ILM'S TOP 77 ALBUMS of 2010 (NOW COUNTING DOWN THE TOP TEN)

Just like the tracks results, I'll be posting a top 77 list. It starts with 17 today and then 20 per day over the following three days.

Hype! Hype!

woot! I fear my infinite AntiFR cred is about to take a small knock though :(

YAY

If my #1 doesn't make it, a pox on all yr houses tho.

looking forward to this. thanks, dr. fever.

(after no-one else voted for my #1 single by the same band, i'm guessing y'all gonna be pox'ed)

It's ON.

Like the singles I will attempt to listen to every one of these. Also lol at me thinking I'll do that. What I mean is i'll maybe try to first 3 or 4 and the winner [unless its kanye, and then more pox]

77 albums is a lot of listening time...

yeah but as of next week i'll be only working part time again

people should mention what they think the best trax on the albums are, and that way we could see what the fuss was about w/o investing lots of time & $$$.

i.e., albums = long singles

pumped for this one, as i actually voted

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ePwDySjVdyo/TTv0XmXqfII/AAAAAAAAAUc/atk7H-3vhA8/harveymilk.jpg

77. HARVEY MILK — A Small Turn of Human Kindness (240 points, 8 votes, 1 first place vote)
P&J: 220th
Pitchfork: DNP

Yeah, I'm going to try to listen to at least one song off each - no way I'm listening to the entirety of them all.

xpost interesting 77! Never been that moved by HM but they've definitely got some stuff worth listening to in their back catalogue.

ooooh. i liked the one w/ the jacket on the cover, will check it out. nice cover too.

Lovely picture of a ditch that.

yes. i voted for harvey milk, even though it's not as good as their last one (life ... the best game in town). it's one of those albums where the whole thing flows together and has repeated themes so it's hard to pick one track to recommend.

oh im not going to listen to everyone in full, esp. if i cannot stand what you all vote for

I bet that was whineys #1. Yay for Harvey Milk

8 votes and 1 #1 vote is pretty good going for 77th place.

seandalai was nice enough to provide me with spotify links for albums they carry, so I'll be posting those for people who can use them.

yeah, sounds like a lot more concentrated voting in this compared to the tracks.

P&J: 220th
Pitchfork: DNP

Fuck P&J and Fuck Pitchfork.

never knowingly heard this band. What're they like? What song should I check out?

I used to like it in polls like this when notable comments from album threads were put up, although I know it's a bit much to ask :-)

I think it might have been a runner-up album on the Pitchfork list?

smashing album cover btw.

yeah fuck a mostly indie website for not covering a relatively obscure metal band! xpost

selected youtubes - URLs not embeds! - from the albums' fans/voters would prob be appreciated

i have no idea what's going to place in this poll, let alone place. well, am hopeful for 11 of my ballot, anyway.

gonna have to drop out for 45 mins in a bit to interview one of the artists that i assume will be on this!

tell erykah i <3 her and bag lady is my jam lex

I keep confusing Harvey Milk and Titus Andronicus and Abe Vigoda

it's not erykah :(

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ePwDySjVdyo/TTv2cj9wL0I/AAAAAAAAAV8/dQmJiutbH88/quadron.jpg

76. QUADRON — Quadron (240 points, 12 votes)
P&J: 433rd
Pitchfork: DNP
Spotify: listen

I keep confusing Harvey Milk and Titus Andronicus and Abe Vigoda

― vienn?tta (Stevie D(eux)), Monday, January 31, 2011 10:13 AM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

harvey milk has been around longer than titus andronicus and abe vigoda put together btw

oh. i'm sure i remember you mentioning interviewing her last week. oh well, just tell whoever it is that bag lady is awesome and they'll never write anything that good unless they pull their finger out

this is going to be painful for me, isn't it

i haven't heard much of this year's harvey milk but they're a spectacular band, so i approve!

quadron album is great, particularly "slippin'", "day", "pressure" if you need tracks to check out folks

that quadron record was on Andy K's end of year list, right? that probably functions as a great endorsement for some folks (myself included)

hate the album cover though :(

I couldn't get into that Quadron album at all.

I have the Quadron album. It's good. I have no idea about her/them.

I don't like the album cover though - so many albums with that kind of thing now. Really reminds me of Zoomer by Schneider TM or that recent one by Phil Selway from Radiohead.

xposts

Fever, can you pull some descriptive quotes from ILX about these albums?

again it's hard to pull a "standout track" from the harvey milk album but here's a sample track that's fairly representative:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ta0RdajnegU&feature=related

is this the happy xx?

It felt like a kind of weird Scandipop attempt at doing Sade to me.

yeahhhh quadron! i CANED this over the summer - perfect for easing those hangovers in weather too hot to breathe. an album that kind of hangs in the heat and just shimmers slightly.

buster keaton
pressure

No, but other people can. xps to lj

that quadron record was on Andy K's end of year list, right?

it was andy k mentioning them offhand in the sideways r&b thread that turned me on to them

i love that you'd never actually guess they were scandinavian if you didn't know

That one about fitting into your old jeans was the one I put in my neo-soul mix when I was on heavily on that tip a few months ago.

recent harvey milk a relative disappointment after life...

good band though

Quadron comes up as 2009 on spotify, ha. Seems a little bland on first listen.

these spare neo-soul acts leave me cold...which may be the point, which I'm missing completely

would like to request that people mostly use youtube links instead of youtube embeds in this thread, since long threads with lots of embeds crash/hang browsers for a lot of people

Quadron was released in Denmark in 2009, and gets in on a technicality by having been released in the US/UK in 2010.

this Harvey Milk song kicks assssssss

dig "pressure" from that quadron album. "slippin" isn't bad either. jackson 5 via the XX.

Is anyone else super curious where Glasser (and also maybe Chemical Brothers) is going to place?

this Harvey Milk song kicks assssssss

yeah, "i got up alone" was the HM track i was thinking of posting. it's good, very representative. if you dig it, you'll dig the whole album. personally, i like it when they aren't trying to be so deliberately difficult. the cloud of crushing doom and despair makes the pop and "metal" moments so astounding - when they choose to let them in.

Like I really have no idea if it's going to pop up today or wind up being #4 or something.

quadron is surprisingly not bad. much better than the xx.

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ePwDySjVdyo/TTv2zcO40gI/AAAAAAAAAWI/UVisoidPOXY/rihanna.jpg

75. RIHANNA — Loud (244 points, 9 votes)
P&J: 271st
Pitchfork: DNP
Spotify: listen

figure glasser will place in the 20s. no idea about chem bros.

Quadron album is a bit... XX meets Joss Stone imo. Not feeling it.

[ducks, covers]

do like how the solo in "i got alone" is basically a visit from the residents

I really like the idea of a doom band throwing in strutting pop movements, so I'll clearly have to listen to HM a little more assiduously. I have 'Life...' on my computer

ah rihanna. does anyone really think that album brought much new to the party or were they just filling their ballot with stuff they were always going to? :P

haaa

er, "i alone got..."

honestly so surprised that anyone has time for that rihanna album...it's so lazy and tossed-together and inadequate. kind of like "hello pop listeners! you can forget that Angry Rihanna ever existed! there is only Happy Rihanna!" except it's way too forced and heavy-handed to actually succeed in the same way that her old sunny reggae stuff did. i guess "only girl (in the world)" is, er, really catchy?

ilx can be very unimaginative, sometimes

quadron are kinda breezy and fun on the basis of the two songs Lex has youtubed, can see how a whole album's worth might start dragging tho

but then it's not the first time a pop act has followed in introspective, dark and somewhat daring effort with a safe, conservative follow-up

P&J: 220th
Pitchfork: DNP

Fuck P&J and Fuck Pitchfork.

― Algerian Goalkeeper, Monday, 31 January 2011 16:08 (25 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

can I politely request you refrain from doing this throughout the entire thread thx

i generally feel like too many singles get votes when they're really album tracks, but the Rihanna album is def an example of that in reverse. a couple great singles but not an album I'd ever consider voting for

mencap otm

just annoys me that there will be albums of lesser exposure outside of the 77 with a small but utterly passionate following and yet the ILM consensus ropes in the usual suspects

apart from that, am eager to discover new things here!

Didn't get into the Rihanna album at all. Rated R is still one of the albums I play a lot from 2009 but apart from the singles I found Loud really forgettable.

lex: ever figured that she may just be happier?

made it as far as a drake verse. dunno if it would be worth going further.

just annoys me that there will be albums of lesser exposure outside of the 77 with a small but utterly passionate following and yet the ILM consensus ropes in the usual suspects

the albums placing right now are getting 8-12 votes, i think that counts as a small and enthusiastic following - unless you want albums that only like 3 people rep for to place? i don't like loud but i know of a few people who really do.

but then it's not the first time a pop act has followed in introspective, dark and somewhat daring effort with a safe, conservative follow-up

yeah, i really need to lower my expectations when a pop artist releases their most daring & interesting work and just accept their next album is going to be a bit rubbish, as history shows.

lex: ever figured that she may just be happier?

oh sure, it's just the way it cleaves to the most obvious pop trends is really uninspired.

just annoys me that there will be albums of lesser exposure outside of the 77 with a small but utterly passionate following and yet the ILM consensus ropes in the usual suspects

There'll be a load of stuff with a small and passionate following, 77 is a lot of albums, and 75th place is really low for a pop star of Rihanna's standing.

Quadron album isn't nearly as interesting as it wants to be.

it's hard to be creative when you're happy. not even joking.

an album that kind of hangs in the heat and just shimmers slightly.

Listening a bit more I can sort of see this, there are some subtle touches that are really nice, but it does definitely get lost in a bit of a middle-of-the-road drippiness at times.

it's hard to be creative when you're happy. not even joking.

how many points did the #1 album get?

Happy Rihanna >>>> Angry Rihanna

fwiw i think the quadron is a real summer album - i haven't gone back to it once since the weather got cold

would like to see a passionate defence of the rihanna album. then would like to suggest a change to the weighted voting structure - first place 50 points, second 40, third 30, fourth 25 then 5 onwards is 20-1

an album that 5 or 6 people rep for but that they all rep HARD for is worthy of a place in the poll imo

Happy Rihanna >>>> Angry Rihanna

if Happy Rihanna = "if it's lovin' that you want", "umbrella", "pon de replay" and "break it off", sure.

Harvey Milk: I like this in theory, but lack the attention span to make it through
Quadron: The vocals are not my thing
Rhianna: I like the couple tracks I've heard, but probably not enough to spend a lot of time with the album.

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ePwDySjVdyo/TTv7EuvlJTI/AAAAAAAAAYc/5fmx9g54ZHE/zolajesus.jpg

74. ZOLA JESUS — Stridulum II (244 points, 10 votes)
P&J: 233rd
Pitchfork: 37th
Spotify: listen

it's hard to be creative when you're happy. not even joking.

This is the laziest bullshit position ever.

LJ i don't think that would do much except encourage collusion and 'strategic voting' even more

umbrella doesn't so much happy as hard and defiant. which is what rihanna does best!

it's hard to be creative when you're happy. not even joking.

wait for real? Just you, or, like, everyone ever?

