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The War Against Silence was a weekly music-review column, and then a weekly column about music, and then a weekly column that was often inspired by music. It was written by glenn mcdonald, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, through a decade of devices and dreams and sleepless Wednesday nights. It was against many things, beginning with but not necessarily including silence, and in favor of many more, including some of the things it was once against and eventually its own end.
It may or may not occasionally be updated in its demise.
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2001 Pazz & Jop genre correlation analysis
368c · 14 February 02
One of the things it's difficult to discern from either a complete poll tally or the individual ballots is exactly how much diversity of taste a diverse-looking overall result represents. The top nine albums in the 2001 Village Voice Pazz & Jop Critics' Poll, for example, break down fairly easily into four obvious style-clusters: Bob Dylan, Ryan Adams and Lucinda Williams (old-fashioned folk/roots-rock, more or less), Björk and Radiohead (atmospheric, progressive), The Strokes and the White Stripes (low-fi guitar bands), Jay-Z and the Coup (hip-hop). In theory, this could mean that the six-hundred-plus critics who vote in the poll are all able to evaluate music across the whole spectrum of styles and bring you a definitive summary of the best music of the year. At the other extreme it could also be a product of individual critics voting entirely along narrow genre lines, so that the "overall" standings reflect voter demographics much more than any sort of cross-genre assessment.
But with some analysis it is possible to learn at least a little bit about where the P&J results really fall on this spectrum. Below I have taken each of the top thirteen albums in the overall poll results and filtered the whole poll to include only the people who voted for that album. The Radiohead-voters' top-ten, that is, represents all the votes of all the voters who cast at least one of their votes for Radiohead, and so on. The data demonstrate, pretty convincingly, that except for the wide support for Dylan, people do tend to vote along genre lines. Jay-Z, for example, received only 18 votes from the 235 Dylan voters, 10 from 119 Björk voters, 12 from 98 Radiohead voters, 7 from 80 Ryan Adams voters, 4 from 66 Lucinda Williams voters and 4 from 64 Rufus Wainwright voters. Conversely, Ryan Adams received only 7 votes from 64 Jay-Z voters, 5 from 64 The Coup voters and 2 from 54 Avalanches voters. Among 49 Basement Jaxx voters and 66 Lucinda Williams voters, only two people voted for both. Frankly, even the obvious congruences are less unanimous than I expected. 158 Strokes voters and 106 White Stripes voters overlap by only 48, 119 Björk and 98 Radiohead voters by only 33, 80 Ryan Adams and 66 Lucinda Williams voters by only 25, 64 Jay-Z and 64 Coup voters by only 9. If you start looking at the voting patterns of these overlaps, the schisms are even more glaring. Of the 33 people who voted for both Björk and Radiohead, only 3 also voted for Jay-Z, and only 2 for the Coup. Of the 25 who voted for both Ryan Adams and Lucinda Williams, only 2 voted for the Coup, and only 1 for Jay-Z. The 9 people who voted for both Jay-Z and the Coup are too small a sample to do much with, but none of them voted for Björk or Lucinda Williams, and only one each voted for Radiohead and Ryan Adams. All this makes it even more remarkable, though, that Bob Dylan came in second with eleven of these thirteen groups.
