Year-End Critics' Polls 2012

Yeah I'm not really casting aspersions, I was responding to Nick's post really, it's hardly surprising they're going for the usual critical faves.

grooving to kendrick lamar at oxford! nice.

i'm glad people like converge so much. there is so much shitty stuff that they have helped spawn (not their fault) and its nice that people can tell a good poignantly brutal album from a bad one.

has decibel put the last three converge albums at number one? they really like converge i guess.

i don't really feel like listening to frank ocean. do i have to? i could youtube him but i don't think i care enough...

usually i'm more curious when people talk about the same thing for months.

love converge - ss on the money

when frank ocean makes an Afro-Swedish voodoo rock album i promise i will check him out.

channel ORANGE has one great song and a bunch of okay-to-embarrassing ones

otm

Yeah, I'm just grumpy basically and prefer lists full of surprises (and that list had just one really [i.e. Converge are still hip? I like Converge btw]). But also there's this lurking feeling you get that they're just discovering new music through the exact same channels as everyone else, you don't get the sense that these people are fully immersed in any vibrant subcultures or anything (apart from the Converge guy maybe?), it's all just the *edgier* end of the same stuff that was in the Uncut list and that's kind of boring *shakes fist*

xpost

“Bad Religion,” “Thinking About You,” “Super Rich Kids” and “Lost” are all really good, but I haven't felt any need to play the rest of the record since my initial engagement with it.

Also when they go on about really liking the Jessie Ware album and then single out a particular track for praise ("listenable" - The Oxford Student), it would probably be a good idea to get its fucking name right.

Anybody have the full MOJO list?

channel ORANGE has one great song and a bunch of okay-to-embarrassing ones

I don't even know what the "one great song" is: "Bad Religion"? "Super Rich Kids"? "Thinkin' Bout You"? (These aren't necessarily my favorites -- I'm just guessing what the "one great song" is for someone who thinks the album has "one great song.")

Btw, my wife, who has a habit of ignoring albums and then suddenly obsessing over them, just got really into Frank Ocean.

...Which is to say that I've been listening to the album around the house lately, and it's been holding up nicely.

for me, the one great song is "Thinkin' Bout You"

Hah I thought I was a bit meh on the F Ocean album too but after reading this thread it turns out I actually like it way more than most.

don't listen to it often but channel o is a v good album imo

it is crafted to be an extremely easy thing to listen to, which will always attract the mindless indie schlubs, but then even its hardcore reppers havent been particularly perceptive about it either

i have basically come to conclusion that it's highly appreciable but idk i'm too old to really connect with what it's saying now, same way i unquestioningly loved the first n.e.r.d lp but wouldnt today. like oh life can be empty and superficial huh kiddo?

obv there's the other angle which is great brave art and all but i don't want to get all brandon sodabread about it

i have basically come to conclusion that it's highly appreciable but idk i'm too old to really connect with what it's saying now, same way i unquestioningly loved the first n.e.r.d lp but wouldnt today. like oh life can be empty and superficial huh kiddo?

I think this is very fair. The biggest issue I had with the album wasn't so much in how it sounds as it was in that the stories being told in most of the songs struck me as facile and, in at least one case, bordering on stupid; I really, really liked the whole woozy narrative behind "Novacane" so the last thing I expected was to feel divorced from and amused by the storytelling.

i think this is very fair so let me get some of that whilst still being unfair and equating young with being dumb

That Converge album is very very good and deserves its place in any end of year list.

I implied rather than equated, but otherwise OTM

Paste Magazine
http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2012/11/the-50-best-albums-of-2012.html

