You could have it so much better.....with the ILM albums of 2005

Back to the poll

No Touch?

xxp

xp!

Yes ... like Wilco and Interpol from past years, nobody will admit they like them and yet their albums always finish in the top ten of year-end polls.

Rooting for "Feels" is fun.

I liked the LCD album! but I liked "yr city's a sucker" on the bonus disc more than anything on the album itself.

The best part of the LCD Soundsystem album was the bonus disc...should that count as part of the album? I wasn't bowled over by the first disc myself...

~ 6xpost

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e128/ilxalbums/animalcollective.jpg

Comment:

Compared to the sleepy backwoods folk of earlier releases (that's a putdown only if you want it to be), "Feels" teems with adrenaline-fueled life. I still feel strongly about my post-"Sung Tongs" assertion that the ideal Animal Collective album contains only three minute pop songs and twelve minute drone pieces. In that sense, they could have improved the album by roughly doubling the lengths of "Turns Into Something", "Banshee Beat", and "The Purple Bottle", but admittedly, my heart's not in these complaints about near-perfection. Barry Bruner.

other ilxors said

Beautiful, everything about it. The fast songs are delirious, the slow songs are gorgeous. "Banshee Beat" alone exceeds any expectations I had.
I never liked their early stuff before Sung Tongs, and I didn't think they could top that one. But goddamn, this is a remarkable record. Really blowing me out of the water at the moment.
PB August 19th, 2005 7:01 AM.

This album sounds a little more meticulously made and professional though. Like they are aware that a decent amount of people are paying attention to their music. To me their naive-hippy-chant vibe is gone and now musicians are trying to recreate something similar. It may not sound as authentic to me in that particular way but the songs are fabulous and their isnt one dud. It flows great as well and the last track is perfect.
jmeister August 26th, 2005 12:42 AM.

i really like daft punk is playing at my house and tribulations. but never as tired as when i'm waking up is tripe, it almost sinks the whole thing

Same same with the LCD album. The songs I find myself coming back to are the singles -- Losing My Edge, Yr City's A Sucker, Yeah!, etc. The proper album cuts are good, but not good enough to keep me from skipping through the better parts of disc 2.

yes. it seemed so... unnecessary! it kills the momentum too. remove that and add in another electro track and people would have a much higher opinion of the album, i reckon.

i voted for that as a track of the year. nobody else did, it seems.

can't see the fuss about bloc party themselves, though.

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e128/ilxalbums/vitalic.jpg

Comment:

Here are your directions: leave house on a Friday evening. Spend entire weekend reaching new heights of debauchery and hedonism. Consume as many Bad Substances as your body will allow, and then double the dose. Put OK Cowboy on when you finally think your brain's turned into cheese. Do it all again! For an entire summer!

Key tracks: 'Poney Part 1', 'La Rock 01', 'No Fun'
The Lex

other ilxors said:

This album is insanely good. The old tracks like La Rock 01 work perfectly in the album context, and everything new is simply brilliant. Right now it sounds to me like the best dance music album since "Homework". For me, the great thing about that album is how it simultaneously works as a compilation of singles seemingly constructed strictly for dancefloor use and a complete album appropriate for home listening (well, more likely home dancing, but still). The same thing can be said about OK Cowboy. I think it's a pretty rare thing.
I thought I'd grown tired of La Rock 01 and the Poney tracks forever but since i got this I just keep listening to them over and over again.
Kornél Kovács March 1st, 2005 9:07 PM.

Velvet Underground = whiney music for teenagers and early 20s (though I still like 'em into my 50s; "whiny music for teenagers" is not necessarily a criticism)

M.I.A. - Arular - favourites
LCD Soundsystem - LCD Soundsystem 2nd

3rd what will it be?

boards of canada?

or
the arcade fire? the mars volta? Clap Your Hands Say Yeah? New Order? Shortwave Set? Goldfrapp? Opeth? Spoon? Mew? Colleen ? Nine Horses?

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e128/ilxalbums/spoon.gif

Comment:

other ilxors said:

i have listened to it, on-off, for the best part of the last 24 hours, and i'm of the opinion that it is an almighty shuffle forward and their best record yet. now, bear in mind that i have a 100% record of thinking the most recent Spoon is the best, since Sneaks, but that's because it has been true every time! to paraphrase myself elsewhere, without losing the Spoon-y spartan essence, the songs are somehow more musical and substantial. i love 'Mathematical Mind' - seriously a contender for best Spoon track to date.
fsharp February 17th, 2005 9:04 PM.

Avec un peu de recul, this album has definitely grown on me now that I listen to it for the first time in a week. I love "The Beast and The Dragon, Adored" as the opener, as it sets the tone for the rest of the album. There are no *peaks* per se, which is always hard to deal with on first listens, but I really like the prevailing mood of this album. I still think that "The Infinite Pet" is a relative clunker though.
alex in montreal February 25th, 2005 2:41 PM.

Monsieur Valentine = dead ringer for early Auteurs. Cello riffs and sparse piano / guitar stuff. Spoon escape being awful as a result because the guy's voice is better than Luke Haines. Or maybe it's just that an American accent sounds more exotic.
alext March 20th, 2005 9:41 PM.

US INDIE RAWK STRIKES IN AT 3 !

Don't tell me Pitchfork types: Clap you hands if you [don't] want talking heads karaoke are NEXT

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000AP2ZAS.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

This top ten is shaping out pretty cool, except of course M.I.A. at #1

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e128/ilxalbums/lcdsoundsystem.jpg

Comment:
Record collecting geek, label co-owner and producer James Murphy was frustrated with the dance music scene he was involved in. It didn't rock. Instead of complain about it, he formed a band. It's not the most original concept, but LCD Soundsystem pulls it off flawlessly. It's danceable, it pokes fun at hipsters, and it rocks like a motherfucker.
AS Van Dorston.

Other ilxors said:

massive, massive, massive disappointment.

The singles disc is so much better than the album proper, so SO much better.

There are too many guitars and rub vocals, and not enough disco/stuff you can dance to.
I think I'll take it back to the shop tomorrow.
The Lex February 3rd, 2005 11:20 AM

sorry, no, i'm loving this whole thing. i like the guitars, i like the vocals, i like the style. and (x-post) i love on repeat. it reminds me in part of soft cell and in part of the normal.
grimly fiendish February 3rd, 2005 11:53 AM.

this album is seriously crap, for me. it's like 8 "give it ups" and not one "losing my edge". if you didn't get the bonus disc with the cd I'd actually tell customers not to buy this, out of shame. Ronan February 3rd, 2005 11:54 AM.

but really, lcd soundsystem was one of those albums where everyone was like, "oh man this is either going to be awesome or it's going to suck completely", and it didn't do either, it just sort of did everything you expected it to do. it's perfectly enjoyable but it's not the sort of album that people really get passionate about. it feels gimmicky in a way, though i'm not sure it actually is.
gear January 19th, 2006 10:53 PM.

I'm kind of amazed Kate Bush placed so low - I was expecting Aerial to go top three at least.

(Ack, LCD Fucking Soundsystem. I'm with The Lex and Ronan here).

hey, at least one-twentieth of their vote was from glasgow ;)

Mr. Snrub sez MIA = More Inane Awful Muzak