A SB that 5 or 6 people rep for but that they all rep HARD for is worthy of a place in the hole imo

Wow, thought Zola Jesus had a bigger following than that. She strikes me as a singer who really needs to work with some decent electronic producers - amazing voice, decent songwriting, really boring samey generic synth backing.

there was a lot of complaining recently in the P&J thread about "indie" voters who lazily rubberstamp songs from their album favorites onto their singles ballot. is there a similar sense of frustration with pop voters who rubberstamp shoddy/uneven albums simply because they happen to include few beloved tracks?

Stridulum EP probably gets more votes than this one...

The idea that nine people on this board might sincerely like that Rihanna album is being foolishly dismissed here.

zola jesus is p terrible you guys

I managed to not hear much Zola Jesus solo last year (heard a few collaborations), so let's give this a go...

Hmm, gothy.

is there a similar sense of frustration with pop voters who rubberstamp shoddy/uneven albums simply because they happen to include few beloved tracks?

it would if it wasn't as low as #75!

We housed everything with the Stridulum II nomination (since it includes all of Stridulum and most of the Valusia EP).

Surprised to see the album here but not Night in the tracks poll. It feels like I only need one Zola Jesus song to get the whole idea.

Zola Jesus cover is <3 - Have no idea what this will sound like but I'm excited. Is their name a dedication to 'Franco?

Didn't vote for the Zola Jesus cos some of it wasn't really all that, but some of the tracks are just fine by me:

Sea Talk

I Can't Stand

We housed everything with the Stridulum II nomination (since it includes all of Stridulum and most of the Valusia EP).

Wow...sounds like the rest of ILM was as meh toward her as I am.

If pop fans hadn't voted for Rihanna, I bet Sylvester Anfang II would be #75 with a bullet. Or not.

Wow, thought Zola Jesus had a bigger following than that. She strikes me as a singer who really needs to work with some decent electronic producers - amazing voice, decent songwriting, really boring samey generic synth backing.

― Matt DC, Monday, January 31, 2011 8:47 AM (13 seconds ago) Bookmark

glad to see zola jesus place. her thread never got a lot of attention, so i didn't think that she had much of a chance. i'm conflicted about the "decent electronic producers" suggestion, because, yeah, i wouldn't be surprised and it could certainly help her rope in fans. but i genuinely love her early recordings, when that huge voice is just buried in a lo-fi ambient-industrial cloud.

Surprised to see the album here but not Night in the tracks poll. It feels like I only need one Zola Jesus song to get the whole idea.

― I've been dancing since 9 and I'm tired and hungry (Dorianlynskey), Monday, January 31, 2011 8:50 AM (15 seconds ago) Bookmark

yeah, that's the way i figured it'd go.

Tbh, I thought Surm was the only one who was huge on that Rihanna album.

it's hard to be creative when you're happy. not even joking.

wait for real? Just you, or, like, everyone ever?

― vienn?tta (Stevie D(eux)), Monday, 31 January 2011 16:46 (3 minutes ago) Bookmark

Just personal experience. And I guess it fits the desperate/starving artist stereotype too.

From what I heard of Zola Jesus, I wasn't sold. I'm on the fence about the minimal synth revival. Sometimes it works, sometimes it sounds like an excuse to sing lazily over a bad Yamaha rhythm.

"is there a similar sense of frustration with pop voters who rubberstamp shoddy/uneven albums simply because they happen to include few beloved tracks?"

it would if it wasn't as low as #75!

― lextasy refix (lex pretend), Monday, January 31, 2011 8:50 AM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark

wasn't directing that at the rihanna album specifically, just at the discussion about it. it's a general question.

terrible LJ posts itt

wait haha wasn't zola jesus a massive DiS favourite

splains a lot, listening to it now. DARKCHILLWITCHWAVEHOUSESTEPTHING

deej if it's any consolation I think you're one of the worst ILM posters full stop, nsb

Quite liked the first two tracks on the Zola Jesus album, got bored and stopped halfway through the third.

zola jesus really reminded me of ladyhawke voice-wise

it's hard to be creative when you're happy is probably very true for some people and not at all for others - the end.

Don't think you could really file Zola Jesus under 'lazy singing' dog latin.

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ePwDySjVdyo/TTv6148txrI/AAAAAAAAAX8/-iwFvF5saG8/thirdeyefoundation.jpg

73. THIRD EYE FOUNDATION — The Dark (246 points, 8 votes, 2 first place votes)
P&J: 497th
Pitchfork: DNP
Spotify: listen

honestly so surprised that anyone has time for that rihanna album...it's so lazy and tossed-together and inadequate. kind of like "hello pop listeners! you can forget that Angry Rihanna ever existed! there is only Happy Rihanna!" except it's way too forced and heavy-handed to actually succeed in the same way that her old sunny reggae stuff did. i guess "only girl (in the world)" is, er, really catchy?

― lextasy refix (lex pretend), Monday, January 31, 2011 10:33 AM (18 minutes ago)

lex embarrasingly otm ^^

that zola jesus comp is great, i love both stridulum and valusia, and "sea talk" ended up squeaking into the bottom part of my tracks list

deej if it's any consolation I think you're one of the worst ILM posters full stop, nsb

lol does this stand for "no suggest ban"?? classic!

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSs

Wait, what? What year is this?

SHUT UP AND LISTEN TO THIS ALBUM

btw this was the one I was talking about, should never have doubted you, ILX

my #1

why are you calling out our resident utd fan lj?

lol that wasn't to you emil.y

Just personal experience. And I guess it fits the desperate/starving artist stereotype too.

― Bernard V. O'Hare (dog latin), Monday, January 31, 2011 8:52 AM (1 minute ago) Bookmark

in my personal experience, the opposite is true. when i'm miserable, it's very hard to do anything, much less create. hell, it's even hard to make art when i'm merely content. art, ime, only really works when i'm excited by and engaged with life. that can happen in the midst of difficult circumstances, but there has to be a core of joyful engagement with life and with other people.

Yeah, what is nsb?

I was a little unfair on ZJ - Sea Talk is also fantastic.

Don't think you could really file Zola Jesus under 'lazy singing' dog latin.

― seminal fuiud (NickB), Monday, 31 January 2011 16:56 (1 minute ago) Bookmark

Ain't actually heard the album, this was a cut on a compilation of similar stuff. I think ZJ contribution was one of the highlights though, so I will get hold of the album.

ilxor correctly interpreted nsb

Anyway, I'm happy now. Thought that one wouldn't place, am sated.

'Closure' is the single track I'd recommend btw

lol oh yeah it would be nbs if i was correk

Wait, what? What year is this?

― emil.y, Monday, 31 January 2011 16:57 (1 minute ago) Bookmark

Haha! My thoughts when I saw 3EF too.

This TEF album sounds pretty awesome so far but I have to stop listening as someone I know is on Come Dine With Me RIGHT NOW OMG.

Semtex was good

deej if it's any consolation I think you're one of the worst ILM posters full stop, nsb

― acoleuthic, Monday, January 31, 2011 10:55 AM (6 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

seems a lil harsh dude

I don't know who Third Eye Foundation are but for a minute I was thinking it was that band that did Semi Charmed Life.

i think trying to rejigger the poll results so rihanna doesnt make it is lame, is all

rejagger

"Closure" reminds me of that Venetian Snares track where he samples the Bartok string quartet.

ok sry deej but plz quit it with the whole interpersonal attax postingstyle, it's rly dismaying :(

here is what i said about the ALBUM OF THE YEAR (above)

lol

yeah srsly, at first I was all 'this is some neat dark electro' and then halfway thru part 2 I was basically reduced to 'my god this is the end of days'

― schlomo replay (acoleuthic), Wednesday, 15 December 2010 15:05 (1 month ago)

nsb = furnace abbrev

listening to "if you treat us all like terrorists..."

nice. are the strings meant to sound this muddy? love the cycling droning horn noise, sounds like it was sculpted out of a muezzin's call or something.

I mean Elgar cello concerto.

its an interpersonal attack 2 say that trying to electioneer rihanna out of the results is lame?

whats the diff between 'persona' & 'interpersonal'

As I said, I was worried my #1 would be obscured by an album that by common consent is a step backwards and has no #1 votes...but now it's turned up so soon after, have made my peace with Rihanna and her fans tbh

I mean Elgar cello concerto.

<3 <3 <3 elgar cello concerto

i used to think deej was evil, but then i realized we just disagree about stuff (such as how to disagree)

I don't know who Third Eye Foundation are but for a minute I was thinking it was that band that did Semi Charmed Life.

― Kitchen Person, Monday, January 31, 2011 12:03 PM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark

whats the diff between 'persona' & 'interpersonal'

'intrapersonal' is the one that always gets me

Cool to see Third Eye Blind here, didn't realize they were still around. Doot doot doot, doot da-doot doot.

trying to kip but this 3rd eye shit sounds like something that dudes who still wear raver pants in 2010 think sounds 'deep'

at least its better than zola jesus

Here's that Venetian Snares track. Much more emo/dark than I remember--thanks, college.

the key with 3EF is the sense of acceleration - you're thrown headlong into the abyss, whole thing's a 40-minute piece rly

contenderizer - for fear of derailing - I find when I'm happy I get complacent about things like making music. Ideas don't seem to come to me as I'm too content and sort of distracted. If I'm going through a miserable phase, I can pick up a guitar or get on Reason and ideas come from nowhere. I pin all my problems on creativity, using it as a release. This is kind of a problem as in 2007 when my girlfriend of the time split up with me and then I lost my job, I ended up writing and recording about a song a week. This was to the detriment of finding a job and err... showering. I stopped writing music almost entirely when I met my current girlfriend, with a little peak when I was made redundant.

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ePwDySjVdyo/TTv2_JQQMgI/AAAAAAAAAWs/KdALH3GGFhY/tallestman.jpg

(TIE) 71. THE TALLEST MAN ON EARTH — The Wild Hunt (250 points, 8 votes)
P&J: 40th
Pitchfork: 33rd
Spotify: listen

'Closure' off that Third Eye Foundation album sounds a lot like someone's put some beats over 'The Sinking of the Titanic'.

^^ the dullest album on earth

I usually can't stand more than 10 minutes of guy-and-an-acoustic-guitar stuff but happily listened through this entire album multiple times. King of Spain was my fave.

never heard of it.

i like the tallest man on earth. though i am taller than him iirc

you linked the wrong album, jf!

we reviewed one of the songs off that tallest man on earth album on the jukebox, it was the WORST. his VOICE, intolerable.

xps yes it was "king of spain" :/

Oops! Maybe someone can link the right one? I'm just linking what seandalai sent me.

Whiny-voiced acoustica herein

I think I heard this guy's first album, but it didn't make an impression. "King of Spain" sounds like a more Starbucks-friendly Devendra Banhart.

'Closure' off that Third Eye Foundation album sounds a lot like someone's put some beats over 'The Sinking of the Titanic'.

