Year-End Critics' Polls 2012

xpost One of the things I like most about the Laurel Halo album is that her vocals *aren't* drowned in the usual chillwave reverb. But I also get why others find this annoying.

― mike t-diva, Tuesday, December 11, 2012 10:27 AM (10 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

that would be great, if she could sing

it's even worse because she CAN sing and just...chooses not to

You guys are actually making me want to hear the LH album, and I wasn't really very interested before...

yeah, it sounds awesome

it's fine, nothing really special one way or the other

at least that's how I feel about the first 3 songs

If you're on the Dirty Projectors bandwagon, there isn't much about the way she sings that should bother you too much.

that's how i got sucked in emil.y and dog latin. I found it dull.

Here's the Crack Magazine (disclaimer: I write for them, and wrote a few of the blurbs) 25-1 lists:

http://crackmagazine.net/music/albums-of-2012-25-11/
http://crackmagazine.net/music/the-top-100-albums-of-2012-10-1/

10. SWANS - THE SEER
9. ITAL - DREAM ON
8. METZ - METZ
7. FLYING LOTUS - UNTIL THE QUIET COMES
6. FRANK OCEAN - CHANNEL ORANGE
5. KENDRICK LAMAR - GOOD KID. M.AA.D CITY
4. THE MEN - OPEN YOUR HEART
3. PORTCIO QUARTET - PORTICO QUARTET
2. TAME IMPALA - LONERISM
1. JOHN TALABOT - FIN

^ A list of things I feel like I ought to like, but I really don't. Other than Talabot and Swans. Is this what getting old is like?

some of the others are okay i guess

Apollo's Bounteous Harvest: The Quietus Albums Of The Year 2012
http://thequietus.com/articles/10924-the-quietus-albums-of-the-year-2012

01. Swans - The Seer
02. Scott Walker - Bish Bosch
03. Carter Tutti Void – Transverse
04. XTG - Desertshore/The Final Report
05. VCMG – SSSS
06. Vatican Shadow - Ghosts Of Chechynya
07. Dragged Into Sunlight – Widowmaker
08. Laurel Halo – Quarantine
09. Anaal Nathrakh – Vanitas
10. KTL - V
11. Kassem Mosse & Mix Mup - MM/KM
12. Dean Blunt & Inga Copeland - Black Is Beautiful
13. Land Observations - Roman Roads
14. Jam City - Classical Curves
15. Liars – WIXIW
16. Neneh Cherry & The Thing – Cherry Thing
17. Lee Gamble - Dutch Tvashar Plumes
18. Sun Araw & The Congos - Icon Give Thank
19. Actress – RIP
20. Darren Hayman & The Long Parliament - The Violence
21. White Hills – Frying On This Rock
22. Silent Servant - Negative Fascination
23. Gravenhurst – The Ghost In Daylight
24. Eccentronic Research Council ft Maxine Peake – 1612 Underture
25. Necessary – Galgeberg/Gimle
26. Emptyset – Medium
27. High On Fire – De Vermis Mysteriis
28. Andy Stott - Luxury Problems
29. Alex Tucker – Third Mouth
30. Fairhorns - Doki Doki Run
31. Thomas Koner - Novaya Zemlya
32. Raime - Quarter Turns Over A Living Line
33. Holly Herndon – Movement
34. Shackleton - Music For The Quiet Hour/Drawbar Organ EPs
35. Killer Mike – RAP Music
36. JK Flesh – Post Human
37. Richard Skelton - Verse Of Birds
38. Daphni – Jiaolong
39. Dope Body – Natural History
40. Oren Ambarchi - Sagittarian Domain
41. Chromatics - Kill For Love
42. Hexvessel - No Holier Vessel
43. Toy – Toy
44. Traxman – Da Mind Of Traxman
45. Vindicatrix – Mengamuk
46. Kendrick Lamaar – good kid m.A.A.d city
47. UFOmammut – ORO Opus Primum/Alter
48. John Foxx & The Maths - The Shape Of Things To Come
49. Bee Mask - When We Were Eating Unripe Pears
50. Robert Hood - Motor City: Nighttime World 3
51. Melody's Echo Chamber - Melody's Echo Chamber
52. Hirsute Pursuit - Tighten That Muscle Ring
53. Burial - Kindred
54. Black Breath – Sentenced To Life
55. The Pre New – Music For People Who Hate Themselves
56. Forward Strategy Group - Labour Division
57. Beak - >>
58. Turbonegro - Sexual Harassment
59. Killing Joke – MMXII
60. New War - New War
61. Angel Haze - Reservation
62. Rolo Tomassi – Astraea
63. Tim Burgess - Oh No I Love You
64. Sir Richard Bishop – Intermezzo
65. Bo Ningen – Line The Wall
66. John Talabot – fIN
67. Mark Lannegan – Blues Funeral
68. Devilman - Devilman
69. Motorpsycho And Ståle Storløkken – The Death Defying Unicorn
70. Goat – World Music
71. Guardian Alien - See The World Given To A One Love Entity
72. Carlton Melton - Photos Of Photos
73. Leonard Cohen – Old Ideas
74. Six Organs Of Admittance - Ascent
75. Man Forever – Pansophical Cataract

That's a pretty interesting list, loads in there I haven't heard of or seen anywhere else.

okay I really, really liked the VCMG album but top five of 2012 seems silly, like they meant to put Wonky there as a surprise comeback album and then had a massive brain fart

i've been picking through this list a bit this morning, the alex tucker record seems kind of cool.

I want to see a dancehall heavy list (as I lost touch with that genre but remain curious). Maybe I should just go the ilx dancehall thread, or elsewhere.

