I first listened to all of Bill Wurtz’s stuff about a year and a half ago. If I’d counted him as an official listen then, he would’ve been my 256th artist, between 255: Sam Dew (B-) and the 256: Eagles (B). I’ve listened to him for even longer than that, though, following his very fun and silly and odd music videos on YouTube. Now, he’s the first (I think?) artist without a released “album” who I’m giving a full attention to.
I like him. He’s fun and weird and quirky. I don’t like him enough for an A, mostly because his songs feel very much the same as each other. Like, he has such a distinct sound, texturally and harmonically, and it makes the songs start to feel samey and repetitive. Which is funny, because in isolation they are, as I said, fun and weird and quirky. If it were just that, I’d probably say that the amount I enjoy his music is at, like, the level of a B, but frankly I think he’s too cool for that. Too interesting.
That means that he’s gonna be a C, not because I dislike him, but because I think highly of him and I wished I liked him more. This is another case of the C tiers not actually being below the B tiers, but instead being very much orthogonal to them, and, in many ways, above them. Counterintuitive, but what can you do. I don’t make the rules.
I will say, the lack of an album, and even of a shorter EP, does throw a wrench in a part of my routine that has thus far been very stable. That is, what do I put as his picture on the tier list? Thus far, I’ve just done the first album. He has no first album. First released single, I guess? That seems lame, but easy, and sometimes you gotta just do the easy thing, I think. Sigh.
Nah, I’m just gonna pick one I like.
Bill Wurtz complete, now listening to: Cavetown
tunafruitsandwitch 