PS Pre-Pitchfork

As much as I love to make fun of Pitchfork, its readers and its sometimes convoluted reviews—I read it. Religiously. And you know what? They’re usually right. Those cool kids over at Pitchfork have also made (and broke) many musicians. Their influence has become massive since their inception in 1995.

Canadian outfit Broken Social Scene has cited Pitchfork as being one of the reasons they started selling out venues. Merge executive Martin Hall told the Chicago Tribune that Arcade Fire’s debut record Funeral was out of print for a week after it received a 9.7 from the online magazine. These are just a few examples. Pitchfork has been responsible for the success of many obscure bands and they deserve credit.

And now, Kingston’s very own Paul Saulnier and Ben Nelson—more commonly known on the Internet as PS I Love You—have received an 8 out 10 (a pretty substantial number, considering the fact their critics sometimes give zeros) for their track “Facelove” on Pitchfork. You can read the review here.

But, who would I be if I didn’t plug The Queen’s Journal in all of this? Before his Pitchfork shout out, Paul got one in The Journal. I interviewed Paul at a bowling alley in Kingston and it has been one of my favourite interviews to date. You can find that piece here. This year Ben and Paul also did a short, but hilarious Artist In Profile for The Journal. It’s interesting to see how distinctly different the sentiments are in each of these pieces…Ever elusive, who knows what’s next for Paul and Ben.

Mad props PS, you deserve it—and don’t forget us when you’re famous.

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