Radio Sweethearts

I’d promised puppy pictures. They’re totally unrelated to what I’m posting about, but here:

 

That’s Henry, and yes, he’s stalking you with the cute. And yes, I really need to mop upstairs.

But what I’m here to write about has nothing to do with puppies. It’s a major pet peeve of both Kerry and I.

It seems every year, near the end of October, the same thing starts happening. People stop listening to records, start ranking them, and the best-of-the-year lists start coming out at the beginning of December.

I have nothing against putting out a year’s-best list. I do it all the time. But it’s the beginning of December. You can’t call it best-of-the-year until the year is over. That said, I know the new releases slow a bit this time of year, but they don’t stop.

A little patience is really all I’m asking. What if the next “Pet Sounds” or “Blonde on Blonde” comes out next tuesday?

Then again, I wouldn’t really be surprised if the next record to top critics’ all-time lists skips year’s-bests lists everywhere, even “All Songs Considered’s.”