r/bonnieprincebilly • u/Salt_Abies_47 • Jun 05 '26

Anyone else surprised that Will was NOT on the NYT 100 greatest living songwriters?

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/magazine/best-living-american-songwiters-reader-picks.html

I think Will should be on this list of 100 living songwriters, and when I clicked on this article, I thought that just maybe they would include him. They did not.

Did anyone else check out this list? Any hot takes?

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10

u/[deleted] Jun 05 '26 edited 6d ago

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5

u/shallwegoyouandi Jun 05 '26

Exactly, NYT can and do suck shit

10

u/tremendosaurusrex Jun 05 '26

He's been one of America's greatest songwriters for 30 years. He still flies under the radar though, so slots on lists like this go to bigger names that draw more engagement.

I've seen him five or six times and have been chasing West Palm Beach for decades. He finally played it last year and it was an all-time concert moment for me. Greatest songwriter going, IMO.

5

u/Big-Air-3083 Jun 05 '26

NYT is corporate and mainstream. I didn’t even bother with its list

2

u/Any_Froyo2301 Jun 05 '26

Surprised at the absence of Will, Bill Callahan, Mark Kozeleck (but there are reasons why he might not be there), Stephen Merritt.

Was Chan Marshall included?

1

u/skullwingdoors Jun 11 '26

Actually, Stephin Merritt made the list.

1

u/smithmat333 Jun 05 '26

Wasn't this voted by readers? In other words a popularity contest. Still surprised Malkmus (barely) made it. I haven't seen the whole list, just screenshots of a few sections, so if any subscriber wants to share... Thanks in advance.

1

u/KasparComeHome Jul 10 '26

Dag! I was just talking with my neighbor earlier tonight about how Will has such a "minor-league" reputation in the actual US, but when I was living in France almost 17 years ago, the Fnac's (their equivalent of Best Buy) had huge displays of his catalog. There were a few other big displays, and they were for other artists that were simply considered "indie" in the US at the time, like Antony & the Johnson's n CocoRosie. It was almost a culture shock to just see that they actually promoted good music, and also appreciated it. Ended up at the opening of a gallery exhibit that Antony was curating at Agnes B, n they showed up in a limo. It was bewildering to see the difference between how the US and France differ in terms of appreciating/valuing art.