While the review wasn’t an unprecedented event, it did lay down a higher ranking than the publication gave ANY album in ‘08. After the jump, the author of the review, Pitchfork Managing Editor Mark Richardson, goes one-on-one with Flavorwire’s resident avant-pop obsessive and Unpopular Opinions aficionado, The Beard, about the album, the band’s ascendancy, the potential pitfalls of extremely high and low rankings, and what can happen when reviewers get it wrong....
[12:45] Mark_Pitchfork-666: I should point out here really quick just to clarify that with something like that, I’m speaking more from my position as the guy who reviewed the album than as a representative of Pitchfork as a whole. There are some lines there for sure, and as the guy who write the review, not everything I say should be interpreted as “Pitchfork says…”
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[13:19] TheBeard4904: do you guys have a review process or like an informal board or anything when things get that high?
[13:19] TheBeard4904: what happens when say, a new writer, gives you something inflated?
[13:24] Mark_Pitchfork-666: it’s not always easy when we have so many freelancers, but we do try and have a least a general idea of: 1) what writers think about things; and 2) what the editors think about things well in advance of when a review is filed. Part of what keeps editors so busy is listening to everything we can to get an idea of what it’s all about so that there aren’t as many surprises when a review is filed. So yeah, editors and writers do have conversations on ratings, and staff writers also talk to us and each other about records. So there are compromises sometimes, since part of our job is to try and make sure the ratings are as consistent and meaningful as possible, since our readers pay close attention to them.
[13:30] TheBeard4904: do you guys have the same discussions with low reviews? seems like those are perhaps more controversial
[13:30] TheBeard4904: does everyone have to be on board?
[13:32] Mark_Pitchfork-666: no, it’s more of a case-by-case thing, but a really low review. Yeah, we’d definitely talk about that. I wouldn’t say everyone has to be on board, but hopefully the case is being made by the writer and his or her position makes sense
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by Daba