the new music poll on the block

Idolator's new Jackin' Pop Critics Poll means to dethrone the Village Voice's annual Pazz & Jop music poll as the authoritative best-of list for popular (and semi-popular) music. But for me, the real story is the excellent essay Jackin' overseer Michaelangelo Matos contributes as part of the poll. Its exhaustive sweep of the year's musical trends and its sharp analysis of the poll's results emulate the enthusiasm of deposed Pazz & Jop maestro Robert Christgau's yearly tome. But at the same time, Matos doesn't try to mimic the Dean's denser-than-dense writing style. Matos proves himself to be a writer with his own voice, and he shines here.