― seminal fuiud (NickB), Monday, January 31, 2011 9:11 AM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark

hate to disappoint a jagger, but this ^^^

surprised this needs to be said but obv i dont have anything against lj

a more Starbucks-friendly Devendra Banhart

apparently you haven't heard recent devendra banhart albums? already v much sbux friendly

surprised this needs to be said but obv i dont have anything against lj

ilxor, on the other hand

and I wouldn't have anything against you if you didn't single people out - and I know it's normally not me - but single people out for 'real talk' treatment!

weird mix of emotions so far itp

king of spain guy isn't awful but isn't will oldham and he cleeeeeearly wants to be

will oldham isnt even will oldham anymore

"king of spain" - shit, dude can play. endorse the fingers on strings aspect... but fuck! that voice. wtf, tall man? sticking with it. and it's okay, once you allow for the fact that dude's gonna be sneezing all over the track like that. it's better than okay, really. not my thing by any stretch, but i'd be lying if i said i hated it. i mean, i want to hate it, but can't quite.

i don't think TMOE guy wants to be oldham at all, not on that "king of spain" track anyway. he wants to be some kind of dylan/jens leckman midpoint.

i don't think he wants to be will oldham so much as dylan if dylan only wrote songs like "Love Minus Zero/No Limit" etc

dylan hongro

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ePwDySjVdyo/TTv1v8vy5gI/AAAAAAAAAVc/3wkfLPnMdiM/kylieminogue.jpg

(TIE) 71. KYLIE MINOGUE — Aphrodite (250 points, 8 votes)
P&J: 193rd
Pitchfork: DNP
Spotify: listen

I kinda like this. Its unashamedly "Dylan-y"

Blimey. Kylie had an album out last year? I'm so out of touch.

Close to taking a screenshot of Kylie and "unashamedly 'Dylan-y'" in the next post.

Tallest Man is emulating what Dylan haters claim Bob's voice sounds like.

Guessing it's not "unashamedly Dylan-y" tho.

"a lion's heart" similarly evokes 60s/70s singer-songwriter folkies, primarily dylan. with, yeah, lots of devendra in the vocal. am coming to terms with the fact that i actually like this shit.

multiple xps: could think of a lot worse things to say about a piece of music than "someone's put some beats over 'The Sinking of the Titanic'" tbf

Tallest Man is emulating what Dylan haters claim Bob's voice sounds like.

― EZ Snappin, Monday, January 31, 2011 9:25 AM (20 seconds ago) Bookmark

^^^

his voice is dylanesque but his playing is quite will oldham imo

anyway he's a folky dude, can write songs, not bad

Got 3 tracks into Zola Jesus. Okay at first then started to wear on me tbh.

I liked that one Kylie single and then never got around to checking the album out.

^^^

that is the worst kylie album i've heard, it sounds like she's on autopilot (and i'm speaking having heard everything from Light Years on fwd)

lion's heart is probably my favorite on there yeah

he's obv channeling dylan with the vocals but he's way more interested in melody/harmony than dylan ever was, most of his songs are downright pretty if you ignore the vocal timbre

Listening to "All The Lovers" off the Kylie and it's good. I'm pretty Kylie ambivalent, but at least this is a good cut. Next one I should play, Kylie voters?

guitar on "a lion's heart" started out reminding me of fahey (for like 10 seconds), wound up sounding hella like arlo guthrie circa hobo's lulabye.

'Get Outta My Way' is good (but I'm not a Kylie voter) xp

If I want modern folkie with tunes and skillz I'd pick Johnny Flynn over Tallest Man.

his voice is dylanesque but his playing is quite will oldham imo

I'm an Oldham fan and all, but will can barely play at all and TMOE is really very proficient. I don't see any connection here at all.

that is the worst kylie album i've heard, it sounds like she's on autopilot (and i'm speaking having heard everything from Light Years on fwd)

yeah i forgot kylie even released an album this year. she's obviously in the stage of her career where she's just making music for her fans, the people who are into her for whatever qualities they think she possesses, and i was never one of those.

I voted for this one. Unjustly ignored album by American gays - assume the straights are a lost cause, though obviously she had her moment with Fever - is it that she's too old? Too eurodance? Get Outta My Way and Put Your Hands Up should have been huge. I love how the instrumentation and vocals move back and forth across each other in the verse--not sure exactly which part of the track you're supposed to pay attention to because they are both so catchy. God knows an occasional spin of this would be better than the continued perpetuation of the Katy Perry/Kesha/Gaga three-headed monster that has dominated clubs the last year.

The Kylie album is nice enough but X was such a more varied and interesting album even if though it was a little patchy. I think she was aiming to do what Madonna did with Confessions, making a straight forward dance record that her loyal fans would go crazy for.

though obviously she had her moment with Fever

For a split second, I thought you were referring to ME. But, it's true...she did have her moment with me. Many times. I might have voted for Aphrodite, but I can't remember. And if I did, it was probably well down my ballot. Would've given "All the Lovers" big points if it had been nominated, tho.

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ePwDySjVdyo/TTv6_71UhvI/AAAAAAAAAYQ/1FMV_ZnnsxU/warpaint.jpg

70. WARPAINT — The Fool (250 points, 9 votes)
P&J: 102nd
Pitchfork: DNP
Spotify: listen

re, kylie's question in "get outta my way": the worst thing that could happen to me would be if i were skinned alive and then set on fire probably. drowning seems bad too, but less painful.

song is okayish dance pop, but sadly generic

Fever is pretty much the only Kylie that casual fans need; after that, i'd say explore fwd or backward 1-2 albums in her oeuvre if yr still curious. the new one is nowhere near Confessions-level ecstasy.

warpaint album never really "clicked" w/ me but i like it when it's playing

Pitchfork: DNP

:O

xpost me neither, for all the hype it just sounded like music.

Yet to see anything I feel strongly about.

enjoy the sound of warpaint while it's on but it never sticks with me - in isolation each cut flops slightly, i think the songs just aren't there? i guess they could make a better album in the future.

I really like that Warpaint art but I once saw them on the cover of the NME - who to trust????

Would've given "All the Lovers" big points if it had been nominated, tho.

If I had heard it before 10 minutes ago I would have too. Great song. "Get Outta My Way" didn't hit me at all on first listen mere moments ago.

love warpaint's "elephants", with the noisy psychedelic guitar flourishes butting up against elements swiped of the raincoats. cool sound. didn't like any of the album tracks i subsequently heard anywhere near as much, so i never followed up. wanted very much to like them.

ELEFANTS

I can't even remember what Warpaint sound like now I come to think of it. I am thinking they're a bit like the YYYs or something?

"...swiped off the raincoats."

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ePwDySjVdyo/TTv2-XaQdCI/AAAAAAAAAWc/q4PpDj8SoL4/sunaraw.jpg

69. SUN ARAW — On Patrol (252 points, 8 votes)
P&J: 168th
Pitchfork: DNP
Spotify: listen

am quite enjoying warpaint!!

^^ awesome record

i like the album cover. what is it?

christ it's fucking long

NICE

I wasn't sure On Patrol was going to place. Love this album. Perfect when it was hot out. Great album to just chill and relax too.
nice to see 7 other people dug it as well

definitely never heard of this.

I am contributing to this thread.

Warpaint are okay, nothing special. Will give them a bit more of a chance but just want to say COOL that Sun Araw made it - not heard the album but liked them a lot live.

oh fuck this reminds me of that Popol Vuh track from "Nosferatu"

Okay many many xposts. Really liked the first track on Third Eye Foundation, will listen to rest tmrw.

I feel like all my favorite music this year either sounded like Spacemen 3 or Popol Vuh

^^ awesome record

― the new mordant & zingy ilxor persona (ilxor), Monday, January 31, 2011 9:45 AM (1 minute ago) Bookmark

shit yah. #3 on my ballot, wasn't sure it'd place. and i thought you were into the epic jamz, lj. suffer for the art.

sun araw is nice but not v special be kinda bummed if thats the most chillwave record itl

reimagining the 80s through death, yesterday. 'beach head' was better, w/e

hahahaha I wasn't saying the length was a bad thing! am listening now.

I feel like all my favorite music this year either soundeds like Spacemen 3 or Popol Vuh

ya p much

xp:

Sort of shame that Warpaint's The Fool didn't reprise "Elephant" and "Billy Holiday" off the Exquisite Corpse EP. As it is the album is too frontloaded for complete listenthrus. I don't mind their long proggy melodies, but would prefer a bit of tunefulness to leaven the dough of the long middle.

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ePwDySjVdyo/TTv2BdGADiI/AAAAAAAAAVs/Xvs7UiMPa08/noage.jpg

68. NO AGE — Everything in Between (256 points, 11 votes)
P&J: 36th
Pitchfork: 13th

^^ liked the 4-song No Age EP last year but haven't listened much to this yet

I have irrational dislike of No Age as I saw them doing a shitty shitty shit show full of reprehensible Vice-reading wankers and they came across as major-league assholes.

Yeah, I don't get the fuss over No Age at all. I do like that album art, tho.

One time I threw the guitarist from No Age into a pool. That was fun.

the only no age show i've seen was w/ bob mould on vocals, doing lots of husker du covers-- was great

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ePwDySjVdyo/TTwD-qaLVyI/AAAAAAAAAZY/Bl_Vq9JQoxc/gayngs.jpg

67. GAYNGS — Relayted (258 points, 10 votes)
P&J: 461st
Pitchfork: DNP
Spotify: listen

sun araw is pretty cool, 2 1/2 songs in!

no age were a blast when i saw them -- never got around to listening to this album for some reason -- still love weirdo rippers tho

^^ naptiyme

gayngs album is cool, kinda overlong & all one mood but it def does have its high points

i liked the gayngs track on traxlist, i'll have to check this out when i can

^^^

i wanted to like the album as a whole way more than i did -- sorta thing where "gaudy side of town" knocked me out, then i got into two other tracks & kinda expected the whole thing to stick but it never did -- i might've voted for it at the bottom of my ballot tho

dig that kylie album a lot and it's very good running music, that and 'barking' were my workout jams this past year.

"cry" on the gayngs album is a cover right?

The optimal time to hear this record is at 2am, preferably with a whiskey/coke and a pack of Camels (if you drink and/or smoke).

whoa this is flying huh

Yeah, "Cry" is a Godley & Creme cover.

some stuff i'd never heard of in the countdown so far; will check out tmrw prob

good cover

don't like no age, which bothers me cuz it's exactly the sort of thing i think i ought to like. weirdo rippers was okay, nouns step or two down from that, and nothing i've heard from the new one has meant a thing to me. do plan to pick up the gayngs eventually, cuz i quite like both "the gaudy side of town" and their "cry" cover.

Don't have time to keep up with this, I'll do a roundup post later on. Don't think anything I voted for has placed yet, though Sun Araw was a late cut from my ballot.

Sorry about the wrong Spotify link for TMOE!

here we go!

