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

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

1. M.I.A ? Arular
(490.5 points, 36 votes, 7 number ones)

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

Comment:

Savvy, self-mythologizing electro-hip-hop delivers on the hype.
O Nate

All the reasons she was slagged off (totally faux, art school graduate, can't really rap or make proper beats, exploiter of global street music) were what made her great. All the reasons she was praised (so real, so conscious, her dad's a freedom fighter don'tcha know) were at best irrelevant. But she ended up sounding like no one else, because no one else was caught between the two poles in exactly the place MIA was: the second-gen immigrant unsure as to wear the accoutrements of a second-hand ingrained culture to embrace her roots or for an art project, the pop enthusiast magpieing up the shiniest bits of the music she was digging and smoothing out its edges by equal measures of necessity and invention. A triumph of genius over scenius.

Key tracks: '10 Dollar', 'Bucky Done Gun', 'URAQT'
The Lex

other ilxors said:

Couldn't single out one comment from this monster thread..
This is the thread where we anticipate and then flip out over how great M.I.A.'s 'Arular' is

That just made me spit beer.

No, the new HMHB has great moments but isn't that hot overall.

question how many albums got at least 2 votes?

also can we have a laugh at coldplay's position in the poll?

The Isolee/Vitalic divide - it's like smart vs stupid techno, possibly...

i'm surprised Jed seems to like LCD! there are a lot of great bits on that album.

100 Devin Davis - Lonely People of the World Unite 35 2 1
96 Sugababes - Taller in more ways 36 3 0
96 Mannie Fresh - The mind of… 36 3 0
96 Lil Wayne - Tha Carter II 36 3 0
96 Delia Gonzalez & Gavin Russom - Days Of Mars 36 3 0
95 Devendra Banhart - Cripple Crow 36.5 4 0
94 Shortwave Set - Collecting your debt 37 4 0
93 Herman Dune - Not on top 37 2 1
92 Soulwax - Nite Versions 37.5 3 0
90 Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane - At Carnegie Hall 38 20
90 Fall - Complete Peel Sessions box 38 2 0
89 The Chap - Ham 39 3 0
88 Half Man Half Biscuit - Achtung Bono 39 4 0
87 Various - Kompakt Total 6 39 5 0
86 Okkervil River - Black Sheep Boy 39 3 1
85 Rhythm and Sound - See Mi Yah 40.5 3 0
84 Gang Gang Dance - God's Money 41 3 0
83 TATU - Dangerous and moving 42 3 0
82 Eluvium - Talk among the trees 42 4 0
81 Go-Betweens - Oceans apart 43 4 0
80 Silver Jews - Tanglewood numbers 44 3 1
79 Jesu - Jesu 44.5 3 1
78 Modeselektor - Hello Mom! 45 3 0
77 Venetian Snares - Rossz Czillag Alatt Szuletett 46 3
76 M.A.N.D.Y - Body Language 47 3 0
75 Clipse - We got it for cheap vol 1 & 2 48 5 0
74 Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - CYHSY 49 6 0
73 Opeth - Ghost Reveries 49.5 3 1
72 Of Montreal - The Sunlandic Twins 49.5 4 1
71 Goldfrapp - Supernature 50 6 0
70 Outrageous Cherry - Our love will change the world 52 3
69 Architecture in Helsinki - In case we die 52 4 1
68 Decemberists - Picaresque 54 5 0
67 Fall - Fall Heads Roll 54 4 1
66 Go Team - Thunder Lightning Strike 54 5 0
65 Stars - Set yourself on fire 54 6 0
64 Fannypack - See you next Tuesday 55 4 1
63 Amadou & Mariam - Dimanche a Bamako 55 4 2
62 Various - Run the Road 56 7 0
61 Akron Family - Akron Family 57 4 1
60 Fiery Furnaces - Rehearsing my choir 57 6 0
59 Roisin Murphy - Ruby Blue 57 7 0
58 Black Mountain - Black Mountain 58 4 0
57 Andrew Bird - The Mysterious production of eggs 59 5
56 Richard Hawley - Coles Corner 60 4 1
55 Jamie Lidell - Multiply 61 6 0
54 Art Brut - Bang Bang Rock N Roll 63 6 0
53 Electrelane - Axes 63 5 1
52 Super Furry Animals - Love Kraft 63.5 5 1
51 Fiery Furnaces - EP 64 6 0
50 Daft Punk - Human after all 64 6 0
49 Franz Ferdinand - You could have it so much better… 65 7
48 Smog - A River ain't too much 65 4 1
47 Maximo Park - A certain trigger 66 6 0
46 Depeche Mode - Playing the angels 66.5 6 0
45 Annie - Anniemal 67 5 0
44 Juan Maclean - Less than human 67.5 7 0
43 Dangerdoom - The Mouse and the Mask 68.5 9 0
42 Bright Eyes - I'm wide awake it's morning 71 7 0
41 My Morning Jacket - Z 72 6 1
40 Tom Vek - We have sound 73.5 4 0
39 Alan Braxe & Friends - The Upper Cut 73.5 6 0
38 Konono no.1 - Congotronics 76.5 9 0
37 Stephen Malkmus - Face the truth* 78 6 0
36 Ellen Allien - Thrills 89 7 0
35 Whites Stripes - Get behind me Satan 90 10 0
34 Missy Elliot - The Cookbook 91.5 7 1
33 Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine 95.5 8 0
32 Patrick Wolf - Wind in the wires 97 6 1
31 Madonna - Confessions on a dancefloor 97.5 8 0
30 Low - The Great Destroyer 100 8 0
29 Sigur Ros - Takk 101.5 11 1
28 Deerhoof - The Runners Four 102 8 0
27 Wolf Parade - Apologies to Queen Mary 104.5 9 0
26 Kelley Polar - Love songs of the Hanging Gardens 105 8
25 The Clientele - Strange Geometry* 105.5 9 0
24 Ladytron - The Witching Hour 111 9 0
23 Saint Etienne - Tales from Turnpike House 111 8 2
22 Out Hud - Let us never speak of it again 114 8 0
21 Sleater Kinney - The Woods 115 11 0
20 Antony and the Johnsons - I am a bird now 116 12 0
19 New Pornographers - Twin Cinema 125.5 9 1
18 M83 - Before dawn heals us 141 11 2
17 Gorillaz - Demon Days 142.5 12 2
16 Hold Steady - Separation Sunday 154 13 1
15 Robyn - Robyn 155 11 1
14 Rachel Stevens - Come and get it 159 12 1
13 Mountain Goats - Sunset Tree 174 13 0
12 Kanye West - Late Registration 177 14 0
11 Girls Aloud - Chemistry 177 14 0
10 Kate Bush - Aerial 181 11 5
9 Broadcast - Tender Buttons 192 15 0
8 Isolee - Wearmonster 200 13 2
7 Sufjan Stevens - Illinois 205 16 1
6 Bloc Party - Silent alarm 206 19 1
5 Animal Collective - Feels 208 19 0
4 Vitalic - OK Cowboy 217.5 20 2
3 Spoon - Gimme Fiction 221.5 20 2
2 LCD Soundsystem - LCD Soundsystem 333.5 26 2
1 MIA - Arular 490.5 36 7

