ILM TOP TRACKS OF 2004

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Basement Jaxx - "Good Luck"

Much as I love modern dance music, my greatest love is old soul music, and my teen love was rock music. Basement Jaxx have been maybe the most consistently wonderful act of any kind to have come along in the last decade, and the tracks I've always loved most have tended to be the ones with the potent, fiery and soulful female vocals - this is now alongside 'Red Alert' as one of my all-time favourites of theirs. It's a spectacularly thrilling performance, which is what BJ deserve, with their fantastically energetic and exciting music. -Martin Skidmore

Other ILXors Say:

"It's not really a "we are HERE!" song. How many times should the Jaxx say "we are HERE", anyway?" -Donut Bitch

"I find it hard to believe there's a song better than "Good Luck" that was released in 2003." -DJDee2005

Other ILXor Stats:

MattDC's nominee for Most Exciting Intro Evah
One of Mike TD's Favorite Songs at the Moment (c. September 26, 2003) and Todd Swiss's (c. Dec. 13th, 2003)
Stevem's nominee for Music to Play To Most Impress Upon Someone Living in 2004 That You Really Were From the Future
Made JeffW and Forksclovetofu's lists of Songs to Play While Running REALLY FAST

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Annie - "Me Plus One"

So 'Chewing Gum' may be nominal Best Single Ever and 'Heartbeat' looks set to solve third world debt/broker global unity by the end of 2005 but on first play, this was the sparkliest gem in the Anniemal crown – heady and elastic, luscious and buoyant, a standalone paeon to resilience and optimism in the face of isolation. Annie is desolate but Annie will not revel in it, Annie Will Get On, because, who knows what's/who's just around the corner? So she dons her crash helmet, discreetly metamorphoses into Cristina For The Xenomania Generation and crisply vogues through fluorescent lagoons of molten glee, shimmying through the tropics with her intrepid team of celestial multitracked backing voxsters, and splashy bass is spanked, and bubbles burst percussively, and Tribe Annie lurch into the sunshine on another glorious expedition, and it is D.I.F.F.I.C.U.L.T. but this only serves to make it more B.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L. because on this one occasion Annie is cackling in the face of potential disappointment, revelling in the tentative, basking in the joy of wrangling with logistics as she concludes that the best things come to those who wait and the pops-topping strength drawn from her prospective Other is worth throwing caution to the wind and risking rejection/heartbreak for. Annie is a glass-half-full kind of lady. Annie is wise. Alex in Doncaster

Other ILXors Say:

"'Me Plus One' MUST be the third single. It's the 2nd coming of 'Let's Hear It For The Boy'." -B.A.R.M.S.

Other ILXor Stats:

Stevem's nominee for the 100 Happiest Songs of All-Time
Piecesboy's Out and Out Proper POP Song of the Year
One of The Lex's Top 11 Songs at the Moment, Fuck (c. Nov. 27th, 2004)

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Animal Collective - "Who Could Win a Rabbit?"

The most eagerly joyful song on Sung Tongs, "Who Could Win a Rabbit" follows the tripped-out, equally stimulating "Leaf House" with a vigorous campfire sing-along, complete with a burst of restlessly strummed guitars and a steady sheet of shakers. The ensuing babble is highly infectious, too: many times I've caught myself whisper-singing "hungry bread-and-butter hustle" or, simply, "a rabbit, a habit, a rabbit, a habit," like it was some kind of weird nature-kid mantra. -Jaymc

Other ILXors Say:

"I like Animal Collective but absolutely abhor "Who Could Buy a Rabbit"! It reminds me of all the things I ever hated about Elephant 6." -Adam Bruneau
"The Beach Boys get lost in Woburn." -doglatin

One of FrankE's Top 12 Favorite Songs at the Mo' (c. Jul. 21, 2004)
Stevem's prediction for the ILM's #1 song of the last half-decade

x-post

Uh, I don't think so...most of this stuff is copied and pasted from Microsoft Word. They don't look weird to me.

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Dizzee Rascal - "Dream"

What I want to know is: how did Dizzee come up with this idea? Let's flip Captain Sensible's take on Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific song and make the ungrimiest, most cuddlesome record I'll ever make. Take the opportunity to thank everyone who bought my last album. Make the cutest video of the year. I bet Dizzee has a really comfy bed, in which he dreams the loveliest of dreams. -JoB

Other ILXors Say:

"There are people out there who apparently reckon this song is not a good idea. Bollocks to they." -William Bloody Swygart
"Maybe the best video of the decade" -Alex in SF

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T.I. - "Rubberband Man"

Hip-Hop Trends “Rubberband Man� Will Hopefully Perpetuate:

1. Repeating the song’s producer’s name several times before the song kicks off. Helpful to us rap amateurs.
2. The use of Playboy Bunny CD-Making factories in music videos. New Jack City’s topless crack facilities taken to their logical extreme.
3. Lyrical references to the Taliban. If we can’t laugh, we’d have to cry.
4. Southern Rap that sounds this joyous and celebratory. And no, it’s not just because there are kids singing on the chorus.
5. Jazzy Phe dancing around in the back of every video. Wait, he already does that. -The Good Dr. Bill

Other ILXors Say:

""Rubberband Man" is prob my favourite hip hop track of the year." -Tim Finney

"DAAAA DATDADAAAAA DAAAAAA DATDADAAAAAA" -Deej

Other ILXor Stats:

Spongebob's nominee for 1000 Most Whistlable Tunes
mayor motrcade's nominee for 100 Best Organ Riffs
One of Colin Beckett's Own Fucking Ten
William Wiggins' #1 Remix of the Year (for Remix f/ Trick Daddy, Mack 10 and Twista)

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Or, “The Song That Unreasonably Lifted Our Low Expectations For The New Prodigy Album�. Those motherfuckers. -The Good Dr. Bill

Other ILXors Say:

"one of the freshest tunes ive heard in ages." -Davey C

"first single is false advertising, mannn" -Scott Warner

Other ILXor Stats:

One of Stevem's and Michael B's Favourite Top 12 Songs of the Mo' (c. Jul 12, 2004)
danny boy's nominee for Remix of the Year (for the Rex the Dog remix)

You said it about a year and a half ago. Song's been around for a while.

whats with the formatting btw? is my browser fuxored or is everything full of foreign vowels and euro signs?

