Rewind (The Wire)

Rewind is the annual year-in-review issue of The Wire, a British music magazine founded in 1982. The year-end issues have been published every January since 1986, adopting the current "Rewind" title in 1997. Each year-end issue has included an annual critics' poll, collating critics' ballots into a list of the year's best releases. The polls survey writers affiliated with the magazine.

The Wire no. 263: the "2005 Rewind" issue

Across its history, critics' polls in The Wire have tended to reflect the magazine's eclectic, avant-garde sensibility and coverage of experimental music across a broad variety of genres. The magazine's first few polls were limited to selecting the best jazz LP of the year, in accordance with its original focus on jazz music. As the magazine's coverage expanded it began incorporating other lists of the best albums in selected non-jazz genres, but kept the jazz poll at the centre. In 1990 the magazine had its first all-genre poll, and the following year the main poll opened to include albums from any musical genre. Beginning in 2011, the main poll expanded to encompass not only albums, but any musical release of any length in any conceivable format. Nevertheless, the poll has typically continued to emphasise releases from the album format above all others.

History

The American avant-garde jazz saxophonist Ornette Coleman topped The Wire's poll in two consecutive years.

1985–1991: jazz era

American jazz pianist Cecil Taylor (pictured at right) placed first in the 1988 poll and, in 1990, received a "special accolade" for a box set that would have otherwise topped the poll.

In 1991, German electronic group Kraftwerk topped the magazine's first all-genre poll.

The early polls were limited to jazz albums, mirroring the magazine's focus at that time, but the purview gradually expanded; by 1990, the main jazz list was published alongside lists for blues, Latin music, "composition" (i.e., classical music) and "suspect rock" (i.e., experimental rock).[1] The magazine published an all-genre poll for the first time in 1991, a so-called "open vote 'beyond' category" that was still subordinate to the "main" list of jazz and improvised releases.[2] The Mix, a remix album by German electronic group Kraftwerk, was the first release to top an all-genre poll.[2]

1992–2010: Record of the Year

American hip-hop group Arrested Development topped the critics' poll in 1992, the first year that the magazine placed an all-genre list ahead of its jazz list.

With three albums named Record of the Year, English musician Robert Wyatt has topped The Wire's poll more than any other artist.

Two-time poll-topper Björk (pictured), an Icelandic musician, is one of the only artists from outside the Anglosphere to win the poll. The others are Kraftwerk and Mouse on Mars, both from Germany.

American rock band Sonic Youth topped the magazine's poll twice.

In 1992, The Wire stopped privileging its jazz poll and instead began to designate its all-genre poll as its primary year-end list. The blurb accompanying that year's poll announced that the "main chart takes the form of an all-inclusive, open-ended category—contributors were asked to vote for their favourite records across all genres, from jazz to Techno, opera to Africa, metal to Minimalism."[3] The magazine continued to publish genre-specific lists, including for jazz. In 1993, The Wire started calling its all-genre poll the "Record of the Year".[4]

2011–present: Release of the Year

American musician James Ferraro's Far Side Virtual was the first winner of the expanded "Release of the Year" poll.

In 2011, The Wire switched the name of its annual critics' poll from Records of the Year to Releases of the Year. The change meant that critics could cast votes for "any self-contained audio entity, be it a vinyl LP, 12" EP, cassette, CD, download, mixtape, etc."[5] Editor-in-chief Tony Herrington explained the reasoning and observed how it had changed critics' submissions:

We made the change in a spirit of 'all formats acknowledged' democracy, but while a few up-to-speed contributors took us at our word and ran with it, submitting Web 2.0-driven charts containing YouTube uploads and tracks given away via Twitter, the bulk of the electorate continued to cast their votes for old fashioned albums, records or otherwise."[5]

The cover design for the 2017 Rewind—published January 2018, issue number 407—was a work of interactive audiovisual art.[6] Using a custom augmented reality app, a smart device's camera would show the abstract magazine cover as a three-dimensional, with accompanying audio. The project was cited in the 2019 book The Fundamentals of Graphic Design as "an immersive and dynamic experience perfectly reflecting the publication's long-running championing of experimental approaches to making and performing music."[7]

