Tis the season to produce painfully stupid lists

Amazon.com's customers are fairly representational of the cross-section of tastes enjoyed by most Americans. On their top 100 Customers' Favorite Albums of 2005 list, you would be hard pressed to disagree that Coldplay and Green Day would make questionable choices for #1 and #2 on the list. They have certainly established themselves as artists able to transcend formats by playing ambiguous, neopolitan songs that offend nobody either lyrically or musically (even the title track on American Idiot is vague despite the allusions to politics.)

But where is the giant outcry for Il Divo being chosen at #3? Il Divo? The only thing most people know about them if anything was that their founder gains more notoriety through his criticisms on American Idol than they do through every collective appearance they've made in person and through the media. Maybe it's the nice suit and tie combinations they're sporting on the cover, or the pleasing, non-threatening font used to elicit some sort of classical timelessness asperations to their music that just makes the Oprah crowd swoon. But honestly, to say this is the third best album of 2005 leads you to believe that there's still hope for a Dave Koz/ Yanni/ John Tesh/ Kenny G collabo taking the top spot in 2006.

Aside from that obvious stupidity, the most farcical part of a top Customers Album list of 2005 is that the bewildered herd who gain all their musical knowledge via the wonderful world of FM radio can't even discern between albums released this year and say, Maroon 5's Songs About Jane, which has been on store shelves for over three and a half years now. And yet #20 it is. Like it wasn't rediculous enough they won best new artist at the Grammys this year (maybe last) imagine what this says about how long it takes the media's gatekeepers to push items through the realm of popular culture and thereby delivering epiphanies to countless soccer moms still trying to show little Jake how hip she is with it.

Just for the record's sake, let it be shown that of their top 100 of 2005 (the customers only keep in mind, the critics list may be tackled later on) only 49 of the albums in the list were even released during the 2005 calendar year. Either the people voting on this are all from Alabama or Amazon just has some really stupid customers. You'd think with a prerequisite being able to surf the Internet in order to facilitate a purchase at Amazon you would automatically be weeding out those can think independently from those who breathe through their mouths still. Here's hoping AOL users have a great 2006 as well.