c) It may stem from my being a naïve academic (who doesn't live in the 'real world', as I'm often told) but it just seems like such a waste of time, effort and the amazing technology that allows us to have this list in the first place just to tell a bunch of people who probably quite like musician X that you think he's boring. It hardly pushes the debate on.
The one thing I disagree with in this nice posting. Although not all of the 'worst records' postings are equally well-put or thought over, just the mere listing of less-favorite titles can be meaningful to a connaisseur. Academic it is not, but there IS value and meaning there. Most of the music discussed here, is completely ignored or taken wrong by the general media. And for some of us on the list are listening to very big amounts of new stuff, it can take years to just discover that some Dave Douglas, Bill Frisell or John Zorn record is of lesser statue. I really dig reading other people's views on albums I haven't made my mind up as for yet. And thinking over the ones I overtly disagree with/ heartly agree with, belong to my favorite wastes of time (grammar?). Some people made me go back to music I had some doubts about myself, and there's at least one stronger case. In a private e-mail, Efren even talked me out of listening to Tzadik's dreaded Norman Yamada cd. So it's back on the shelf, I don't want to know anymore whether it really was that bad! Regards, Remco