Critical 15: Female Artists 1996-2011
- Best of List
15 great albums missed by Pitchfork readers.
A few months ago, Pitchfork published The People's List, a crowdsourced list of their readers' favorite albums from the first 15 years of the website's existence. What we learned from this exercise is that Pitchfork readers really, really like Radiohead.
What we also learned, as noted by several commentators (including Jody Rosen of Slate), is that the 27,981 voters in the project (88% of whom were male, according to the demographic breakdown) don't seem to have much interest in women. Only two bands in the top 20 (Arcade Fire and The XX) have female members; you have to go down to #32 to find a band with a female lead singer (Beach House) and #98 to find a female solo artist (M.I.A.).
So here's a selection of great records made by women between 1996 and 2011 that were overlooked by Pitchfork's voters. Spotify listeners can hear an expanded version of this playlist at Critical Female Artists 1996-2011.
Fiona Apple -- When The Pawn...
Best Coast -- Crazy For You
The Bird and the Bee -- The Bird and the Bee
Broadcast -- Work and Non-Work
Camera Obscura -- Let's Get Out of This Country
Neko Case -- Middle Cyclone
Chairlift -- Something
Emily Haines -- Knives Don't Have Your Back
Little Jackie -- The Stoop
Aimee Mann -- Bachelor No. 2
Razika -- Vondt i Hjertet
Rumer -- Seasons of My Soul
The Seven Fields of Aphelion -- Periphery
Tracey Thorn -- Love and Its Opposite
Vivian Girls -- Everything Goes Wrong
