2008

I did learn of some new songs from this, and I'm ecstatic about that. Sometimes I was forced to think about an artist/song in a way I hadn't before. These are fantastic accomplishments. I enjoyed reading it, but was there an editor? The very first entry gets one of its facts wrong; later there's misspellings, at least two instances of subject-verb disagreement, and one sentence that went nowhere and didn't even make poetic sense. Fragments. I appreciate the subjective nature of their reviews (Bellbottoms as the important JSBX song?), but often they are show off-ish, pandering, and cutesy. I like Pitchfork (except for their belief that Springsteen actually matters) but this feels like an undergrad project that an ex-prom committee chairperson put together ("Great job, guys!" even though everything is crooked and amateurish.)

I think you should buy this, I'm sure you'll love arguing with it as much as you agree with it. I did. I just expected some professionalism & care.

17 people found this helpful

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W. P. Lee

Narrow minded, pretentious and self-serving.

Reviewed in the United States on November 16, 2008

The premise of Pitchfork's attempt at a music guide is that the songs of today are just as relevant, exciting and creative as the boomer approved canon of the 50's through early 70's.

To this I answer...no duh.

Misguided and insecure, editors Shreiber and Plagenhoff subsequently claim to offer a bold repudiation of the established cannon but do little more than play it safe offering only well worn staples of the past 30 years. Entire vibrant genres of music (metal, post 70's punk) are relegated to single page featurettes, obnoxious non-factors are legitimized and major musical movements such as house music and rap are either mangled beyond recognition or see their long established classics dug up and exhumed by a writing staff of closed-minded hipsters in way over their heads. While this thankfully prevents the book from falling into the snotty shlock journalism and sensationalism that Pitchfork's online component is best known for, it also makes the book feel like little more than a Rolling Stone guide for the tight jeans and ugly haircut set: a smug canonization of records with little in common apart from being socially acceptable among the slime that inhabits the gentrified neighbourhoods of Williamsburg and Silver Lake rather than the suburbs of middle America. Fantastic songs are ignored, agonizing failed experiments are deified in the name of "indie" and the resulting book is just as ignorant and misunderstanding of black music and non-rock as any "boomer approved" tome (to say nothing of the near total lack of African, Asian and South American music).

Of course, the book isn't all bad. Anywhere from 300 to 400 of these songs are either quite good or flat out spectacular though they're better covered in other more authoritative music guides. I also suppose that if one had to turn a cousin or friend into an obnoxious music snob overnight, this book could also be useful.

In trying desperately to live up to the 60's (I haven't seen anyone this angry at that decade since the Neo-Cons took power), the Pitchfork staff do little to nullify the errors of the previous generations' music writers. Instead they simply erect monuments to their very own Paul McCartneys and Jimmy Pages, the only difference being that the new idols prefer drum machines to guitar solos. While the late 70's through today offers an incredible array of fantastic music, you'll only find a fraction of it covered here...along with a whole lot of garbage and bad writing that serves only to prove the idea that good music is still being made wrong.

I rate this book 1.3 out of 10.

29 people found this helpful

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Thomas C Pace

Pitchfork In Desperate Need of a Hip Replacement

Reviewed in the United States on December 23, 2008

Attention all music lovers - Pitchforkmedia.com is a great online resource for you if:

A. They deem the bands you like worthy of their love and praise
B. The worthy bands you like do not manage to achieve mainstream attention of any kind thus making them unworthy of Pitchfork's love and praise
C. You like the derivative musical stylings of Kanye West, Kelly Clarkson and Justine Timberlake
D. You need someone else to tell you what is good and what isn't

If you fall into any of those categories then you might appreciate Pitchfork's first foray into publishing: The Pitchfork 500

Yes, there are some amazing and pivotal songs listed in the book with entertaining anecdotes and essays about each one. However, Pitchfork's need to remain 'hip' and 'counter' to any and all established critical opinion and/or popular mainstream taste, has resulted in list that is not only short sighted but insulting to anybody who happened to have been around during the short 30 years documented in the book.

For those of us who DO remember 1977 to 2007 - this is for you:

Boomtown Rats - I Don't Like Mondays
The Stranglers - Peaches
X - Los Angeles
Yaz - Only You/Situation/Don't Go
Wall of Voodoo - Back in Flesh
Killing Joke -
The The - This is the Day
Rush - Tom Sawyer
OMD - Enola Gay
Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart
Leftfield - Open Up and anything else from Leftism
Japan - Gentlemen Take Polaroids
Riuyuchi Sakamoto/David Sylvian - Forbidden Colors
Grace Jones - Pull Up To The Bumper
The Cult - She Sells Sanctuary
Big Audio Dynamic - Medicine Show
Jane's Addiction - Jane Says - Mountain
The Police - Roxanne - Don't Stand So Close To Me
Peter Gabriel - Shock The Monkey - In Your Eyes
Eurythmics - Sweet Dreams
Tones on Tail - Go

I could go on and on and on and...

8 people found this helpful

Helpful

JamesB83

Great read for any music fan

Reviewed in the United States on January 19, 2009

Great book I bought it as a gift and then received it as well. Great compilation of 500 songs over the last thirty years with a nice summary of every one. A must have for any music fan, especially young ones that need to download greatness for that new ipod they got.

One person found this helpful

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Ern

awesome book, weird print

Reviewed in the United States on July 17, 2020

Verified Purchase

Good condition, arrived on time. The only way to describe it is that the inside of the book looks like it was photocopied from the original; all the text is gray and a little blurry.
Of course the content of this book is fantastic. If you consider yourself a music-enthusiast this is a must-read.

One person found this helpful

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Jake Roper

Interesting and informative

Reviewed in the United States on November 17, 2008

I found this book to be very insightful and it is a good conversation piece for when friends come over and see it on the table. It has helped a great deal when it comes to making mix CDs for people. I don't agree with all the songs listed in the book but for the most part I do and I have found some interesting tracks from this book.

7 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Francis Desbiens

The best 500 songs. A must for music buffs

Reviewed in Canada on September 29, 2018

Verified Purchase

Awesome book ! Must read

pavots

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 4, 2014

Verified Purchase

Perfect

Librarian Lill

Poor quality print and paper

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 15, 2017

Verified Purchase

The one star is for the quality of the printing which is blurry and on poor quality paper. I bought the book after seeing it in my local library (which has a really nice, clearly printed copy). So be warned that you may get a 'reject' copy like me and have to return it. I think the content is perfect for someone who needs a 'music education' after listening too much to popular radio stations. It has certainly injected some variety into my playlists.

João Gonçalves

It's like some kid on mid school decided to print its pages at home on his mother's old printer.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 18, 2017

Verified Purchase

Even though I read through Pitchfork every single day and follow its publications, this book is a lame. The paper quality is the worst I've ever seen on a book. It's like some kid on mid school decided to print its pages at home on his mother's old printer. It's that bad. The content, however, is good, but the quality of the product is unbearable.

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