Frank Ocean at Coachella
The hype surrounding Frank Ocean’s debut album, Channel Orange, reached a fever pitch Thursday morning when indie tastemaker website Pitchfork gave the rising R&B star a 9.5 on a 10 scale, earning him a coveted Best New Music label. To put this in perspective, Pitchfork has bestowed scores of 9.5 or higher to six other albums the past decade. Those albums were The Wrens’ Meadowlands (9.5, 2003), The Fiery Furnaces’ Blueberry Boat (9.6, 2004), Arcade Fire’s Funeral (9.7, 2004), Kanye West’s Late Registration (9.5, 2005), Animal Collective’s Merriweather Post Pavilion (9.6, 2009), and Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (10, 2010). Three of those six won Album of the Year – Funeral, Merriweather Post Pavilion, and My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.
Pitchfork editor-in-chief Ryan Schrieber’s tweet from Thursday indicated Ocean would win Album of the Year if the year ended today. That’s no surprise, given the praise Pitchfork lavished on Channel Orange and the fact the next highest score the site has awarded this year is a 9.1 to Beach House’s Bloom. But not only is 2012 far from over but there are several Pitchfork favorites releasing albums in the coming months. Animal Collective, Ariel Pink, Grizzly Bear, Big Boi and Kanye West, all of whom have recent 9.0 or better albums to their credit, are dropping new music in the coming months. So while Ocean is most likely assured a spot in the Top 3, he has not locked up Album of the Year (yet, at least).
Here’s a statistical look at how Pitchfork’s scoring practices have changed over the past decade, from a more liberal approach a decade ago that resulted in unpredictable year-end albums list to their more streamlined and conservative approach to doling out 9.0 scores in recent years.
2003
9.0 or higher albums: 16
Highest score: The Wrens, The Meadowlands (9.5, finished 18th)
Actual No. 1 album: The Rapture, Echoes (9.0)
Highest sub-9.0 album finish: The Books, Lemon of Pink (8.4, 2nd)
Lowest plus-9.0 album finish: Unranked (five)
Percent of 9.0s in Top 10: 25%
Percent of 9.0s in Top 20: 56%
2004
9.0 or higher albums: 13
Highest score: Arcade Fire, Funeral (9.7, finished 1st)
Actual No. 1 album: Arcade Fire, Funeral
Highest sub-9.0 album finish: Animal Collective, Sung Tongs (8.9, 2nd)
Lowest plus-9.0 album finish: Xiu Xiu, Fabulous Muscles (9.0, 50th)
Percent of 9.0s in Top 10: 38%
Percent of 9.0s in Top 20: 46%
2005
9.0 or higher albums: 9
Highest score: Kanye West, Late Registration (9.5, 2nd)
Actual No. 1 album: Sufjan Stevens, Illinoise (9.2)
Highest sub-9.0 album finish: Art Brut, Bang Bang Rock And Roll (8.9, 3rd)
Lowest plus-9.0 album finish: Sleater-Kinney, The Woods (9.0, 19th)
Percent of 9.0s in Top 10: 44%
Percent of 9.0s in Top 20: 100%
2006
9.0 or higher albums: 9
Highest score: The Hold Steady, Boys & Girls In America (9.4, 5th)
Actual No. 1 album: The Knife, Silent Shout (8.6)
Highest sub-9.0 album finish: The Knife, Silent Shout
Lowest plus-9.0 album finish: Danielson, Ships (9.1, 31st)
Percent of 9.0s in Top 10: 77%
Percent of 9.0s in Top 20: 88%
2007
9.0 or higher albums: 7
Highest score: Panda Bear, Person Pitch (9.4, 1st)
Actual No. 1 album: Panda Bear, Person Pitch
Highest sub-9.0 album finish: M.I.A., Kala (8.9, 3rd)
Lowest plus-9.0 album finish: Jens Lekman, Night Falls Over Kortedala (9.0, 11th)
Percent of 9.0s in Top 10: 85%
Percent of 9.0s in Top 20: 100%
2008
9.0 or higher albums: 5
Highest score: Three-way tie (9.2)
Actual No. 1 album: Fleet Foxes, self-titled (9.0)
Highest sub-9.0 album finish: Portishead, Third (8.8, 2nd)
Lowest plus-9.0 album finish: Hercules & Love Affair, self-titled (9.1, 9th)
Percent of 9.0s in Top 10: 100%
Percent of 9.0s in Top 20: 100%
2009
9.0 or higher albums: 6
Highest score: Animal Collective, Merriweather Post Pavilion (9.6, 1st)
Actual No. 1 album: Animal Collective, Merriweather Post Pavilion
Highest sub-9.0 album finish: The XX, self-titled (8.7, 3rd)
Lowest plus-9.0 album finish: Fuck Buttons, Tarot Sport (9.0, 11th)
Percent of 9.0s in Top 10: 83%
Percent of 9.0s in Top 20: 100%
2010
9.0 or higher albums: 7
Highest score: Kanye West, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (10, 1st)
Actual No. 1 album: Kanye West, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Highest sub-9.0 album finish: Vampire Weekend, Contra (8.6, 6th)
Lowest plus-9.0 album finish: Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti, Before Today (9.0, 9th)
Percent of 9.0s in Top 10: 100%
Percent of 9.0s in Top 20: 100%
2011
9.0 or higher albums: 5
Highest score: Bon Iver, Bon Iver (9.5, 1st)
Actual No. 1 album: Bon Iver, Bon Iver
Highest sub-9.0 album finish: Destroyer, Kaputt (8.8, 2nd)
Lowest plus-9.0 album finish: James Blake, self-titled (9.0, 12th)
Percent of 9.0s in Top 10: 60%
Percent of 9.0s in Top 20: 100%
2003-2011
9.0 or higher albums: 77
Highest score: Kanye West, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (10.0)
Highest score=Actual No. 1 album: 55% (3 of last 4 years)
Highest sub-9.0 album finish: 2nd three times
Lowest plus-9.0 album finish: Unranked five times (all in 2003)
Percent of 9.0s in Top 10: 59% (86% since 2007)
Percent of 9.0s in Top 20: 80% (100% since 2007)
PARTING THOUGHTS
Only three albums have received 9.0s or greater from Pitchfork in 2012 – Ocean, Beach House, and Fiona Apple’s The Idler Wheel … (9.0). Expect all three to make it into the Top 10 and possibly the Top 5. History says it would take something stronger than Beach House’s 9.1 to supplant a score as high as Frank Ocean’s 9.5. It will probably take a 9.3 or higher. Pitchfork has been stingy so far this year. Japandroids’ Celebration Rock and Killer Mike’s R.A.P. Music easily could have garnered low 9.0s. I predict a sub-9.0 album will break into the Top 4. The best candidate is Dirty Projectors’ Swing Lo Magellan, which recently scored an 8.8. They are one of Pitchfork’s favored bands. Speaking of favored bands, Animal Collective can crap on an album and still receive a 9.3 from Pitchfork. They’ll be in the Top 5 too. Grizzly Bear and Passion Pit are also possibilities.
