Artists That Will Gain Acclaim Over Time

[Future Critic]

I recently heard that Led Zeppelin was panned by critics back in the 70s. Although it's hard for me to believe, Led Zeppelin IV did not place in the top 20 amongst critics in the 1971 Pazz and Jop poll, so it seems possible.

Are there any artists right now that receive subpar reviews from critics that will someday be considered classics?

P.S. Nickelback is not an acceptable answer.

[Jirin]

I'll tell you in 20 years.

I think the critical culture is less rigid now than it was in the 60s and 70s. The critical criteria is way less prescriptive than it was back then, especially since most of it now is Internet publications rather than magazines like Rolling Stone.

If there's one area I think there might be a very different critical understanding in 20 years, it's dance-pop. Kids growing up on it will see it very differently than we do, most likely.

[acroamor]

Death Grips will be acknowledged as revolutionary, as will Grimes.

[prosecutorgodot]

I dunno... Lil B? These trap-rappers? Childish Gambino?

My personal pick is currently Jack White's Boarding House Reach. God, what an album. Hasn't quite received the critical acclaim. To me, it's basically Kid A with more raw blues aesthetics.

I would also hope that more non-Anglo artists can receive acclaim. That would be interesting and welcome. (Though I am not even close to versed in such music.)

Anyway, only time will tell. These things are better to just sit back and watch unfold.

[panam]

Pazz & Jop didn't exist in 1971 hehehe.

[Harold]

Pazz & Jop didn't exist in 1971 hehehe.

Maybe not under that name, but there was a Village Voice poll in 1971, the very first one. It was revived in 1974 under the Pazz & Jop title.

[Illiniq]

It will be interesting to see. A few artists to think about.

1. This decade's Swans - though their Seer Triology, especially the first two, have received boatloads of critical praise, I do wonder if their will be a Velvet Underground and Nico like continued elevation in stature for the triology - which I feel, along with Kendricks 2010s run, to be the greatest musical statement of the decade - or if they will fade into footnote obscurity given how difficult the music is.

2. Kendrick - I actually think in another decade, Kendrick's reputation for this album run will drop - Good Kid, Pimp, and Damn are all excellent albums, and Kendrick is right their with the absolute elites with message and lyrics and thematic construction of his albums, but I constantly bump on the sense that musically he never has been and never will be on the same plane as Kanye, Dre, ATCQ, Ghostface and a few other hip hop elites at their best. Frankly, a good bit of Damn bores me on a purely musical level, as did sections of Pimp, and I feel as tastes change there will be a slight devaluation of his work.

3. Car Seat Headrest - We'll see how it plays out, wasn't sold on WIll Toledo live - but even though it was praised, Teens of Denial was so head and shoulders better than anything album released in 2016 and probably the best indie rock record of the last three or four years.

4. Patty Griffin - Not a rocker, and very adult contemporary in feel, and completely removed from any cultural zietgeist of the times, but Patty, though rarely recognized as such, has been one of the truly elite recording artists of the last 20 years. Again be interesting to see if their acclaimed grows or fades in time.

5. Nick Cave & The Bad Sees - Simply put, no rock pop artists has ever had a more productive/higher quality post 40 years old career than this man. At some point hopefully that will be recognized.

But in general - I feel of the pool of contemporary artists we have now, far more of the top praise getters will see a drop in their critical stature over the next twenty years rather than be thought of in a better light, particularly a lot of the artists championed by Pitchfork over the years - that site just has a unique ability to champion artists completely lacking in timeless qualities - sacred cows for them like Beach House, Deerhunter, Tame Impala, Frank Ocean, Grimes, Vampire Weekend, Grizzly Bear, Flying Lotus, FKA Twigs, Kurt Vile, Ariel Pink, Savages, Todd Terje, Fleet Foxes, The Knife etc, these are all solid bands/artists with strong moments - but they will never hold up against the past decades enduring greats when compared a few decades from now.

I do think another batch of artists in this ilk - Sufjan Stevens, Janelle Monae, Bon Iver, The Xx, St. Vincent, The National, early Arcade Fire - have a little more of a timeless aspect to their music that will sustain an appreciation of their work in the upcoming decades better than the artists mentioned in the paragraph prior.

[StevieFan13]

For whatever reason Avicii was the first to come to mind.

[Henrik]

For whatever reason Avicii was the first to come to mind.

Good call.

[Hymie]

I recently heard that Led Zeppelin was panned by critics back in the 70s. Although it's hard for me to believe, Led Zeppelin IV did not place in the top 20 amongst critics in the 1971 Pazz and Jop poll, so it seems possible.

Even worse is that "What's Going On" did not make that 1971 list. They were more impressed with the "Joy of Cooking" album.

[Jirin]

I think Kendrick Lamar and Janelle Monae absolutely will grow in acclaim.

I disagree that all the mentioned indie rock acts that didn’t have crossover hits will. I think their acclaim will either stay level or decline, because their audience is insular.

[Rob]

I think Kendrick Lamar and Janelle Monae absolutely will grow in acclaim.

But is it possible for Kendrick to grow? He already seems to be the most acclaimed act at this point in time. I think the acclaim will remain high though.

[Jirin]

I think Kendrick Lamar and Janelle Monae absolutely will grow in acclaim.

But is it possible for Kendrick to grow? He already seems to be the most acclaimed act at this point in time. I think the acclaim will remain high though.

Kendrick has both popular and critical acclaim, how common is that, and what happens to artists that achieve it in the long run?

[Future Critic]

T-Swift is the person that comes to mind for me. But maybe that's just because I think she's already great.