1. Frank Ocean - Channel Orange
2. Father John Misty - Fear Fun
3. Titus Andronicus - Local Business
4. Fiona Apple - The Idler Wheel...
5. Sharon Van Etten - Tramp
6. Alabama Shakes - Boys & Girls
7. Dirty Projectors - Swing Lo Magellan
8. Japandroids - Celebration Rock
9. Beach House - Bloom
10. First Aid Kit - The Lion's Roar
11. The Men - Open Your Heart
12. El-P - Cancer For Cure
13. The Shins - Port Of Morrow
14. The Walkmen - Heaven
15. Jack White - Blunderbuss
16. Tame Impala - Lonerism
17. Andrew Bird - Break It Yourself
18. Kendrick Lamar - Good Kid, M
19. Rufus Wainwright - Out Of The Game
20. The Mountain Goats - Transcendental Youth
21. The Lumineers – The Lumineers
22. Hospitality - Hospitality
23. Jens Lekman - I Know What Love Isn't
24. Justin Townes Earle – Nothing’s Gonna Change The Way You Feel About Me Now
25. Grizzly Bear - Shields
26. Bob Dylan - Tempest
27. John K. Samson – Provincial
28. Divine Fits - A Thing Called Divine Fits
29. Killer Mike - R.A.P. Music
30. David Byrne & St
31. The Avett Brothers – The Carpenter
32. Woods - Bend Beyond
33. Howler - America Give Up
34. Cloud Nothings - Attack On Memory
35. King Tuff - King Tuff
36. Cat Power - Sun
37. Shovels & Rope – O Be Joyful
38. Dr John - Locked Down
39. Leonard Cohen - Old Ideas
40. Todd Snider - Agnostic Hymns and Stoner Fables
41. Of Monsters And Men – My Head is an Animal
42. Bettye Lavette - Thankful 'N' Thoughtful
43. Stars - The North
44. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend!
45. Punch Brothers - Who’s Feeling Young Now?
46. Damien Jurado - Maraqopa
47. Baroness - Yellow & Green
48. Lord Huron - Lonesome Dreams
49. Kelly Hogan - I Like To Keep Myself In Pain
50. Grimes - Visions

haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa they put frank ocean first

there is still a paste! apparently. who knew?

Easy to keep going when you cease publishing or paying contributors.

"20. The Mountain Goats - Transcendental Youth"

number 20 spot rightfully belongs to this album:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e0/Aerosmith_-_MFAD.jpg

Broadcast in from print magazine heaven. Yeah they ceased publication in Sep 2010. If the ghosts of magazines I actually liked could send in lists too, this thread would officially be super duper awesome.

I am surprised I haven't seen full lists for Uncut and MOJO yet. They're probably about 70% the same. More interesting lists will come soon. There's always lots of amazing albums that are overlooked by most of the lists. I wonder if anyone will give props to this...

http://images.amazon.com/images/G/01/richmedia/images/cover.gif

Mojo

1 Jack White
2 Frank Ocean
3 Bill Fay
4 Leonard Cohen
5 Dexys
6 Black Keys
7 Django Djangp
8 Dr John
9 Julia Holter
10 Dyland
11 Scott Walker
12 Tame Impala
13 XX
14 Hot Chip
15 Cat Power
16 Bobby Womack
17 Mark Lanegan Band
18 Orbital
19 Advance Base
20 Lee Fields & The Expressions

― fun loving and xtremely tolrant (Billy Dods), Friday, November 23, 2012 8:21 AM (3 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

whoa i play autoharp and omnichord on mojo's #19 album of the year #bragging

Sorry, an error, not trying to be mysterious:
http://fastnbulbous.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/motorpsycho-death.jpg

skot ignore these fucks, channel orange is the best album this year altho rtc is maybe kind of otm to an extent. it's slightly flawed, but i haven't heard an album this year that isn't.

lee fields is awesome. don't know what his new stuff sounds like. i mean, i can guess what it sounds like. jack white is the exact opposite of awesome. jack white is horrible and should be put in prison!

lol at paste putting it at the top of that terrible list tho xp

jesus, now i don't know what to believe about frank ocean. you guys have me all bugaboo! i'll youtube some stuff later. maybe.