It feels like I only need one Zola Jesus song to get the whole idea.

unfortunately OTM, also the "she needs better backing band" comment

nothing else I feel very partial towards yet, guess I should check out Sun Araw.

i can see sun araw being to yr tastes, sleeve

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ePwDySjVdyo/TTvz1qjpxYI/AAAAAAAAAUU/nBgoXz4TYEo/guccimane.jpg

66. GUCCI MANE — Mr. Zone 6 (260 points, 9 votes)
P&J: 352nd
Pitchfork: DNP

i still think that is a fairly dry & undynamic gucci release

((d-_-b))

i went crazy for this one back when it dropped like a whole damn year ago -- i still think it's one of the best rap albums of the last 3 years or so -- deej doesn't really agree w/ me tho

good album cover imo

fyi deej an olive branch of sorts is extended here http://www.ilxor.com/ILX/ThreadSelectedControllerServlet?showall=true&bookmarkedmessageid=2330791&boardid=77&threadid=69780

still feelin ashamed

i still think that is a fairly dry & undynamic gucci release

kind of agree - a few tracks aside it didn't grab me. i wonder if jewelry selection will place?

dont think so, this one got more love & i didnt vote

In my top 3. 'Normal', 'Rooftop', 'You Know What It Is' 'Makin Love To The Money'. Dropped during the World Cup and thus was the soundtrack to an incredibly happy time for me.

'long money' is awesome

"long money" is the jam -- there's still some crazy ass writing on some of these songs

we really shouldn't debate this again in public tho

keep in in the goon thread, boys

what's the indie thread we're supposed to tell you to keep it in for your posts about 90% of the albums on this list?

liking a lot of this: "you know what it is", "long money", "mr. zone 6", "dats my life". think i prefer the first couple of those to "lemonade", which placed in trax poll. need to spend more time w it though.

what's the indie thread we're supposed to tell you to keep it in for your posts about 90% of the albums on this list?

well considering i haven't voted for anything that's placed...

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ePwDySjVdyo/TTv2-3VizpI/AAAAAAAAAWg/XtKilOMdgn4/suncitygirls.jpg

65. SUN CITY GIRLS — Funeral Mariachi (260 points, 9 votes, 2 first place votes)
P&J: 71st
Pitchfork: DNP

^^what is that? title intrigues.

last hurrah for weirdo experimental rock band. you prob wouldn't like.

I understand why people love these guys but their music has never grabbed me.

SCG is a name I've seen mentioned for years and years, but I don't think I've ever heard a note.

last hurrah for weirdo experimental rock band. you prob wouldn't like.

well considering lex took to swans... someone post a link to that record's best moment (i havent heard it yet) and let's see.....!

when i finally checked out torch of the mystics (which is where the uninitiated are generally told to start) i was underwhelmed.

yeah there's tons of similarities between swans and scg.

oh wait not really.

lex how do you feel abt spaghetti western scores?

yeah there's tons of similarities between swans and scg.

oh wait not really.

yr missing my point & probably realize that but w/e, at least you posted a "zing"

::sigh::

TOO LOW GOD DAMN IT

this was the best record release last year imo

lex how do you feel abt spaghetti western scores?

i like them i guess. i like mariachi touches. i don't mind noisy music, but i am pretty hungover today :/

i kinda forgot about it, i wish i'd voted for it!

xp eh give it a shot then

YOUTUBE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=du0OvBTfKW4&playnext=1&list=PL0CB815C1A8CCFCB3

dammit that was supposed to be a link! forgot abt the auto-embed, sorry y'all

put this near the bottom of my albums ballot, glad it got some <3

skip the first track on it and there's nothing I'd call noisy on there (ymmv I guess)

I like SCG but their music has kind of been eclipsed by the other stuff they put out on the Sublime Frequencies label

disagree strongly w/that, nothing on SF sounds like 'Dante's Disneyland inferno"

Have been a fan of the Sun City Girls for years but I'm ashamed to say that I've still not heard that album. Did it get released on CD?

Only thing I've voted for so far is the Sun Araw which reminded me a fair bit of SCG in places.

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ePwDySjVdyo/TTv61l8T3HI/AAAAAAAAAX0/d2b98QnvsGY/theradiodept.jpg

64. THE RADIO DEPT. — Clinging to a Scheme (266 points, 11 votes)
P&J: 88th
Pitchfork: DNP

funeral mariachi definitely ranks among their finest work. should have placed higher.

great album! didnt vote for it tho

yes, Funeral Mariachi is now available on CD - nice gatefold mini-LP package. (xp)

when i finally checked out torch of the mystics (which is where the uninitiated are generally told to start) i was underwhelmed.

― call all destroyer, Monday, January 31, 2011 10:41 AM (1 minute ago) Bookmark

take another chance on the new one, cad. i like torch, but funeral mariachi is far and away my favorite SCG. was my #1 pick here (and who else's?).

some tracks:

VINE STREET PIANO
BLACK ORCHID
BLUE WEST
HOLY GROUND

love Dante's Disneyland Inferno but it was 14 years ago, and there has been a flood of great stuff coming out of their label, I think 64 releases and counting

voted for sun araw and no age. no age album really grew on me but it took a while.

listened to the sun city girls album once, thought it sounded pretty awesome at first but it's really samey tbh, kinda weird for a band that has so many sounds

i really like that sun city girls track! i love music with so much space in it and i love music that's evocative of deserts, this is both. fantastic feeling of stillness in it.

wow i didn't know the radio dept. would be so big here. there are some cool tunes on that album.

cntndrzr i'll check those out later, thx.

xps -

Dan S, OK I see your point about how the label's where most of their creativity is going these days.

Contenderizer it was my #1 as well, as my good-natured outrage over its placing probably indicates

the radio dept. (along with about half the trax results) makes me think that 2010 was waaaaay more 80s than i'd previously suspected

see also: chillwave

kinda loving "heaven's on fire" though

SCG would've placed top 3 for me, if I had remembered to vote

that and "Video Dept" are by far the best tracks on the album. Made the bottom of my top 25, great ambience but not enough top notch songs for such a short album.

yeah that's basically how i feel about it.

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ePwDySjVdyo/TTv3IS7DJPI/AAAAAAAAAW8/xnQzcCMNGyU/theknife.jpg

63. THE KNIFE — Tomorrow, In a Year (270 points, 8 votes, 1 first place vote)
P&J: 232nd
Pitchfork: DNP
Spotify: listen

excellent

Liking 2 of the SSG's youtubes posted itt. Moving onto the third now.

that and "Video Dept" are by far the best tracks on the album. Made the bottom of my top 25, great ambience but not enough top notch songs for such a short album.

― skip, Monday, January 31, 2011 11:00 AM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark

"a token of gratitude" is pretty nice, too, but yeah, a bit indistinct.

Am listening to Sun City Girls, very good! Glad that sleeve and contenderizer's #1 made it, Rihanna further absolved. :)

Tomorrow, In A Year is really, really excellent. If I'd voted in March it'd have been my #1.

okay where are sun city girls from?! am just streaming "black orchid" now and was surprised to hear them singing in Malay/Bahasa Indonesia... they're random phrases that don't make that much sense though.

(songs are pretty great too, loving it so far).

Liking 2 of the SSG's youtubes posted itt. Moving onto the third now.

― waka flocka flamini (pandemic), Monday, January 31, 2011 11:06 AM (33 seconds ago) Bookmark

third might involve a hurdle, if it's "black orchid". fair warning.

lol xp

they're from arizona originally but have famously mined music from se asia and elsewhere.

okay where are sun city girls from?!

they're from phoenix az but are from lebanese ancestry iirc

xp

lewis's #1?

ah okay. It's kinda hilarious - it definitely sounds like people who have listened to indonesian songs without understanding them, just mimicking the phonetics.

It was 'black orchid' I was moving onto, and hey I really dug it.

okay where are sun city girls from?!

AZ, as said. they are (or maybe were, depending on your view of such things) p much internationalists. one of em runs the sublime frequences label (world music shiz).

formed in Phoenix. the label is now in Seattle I think

it definitely sounds like people who have listened to indonesian songs without understanding them, just mimicking the phonetics.

I think this is otm, you can also hear this approach in "Ben's Radio" off of the same LP.

Listening to The Radio Dept. "Heaven's On Fire" and, while it's a good and catchy little ditty, I'm disappointed it's not a Kiss cover.

The next album is going to make lex so happy...

xxp yeah at least one of the bishops is in seattle now

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ePwDySjVdyo/TTv9Bp8g4mI/AAAAAAAAAY4/HZ0ZDHaSo_Q/thenational.jpg

62. THE NATIONAL — High Violet (270 points, 9 votes)
P&J: 8th
Pitchfork: 28th
Spotify: listen

ha

jeez all of my votes are ending up in this 4th quintile. The first CD of the Knife is, well, difficult. But after you make it through the first half your hearing has adjusted and what might sound like the nine-minute academic exercises in isolation on the 2nd CD feel like you just put on Body Talk. This is serious electronic pop fronted by people who can actually sing. For all the justified whining about Tallest Man on Earth, this entire countdown is full of Tallest Men on Earth compared to the opera singers on TIAY. Real vocal performances are not something you get to hear in a pop context very often, especially when they involve people who are already so accomplished in the pop realm. I would pay a ton of money to hear this performed live.

The next album is going to make lex so happy...

to see a band with such ridiculous consensus elsewhere place so low, yeah it does!

nice. tomorrow in a year. loved it so much

i dont get the national but whatever. this is a great list so far. im excited to check out sun city girls. ive heard a lot of great things but havnt checked them out yet

SCG have been doing world music fakeouts for a long time, this mariachi song from '87 contains the words "no habla espanol"

Youtube here

keep hoping TIAY will come to the u.s. at some point but not holding my breath

T,IAY Disc One is fucking incredible. Much as Disc 2 has some wonderful highlights (well, all of it except 'Seeds' if we're being honest), Disc One is the kinda shit that gets me very, very excited.

and hey, 'Seeds' isn't bad at all

plz plz plz refrain from actually embedding youtubes

i still haven't felt compelled to listen to high violet despite enjoying previous ones, this has happened to me a bunch lately with my old indie favorites where i go from enthralled to apathetic in the time between consecutive albums. probably because all the cool shit i discover through ILX pushes it to the side in my mind

i dont get the national but whatever.

I've liked 'em in the past, but High Violet is dullsville. zzzzzz

Are we just going down to 61 today JF?

am still rly liking SCG

d'oh sorry bout yt embed

but it's cool that the placing of their swansong here is turning a bunch of ppl on to SCG, funeral mariachi is a perfect starter's portal to their bizarro world

honestly it was between that and swans alb for #1 of last year for me, and I listen to funeral mariachi way more than it takes a rope of miles for my father to guide me up to the sky

The first CD of the Knife is, well, difficult. But after you make it through the first half your hearing has adjusted and what might sound like the nine-minute academic exercises in isolation on the 2nd CD feel like you just put on Body Talk.

100% agree, otm

honestly it was between that and swans alb for #1 of last year for me, and I listen to funeral mariachi way more than it takes a rope of miles for my father to guide me up to the sky

my experience as well, also lol at Swans title rewrite

everything i've heard off that knifeco record has been impressive, if less than immediate. dug "colouring of pigeons" when it showed up in trax, and am currently digging "annie's box". gorgeous mix of vocal and instrumental tones. i never gave it a chance because so many people wrote it off as soundtracky dabbling, but this is v impressive. and "seeds" is off to a good start, too.

would snag

overreliance on dig/dug/impressive

Are we just going down to 61 today JF?