Dylan voters
| album | votes | overall rank |
1 | Bob Dylan: "Love and Theft" | 235 | 1 |
2 | The Strokes: Is This It | 92 | 2 |
3 | The White Stripes: White Blood Cells | 56 | 4 |
4 | Ryan Adams: Gold | 52 | 6 |
5 | Björk: Vespertine | 51 | 3 |
6 | Radiohead: Amnesiac | 44 | 5 |
7 | Lucinda Williams: Essence | 43 | 9 |
8 | The Coup: Party Music | 34 | 8 |
9 | Rufus Wainwright: Poses | 28 | 10 |
10 | various: O Brother, Where Art Thou? | 25 | 19 |
Strokes voters
| album | votes | overall rank |
1 | The Strokes: Is This It | 158 | 2 |
2 | Bob Dylan: "Love and Theft" | 92 | 1 |
3 | The White Stripes: White Blood Cells | 48 | 4 |
4 | Björk: Vespertine | 39 | 3 |
5 | Ryan Adams: Gold | 37 | 6 |
6 | Radiohead: Amnesiac | 28 | 5 |
6 | Lucinda Williams: Essence | 28 | 9 |
8 | Weezer: Weezer | 24 | 21 |
9 | Jay-Z: The Blueprint | 19 | 7 |
9 | Gorillaz: Gorillaz | 19 | 20 |
Björk voters
| album | votes | overall rank |
1 | Björk: Vespertine | 119 | 3 |
2 | Bob Dylan: "Love and Theft" | 51 | 1 |
3 | The Strokes: Is This It | 39 | 2 |
4 | Radiohead: Amnesiac | 33 | 5 |
5 | Rufus Wainwright: Poses | 20 | 10 |
6 | The White Stripes: White Blood Cells | 19 | 4 |
7 | Ryan Adams: Gold | 16 | 6 |
8 | Lucinda Williams: Essence | 14 | 9 |
9 | The Coup: Party Music | 12 | 8 |
9 | Basement Jaxx: Rooty | 12 | 13 |
9 | Alicia Keys: Songs in A Minor | 12 | 18 |
9 | Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott: Miss E...So Addictive | 12 | 23 |
White Stripes voters
| album | votes | overall rank |
1 | The White Stripes: White Blood Cells | 106 | 4 |
2 | Bob Dylan: "Love and Theft" | 56 | 1 |
3 | The Strokes: Is This It | 48 | 2 |
4 | Radiohead: Amnesiac | 21 | 5 |
5 | The Coup: Party Music | 20 | 8 |
6 | Björk: Vespertine | 19 | 3 |
7 | Lucinda Williams: Essence | 16 | 9 |
8 | Rufus Wainwright: Poses | 14 | 10 |
9 | Ryan Adams: Gold | 13 | 6 |
9 | Old 97's: Satellite Rides | 13 | 32 |
Radiohead voters
| album | votes | overall rank |
1 | Radiohead: Amnesiac | 98 | 5 |
2 | Bob Dylan: "Love and Theft" | 44 | 1 |
3 | Björk: Vespertine | 33 | 3 |
4 | The Strokes: Is This It | 28 | 2 |
5 | The White Stripes: White Blood Cells | 21 | 4 |
6 | Ryan Adams: Gold | 17 | 6 |
6 | Gorillaz: Gorillaz | 17 | 20 |
8 | Lucinda Williams: Essence | 15 | 9 |
9 | Basement Jaxx: Rooty | 13 | 13 |
10 | Jay-Z: The Blueprint | 12 | 8 |
10 | Stephen Malkmus: Stephen Malkmus | 12 | 28 |
Ryan Adams voters
| album | votes | overall rank |
1 | Ryan Adams: Gold | 80 | 6 |
2 | Bob Dylan: "Love and Theft" | 52 | 1 |
3 | The Strokes: Is This It | 37 | 2 |
4 | Lucinda Williams: Essence | 25 | 9 |
5 | Radiohead: Amnesiac | 17 | 5 |
6 | Björk: Vespertine | 16 | 3 |
7 | The White Stripes: White Blood Cells | 13 | 4 |
8 | Rufus Wainwright: Poses | 12 | 10 |
9 | Alicia Keys: Songs in A Minor | 10 | 18 |
9 | Gorillaz: Gorillaz | 10 | 20 |
9 | Weezer: Weezer | 10 | 21 |
9 | Old 97's: Satellite Rides | 10 | 32 |
9 | Pete Yorn: musicforthemorningafter | 10 | 46 |
Jay-Z voters
| album | votes | overall rank |
1 | Jay-Z: The Blueprint | 64 | 7 |
2 | The Strokes: Is This It | 19 | 2 |
3 | Bob Dylan: "Love and Theft" | 18 | 1 |
4 | Radiohead: Amnesiac | 12 | 5 |
4 | Cannibal Ox: The Cold Vein | 12 | 15 |
6 | Aaliyah: Aaliyah | 11 | 70 |
7 | Björk: Vespertine | 10 | 3 |
7 | The White Stripes: White Blood Cells | 10 | 4 |
