College poli-sci profs love to say 'where you stand depends on where you sit' (i.e. where you stand on a particular political issue is determined by the position your political interests put you in) and man is taste is the exact.fucking.same - this is kind of Bordieu's big idea, I think? It's a good one.
Anyway, as a person in a band that put out what I think is easily the most insanely, inexplicably slept-on, ridonkulously innovative and unique album of the year (ahem), these artist end-of-year best-of lists are kind of an, ahhh, interesting emotional experience - I haven't heard 75% of these albums but I hate at least 66% of them just based on my impression of who talks about them on the internet along with my gut reaction to how these people talking about these albums on the internet relates to the success or failure of our band, which is a subject that's generally seemed weirdly harrowing over the purgatorial past 6 months or so. I don't want to hear these albums, and if I did for some reason I'm sure I would undoubtedly, unfairly!, relentlessly hate on them -
Conversely, unsurprisingly?, it seems like bands that have benefited from (increasingly mindless, unsettlingly sheep-like) internet love, like the kids sitting at the cool table at lunch in high school, are apparently wayyy more inclined to be open to/positive about the music of the other bands in that space - I mean, is it just me, or are these lists kind of strikingly... similar? 'Incestuous' is maybe a strong word I guess - but how about 'circle jerk'? - and it is striking how many of these bands' lists are basically indistinguishable from the (increasingly mindless, unsettlingly sheep-like) critics' lists, no? Draw your own conclusions! I'm definitely taking notes and names.