Critics' polls

Year	Artist	Album	Musical genre	Nation	Poll name	Ref.
1985	Ronald Shannon Jackson	Decode Yourself	Avant-garde jazz	US	"LP of the Year"	[8]
1986	Pat Metheny and Ornette Coleman	Song X	Avant-garde jazz			[9]
1987	Ornette Coleman	In All Languages	Avant-garde jazz		"Top LP of the Year"	[10]
1988	Cecil Taylor Unit	Live in Bologna	Avant-garde jazz			[11]
1989	David Murray	Ming's Samba	Avant-garde jazz		"Critics' Poll"	[12]
1990	John Scofield	Time on My Hands	Avant-garde jazz		"The Critics' Choice"	[1]
	Cecil Taylor	Cecil Taylor in Berlin '88	Avant-garde jazz		"Special Wire Accolade"[note 1]
1991	Sheila Jordan	Lost and Found	Avant-garde jazz		"The Critics' Choice: Jazz & Improvised"	[2]
	Kraftwerk	The Mix	Electronic	DEU	"The Critics' Choice: 'Beyond' Category"
1992	Arrested Development	3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life Of...	Alternative hip hop	US	"The Critics' Choice"	[3]
1993	Björk	Debut	Electronic pop	ISL	"Record of the Year"	[4]
1994	Portishead	Dummy	Trip hop	UK		[13]
1995	Tricky	Maxinquaye	Trip hop			[14]
1996	Tortoise	Millions Now Living Will Never Die	Post-rock	US		[15]
1997	Robert Wyatt	Shleep	Art rock	UK		[16]
1998	Sonic Youth	A Thousand Leaves	Experimental rock	US		[17]
1999	Mouse on Mars	Niun Niggung	Electronic	DEU		[18]
2000	Antipop Consortium	Tragic Epilogue	Alternative hip hop	US		[19]
2001	Björk	Vespertine	Electronic pop	ISL		[20]
2002	Sonic Youth	Murray Street	Experimental rock	US		[21]
2003	Robert Wyatt	Cuckooland	Art rock	UK		[22]
2004	Albert Ayler	Holy Ghost: Rare & Unissued Recordings (1962–70)	Avant-garde jazz	US		[23]
2005	The Books	Lost and Safe	Folktronica			[24]
2006	Burial	Burial	Dubstep	UK		[25]
2007	Robert Wyatt	Comicopera	Art rock			[26]
2008	The Bug	London Zoo	Dubstep			[27]
2009	Broadcast and The Focus Group	... Investigate Witch Cults of the Radio Age	Psychedelic pop and sampledelia			[28]
2010	Actress	Splazsh	Tech house	UK		[29]
2011	James Ferraro	Far Side Virtual	Vaporwave	US	"Release of the Year"	[30]
2012	Laurel Halo	Quarantine	Avant-pop			[31]
2013	Julia Holter	Loud City Song	Avant-pop			[32]
2014	Aphex Twin	Syro	Electronic	UK		[33]
2015	Jlin	Dark Energy	Footwork	US		[34]
2016	David Bowie	Blackstar (★)	Art rock	UK		[35]
2017	Chino Amobi	Paradiso	Sound collage	US		[36]
2018	Sons of Kemet	Your Queen Is a Reptile	Avant-garde jazz	UK		[37]
2019	75 Dollar Bill	I Was Real	Avant-garde jazz	US		[38]
2020	Beatrice Dillon	Workaround	Electronic	UK		[39]

1. Several critics had voted for Cecil Taylor's 11-CD box set, In Berlin '88, as their number-one choice for the 1990 poll. However, it was kept off the main list altogether because, according to the introductory essay, "11 against one wasn't really fair odds for the rest". Instead, In Berlin '88 was separately "honoured ... with a special Wire accolade of the year's most impressive recording project."[1]

See also

• Pazz & Jop – a critics' poll conducted by The Village Voice
• HMV's Poll of Polls – music retailer HMV's aggregate year-end poll compiling various publications' polls (including The Wire's), published from 1998–2012