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Kanye West - "Through the Wire"

A great advantage of being your own producer is that you can synch everything up perfectly. Such is the case with "Through The Wire"--Kanye's rhymes are nothing technically spectacular and the narrative is just a simple, self conscious retelling of a personal (and quite nasty) misfortune. Yet, combined with the giddy backing track of a chipmunk speed Chaka Khan, off beat handdrums, handclaps, and ripping bass playing, it's clear that "Through The Wire" is a celebration of life from a guy who almost didn't make it, and leave it to the guy with the near-death experience and wired jaw to know how to make it fun for everyone. -DOPESMOKER

Other ILXors Say:

"I for some reason get really moved by [the video for] Kanye West's Through the Wire....it's kinda like his scrapbook or something, very nostalgic." -Matt Helgeson

"A if Kanye West reads this, I want to let him know that even though you did get into that accident and fucked yo-self all up, you still fine azz hell." -Valencia Rozetta Cook

Other ILXor Stats:

Chris V's nominee for Songs That are Better Than the Songs They Sample
One of Andy K's Favourite 12 Songs at the Mo' (c. Oct. 11, 2003)

What does this do?

The blurbs don't look any different after I do this. I'll try it with the next one though.

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33. Kings of Convenience – “I’d Rather Dance With You�

Erlend Øye's foray into the DJ game had a lot of people wondering whether any of it would rub off onto the latest Kings of Convenience record. For the most part, it didn't, with the wonderful exception of this cut, an uptempo bossanova anchored by a rhythmic string quartet. The scene is a party or a club, and the woman that Øye's flirting with is presumably of the "fit but she's chatty" sort. The straightforward shut-up-and-dance strategy that our narrator adopts provides a nice counterpoint to the song's sophisticated pizzicato bounce. Apart from the lovely "Misread," no other track on the sorta-boring Riot On an Empty Street comes close to matching its heights. -Jaymc

Other ILXor Stats:

rentboy's nominee for Remix of the Year for the Cornelius remix (seconded by Jaymc)

THANKEW DR. BILL!!!!!

I've been quoted a disproportionate number of times considering how little I actually post on ILM.

That was the only thing close to a track of the summer this year.

I nominate it for most overlooked track in the poll.

the Top 10 is mostly fine by me (LCD and the two Richard X productions all overrated IMHO, but I don't dislike them). Looking forward to the rest of the albums rundown, which has so far been really interesting, probably due to the relatively low number of voters.

I can't believe they made albums, though.

Who was the other person to vote for this?

does anyone still have a copy of kelis - fake id mix

kickass results except for #1

wut?

lol @ results -- wtf @ all those streets tracks

haha old ILX's love for the Streets is super-inexplicable

i mean id even say im a big fan of like 3/4ths of the first streets album but seeing 'fit but you know it' beat like rubberband man is just o_O for all time

oi oi oi oi

i was actually shocked that "rubberband man" made it at all

eh ilx was going thru a p pro-southern rap thing at the time what w/ crunk & all that

My number 2 single for that year i think. Would probably be no. 1 now.

Really mad looking at these results. Was that shapeshifters track really 2004? Feels much much older. Don't see what was so lol about Streets. Guy's stuff has aged/fallen out of style but it was a good album and I can see it being revisited in years to come.

i still love the streets \(o_O)/

Dry your eyes, mate

never again am i gonna be late

haha old ILX's love for the Streets "Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)" is super-inexplicable

Also otm.

i was so POed about that

all the critics were in a race to like that first

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How the hell did a Shapeshifters song get 7 votes?!!!

it was number 1 in the uk charts for a while iirc.

Oh it's some electronic thing, not the American Shapeshifters :/

they are the same band just shapeshifted

yeah, it was a passable vocal house anthem. i remember thinking it sounded kind of old fashioned by at least 5-6 years at the time, but it's no doubt a catchy hit cos i can't get it out my head now.

I don't even remember anyone particularly repping for that Shapeshifters song at the time.

"lola's theme" is great just like sonique's "it feels so good" is great

the streets are definitely one of the worst acts of the past decade, even with a debut that wasn't that bad at the time

i can't believe i'd never heard the groove mix of "hot like fire" until now

yall have known me for so many years now and no one bothered telling me about it? i am never forgiving you

oh wrong thread

save a horse ride a cowboy owned

^my first memories of ilx are all the ridic over-the-top effluvia abt that song by c.eddy? i think & a few otehrs

I never really understood or got involved with the Big & Rich hype. Years later I did really get into "Saved" though - brilliant track.

I think Big & Rich mania was probably the last time any American music critic had an independent thought that they didnt cross-reference with Pitchfork first

I don't even remember anyone particularly repping for that Shapeshifters song at the time.

WBS repped passionately for it on his UK Top 40 threads, and it was my #1 single of the year!

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this song reminds me of shit ilx liked ~early 2004

Sounds like a headache on a stick, as bad as the horrific displays of environmental destruction in the top tracks of 2015 list