Another year, another round-up.

It’s that time of the year again. It’s time to put together a list of my favorite albums that were released in the past year. This is one of those things that rock and/or roll critics love doing and I’ve looked forward to this activity ever since I started having to compile my thoughts on this subject for various newspapers and then web-sites.

This year I’m not feeling it though.

Part of it probably has to do with the changing nature of my relationship with music. The web has opened me up to more new artists than ever before so I literally only listen to most albums once or twice now before either lifting tracks to DJ with or forming and writing a critical analysis of that particular release. The flip side of this development is that it’s relatively easy to pinpoint which artists are really knocking my socks off since those discs find themselves regularly spun in their entirety. This past year hasn’t seen a whole lot of knocking off of the socks though.

I think the other problem I’m facing is list burnout. This falls under the same category as “everybody’s a fucking critic now.” I enjoy the voice that the web has offered to music fans the world over but that doesn’t mean I’m not getting a little sick of having to listen to all those voices clashing and crashing together. When you add the effect of most print magazines having gone absolutely gonzo over the publication of various types of lists at the end of the year (not to even mention VH1, MTV and E!) the concept begins to lose a bit most of its impact.

Ah well, I’m sure I’ll regain my mojo when I actually sit own to compile this year’s list. I do fear that the whole activity has become rather inconsequential at this point though. At this point, when everyone is so consumed with making their own voice heard, who’s even listening anymore?