Yup.

am currently digging "annie's box".

be sure to check out both versions if you haven't already! there's one version w/ "fever ray" person on vox and another w/ the opera person that dominates the rest of the album

contenderizer, wait til you hear 'epochs', my god

'holy ground' is the most gorgeous of all the SCG tracks so far - <3

SCG would make sense as part of my 2% of music taste overlap w/ ljag (see also foetus)

this thread has definitely made me want to go back and listen to the SCG disc again

btw as with the rihanna, nobody is leaping in the defence of the national. it would make my day if someone would cogently defend it from their perspective :P

ed3, 2% is somewhat underselling it! the fall alone make up like 2% of my taste haha

it's a fair cop

anybody wondering where to get funeral mariachi, I bought a CD copy as a gift for a friend from effin best buy, so it's not exactly an obscure release

Edward III must have an awesome Best Buy that hasn't yet been slashed down to one aisle of Top 40 only releases.

(xpost)

btw as with the rihanna, nobody is leaping in the defence of the national.

Guessing that people aren't gonna come looking for a beatdown. Would you? (Well, yes you would, but you're thick-skinned.)

Ah, I assumed this thread was moving much faster than it is!

i have defended high violet elsewhere; don't really know if i'm in the mood to do it again

have a glass of red wine

Defend it by suggesting one track you think is good, and I'll listen to it

btw as with the rihanna, nobody is leaping in the defence of the national.

to quote rihanna: I'll drink to that

Ready for #61?

depends -- is it any good?

have a glass of red wine

― lilwayne.quizrewards4u.com (J0rdan S.), Monday, January 31, 2011 2:38 PM (34 seconds ago) Bookmark

lol

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ePwDySjVdyo/TTvzpk0y9VI/AAAAAAAAAT4/HLICzoXm72w/enslaved.jpg

61. ENSLAVED — Axioma Ethica Odini (272 points, 8 votes, 1 first place vote)
P&J: 127th
Pitchfork: DNP

metal, I'm guessing

someone shd fakepost MBDTF in at like 53 tomorrow

OH MY

great album, could well have voted for it if I'd given it more listens beforehand

metal yes but metal chock-full of TUNES

Whoohoo!

there are three enslaved albums better than that one, but it's still one of my favourites from 2010

yay

for those wondering if they might like Enslaved (myself included!), here's a list of Similar Artists from Allmusic.com

Similar Artists

* Darkthrone
* Mayhem
* Burzum
* Carnivore
* Death
* Exodus
* Napalm Death
* Nuclear Assault
* Overkill
* Possessed
* Prong
* Sanctuary
* Testament
* Cancer
* Deicide
* Obituary
* Edge of Sanity
* Vader
* Vital Remains
* Souls at Zero

It's fun to be able to knock out tge only stuff on my ballot I thought might place on the first day (Harvey milk, third eye foundation and enslaved). Going to be a rough one from here on out though.

that enslaved album is really really good

jjj - your'e ahead of me. Nothing has placed from my ballot.

Yeah that list of similar artists is mostly wrong imo.

there's one version w/ "fever ray" person on vox and another w/ the opera person that dominates the rest of the album

― the new mordant & zingy ilxor persona (ilxor), Monday, January 31, 2011 11:25 AM (8 minutes ago) Bookmark

have only heard the "opera person" version, love it.

re lj: checking "epochs". starting slow & low... god, i just LOVE the combo of operatic vocals and dark industrial drones. sudden dubstep!

don't get the dismissal of "seeds" though. takes its time, but eventually builds up quite a head of steam. love the housey boonka-boonk and doubled vocals towards the end. needs some ghetto bass, but other than that...

yeah that similar artists thing just looks like a random list of metal bands to me.

I mean they are similar in the sense of "these are bands that are also metal bands" but that's a pretty broad brushstroke

Ha xpost

It's fun to be able to knock out tge only stuff on my ballot I thought might place on the first day (Harvey milk, third eye foundation and enslaved). Going to be a rough one from here on out though.

hehe this applies to me too (3EF, The Knife) and yeah, am hoping to make some cool discoveries but the top 50 is gonna be mostly other ppls business

btw I'd advise a listen for all those into prog, BM or noisy melodicism. if not then ymmv

Edward III must have an awesome Best Buy that hasn't yet been slashed down to one aisle of Top 40 only releases.

er, .com, still

Okay, looking forward to people's critiques in list form (j/k this isn't as easy to do with albums as it is trax)

77. HARVEY MILK — A Small Turn of Human Kindness (240 points, 8 votes, 1 first place vote)
76. QUADRON — Quadron (240 points, 12 votes)
75. RIHANNA — Loud (244 points, 9 votes)
74. ZOLA JESUS — Stridulum II (244 points, 10 votes)
73. THIRD EYE FOUNDATION — The Dark (246 points, 8 votes, 2 first place votes)
(TIE) 71. THE TALLEST MAN ON EARTH — The Wild Hunt (250 points, 8 votes)
(TIE) 71. KYLIE MINOGUE — Aphrodite (250 points, 8 votes)
70. WARPAINT — The Fool (250 points, 9 votes)
69. SUN ARAW — On Patrol (252 points, 8 votes)
68. NO AGE — Everything in Between (256 points, 11 votes)
67. GAYNGS — Relayted (258 points, 10 votes)
66. GUCCI MANE — Mr. Zone 6 (260 points, 9 votes)
65. SUN CITY GIRLS — Funeral Mariachi (260 points, 9 votes, 2 first place votes)
64. THE RADIO DEPT. — Clinging to a Scheme (266 points, 11 votes)
63. THE KNIFE — Tomorrow, In a Year (270 points, 8 votes, 1 first place vote)
62. THE NATIONAL — High Violet (270 points, 9 votes)
61. ENSLAVED — Axioma Ethica Odini (272 points, 8 votes, 1 first place vote)

^^^awesome music itl

that enslaved album is really really good

― call all destroyer, Monday, January 31, 2011 11:43 AM (37 seconds ago) Bookmark

yup. didn't vote for it, but easily might have. only means that i break ties by going with my sentimental favorites. glad metal cru got a couple in. still hoping for christian mistress & black breath, but prob foolishly.

lj re: the nat'l, try "afraid of everyone" (i'm in a meeting and am not tracking down links, sry to be difficult). one of the stronger melodies on the record imo.

Nothing has placed from my ballot yet, but a few things I like/am interested by have come up.

Looking over my ballot, there are two I'm almost definite will come up, about three or four I'd expect to see, and the rest I will eat my hat if they show up.

still can't read the BM acronym without thinking the person is into scat, yes I'm 12

basically to like the nat'l you have to

a) like dude's voice
b) agree they have a knack for simple but effective vocal melody
c) treat their wallpapery music as an aggressive aesthetic decision

I voted Harvey Milk and 3rd Eye Foundation, and liked The Knife. Need to listen to (most of) the others.

the people I've played that Quadron disc for have liked it so much that it's made me like it more, too. It's one of the discs this year that's associated with the happiest memories.

xxp The National are like Tindersticks with all the rough edges sanded off IMO.

I like the noisy melodicism of bowel movements

aka the national

checking the national - "afraid of everyone". lovely sound, but i think i just don't much like where they're coming from. dirge coldplay is not my thing.

Things I think are *brilliant* out of that lot: T3EF, The Knife
Things I love out of that lot: Enslaved
Things I am *intrigued* by: Sun City Girls, Harvey Milk, Warpaint Sun Araw
Things I am interested to hear more of: Quadron, The Tallest Man On Earth, Kylie Minogue
Things I will check out later: The Radio Dept, No Age

all in all, fucken A

and now I listen to The National

basically to like the nat'l you have to

a) like dude's voice
b) agree they have a knack for simple but effective vocal melody
c) treat their wallpapery music as an aggressive aesthetic decision

a) take NPR or Pitchfork's music recommendations seriously
b) enjoy boring indie bands like the Walkmen, Arcade Fire, Band of Horses and Wilco
c) you're white btw

I voted the Christian Mistress record ~high as hell~ and enough others said good things about it that it wouldn't amaze me if it turned up in say the next five things on the countdown

the radio dept album so good. near the top of my ballot.

hah this list is great

feel like this would be a good time for any non-white enthusiasts of The National to post xps

most of my face is obscured with dark hair but sadly I am not liking this. you could have won my heart, the national, but you blew it

yeah i didn't really see you liking them dude

did not vote for them in this btw

The National's best album (and likely best entry point) was Alligator. imo they should've broken up immediately after it was released.

Everyone has at least two albums showing up in the top 77 btw.

a) take NPR or Pitchfork's music recommendations seriously
b) enjoy boring indie bands like the Walkmen, Arcade Fire, Band of Horses and Wilco
c) you're white btw

all good heuristics for guessing whether a particular individual likes the National, but not an explanation of why someone might like the national (unless you believe your skin color is what helps certain music sound good)

c) you're white btw

p.s. - there actually are some white ppl who post (or at least lurk) on ILX, FYI

That said, there are enough neat production touches in The National that I can see why they'd be effective in certain situations. Just doesn't have much bite to it, it's got a kinda studied softness instead. As you said, really.

Everyone has at least two albums showing up in the top 77 btw.

GOOD NEWS E'RYBODY

I still don't know what the Radio Dept. is, and that's despite seeing their name around for what seems like years. What is it that they do?

Think of all the really good albums that would have missed out if the poll was only top 50 as usual. Thanks JF & co for expanding it!

Ooooh, I listened to the first radio dept today, will check that out

have not fully caught up on thread but Sun Araw above Rihanna = I love you guyz after all

(can't actually remember if I voted for it seeing as I like it but it is no Beach Head)

back to yr scheduled ragging on indie dudes for being indie (oh hai)

Things I think are *brilliant* out of that lot: The Knife
Things I love out of that lot: Zola Jesus, Sun Araw, The Radio Dept.
Things I am *intrigued* by and/or interested to hear more of: Harvey Milk (new album, <3 them in general), Quadron, Warpaint (need to listen again), No Age (same), Sun City Girls
Things I will check out later: Third Eye Foundation, Enslaved
Things that didn't click w/ me already: Rihanna (love her, just not this album), Kylie (same)
Things that make me really go zzzzzz: The Tallest Man on Earth, Gayngs, Gucci Mane(quality over quantity plz, enough f-ing mixtapes already), The National

Everyone has at least two albums showing up in the top 77 btw.

― Daithi Lacha Flame (seandalai), Monday, January 31, 2011 11:58 AM (22 seconds ago) Bookmark

nice! ILX, where no contestant goes home empty-handed.

all good heuristics for guessing whether a particular individual likes the National

that's all i was going for! (well, and lolz)

Things that make me really go zzzzzz: ilxor posts

I still don't know what the Radio Dept. is, and that's despite seeing their name around for what seems like years. What is it that they do?

