Pretty respectable list for NME all things considered.

I’m probably going to end up ranting here but the “zomg brits don’t get our music!!!” comments are so needlessly defensive it’s almost laughable. They’re missing the point of a localised music magazine: NME is not going to rank acts if they haven’t broken right through into the British indie-consciousness and don’t have any real cultural resonance with their readership. These two reasons are why Modest Mouse and Wilco have never become household names for British music journalists in the same way that The Strokes and Arcade Fire have. You could probably put it down to PR but I think it’s a little more complex than that.

The same principles explain why The Libertines and The Streets feature in NME’s top 50 but not Pitchfork’s. NME editors and readers know all too well how bad a state British indie music was in after Britpop fizzled out. They also remember just how fucking brilliant the two acts were at giving voice to Britain’s disillusioned urban youth culture through the stories their albums told. Of course you Americans aren’t going to appreciate these bands in the same way that us Brits do because the stories aren’t about you. No need to get all uppity about it. I for one would love to “get” Wilco and The Gaslight Anthem but at the end of the day they’re not really writing music about Brits like me. Anyway (Y) for Is This It.

The deals may be price-friendly but they’re not Brit-friendly *insert unsmiley face*. Amazing deal though. Grab this one while you can…