It's mid-December, so several things are making their annual presence known. That includes Santa, bowl games, Salvation Army bell-ringers, mornings in the 20s and unsightly amounts of candy. More important than all of these, though, are end-of-year music lists. Since 2009 is also the end of a decade, there's the added bonus of end-of-decade lists as well.

Making these lists requires quite a bit of work and that work might not be worth it. People enjoy reading the lists, but 5 minutes later they've probably forgotten who ranked where and the only likely conversation it created was an examination of how wrong the author was. Then there's the whole matter of deciding if the author's opinion really matters in the first place. Would you read a list of some perfect stranger's favorite breakfast cereals? Ok, maybe that wouldn't be so bad, but digression...

Of course, the source of the ranking says a lot about the contents of the list before you even read number 10, 20, 50 or whatever the list starts at. If you're reading a jazz critic, you won't find much heavy metal, or vice versa. Regardless, everyone wants to feel like maybe, just maybe, their taste is similar to someone whose opinion has been deemed viable. This is such a strong pull of human nature that a presumably unintended (negative?) result often occurs.

A sense of group-think come about when all the critics polarize their opinions in similar fashions so that their opinion will still be "relevant" when the following year's best-of lists come out. As a result, a small music blog ends up thinking Merriweather Post Pavilion is this year's best, just like Pitchfork surely will. Although it's not guaranteed, probably the reason that small blog writer liked the album so much in the first place was that they read Pitchfork's review when it came out. It also helps when an album comes out in the first week of January to rave reviews and becomes the standard by which all subsequent releases that year are measured. Then again, it also gives plenty of time for the consuming public to forget about it. Never fear, though, that's where Pitchfork and its lesser-known contemporaries come in handy. In the case of Animal Collective, though, they just released an only slightly less-esteemed EP to bookend all of the inferior releases this year.

Ok, this is not an Animal Collective bash-fest. Both MPP and the new EP are good records and worthy of listening and appreciation if that's your thing. By now, some people have probably made "My Girls"* the anthem of their life, and maybe understandably so. Anyway, the point is, year end lists are great, but #1 isn't always better than #20, or even "honorable mention". It's all about how a particular album struck you and nothing about how a particular review, rating or ranking struck you.

With all of this in mind, keep an eye out for the humble opinions of this blog soon. Some of you have proven to be trusting souls previously, so you're welcome to extend the courtesy again...if that's your thing, of course.

*If you're unacquainted, give the song a couple of minutes. It gets better and ultimately burrows out a cozy place in your memory.