They make some polite, kind of electronic-based, Swedish pop music with some '80s ghosts hovering in the background.

another day on ilx, another deej zing to ilxor. get over yrself

deeeeeej

so much for less beef in 2011, amirite?

anyway: resume talking about albums, stop giving deej attention, plz

i haven't gone back to the national album a lot but i was really into it over the summer (and iirc, i voted for it on my ballot). there's a kind of epic desperation in the songs. esp love the "i still owe money to the money to the money i owe" which turns all my economic anxiety into something like a dirge.

i think we all rly need to meet for an irl drink, wd prevent these episodes

Everyone has at least two albums showing up in the top 77 btw.

am v curious as to what my 2nd album is!

list skewed a lot weirder than i expected so far still mostly stuff i dont care abt tho

i think we all rly need to meet for an irl drink, wd prevent these episodes

hah, think deej/whiney and think again

Is that it for today? Just getting warmed up. Listening to Third Eye Foundation, so far pretty darn good, love the way its so busy yet so calm. I doubt if it would make my 25 but it's a keeper.

Never got around to checking the new National, after wasting time on their earlier material. If this can't crack the top 60 I doubt if that will swing it for me.

77. HARVEY MILK — A Small Turn of Human Kindness (240 points, 8 votes, 1 first place vote) Hey, that's that band Whiney really likes
76. QUADRON — Quadron (240 points, 12 votes) never heard of them, a few songs sound nice
75. RIHANNA — Loud (244 points, 9 votes) I downloaded this and listened to it maybe 3x. I liked "Whats My Name"
74. ZOLA JESUS — Stridulum II (244 points, 10 votes) I can't love this after hearing Glasser
73. THIRD EYE FOUNDATION — The Dark (246 points, 8 votes, 2 first place votes) idk
(TIE) 71. THE TALLEST MAN ON EARTH — The Wild Hunt (250 points, 8 votes) shrug
(TIE) 71. KYLIE MINOGUE — Aphrodite (250 points, 8 votes) I used to like that "I need your love" bit in "Can't Get You Out Of My Head"
70. WARPAINT — The Fool (250 points, 9 votes) I tried to listen to this like 4x and always got distracted
69. SUN ARAW — On Patrol (252 points, 8 votes) that one song rules! Maybe I should hear this
68. NO AGE — Everything in Between (256 points, 11 votes) They're okay. Had 0 interest in hearing this album
67. GAYNGS — Relayted (258 points, 10 votes) zzzzngs
66. GUCCI MANE — Mr. Zone 6 (260 points, 9 votes) yawn mane
65. SUN CITY GIRLS — Funeral Mariachi (260 points, 9 votes, 2 first place votes) I rly, rly need to get into SGC
64. THE RADIO DEPT. — Clinging to a Scheme (266 points, 11 votes) iunno
63. THE KNIFE — Tomorrow, In a Year (270 points, 8 votes, 1 first place vote) The Knife made an album this year??
62. THE NATIONAL — High Violet (270 points, 9 votes) Haven't really paid attention since "Alligator" which was ok
61. ENSLAVED — Axioma Ethica Odini (272 points, 8 votes, 1 first place vote) is this some metal shit?

omg The National released a song called 'Runaway' too

poll

74. ZOLA JESUS — Stridulum II (244 points, 10 votes) I can't love this after hearing Glasser

this kinda makes sense! you could describle zola jesus as glasser - rhythmic complexity + goth. though i disagree w/ not being able to love both of them, as i do.

the national not a bad pick for latepassitis thread imo, alligator stands tall over their others but boxer was the crossover moment iirc

As far as Enslaved, I think the empath math kicks out a better similarity list:

http://furia.com/em/band104.html

0.219 17 Immortal
0.188 10 Satyricon
0.179 13 Gorgoroth
0.154 8 Anathema
0.153 5 Sólstafir
0.143 9 Hypocrisy
0.135 5 Altar of Plagues
0.135 10 Amon Amarth
0.128 8 1349
0.127 5 Kampfar
0.126 8 Ulver
0.123 5 Shining
0.121 13 Darkthrone
0.120 5 Cult of Luna
0.117 7 Destruction
0.117 6 Beherit

But both lists are talking about the band as a whole. Circa the last two albums a shorter description would be "a black-metal Pink Floyd".

anyway: resume talking about albums, stop giving deej attention, plz

― the new mordant & zingy ilxor persona (ilxor), Monday, January 31, 2011 2:03 PM (7 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

stop

i like the 2010 shining album and last 3 or so ulver ones, do those compare nicely or not?

*st0p*

Things that make me really go zzzzzz: ilxor posts

I want to virtually staple this to deej's forehead so we can all point at it when he starts to pretend he's all innocent about attacking other people.

for chrissakes ignore them

maybe he was talking about ilx in general

lol ilxor you expect me to answer that one?! ;)

heeee um er er er the Ulver album it's most similar to is Bergtatt tbh. and the Shining album has a completely different aesthetic (jazzy industrial-pop noisefuck). really what it is, is melodic trad BM but with really gorgeous production and a sense of *spacious grandeur*, and proggy structures. it kicks ass.

I need to hear Beach Head. On Patrol was top 10 for me, love that album

I want to virtually staple this to deej's forehead so we can all point at it when he starts to pretend he's all innocent about attacking other people.

― one pretty obvious guy in the obvious (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Monday, January 31, 2011 2:16 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

dude posts too damn much & his opinions are, like, entirely content-free
im sure dude is a nice guy once he stops the posting diarrhea but its outta control & i say this w/ full self awareness that plenty of ppl dont like my posts here. but yeesh man. its just a constant stream

77. HARVEY MILK — A Small Turn of Human Kindness -- good, but far from my favorite HM
76. QUADRON — Quadron -- pretty! want to hear the rest
75. RIHANNA — Loud -- eh, trax in the other poll were just okay
74. ZOLA JESUS — Stridulum II -- <3<3<3, but do agree that she could stand to push herself in the songwriting dept.
73. THIRD EYE FOUNDATION — The Dark -- zzzzzzzzz
71. THE TALLEST MAN ON EARTH — The Wild Hunt -- better than i'd like to admit, but nah
71. KYLIE MINOGUE — Aphrodite -- zzzzzzzzz
70. WARPAINT — The Fool -- want to like them, but nothing on the album stands up to "elephant"
69. SUN ARAW — On Patrol -- ! F U C K ! Y E S !
68. NO AGE — Everything in Between -- zzzzzzzz
67. GAYNGS — Relayted -- color me curious...
66. GUCCI MANE — Mr. Zone 6 -- like basically everything i've heard off this mixtape, will DL
65. SUN CITY GIRLS — Funeral Mariachi -- record of the year
64. THE RADIO DEPT. — Clinging to a Scheme -- nice. kinda of empty, but definitely easy on the ears
63. THE KNIFE — Tomorrow, In a Year -- the best 2010 album i haven't heard yet?
62. THE NATIONAL — High Violet -- zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
61. ENSLAVED — Axioma Ethica Odini -- rah, rah, like a dungeon dragon

I spoke too soon, onto the fourth track of the TEF album and it is really great.

deej your bad posts are a self-fulfilling prophecy. at least i'm trying to talk about music (idiotically) when i make mine.

told ya dods, 'closure' is an emotional apotheosis to rule them all

66. GUCCI MANE — Mr. Zone 6 -- like basically everything i've heard off this mixtape, will DL

this really isnt the best place to start imo -- im sure that even zone 6's backers would agree w/ that

no offence deej but your posts are way more a constant stream than ilxors

id love to know ilxor and deej's postcounts mind you.

Do we have to get into this?

i have heard none of these albums

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSuels2Z27q-xLeEOBXVyd3wTkm0oxMTt3PQ01wcKu8vlW43Y1B

Everyone has at least two albums showing up in the top 77 btw.

The problem with this is I know one of them will be my bottom pick, which I probably should have replaced with something better.

HAY DEEJ:

recommend a couple other gucci mixtapes for beginners. i dowloaded diplo presents a while back cuz i thought it might be a decent overview (despicable me), but i wasn't into it.

THE FUCK

"i downloaded a remix album by a shitty dj unassociated with the act, but surprisingly that was NOT a good place to start"

'burrrprint 3d' would probably be a good place to start

dude posts too damn much & his opinions are, like, entirely content-free

except that the post you replied to was a rundown of what i thought of diff albums in this thread, which was content-based, and also not dissimilar from the album/trax summaries that every other person is posting in these year-end poll threads. so there's no reason to single me out, except that you dislike me. in summary: yr an idiot & plz fuck off and stop replying to my posts if you don't like them

oh and sorry i didnt care about that gucci mixtape, it really does prob suck tho (dont care enough to waste time finding it)

anyway his best mixtape is 'burrprint 3' which placed last year

after that it would really be assorted tracks but you would also prob dig 'the state vs radric davis' which is his first real album after he blew up -- it's not as good as his mixtape but it has some really good & prob more straightforward stuff

i dont 'dislike you,' i have no concept of who you are

after that 'from zone 6 to duval' has a lot of his best stuff from 08 or so but it's a bit less accessible

y'all are a bunch of fucking babies

well since we're "friends" on fac3book it's probably not too difficult to find out, is it?

Seriously, would you guys shut up or move it to email or something? NO ONE ELSE IS INTERESTED IN YOUR LOVERS SPAT.

ban them from this thread dude

i'm done posting about it

"i downloaded a remix album by a shitty dj unassociated with the act, but surprisingly that was NOT a good place to start"

everybody knows i'm straight fuxxor, so i dunno why you gotta act all surprise

go into your respective corners~

i'm not necessarily surprised tbh

im not beefing with ilxor. im just asking him to relax with the constant posting.

Physician heal thyself

tx, jordan. will check BP3, vs. radric davis and Z62duvall.

http://www.thesnort.com/pics/slapfight.gif

Physician heal thyself

― O_o-O_0-o_O (jjjusten), Monday, January 31, 2011 2:33 PM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

ive been here how many years & yall are treating my like im a poster on par w/ ilxor? wtf

hey contenderizer

i think this link is still active -- i would run thru this stuff as well, it's more of a best of, altho almost all of burrprint is classic

09 (wasted not incl since it's v readily available)

first day out
weird
she got a friend
gorgeous
30 inches remix
wonderful
wrist gliss
ice
birds
everything

08

grapey
running back
like a lambo
nickelodeon
photo shoot
hot damn
rims dancin
light show
colors
haunted house

― nog right (J0rdan S.), Tuesday, November 10, 2009 1:41 AM (1 year ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

if you want to cherry pick

poppier stuff

she got a friend, weird, grapey, running back, like a lambo, photo shoot

more str8 ahead mc-ing

first day out, gorgeous, 30 inches remix, birds, nickelodeon light show, rims dancin

dark, druggy, haunting stuff

ice, birds, everything, colors, haunted house

― nog right (J0rdan S.), Tuesday, November 10, 2009 1:46 AM (1 year ago) Bookmark

It doesn't matter how much seniority you have when you're contributing to a nuisance squabble. xp

whoops -- the link there is this

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?imdmzddiyzi

it's a gucci primer i made & posted in the gucci thread

w/e if you guys are happy w/ ilxor's posting then have fun

weird = my fav gucci tune of them all

i think this link is still active

searched on text strings and found that link. DLing 4 chris.

w/e if you guys are happy w/ ilxor's posting then have fun

again-- i posted my rundown of thoughts on album #s 77-61 like many others have done in thread. singling out my post is just beef for the sake of beef, unless yr also going to piss & moan about everyone else that's done it here. chill the f out dude

that TTMOE record is very good. k he's not changing the face of music (and isn't trying to), but he is nevertheless highly adept at crafting thoughtful, incisive tunes that benefit from the cursory, arms-length way they are presented. he's a very nice chap as well.

holy shit u 2 no one is scoring ur snarks atm. one of you be the bigger ilx-poster and just drop it without having to get the last word in.

jesus guys, just give it a rest. not having the last word is OK.

that national record on the other hand is insipid and flat

that's a great Gucci primer. I downloaded it the first time you posted it

but alligator remains classic

Enslaved's 'The Beacon' is such ass-kick.

just making sure i get the last word in, tbh

it's weird about the national bc i really didn't care for alligator + liked only a couple songs of boxer but i responded to the new one in a big way. i wonder if there's something they're embracing that makes me more interested in them even as it pushes other people off the national-train. (can't speculate what that thing might be-- what is it that people itt responded more to in alligator that they aren't hearing in high violet?)

was that comp made for a notably irritable ILXor?

