Well, well…Pitchfork handed down one of its dreaded 0.0 ratings this week, for Vice’s This Is Next compilation of indie rock for the Wal-Mart record shopper. Now, I agree with Matt LeMay’s assessment that this is a rather pointless venture from the usually savvy Vice label, but was it really worth the effort to “review?”

There are two camps when it comes to answering that otherwise rhetorical question:

1. Yes, because posting the review is a rare glimpse of self-awareness for the pretentious denizen of online rock criticism – “We’re being exploited and we know it!” Pitchfork has been the driving force in the formation and maintenance of an independent community - not necessarily because of the site’s power to make or break an artist’s career, but because it offered the first truly accessible, truly central source for collective opinion about independent music…and This Is Next is a misguided attempt to freeze-dry a movement that refuses to be boiled down to a compilation.

2. No, because the folks who buy other current music compilations like the Now series want the hits and to hell with the rest of the probably-throwaway full lengths, but indie fans are indie fans because they appreciate the art of the LP. This Is Next isn’t chock-full of radio tunes, one or two of which inspire the sale and introduce the buyer to new faves on the rest of the comp. As LeMay astutely noted in his review, “it’s hard to imagine a Spoon fan picking up this CD and discovering Sonic Youth for the first time.”

So what’s the verdict? Is 0.0 justified, or was this a cream puff layup for Pitchfork?

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