[PlasticRam]

Kanye

[Rob]

Kanye

I was wondering whether someone was going to mention Kanye West, as this happens inevitably. Kanye is already pretty much seen as the most influential artist from the current century. You can't go higher and mentioning him here is almost like someone mentioning The Beatles in the sixties. Personally I wonder if Kanye West is actually going to decline somewhat, when the hype surrounding him and all his releases has gone (surely Life of Pablo is going to suffer at least). But perhaps that is because I myself think that Kanye is less than meets the eye. A talented producer, but not amazing all around.

[bonnielaurel]

Artists from less dominant countries and genres will probably get more recognition ijn the longer term, e. g. First Aid Kit, GoGo Penguin, Natalia Lafourcade...

[blahstin]

Linkin Park is the first that comes to mind. Chief Keef as well, Ashlee Simpson/Avril Lavigne I think, there's already some revisionism on lo-fi artists like Duster and Dear Nora, i think turn of the 2010s tumblr-pop like Passion Pit is going to have a real moment, EDM artists that also intersect with bloghouse like Porter Robinson and Madeon, i think history will show a real femme indie rock trifecta in Vivian Girls + Screaming Females + P.S. Eliot, i feel like Metric has been rising in people's estimation a lot, I also think The 1975 is going to be remembered much more positively than they currently are?

[PlasticRam]

Kanye

I was wondering whether someone was going to mention Kanye West, as this happens inevitably. Kanye is already pretty much seen as the most influential artist from the current century. You can't go higher and mentioning him here is almost like someone mentioning The Beatles in the sixties. Personally I wonder if Kanye West is actually going to decline somewhat, when the hype surrounding him and all his releases has gone (surely Life of Pablo is going to suffer at least). But perhaps that is because I myself think that Kanye is less than meets the eye. A talented producer, but not amazing all around.

Beatles are still considered the greatest though.

Somewhat agree on The Life of Pablo.

[Rob]

Kanye

I was wondering whether someone was going to mention Kanye West, as this happens inevitably. Kanye is already pretty much seen as the most influential artist from the current century. You can't go higher and mentioning him here is almost like someone mentioning The Beatles in the sixties. Personally I wonder if Kanye West is actually going to decline somewhat, when the hype surrounding him and all his releases has gone (surely Life of Pablo is going to suffer at least). But perhaps that is because I myself think that Kanye is less than meets the eye. A talented producer, but not amazing all around.

Beatles are still considered the greatest though.

Exactly my point. It seems a bit weird to me to mention an already incredibly acclaimed artist in this topic, which is about currently unappreciated acts that will become better rated in the future.

[Henrik]

Cunninlynguists and iamamiwhoami

At some point critics will catch up with RYM, no?

[Future Critic]

This might be a stretch, but I think Ed Sheeran might receive some acclaim over time, mostly because he makes songs that will likely be played at weddings for years to come.

[Jirin]

With Kanye I think that some of the current backlash from his general awfulness as a human being will fade, and he's certainly acclaimed, but also very divisive and is he really that influential? It's not his model that newer rappers are really following much. His influence seems to be more in the critical sphere than the musical sphere. I think in the long run people like Jay Z and Kendrick Lamar will be at minimum 50% more influential than Kanye West.

And without backstage SNL tantrums.

[PlasticRam]

With Kanye I think that some of the current backlash from his general awfulness as a human being will fade, and he's certainly acclaimed, but also very divisive and is he really that influential? It's not his model that newer rappers are really following much. His influence seems to be more in the critical sphere than the musical sphere. I think in the long run people like Jay Z and Kendrick Lamar will be at minimum 50% more influential than Kanye West.

And without backstage SNL tantrums.

808s sparked a whole new generation of rappers, including Drake, Frank Ocean, Childish Gambino and Travis Scott among others.

[Live in Phoenix]

Pazz & Jop didn't exist in 1971 hehehe.

Maybe not under that name, but there was a Village Voice poll in 1971, the very first one. It was revived in 1974 under the Pazz & Jop title.

There might not be a Pazz & Jop by any name now, at least if it requires going through the Village Voice:

http://theweek.com/speedreads/793658/vi ... tting-down

The Village Voice is shutting down

The Village Voice is beginning to "wind things down" for good.

The alt-weekly paper will no longer produce any new stories, Gothamist reported Friday. The Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper, a New York City staple for local news and arts stories since 1955, is ceasing all production.

"Due to, basically, business realities, we're going to stop publishing Village Voice new material," owner Peter Barbey told Voice staffers in a phone call, as reported by Gothamist. About half of the staff will be let go Friday, while the other half, about 15 or 20 people, will stick around to archive old material. Barbey confirmed the news in a statement, saying that "the Voice will not continue publishing."

"I bought the Village Voice to save it, this isn't exactly how I though it was going to end up," Barbey apparently told staffers. He bought the paper three years ago and shuttered its print edition last year. "Today is kind of a sucky day," he said. Read more at Gothamist. Summer Meza -- 8/31/2018

[Jirin]

Interesting you use 808s as your defense and not MBDTF. By the time 808s came out everyone was already doing that, mostly better. At least MBDTF legitimately used a kind of production perfectionism nobody else did. And paved the way for the whole vaginal reupholstery industry.

[PlasticRam]

Interesting you use 808s as your defense and not MBDTF. By the time 808s came out everyone was already doing that, mostly better.

Not in the hip hop community.

[luvulongTIM]

Perhaps the Cocteau Twins. I always thought they were more influential than people give them credit for. The genres they paved the way for is quite astounding in itself let alone all the bands and artists they inspired.