Seriously, would you guys shut up or move it to email or something? NO ONE ELSE IS INTERESTED IN YOUR LOVERS SPAT.

― Johnny Fever, Monday, 31 January 2011 20:31 (11 minutes ago

OTM. Since it's Johnny's thread and his poll I'm going to give both of you a time out of this thread. It's going to get long and unwieldy enough without yet more inane beefing on it.

Alligator has a broader scope imo. From the subtlety of "Soho Riots" to the bombast of "Abel" to the vibrant upward ladder that is "Mr. November," it just pushes all my buttons in a way the two albums since haven't done.

i've never heard alligator but i do think the new one is much much better than boxer

OTM. Since it's Johnny's thread and his poll I'm going to give both of you a time out of this thread. It's going to get long and unwieldy enough without yet more inane beefing on it.

― Matt DC, Monday, January 31, 2011 3:49 PM (37 seconds ago) Bookmark

omg my hero

I liked High Violet, though not as much as Boxer. Didn't like Alligator at the time and still don't.

For me, it's all about the drummer. I like listening to the guy play. The rest is various textures and shades that compliment him.

yeah he is excellent for sure

alligator is interesting because lyrically he comes across as an arrogant jerk (but a self-aware one) for the whole album and that 'persona' of sorts got muted quite a bit with boxer

lyrically he comes across as an arrogant jerk (but a self-aware one)

Yeah, there's something a little Afghan Whigs-y about his character.

recommend a couple other gucci mixtapes for beginners. i dowloaded diplo presents a while back cuz i thought it might be a decent overview (despicable me), but i wasn't into it.

― normal_fantasy-unicorns (contenderizer), Monday, January 31, 2011 3:26 PM (38 minutes ago)

http://www.gifbin.com/bin/1238157980_scanners_-_head_explosion.gif

i'm trying to mentally lump the national in with the whole quiet storm thing now, i.e. smooth loungey music juxtaposed w/ biting, sarcastic lyrics. that stuff's all critic-bait these days it seems.

Always funny. xp

not sure who you have in mind but the nat'l are much more interesting rhythmically than most bands that could be called "loungey"

74. ZOLA JESUS — Stridulum II (244 points, 10 votes) I can't love this after hearing Glasser

Yeah, there's an obvious comparison to be made there - both from LA (I think), both mixing fantastic voices with electronics - but they're also kind of night and day. I do in general like the fruity sort of Baudelairian gothy-ness that Zola Jesus evokes - that whole pungent over-ripeness, like you can sense the spores of mould and mildew yet to bloom on the skin of the music. There's a few tracks on Stridulum II (Night, Sea Talk, I Can't Stand) where the songs feel epic enough to take that sort of treatment, but with a lot of the rest of it though, the material is just weak and the arrangements lifeless and dirgey, so it all ends up as this soupy splodge.

Glasser on the other hand is more playful and the music is much more intricate. I started off with that album at the bottom of my ballot, but every time I listened to it before submitting it would creep up another couple of spots. Took a while to fully appreciate, and I think it was top five for me in the end. Good record, sure we'll get to talk about it on Wednesday Thursday (fingers-crossed).

OTOH I voted for Sun Araw and the Knife, so maybe that's my full allocation used up already.

Zola Jesus is from Ann Arbor, Michigan iirc

i thought she was from wisconsin?

wait no it's Madison WI xp

I'm not a big fan of The National or "Bloodbuzz Ohio", but it doesn't seem at all weird to me that some people enjoy the song. It's kind of like a cross between Chris Isaac and Frightened Rabbit, with a little of the Cure's atmospheric vibe without the Robert Smith trebly plaintiveness. Dark, chiming, resonant, moody, wistful, understated. Interesting drumming, as noted above, and I like the tendrils of piano.

that's a v. good description glenn!

I liked mine better

74. ZOLA JESUS — Stridulum II (244 points, 10 votes) - voted for this, probably to high tbh. I listened to it again a couple of days ago and got bored of it. I like her post-punk-gothness though.
73. THIRD EYE FOUNDATION — The Dark (246 points, 8 votes, 2 first place votes) - God, I remember Semtex, that was fucking ace. Had a quick listen to this and couldn't get in. All the wailing and moaning in the background put me off. I'll give it another bash.
(TIE) 71. KYLIE MINOGUE — Aphrodite (250 points, 8 votes) - I suppose I still harbour a fondness for Kylie, but have no real interest in hearing this. "All the Lovers" reminded me of Erasure or something.
70. WARPAINT — The Fool (250 points, 9 votes) - Voted for this. Again, probably too high but as it only snuck in at #70 I'm glad I did. It deserves to take its place as a notable album of 2010.
67. GAYNGS — Relayted (258 points, 10 votes) - I gave this a go when that one track appeared on the tracks list. I liked that track but didn't think the rest of it stood up as well, on first listen at least.
64. THE RADIO DEPT. — Clinging to a Scheme (266 points, 11 votes) - I don't think this made it onto my final ballot. I quite liked this, just didn't listen to it too much. I think Lesser Matters may be all the Radio Dept I need.
62. THE NATIONAL — High Violet (270 points, 9 votes) - lol at the Tindersticks comparison someone made above. I can see where they were coming from, but though I LOVE Tindersticks I feel absolutely nothing when I listen to this. I'll pass.

Hm, 77-61 I have not yet listened to any of these all the way through.
I've been way more singles oriented this past year.

i thought she was from wisconsin?

My mistake, thought I read she was based in LA. Goddamn lies.

yeah i have not heard a single one of these. i just downloaded quadron though

always meant to listed to the rihanna but being busy/lukewarm reaction around here meant i never did. i do really adore "what's my name" however

i guess i did listen to the full rihanna album
but i don't even KNOW a lot of these bands! I'm drawing a blank on Gayngs, Third Eye Foundation, Sun Araw and Quadron
Suppose i really should get that sun city girls album, huh?

lol i voted for quadron bc i thought someone had reissued the basic channel thing and i was like eh i dont really care abt any of these albums this is good even if i dont know anything abt this partic reissue. so yes this album deserves less votes.

I do in general like the fruity sort of Baudelairian gothy-ness that Zola Jesus evokes - that whole pungent over-ripeness, like you can sense the spores of mould and mildew yet to bloom on the skin of the music. There's a few tracks on Stridulum II (Night, Sea Talk, I Can't Stand) where the songs feel epic enough to take that sort of treatment, but with a lot of the rest of it though, the material is just weak and the arrangements lifeless and dirgey, so it all ends up as this soupy splodge.

― seminal fuiud (NickB), Monday, January 31, 2011 1:08 PM (25 minutes ago) Bookmark

this is an interesting take on what works in ZJ's sound, though i like her/them a good deal more than you do. for me, a lot of the appeal is purely atmospheric, and that's where i think stridulum II occasionally falters. in the past, her recordings have placed equal emphasis on the danilova's voice and the ambient-industrial/minimal synth backing tracks. i like that approach. it allows the "soupy" aspect to become a positive quality, a point of focus when the songwriting isn't 100% there. also takes some of the emphasis off the "pungent over-ripeness" of the vocals, when you have to strain to hear them through the mix.

you mention the over-ripeness, but not the warmth it disguises. this is one of the things i like best about stridulum II relative to danilova's earlier work, how effectively it communicates a youthful earnestness regarding love and human relations through the skin of something that might seem coldly arch and stylized.

xpost Quadron would have been my number 1 if I got my act together and voted. last.fm says it's my most played artist of 2010. "Unpatience" is divine.

this is one of the things i like best about stridulum II relative to danilova's earlier work, how effectively it communicates a youthful earnestness regarding love and human relations through the skin of something that might seem coldly arch and stylized.

You're right, that definitely comes through for me on 'I Can't Stand' (love the 'it's gonna be alright' mantra, which sounds like she's trying to convince herself as much as anyone else that it'll be okay).

i listened to that quadron album quite a bit and i'm a big fan of mr zone 6 - it's not his best mixtape but some great beats and some of gucci's best double-time flows ('dat's my life'). he also sounded more sober on this one which isn't necessarily a good thing but compared to recent developments...

god i don't know any of the rest of this stuff tho - mite check out enslaved

it's pretty nuts to me that even tho its basically agreed that 2010 was the year gucci fell off he still released two rock solid mixtapes - rap game is crazy yall

imagine if these indie bands had to work as hard as rappers to stay top of the pitchfork game

but i guess it's only talking so

if enslaved (the beacon) lj linked to upthread throws you off what w/ the initial aggro and seemingly singleminded chugga chugga it is def worth listening to the other side of them which is prob best repped by "Lightening"

its like what dream theater would sound like if they werent a bag of shit

here

i thought she was from wisconsin?

My mistake, thought I read she was based in LA. Goddamn lies.

she started out in madison, got some hype and graduated college, then moved to l.a.

aha thank you

i'm listening to the warpaint album, it's alright but it's weird that the national album got all the "boring indie" zings when this album is on the list too

My top two albums have already shown up, so I guess I've used up my allocation too. Now I can focus my energies on checking out the SCG album like everyone else.

o what was yr #2? i am guessing yr #1 was also mine...

(The Knife, perchance? haha)

Probably because that National album is a billion times more boring than the Warpaint.

(xxpost)

eh ok. i don't know what else there is to say about the national album at this point but i think people are overstating how bad it is. i didn't vote for it, it's not as good as their last couple of albums, but it's not really substantially different in terms of sound or structure from their last couple of albums either. there's definitely something disappointing about it, but i can't really define what. but there are some good, well-written songs on it, some interesting sonic ideas, some energy.

the warpaint album is superficially nice but they don't really seem to have any songs? again, this is based on one listen, and they're obviously aiming for something different than the national, but my guess is that their album seems less boring because it's their first album, while the national's album is like their fifth or sixth

LJ: it was No Age

I "get" the hate for The National but I've never heard anything by them that bothered me all that much. But I would say the same about Coldplay and all the other bands they're usually compared to.

i agree there's something essentially boring about the national as a band - they play straight-ahead grownup indie rock and they are called "the national," so yeah. but i'd rather listen to a boring band with good songs than a good-sounding band with boring songs.

fwiw I listened to about half of High Violet and it was by no means horrible to listen to - had some nice touches

No Age album-cover is awesome, will give the songs inside a go

yeah the no age album is great. not sure if i voted for it but im glad it showed up.

excited to check out enslaved. im surprised thats the metal album so far that crossed over to this poll

Not having the songs is really Warpaint's problem - they have their moments (Undertow, Baby) but too many of them just sound aimless and waily.

yeah! also Giants is probably a good mediation between the short sharp burst of The Beacon and the longer ecstasy of Lightening

"Giants" sounded like a beefed-up Alice in Chains until it got to the growly part. DO NOT WANT.