Citations

1. Wire staff 1991, pp. 28–29.
2. Wire staff 1992, pp. 56–57.
3. Wire staff 1993, p. 24.
4. Wire staff 1994, p. 55.
5. Herrington 2011.
6. Ambrose, Harris & Ball 2019, pp. 31, 190.
7. Ambrose, Harris & Ball 2019, p. 31.
8. Wire staff 1986, p. 38.
9. Wire staff 1987, p. 36.
10. Wire staff 1988, p. 39.
11. Wire staff 1989, p. 54.
12. Wire staff 1990, p. 64.
13. Wire staff 1995, p. 29.
14. Wire staff 1996, p. 32.
15. Wire staff 1997, p. 37.
16. Wire staff 1998, p. 35.
17. Wire staff 1999, p. 27.
18. Wire staff 2000, p. 67.
19. Wire staff 2001, p. 34.
20. Wire staff 2002, p. 40.
21. Wire staff 2003, p. 45.
22. Wire staff 2004, p. 38.
23. Wire staff 2005, p. 39.
24. Wire staff 2006, p. 41.
25. Wire staff 2007, p. 35.
26. Wire staff 2008, p. 36.
27. Wire staff 2009, p. 26.
28. Wire staff 2010, p. 39.
29. Wire staff 2011, p. 36.
30. Wire staff 2012, p. 30.
31. Wire staff 2013, p. 32.
32. Wire staff 2014, p. 32.
33. Wire staff 2015, p. 32.
34. Wire staff 2016, p. 32.
35. Wire staff 2017, p. 30.
36. Wire staff 2018, p. 32.
37. Wire staff 2019, p. 32.
38. Wire staff 2020, p. 29.
39. Wire staff 2021, p. 34.

