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The Pitchfork 500

From Alfawiki
Pitchfork 500
Company typeAnthology (book)
IndustryMusic criticism, publishing
Founded2008
FounderPitchfork Media
ProductsMusic anthology book

The Pitchfork 500: Our Guide to the Greatest Songs from Punk to the Present is a 2008 anthology published by Pitchfork Media, showcasing significant tracks spanning from 1977 through 2006. The collection emphasizes genres like indie rock, hip-hop, electronic, pop, metal, and underground experimental sounds. It is divided into nine chronological segments, each opening with a synopsis of the musical landscape before spotlighting the artists who reshaped it. Time characterized the book as a joint endeavor involving 42 critics, covering three decades of music evolution from punk to crunk.

Critical reception

The publication received a mixture of commendations and critiques from both mainstream outlets and alternative press. TIME highlighted its straightforward, jargon-free reviews and commended its homage to well-known songs, though it compared the project to a curated personal mixtape. Washington City Paper viewed it as Pitchfork’s foray into print legitimacy, dubbing it a "coffee-table book." Meanwhile, Under the Radar awarded it a 7/10 score, acknowledging Pitchfork’s emergence as a prominent voice in music criticism and multimedia branding.

On the other hand, the Houston Press faulted the book for omitting genres such as Latin, country, funk, soul, and classic rock, suggesting that Pitchfork favored prevailing trends over artistic quality. Time Out Chicago described it as "a slow, meandering walk through arbitrary tastes" and deemed it "a wasted opportunity."

Statistics

Topping the list are Prince and Talking Heads, each with four tracks included. Artists such as The Cure, The Clash, New Order, OutKast, Pavement, Pixies, Radiohead, and The Smiths have three songs apiece. A total of thirty-eight performers feature twice on the compilation. Björk appears three times—twice as a solo artist and once with her Icelandic band, The Sugarcubes. Members of Joy Division who later formed New Order collectively contribute five entries.

Brian Eno is credited once as a performer, twice as co-composer (on David Bowie's "Heroes" and Talking Heads' "Born Under Punches"), four times as producer (including Talking Heads tracks, U2's "Bad", and Devo's "Mongoloid"), with two additional songs being covers of his compositions.

The era from 1977 to 1979 holds the largest share with 66 songs featured, while the years 1997 to 1999 have the fewest selections at 38.

1977–1979

1980–1982

" *[[ABBA]–"The Day Before You Came " *[[Roxy Music]–"More Than This " *[[Queen (band)] and [David Bowie]–"Under Pressure " *[[Bruce Springsteen]–"Atlantic City " *[[Journey]–"Don't Stop Believin' " *[[Bad Brains]–"Pay to Cum " *[[Minor Threat]–"Minor Threat " *[[Dead Kennedys]–"Holiday in Cambodia " *[[Black Flag]–"Rise Above " *[[Wipers]–"Youth of America " *[[Flipper]–"Sex Bomb " *[[Motörhead]–"Ace of Spades " *[[Iron Maiden]–"Run to the Hills " *[[Orange Juice]–Blue Boy " *[[Television Personalities]–"This Angry Silence " *[[The Fall]–"The Classical " *[[The Clean]–"Tally Ho! " *[[The Feelies]–"The Boy with the Perpetual Nervousness " *[[R.E.M.]–"Radio Free Europe " *[[Violent Femmes]–"Blister in the Sun " *[[Mission of Burma]–"[That's When I Reach for My Revolver]

1983–1986

1987–1990

  • Mr. Fingers – "Can You Feel It"
  • Rhythim Is Rhythim – "Strings of Life"
  • A Guy Called Gerald – "Voodoo Ray"
  • MARRS – "Pump Up the Volume"
  • My Bloody Valentine – "You Made Me Realise"
  • Spacemen 3 – "Walkin' with Jesus"
  • Ride – "Dreams Burn Down"
  • Galaxie 500 – "Blue Thunder"
  • Happy Mondays – "Kinky Afro"
  • The Stone Roses – "She Bangs the Drums"
  • Sonic Youth – "Teen Age Riot"
  • Dinosaur Jr. – "Freak Scene"
  • Butthole Surfers – "Human Cannonball"
  • Pixies – "Where Is My Mind?"
  • Fugazi – “Waiting Room” / “Merchandise”
  • Audio Two – “Top Billin'”
  • Eric B. & Rakim – “I Know You Got Soul”
  •  Public Enemy – “Rebel Without a Pause” / “Fight the Power”
  •  N.W.A – “Straight Outta Compton”
  •  Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – “The Mercy Seat”
  •  [[Ministry (band)|Ministry|Ministry] – “Stigmata”
  •  [[The Jesus and Mary Chain|The Jesus and Mary Chain] – “Head On”
  •  [[The Sugarcubes|The Sugarcubes] – “Birthday”
  •  [[The Cure|The Cure] – “Just Like Heaven”
  •  [[Morrissey|Morrissey] – “Everyday Is Like Sunday”
  •  [[The Pogues|The Pogues] – “Fairytale of New York”
  •  [[The Wedding Present|The Wedding Present] – “My Favourite Dress”
  •  [[The Field Mice|The Field Mice] – “Emma's House”
  •  [[Another Sunny Day|Another Sunny Day] – “You Should All Be Murdered”
  •  [[The Dead Milkmen|The Dead Milkmen] – “Punk Rock Girl”
  •  [[The Primitives|The Primitives] – “Crash”
  •  [[The La's|The La's] – “There She Goes”
  •  [[They Might Be Giants|They Might Be Giants] – “Birdhouse in Your Soul”
  •  [[Superchunk|Superchunk] – “Slack Motherfucker”
  •  [[The Jesus Lizard|The Jesus Lizard] – “Mouth Breather”
  •  [[Slick Rick|Slick Rick] – “Children's Story”
  •  [[Gang Starr|Gang Starr] – “Just to Get a Rep”
  •  [[Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock|Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock] – “It Takes Two”
*[[Salt-N-Pepa|Salt-N-Pepa] - “Push It” 
*[[Beastie Boys|Beastie Boys] - “Hey Ladies” 
*[[De La Soul|De La Soul] - “Me Myself and I” 
*[[Biz Markie|Biz Markie] - “Just a Friend” 
*[[Guns N' Roses|Guns N' Roses] - “Welcome to the Jungle” 
*[[Swans (band)|Swans] - “Beautiful Child” 
*[[John Zorn|John Zorn] - “The Sicilian Clan” 
*[[Prince (musician)|Prince] - “If I Was Your Girlfriend” 
*[[Madonna (entertainer)|Madonna] - “Like a Prayer” 
*[[Deee-Lite|Deee-Lite] - “Groove Is in the Heart” 
*[[Pet Shop Boys|Pet Shop Boys] - “Being Boring” 
*[[Sinéad O'Connor|Sinéad O'Connor] - “Nothing Compares 2 U” 
*The Orb, including tracks such as Little Fluffy Clouds 
*The KLF, recognized for Wichita Lineman Was a Song I Once Heard 
*808 State, known for Pacific State 
*Orbital, celebrated for Chime 
*Depeche Mode, featuring Enjoy the Silence

1991–1993

1994–1996


1997–1999


2000–2002

2003–2006

References

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