Sorry I missed out on the fun - though I guess the albums countdown is less well suited to realtime listening laughs. None of my votes appeared today. I'm only going to comment on the albums I've heard (in part, at least). The only two albums I had heard before this week are Zola Jesus and Sun Araw.

76. QUADRON — Quadron (240 points, 12 votes) - the first time I heard this I thought it was pretty good but I've downgraded this opinion on each subsequent listen. The first two tracks - "Buster Keaton" and "Slippin" are all you really need. Someone wrote upthread that you couldn't tell they're Scandinavian if you didn't know; not sure whether that was tongue-in-cheek because I'd say the exact opposite. For those that are counting, this album has the lowest Enthusiasm score in the top 99.

74. ZOLA JESUS — Stridulum II (244 points, 10 votes) - I dig "Night" (and voted for it in the tracks poll), nothing here tops that imo.

73. THIRD EYE FOUNDATION — The Dark (246 points, 8 votes, 2 first place votes) - Glad to see Matt Elliot is still around, I played You Guys Kill Me a lot when it came out. I can't say this sounds this different from what he was doing 10+ years ago. I do like it though! With Zola Jesus and The Knife as well, there sure is a lot of portentous electroGoth stylings in this run.

69. SUN ARAW — On Patrol (252 points, 8 votes) - I almost voted for this, so I'm glad to see it place. For fans of immersive squelchy dream vibez.

65. SUN CITY GIRLS — Funeral Mariachi (260 points, 9 votes, 2 first place votes) - hadn't listened to this before today...it's a lot more user-friendly than my previous experiences of SCG. I expect I'll buy this.

63. THE KNIFE — Tomorrow, In a Year (270 points, 8 votes, 1 first place vote) First impressions are excellent, lots of interesting things going on. The mix of "high" and "low" elements has a nice early 80s downtown NYC vibe (in spirit and form if not in identical soundworlds). Hard to tell at this stage whether it's an album I'll come back to often.

n/a super otm abt warpaint--thats a decent album but they really need to learn to write songs.

I thought Undertow was super-cool, any other songs on the Warpaint album where they sound like grim'n'gritty Roches?

^I think all of the songs kind of sound like that. the only one I don't like so much is "Majesty"

63. THE KNIFE — Tomorrow, In a Year (270 points, 8 votes, 1 first place vote) First impressions are excellent, lots of interesting things going on. The mix of "high" and "low" elements has a nice early 80s downtown NYC vibe (in spirit and form if not in identical soundworlds). Hard to tell at this stage whether it's an album I'll come back to often.

OTM about the early 80s NYC artmusic vibe. could easily hear this rubbing shoulders w laurie anderson circa united states.

just listened to radio dept. album for the first time - seems like good stuff

the end of 'david' is pretty rapturous

start w/ "hearts on fire" & move fwd from there

sorry, "heaven's on fire"

wtf am i doing, isn't that a wolf parade song or something???

cut copy

wolf parade - "this heart's on fire"

last song on their fist album

first* album omg need fewer drinks to concentrate on typing

but but...drinks

three of mine in so far--sun city girls, no age and rihanna. still big on the first two. really really like almost every song on the rihanna album but looking back i doubt it works super well as an album (but i've only listened to it once in order).

i'll drink to thatttttt xxpost

Oh shit didn't realize this started during transfer deadline night ;_;

http://www.gifanatics.com/files/Jackson_popcorn.gif

Day 1

77. HARVEY MILK — A Small Turn of Human Kindness (240 points, 8 votes, 1 first place vote)
76. QUADRON — Quadron (240 points, 12 votes)
75. RIHANNA — Loud (244 points, 9 votes)
74. ZOLA JESUS — Stridulum II (244 points, 10 votes)
73. THIRD EYE FOUNDATION — The Dark (246 points, 8 votes, 2 first place votes)
(TIE) 71. THE TALLEST MAN ON EARTH — The Wild Hunt (250 points, 8 votes)
(TIE) 71. KYLIE MINOGUE — Aphrodite (250 points, 8 votes)
70. WARPAINT — The Fool (250 points, 9 votes)
69. SUN ARAW — On Patrol (252 points, 8 votes)
68. NO AGE — Everything in Between (256 points, 11 votes)
67. GAYNGS — Relayted (258 points, 10 votes)
66. GUCCI MANE — Mr. Zone 6 (260 points, 9 votes)
65. SUN CITY GIRLS — Funeral Mariachi (260 points, 9 votes, 2 first place votes)
64. THE RADIO DEPT. — Clinging to a Scheme (266 points, 11 votes)
63. THE KNIFE — Tomorrow, In a Year (270 points, 8 votes, 1 first place vote)
62. THE NATIONAL — High Violet (270 points, 9 votes)
61. ENSLAVED — Axioma Ethica Odini (272 points, 8 votes, 1 first place vote)

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ePwDySjVdyo/TTv088cF04I/AAAAAAAAAVA/rpW8h7mFLfE/kelis.jpg

60. KELIS — Flesh Tone (272 points, 11 votes)
P&J: 139th
Pitchfork: DNP
Spotify: listen

That album is enjoyable enough if a bit hacky but when you consider how awesome Kelis doing a house album SHOULD have been it just feels like a colossal wasted opportunity.

My #2! <3

yay another of my votes - "acapella" apart this is a great album, i love the thickness and richness of the sound, i love that kelis managed to take what's basically a very wearying pop trend and make something really creative out of it, i love the euphoria/revelation. it's her ray of light.

fav trax - "brave" (ignore the boring budget video), "4th of july (fireworks)"

greaaat album

all the non-guetta tracks on that blow

(Michael Jackson should have eaten with his mouth closed, christ.)

all the non-kelis tracks on that blow

(whole thing's great)

the only track solely produced by guetta is "acapella" which UNCOINCIDENTALLY is the only one that actually blows

when i think of the success that usher, pitbull etc had with the hackiest, tackiest house sounds compared with the gigantic flop that was flesh tone, i get rather angry

Horrendous sleeve though..

Acapella isn't really any better or worse than the rest of the album, none of it is that well-produced and it just doesn't seem to fit her vocals well. Shame because they're great songs.

God, I've gotta stop getting mixed up between Ke$ha and Kelis. Whaddamistayka da mayka.

Only heard Ke$ha for the first time via the singles poll and it's the first thing I've heard in a while that has actively offended my ears.

love what I've heard of Ray Of Light, if this compares I'll give it a try

yeah i don't really approve of any of the artwork from this campaign :/

correction: it's kelis's ray of light, but shorn of all pomposity (i <3 RoL but it was def the start of madonna's listen-children attitude)

I also love what I've heard of pomposity ;)

Sample track, anyone?

Are they going for Julianne Moore's look in the Lebowski flashback sequence mixed with a bad SF front cover? It illustrates the music (which is good, mostly!) very well I guess..

xp I can't remember the name, but I was really into the one that started as this anthemic midtempo ballad, and then transformed into deadpan electroclash.

I really like that sleeve :S

Even though <3 Kelis, I've never had any inclination to listen to this. Respect Rev's taste though so spotify here i come.

Acapella isn't really any better or worse than the rest of the album, none of it is that well-produced and it just doesn't seem to fit her vocals well. Shame because they're great songs.

i honestly don't know what you're hearing here - the beats are mostly thick and bassy, her voice is thick and deep, she sounds like she's ad libbing to the arrangements rather than fitting house beats around her own songs...it blends perfectly imo. even "acapella" is only a remix away from being ok, it's just too staccato and not generous/welcoming enough.

No Acapella rules - listen for yourself LJ!

I have avoided her stuff on the assumption that none of it is better than "Milkshake". probably stupid but what can you do.

I was quite disparaging about Acapella in the trax poll. Believe it caused me to bust out 'dream house' tho so it's ok

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ePwDySjVdyo/TTvzFowXzgI/AAAAAAAAATc/YiU-G-VcSj8/currensy.jpg

59. CURREN$Y — Pilot Talk II (272 points, 11 votes, 1 first place vote)
P&J: 160th
Pitchfork: DNP

awesomeeee

also: i approached this project with SO MUCH SCEPTICISM - i was like oh god kelis can be a bit of a try-hard, i hate the urban/house fusion trend, look at the gross artwork, how can this be good? and yet it just sweeps you up with sheer FEELING. so many hands-in-the-air chants here - "I WAS SUPER TOUGH BUT NOW I'M SUPER STRONG", "NOTHING! I'LL EVER SAY OR DO! WILL BE AS GOOD! AS LOVING YOU!" etc

lex so so otm ^^

Sample track, anyone?

linked two upthread

xp Yeah, and I've lamented Janelle winning the the plaudits this year as the 'progressive' RnB one, when Kelis bests her in every attribute. (Although there is barely anything RnB about Flesh Tone; the point is about their roots as artists/singers.)

Curren$y is like, back2tha90s style hiphop, right? (only heard a little bit whilst VERY drunk last summer)

i listened to both curren$y albums once and i'm not sure i get it :/ nice enough i guess but kind of...one-paced and sleepy?

only heard pilot 1 - anything as good as king kong and audio dope on it?

False dichotomy! Both those albums are great. xxp

KELIS - listened to lex's recommendations: "brave" & "4th of july", "acapella" too. "brave" seems more likely to work as dance music than it does as pop, and there's something a little desperate about the lyrical affirmations, but i love "4th of july"! totally get the "euphoria/revelation" vibe there. not sure how i feel about "acapella". so deliberately diaphanous that it maybe undercuts its hooks? love the "safety dance" percussion synth (lol).

Another of my votes!

Currensy - Michael Knight

WE IN THE YARD, TELL YOUR DOGS THEY SHOULD BEWARE OF US

"flight briefing" is the jam on pilottalk 2

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ePwDySjVdyo/TTv0X_AychI/AAAAAAAAAUk/ZaQDlLeIELg/ikonika.jpg

58. IKONIKA — Contact, Love, Want, Have (276 points, 10 votes, 1 first place vote)
P&J: 1,504th
Pitchfork: DNP
Spotify: listen

flight briefing

i hope that works i'm at work w/ no sound

read that as "Contact Love-Hewitt"

My first vote to place!

something a little desperate about the lyrical affirmations

I get this as well, at least when you can actually hear the lyrics through the vocal effects. The Vitalic by way of Black Eyed Peas backing track is kind of interesting but where's the hook? There's probably one in there but all I hear is a miasma of electronics and buzzing.

That's my first vote to place as well. Played that Ikonika album to death in spring, then got a bit bored of it and the whole sound it was going for, then listened to it again in December and loved it again. I hope she moves away from chiptune noises though.