References

• Ambrose, Gavin; Harris, Paul; Ball, Nigel (2019). The Fundamentals of Graphic Design (2nd ed.). London: Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-474269-98-8 – via Google Books.
• Herrington, Tony (9 December 2011). "Suffering through suffrage: Compiling The Wire's Rewind charts". The Mire [blog]. The Wire. Archived from the original on 25 December 2016. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
• Wire staff (January 1986). "The Critics' Choice: LPs of the Year". The Wire. No. 23. London. p. 38 – via Exact Editions. (subscription required)
• Wire staff (February 1987). "The Critics' Choice: LPs of the Year". Wire Magazine. No. 36. London. p. 36 – via Exact Editions. (subscription required)
• Wire staff (February 1988). "The Critics' Choice: Wire Top 50 LPs of 1987". Wire Magazine. No. 48. London. p. 39 – via Exact Editions. (subscription required)
• Wire staff (January 1989). "The Critics' Choice". Wire Magazine. No. 58/59. London. p. 54 – via Exact Editions. (subscription required)
• Wire staff (January 1990). "Critics' Choice". Wire Magazine. No. 70/71. London. p. 64 – via Exact Editions. (subscription required)
• Wire staff (January 1991). "The Critics' Choice 1990". Wire. No. 82/83. London. pp. 28–29 – via Exact Editions. (subscription required)
• Wire staff (January 1992). "The Critics' Choice 1991". The Wire. No. 94/95. London. pp. 56–57 – via Exact Editions. (subscription required)
• Wire staff (January 1993). "The Critics' Choice 1992: Records of the Year". The Wire. No. 106/107. London. p. 24 – via Exact Editions. (subscription required)
• Wire staff (January 1994). "The Critics Choice 1993: Records of the Year". The Wire. No. 118/119. London. p. 55 – via Exact Editions. (subscription required)
• Wire staff (January 1995). "Critics Choice: Record of the Year". The Wire. No. 131. London. p. 29 – via Exact Editions. (subscription required)
• Wire staff (January 1996). "Blessed Releases: Records of the Year". The Wire. No. 143. London. p. 32 – via Exact Editions. (subscription required)
• Wire staff (January 1997). "96 Rewind: Records of the Year". The Wire. No. 155. London. p. 37 – via Exact Editions. (subscription required)
• Wire staff (January 1998). "97 Rewind: 50 Records of the Year". The Wire. No. 167. London. p. 35 – via Exact Editions. (subscription required)
• Wire staff (January 1999). "98 Rewind: 50 Records of the Year". The Wire. No. 179. London. p. 27 – via Exact Editions. (subscription required)
• Wire staff (January 2000). "99 Rewind: 50 Records of the Year". The Wire. No. 190/191. London. p. 67 – via Exact Editions. (subscription required)
• Wire staff (January 2001). "Rewind 2000: 50 Records of the Year". The Wire. No. 203. London. p. 34 – via Exact Editions. (subscription required)
• Wire staff (January 2002a). "2001 Rewind: 50 Records of the Year". The Wire. No. 215. London. p. 40 – via Exact Editions. (subscription required)
• Wire staff (November 2002). "The Wire 20". The Wire. No. 225. London. pp. 42–51. Archived from the original on 17 August 2004 – via Exact Editions. (subscription required)
• Wire staff (January 2003). "Rewind 2002: 50 Records of the Year". The Wire. No. 227. London. p. 45 – via Exact Editions. (subscription required)
• Wire staff (January 2004). "2003 Rewind: 50 Records of the Year". The Wire. No. 239. London. p. 38 – via Exact Editions. (subscription required)
• Wire staff (January 2005). "2004 Rewind: 50 Records of the Year". The Wire. No. 251. London. p. 39 – via Exact Editions. (subscription required)
• Wire staff (January 2006). "2005 Rewind: 50 Records of the Year". The Wire. No. 263. London. p. 41 – via Exact Editions. (subscription required)
• Wire staff (January 2007). "Rewind 2006: 50 Records of the Year". The Wire. No. 275. London. p. 35 – via Exact Editions. (subscription required)
• Wire staff (January 2008). "2007 Rewind: Records of the Year Top Ten". The Wire. No. 287. London. p. 36 – via Exact Editions. (subscription required)
• Wire staff (January 2009). "2008 Rewind: Records of the Year Top Ten". The Wire. No. 299. London. p. 26 – via Exact Editions. (subscription required)
• Wire staff (January 2010). "2009 Rewind: Records of the Year Top Ten". The Wire. No. 311. London. p. 39 – via Exact Editions. (subscription required)
• Wire staff (January 2011). "2010 Rewind: Records of the Year Top Ten". The Wire. No. 323. London. p. 36 – via Exact Editions. (subscription required)
• Wire staff (January 2012). "2011 Rewind: Releases of the Year 1–10". The Wire. No. 335. London. p. 30 – via Exact Editions. (subscription required)
• Wire staff (January 2013). "2012 Rewind: Releases of the Year 1–50". The Wire. No. 347. London. p. 32 – via Exact Editions. (subscription required)
• Wire staff (January 2014). "2013 Rewind: Releases of the Year 1–50". The Wire. No. 359. London. p. 32 – via Exact Editions. (subscription required)
• Wire staff (January 2015). "2014 Rewind: Releases of the Year 1–50". The Wire. No. 371. London. p. 32 – via Exact Editions. (subscription required)
• Wire staff (January 2016). "2015 Rewind: Releases of the Year 1–50". The Wire. No. 383. London. p. 32 – via Exact Editions. (subscription required)
• Wire staff (January 2017). "Rewind 2016: Releases of the Year 1–50". The Wire. No. 395. London. p. 30 – via Exact Editions. (subscription required)
• Wire staff (January 2018). "Rewind 2017: Releases of the Year 1–50". The Wire. No. 407. London. p. 32 – via Exact Editions. (subscription required)
• Wire staff (January 2019). "2018 Rewind: Releases of the Year 1–50". The Wire. No. 419. London. p. 32 – via Exact Editions. (subscription required)
• Wire staff (January 2020). "2019 Rewind: Releases of the Year 1–50". The Wire. No. 431. London. p. 29 – via Exact Editions. (subscription required)
• Wire staff (January 2021). "2020 Rewind: Releases of the Year 1–50". The Wire. No. 431. London. pp. 34–43 – via Exact Editions. (subscription required)

External links

• Charts at thewire.co.uk — includes every Rewind poll since 1994, including genre specialist charts