That's it for this year. Thanks to all who voted, who commented and wrote pieces. Apologies to anyone who's emails I've ignored or blurbs I've missed, just a side effect of the chaos of my life, and not a personal dis.

The Eagle eyed will notice that Daft Punk is in a different position in the list above, I made an error and credited it with points it didn't deserve, it drops 7 places and the ones immedeiately above each move up one. No others were affected.

I'll try to list the rest sometime this weekend.

DJ Martian, Coldplay =177

OTM!!! Vitalic just reminds me of all the stuff that I heard in the 90's 'electronica' years (not any specific acts, just generally) that's totally, totally dated and worthless to me now.

Stevem i like the LCD a fair bit and voted it #6 in albums with Movement and Yr city's a sucker #s 8 and 18 in the tracks poll.

albums

1 Smog "A River Ain't Too Much To Love"
2 Delia Gonzalez & Gavin Russom- "days of Mars"
3 Isolée - Wearemonster
4 The Fall "Fall Heads Roll"
5 Kelley Polar - Love Songs of the Hanging Gardens
6 LCD Soundsytem - LCD Soundsysem
7 Rythm and Sound "see Mi Yah"
8 Bohren und Der Club of Gore - Geisterfaust
9 Roisin Murphy - Ruby Blue
10 Gorillaz - Demon Days

tracks

1 - Morane - "Electric Pilot Girl (club Version)"
2 - Black Leotard Front - "Casual Friday"
3 - Noze - "Kitchen"
4 - Tori Alamaze - "Dont Cha"/ "Don't Ya"
5 -Theo Parrish - "Falling Up (Carl Craig Mix)"
6 - Nina Nastasia "Bird of Cuzco"
7 - Hot Chip - "Over and Over"
8 - LCD Soundsystem - "Movement"
9 - MFA -"The Difference it makes (superpitcher mix)"
10 - Isolee - My Hi-Matic
11 - Black Dice - Smiling Off (luomo Mix)
12 - Nemesi - "Cosmica (Lindstrom Mix)
13 - Black Mountain - No Hits
14 - The Books - Be Good To Them Always
15 - Carl craig - "sandstorm"
16 - Chicken Lips - "sweet Cow - Lindstrom Mix"
17 - David Sylvian - The Only Daughter (remixed by Ryoji Ikeda)
18 - LCD Sounsystem - Your City's a Sucker
19 - Ying Yang Twins - Wait (The Whisper Song)
20 - Smog - The Well