Articles - PAGE 34

The Myth of Objectivity: Music Journalism in 2015

Anna Acosta

(ICYMI: This is a follow up to ‘Witch Hunts & Straw Men: Internet Discourse in 2015)

I want to start by saying that this is not about any particular incident, but instead is addressing a larger issue that is prevalent in our scene – misogyny and the underlying theme that overall treatment of women is a footnote of little to no consequence. We are starting to know who the culprits are, but each time there is an accusation, the same general outcry goes up regardless of evidence provided, or even our own common sense in regards to how society works. In reality, we all know bad behavior is treated as though it were acceptable from young men. We wouldn’t cling so tightly to the law to provide our moral compass if that wasn’t the case. The issue isn’t that we don’t think these dudes might be treating women badly. The issue is that we have decided, somewhere along the way, that unless their treatment of women is illegal, it isn’t an issue. 

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Witch Hunts and Straw Men: Internet Discourse in 2015

Anna Acosta

Lately, there has been a lot of discourse on the Internet regarding how we talk about sexual abuse allegations. In those conversations, the real issue – which is the epidemic of abuse going on in our communities – often gets lost in the shuffle as skeptics and proponents of the status quo throw distraction after distraction into the ring. 

Let me be clear: I am not talking about the rare occasion where an allegation is unfounded and/or proven to be merely attention seeking (which is reprehensible and inexcusable). I am talking about the vast majority of incidents where that is not the case – and I am also speaking on behalf of victims whose abuse is not acknowledged by the law at all (see: most psychological abuse or continual domestic mistreatment). 

So without further ado – I’m going to address some of the more common responses to allegations and start to explore why they are a problem: 

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AbsolutePunk.net’s Top Albums of 2014

AbsolutePunk.net
Jason Tate

This best of list was put together by the AbsolutePunk.net staff in 2014. It used an old system for ranking albums, but has been brought over to Chorus.fm for posterity.

One thing Jason has always said he enjoys about our staff here at AbsolutePunk is that we are willing to let our opinions and biases shine through. No one here is trying to be a robot, solely evaluating music in an objective manner – if there even exists such a way to listen to these albums, the ones that have made us feel more emotion than all the other music released in 2014. Subjective opinion and bias is present as much as ever on any given publication’s albums of the year list, and ours is no exception. The following 30 albums were hand-chosen by our 21 active AP.net staffers, voted upon in only the most scientific of voting fashions. The best thing about these types of lists, though, is not seeing what we rank, but why we rank it; so each album is accompanied by a blurb from a staff member who loved it. We believe that there is no greater impetus behind listening to music than hearing someone tell you why they love it, so we hope you find something new here, or revisit something you enjoyed all year. – Thomas Nassiff

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AbsolutePunk.net’s Top Albums of 2013

AbsolutePunk.net
AbsolutePunk

This best of list was put together by the AbsolutePunk.net staff in 2013. It used an old system for ranking albums, but has been brought over to Chorus.fm for posterity.

I’d like to formally welcome you all to the end of 2013. We thought we’d celebrate by unleashing our AbsolutePunk.net Top 30 albums of the year. Compiled from all of the AP.net staff’s EOTY lists (which will be revealed on January 6th, 2014), we’ve once again released one of the most complete and eclectic lists you’ll see from any publication. From death metal to indie to defend pop punk to #emorevival, we have it all. So I’ll shut up now and let our list do the rest of the talking – check it out in the replies. As always, your thoughts, opinions, and disagreements are welcomed. 2013 was a great year for the music world once again – here’s to 2014.

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Looking at the a Day to Remember Court Case; What Does It Mean?

A Day to Remember
Jason Tate

You either care about the current A Day to Remember vs Victory Records court case or you don’t, and if you do, odds are you are a little confused about just what the fuck is going on. I’m going to be speaking with the band shortly for a longer piece about the new album and the ongoing legal stuff, and we’ve already read the statements from Victory. After pouring over countless court documents, talking to a variety of legal sources, and caring way too much about this (yeah, this stuff fascinates me, in another life, I wanted to argue in a courtroom instead of a message board all day) — I’ve begun piecing together what we currently know.

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The Absolute 100 (2013)

AbsolutePunk.net Heart
Drew Beringer

Another year, another 100 bands hand-picked by the AbsolutePunk staff for you to check out. Seeking out and discovering new music is one of my favorite things to do – not only as a writer but also as a passionate fan of the art form. Last year we introduced to you some bands that are tearing up 2013 thus far (Pity Sex, Chelsea Wolfe, and Pentimento for example) and we are poised to do the same in 2013. It’s kind of like having a jumbo book of Where’s Waldo?, only in this case our list is the book and Waldo is your new favorite band. We don’t buy into buzz, hype, or whatever – this is a list of one hundred musical acts that we as a staff truly love and support. Enjoy this year’s list (revealed in four parts over four weeks) and let us know which ones are your new favorites.

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The Absolute 100 (2009)

AbsolutePunk.net Heart
AbsolutePunk

The Absolute 100 is an annual collection of our favorite lesser-known bands. Our point with this feature (as it was in 2007 and 2008) is that there’s still hope. The future of music can be bright, you just gotta find the right blurbs to screw in. Some of the bands on this list are signed and some are already on their way to selling out tours. Some are barely even on their parents’ radars. Throw cred out the window; we don’t care if you’ve heard any of these acts before. We want EVERYONE in on these secrets.

We are an unique crew of diligent AP.net workers – not all our playlists are carbon copies. Our goal, as it always has been, is to deliver a constant stream of information about music that motivates and inspires. Consider this a promise: there is at least one band on this list that you will enjoy. And if you don’t, then let’s hope it’s because you already love one of them enough. – Julia Conny

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The Absolute 100 (2008)

AbsolutePunk.net Heart
AbsolutePunk

News posts and song streams. RSS feeds and webisodes. We swim in a digital ocean of recommendations – the music and us. Here at AbsolutePunk.net, we like to start the waves and then float in them. This is why we are back with our second installment of The Absolute 100, an annual collection of our favorite lesser known bands. Below you will find a centennial of really great acts. Some of them may be fresh to the ears, and some of them may be old news to your keen web browsing. Either way, we hope that from all the bands that clutter these interwebbed harbors, you’ll find a precious handful from these Absolute 100. – Julia Conny

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The Absolute 100 (2007)

AbsolutePunk.net Heart
AbsolutePunk

From your warm barstool, you watch a new band take the stage. You’ve never seen them before but their opening chords ring in clear and true and damn good. An instant connection between the ear and the instinct, this will be the band in which you rave testimonies. Here at ABSOLUTEPUNK.net, we like to provide you with that same tummy-filling. After we report the news and churn out the reviews, interviews and exclusives, we are here to serve you up with more music to obsess over. That being said, here are 100 blazing up and comers that we, the staff of AP.net, are losing sleep over. Caught between a rock and the big time, these 100 are aimed for a 2007 killing in potential alone. We toast our glasses to them, and to you, hopefully, for giving them a chance. – Julia Conny

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