The Fly's Top 50 LPs of 2012

50 Trailer Trash Tracys - Ester
49 Lucy Rose - Like I Used To
48 Lotus Plaza - Spooky Action At A Distance
47 2:54 - 2:54
46 Egyptian Hip Hop - Good Don't Sleep
45 Errors - Have Some Faith In Magic'
44 Stealing Sheep - Into The Diamond Sun
43 Pulled Apart by Horses - Tough Love
42 Trash Talk - 119
41 Two Door Cinema Club - Beacon
40 Allah-Las - Allah-Las
39 Mystery Jets - Radlands
38 Best Coast - The Only Place
37 The Invisible - Rispah
36 Liars - WIXIW
35 Howler - America Give Up
34 David Byrne & St. Vincent - Love This Giant
33 Animal Collective - Centipede Hz
32 Beach House - Bloom
31 Here We Go Magic - A Different Ship
30 Graham Coxon - A+E
29 Poliça - Give You The Ghost
28 TOY - TOY
27 Chairlift - Something
26 Bat For Lashes - The Haunted Man
25 Melody's Echo Chamber - Melody's Echo Chamber
24 Daughn Gibson - All Hell
23 Twin Shadow - Confess
22 Dirty Projectors - Swing Lo Magellan
21 The Cribs - In The Belly Of The Brazen Bull
20 King Tuff - King Tuff
19 Diiv - Oshin
18 Pond - Beard Wives Denim
17 The xx - Coexist
16 The Vaccines - The Vaccines Come Of Age
15 Purity Ring - Shrines
14 Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Mature Themes
13 Grizzly Bear - Shields
12 Alt-J - An Awesome Wave
11 Lana del Rey - Born To Die
10 Tame Impala - Lonerism
09 The Maccabees - Given To The Wild
08 Kindness - World You Need A Change Of Mind
07 Field Music - Plumb
06 Django Django - Django Django
05 Jessie Ware - Devotion
04 Cat Power - Sun
03 Frank Ocean - Channel Orange
02 Grimes - Visions
01 Sharon Van Etten - Tramp

F-a-duck I wasn't showing all messages and missed that it was already posted, sorry. Going back to wrk.

i have no idea what the fly is but i kinda wanna do a liveblog/youtube thread devoted to those albums. cuz i have no idea what most of them sound like. actually, if someone finds me the perfect indie schmindie year-end list (i haven't heard any of it, trust me) i will totally do that. that might be a winner though.

haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa they put frank ocean first

I already thought Ocean had a decent shot at (a still-hypothetical?) P&J #1, but that seems like a bellwether.

oh he's gonna top a lot of lists, but coming from PASTE it's pretty lol (tho they won't be alone)

Oh sure, but that's what I mean: if even PASTE is putting him at #1, then that's a sign of many more to come.

I think the P&J #1's a done deal. Unlike (seemingly) most people on ILX I love Channel Orange so I'm fine with that. I don't think he'll be robbing any masterpieces.

frank will do really well in this poll too, tho maybe slightly under other polls if his average is like 2.2 or something

actually, if someone finds me the perfect indie schmindie year-end list (i haven't heard any of it, trust me) i will totally do that. that might be a winner though.

That Fly list trends a little cute for my tastes, but it's about as good a list of worthwhile indie-rock as I've seen this year. Not a bad place to start.

channel orange is the best album this year altho rtc is maybe kind of otm to an extent. it's slightly flawed, but i haven't heard an album this year that isn't.

― these bitches is my sons and i make dad jokes (The Reverend), Monday, 26 November 2012 21:20 (13 minutes ago) Bookmark

i haven't said anything about flaws - if what i've said can be construed as criticism it's personal and not universal. genuinely i think if i were a younger man i'd be all over it, really into it, but now i just get it and that's all really. what's the borges quote, "i was drawn to sunsets, slums and misfortune, now it is to mornings in the heart of the city..."

like i say though the craft at least can't be fronted on; breathes in all the right places, a better filmic album than kendrick's i'd say

Good to see LotusPlaza getting some love

I like that Stealing Sheep record in the Fly list quite a bit. I realise this description will probably be the kiss of death for it for most people here, but it's really charming gentle folksy psych stuff, reminds me a little of Gorkys circa the Blue Trees but it's a bit more pop than that.

Frank's second-best (by far) record in two years is gonna dominate these lists and run away w/ P&J :(

not that the other one was totally overlooked, i guess

what is the fly these days, i swear the last time i saw a physical print copy was like 2005

xpost Lotus Plaza will be top 5 for me. Love that record more every day.

Stealing Sheep is good too. I just discovered them from The Fly list last night.

Surprised to see that Django Django record everywhere so far. I like that album, but don't love it ... find it a bit tiresome about halfway thru. Were they the breakout indie stars in Europe this year or something?

xp and as that it was bit of stuff you leaf through sipping a terrible pint waiting for a band to come on at a gig, or thing you threw in a record store bag for the bus home

No wonder people think indie is a steaming pile of shit if that Fly list is hailed as a good round-up of the year. Jesus.

hahaha