9 | The Coup: Party Music | 9 | 8 |
9 | Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott: Miss E...So Addictive | 9 | 23 |
9 | De La Soul: AOI: Bionix | 9 | 54 |
9 | Bilal: 1st Born Second | 9 | 60 |
9 | Res: How I Do | 9 | 68 |
Coup voters
| album | votes | overall rank |
1 | The Coup: Party Music | 64 | 8 |
2 | Bob Dylan: "Love and Theft" | 34 | 1 |
3 | The White Stripes: White Blood Cells | 20 | 4 |
4 | The Strokes: Is This It | 14 | 2 |
5 | Basement Jaxx: Rooty | 13 | 13 |
6 | Björk: Vespertine | 12 | 3 |
7 | Manu Chao: Proxima Estacion: Esperanza | 11 | 12 |
8 | Atmosphere: Lucy Ford | 10 | 101 |
9 | Jay-Z: The Blueprint | 9 | 7 |
10 | Alicia Keys: Songs in A Minor | 8 | 18 |
Lucinda Williams voters
| album | votes | overall rank |
1 | Lucinda Williams: Essence | 66 | 9 |
2 | Bob Dylan: "Love and Theft" | 43 | 1 |
3 | The Strokes: Is This It | 28 | 2 |
4 | Ryan Adams: Gold | 25 | 6 |
5 | The White Stripes: White Blood Cells | 16 | 4 |
6 | Radiohead: Amnesiac | 15 | 5 |
7 | Björk: Vespertine | 14 | 3 |
8 | Gillian Welch: Time (The Revelator) | 13 | 14 |
9 | Rufus Wainwright: Poses | 11 | 10 |
9 | Weezer: Weezer | 11 | 21 |
Rufus Wainwright voters
| album | votes | overall rank |
1 | Rufus Wainwright: Poses | 64 | 10 |
2 | Bob Dylan: "Love and Theft" | 28 | 1 |
3 | Björk: Vespertine | 20 | 3 |
4 | The Strokes: Is This It | 17 | 2 |
5 | The White Stripes: White Blood Cells | 14 | 4 |
6 | Ryan Adams: Gold | 12 | 6 |
7 | Lucinda Williams: Essence | 11 | 9 |
8 | Radiohead: Amnesiac | 9 | 5 |
9 | Weezer: Weezer | 8 | 21 |
10 | The Coup: Party Music | 7 | 7 |
10 | The Avalanches: Since I Left You | 7 | 11 |
10 | Basement Jaxx: Rooty | 7 | 13 |
10 | Alicia Keys: Songs in A Minor | 7 | 18 |
10 | Stephen Malkmus: Stephen Malkmus | 7 | 28 |
Avalanches voters
| album | votes | overall rank |
1 | The Avalanches: Since I Left You | 51 | 11 |
2 | Basement Jaxx: Rooty | 16 | 13 |
3 | Daft Punk: Discovery | 11 | 25 |
4 | Björk: Vespertine | 10 | 3 |
5 | Bob Dylan: "Love and Theft" | 9 | 1 |
5 | The Strokes: Is This It | 9 | 2 |
7 | The White Stripes: White Blood Cells | 8 | 4 |
7 | Nortec Collective: The Tijuana Sessions Vol. 1 | 8 | 52 |
7 | Pulp: We Love Life | 8 | 56 |
10 | Rufus Wainwright: Poses | 7 | 10 |
10 | Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott: Miss E...So Addictive | 7 | 23 |
Manu Chao voters
| album | votes | overall rank |
1 | Manu Chao: Proxima Estacion: Esperanza | 43 | 12 |
2 | Bob Dylan: "Love and Theft" | 21 | 1 |
3 | The Strokes: Is This It | 15 | 2 |
4 | The Coup: Party Music | 11 | 8 |
5 | Björk: Vespertine | 9 | 3 |
5 | The White Stripes: White Blood Cells | 9 | 4 |
5 | Radiohead: Amnesiac | 9 | 5 |
8 | Ryan Adams: Gold | 8 | 6 |
9 | Basement Jaxx: Rooty | 7 | 13 |
9 | Gorillaz: Gorillaz | 7 | 20 |
Basement Jaxx voters
| album | votes | overall rank |
1 | Basement Jaxx: Rooty | 49 | 13 |
2 | Bob Dylan: "Love and Theft" | 19 | 1 |
3 | The Avalanches: Since I Left You | 16 | 11 |
4 | Radiohead: Amnesiac | 13 | 5 |
4 | The Coup: Party Music | 13 | 8 |
6 | Björk: Vespertine | 12 | 3 |
7 | The Strokes: Is This It | 11 | 2 |
7 | The White Stripes: White Blood Cells | 11 | 4 |
9 | Daft Punk: Discovery | 10 | 25 |
10 | Jay-Z: The Blueprint | 8 | 7 |
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