That's a lot of damn music I haven't heard, close to 60% of that list. After binging on over 100 albums this past week, including epic length stuff like Wadada Leo Smith's 4 disc set Ten Freedom Summers, my head's gonna explode. Gonna try to pick carefully the ones I really need to hear. Funny how highly rated the Scott Walker and Laurel Halo albums are, as they are undeniably uncomfortable, sometimes excruciating listens. I'm sure I'm not alone in feeling silly subjecting myself to them more than a couple times, to make sure I'm not missing out. There's definitely interesting stuff going on that can be oddly compelling as it is torturous, which is why I still rate 'em. But there's no way albums are topping my list that I would not look forward to listening to again more than once or twice.

Glad to see Ufomammut and Motorpsycho in there!

I'm not won over by the Scott Walker yet, but maybe I need to listen some more (or maybe not!).

Funny how highly rated the Scott Walker and Laurel Halo albums are, as they are undeniably uncomfortable, sometimes excruciating listens.

it's Farrah Abraham i feel sorry for

Has anybody put the Fela Kuti re ish on any of these lists?

maybe I didn't stick with it long enough but I thought Laurel Halo was just boring

I did enjoy the Turbonegro comeback with the new singer too. I love the band, but the album didn't rank that high as they've had so many better ones. Still cool to see them mentioned.

Have tried a few times but couldn't get past about track 3 of the Laurel Halo album. Shame as it has one of my favourite sleeves of 2012.

you could've skipped forward ya kno

xxp:

As someone who's spent 20 years searching for bands with the Cocteau Twins aesthetic, I can pretty safely say there aren't more than a handful that come close, and Beach House is rather far from the mark. As others above mention, Beach House is way closer to the Stevie Nicks/Fleetwood aesthetic.

On the other hand, there's never been a year without a new Slowdive apeing band. Its an easier formula - you don't need a fluidly jazzy vocalist, for one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0JsPf8xK5k

As someone who's spent 20 years searching for bands with the Cocteau Twins aesthetic, I can pretty safely say there aren't more than a handful that come close

Empress Of isn't identical, but she's in the handful who comes close imo.

11. Kassem Mosse & Mix Mup - MM/KM

Really wanted to listen to this properly but this is just vinyl only which has all sold out amirite? All the youtubes I've checked have been good though.

45. Vindicatrix – Mengamuk

I couldn't really recommend this to anyone else with an easy conscience, but this is one of my secret faves on the Quietus list. Scott Walker-esque avant-crooning over some shabby old electronic soundscape on Mordant Music's label.

xp JF:
There are others, but Liz Frasier is rather weird as rock vocalists go. Wouldn't be surprised if she was a huge Ella Fitzgerald fan. On the other hand there's a lot of bands that have the instrumental side of CT down and stick some nondescript high-school choral singer on top.

Nice to see the Quietus repping for Land Observations - Roman Roads IV-XI. It's not amazing and #13 EOY is a bit ridiculous but as pastoral Krautrock revivalism goes it was one of the best this year.

irl lol at this writeup

9. Anaal Nathrakh – Vanitas

"Anaal Nathrakh!!! Anaal Nathrakh!!! Anaal Nathrakh!!! Anaal Nathrakh!!! Anaal Nathrakh!!! Anaal Nathrakh!!! RIP MY FUCKING HEAD OFF AND USE IT AS A FUCKING KICK BALL, THEN STICK IT IN A FUCKING CANNON AND SHOOT IT INTO FUCKING OUTER FUCKING SPACE!!! Anaal Nathrakh!!! Anaal Nathrakh!!! Anaal Nathrakh!!! Anaal Nathrakh!!! Anaal Nathrakh!!! Anaal Nathrakh!!! MY HEAD WILL HIT AN ASTEROID AND REDIRECT IT TO THE EARTH!!!! RRRRRRRRRRRRR AAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MY FACE AND BRAINS AND FUCKING HAIR WILL MOLD AND MELT INTO THE FUCKING ASTEROID THAT IS NOW SPEEDING TOWARDS THE FUCKING MISERABLE PLANET FAIL FUCKING EARTH AND RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Anaal Nathrakh!!!Anaal Nathrakh!!! Anaal Nathrakh!!! Anaal Nathrakh!!! Anaal Nathrakh!!! Anaal Nathrakh!!! SEND THIS FUCKING CD TO ME WITH A WARHEAD ATTACHED TO IT!!! FUCKING DIE!!! Anaal Nathrakh!!! FUCKING RULES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous Anaal Nathrakh fan ordering Vanitas over the internet

Sort of surprisingly dull: http://www.avclub.com/articles/the-best-music-of-2012,89711/

evan r. can't un-dull their music coverage all by himself

do any of those records mean anything to any of them? or anyone?

kyle ryan i think managed to vote folie a deux into av club's 2009 top 20 and hoo boy those comments were fun

x-post --They have Frank Ocean and the Swans and Leonard Cohen just like a bunch of polls, what more do you want said about those efforts?

well, i was just thinking, that seems like the defect in their list that shows up elsewhere. appreciation without mattering. which is not to say that none of those records matter, or could. but no one seems to have tried showing that they have a stake in any of it.

... I have no idea what you mean by that.

yeah, nobody has made any kind of case that the Frank Ocean album means something to them or matters in some larger sense.

Being on a list means the record mattered to a lot of people!

yes, to the listmakers? or blurb-writers? that's the thing that seems to have gone missing.

'but to', i meant to type.

I still don't understand what you are looking for

i don't think the biggest problem with the EOY list blurbs is a lack of passion (or hyperbole)

i mean this morning we were making fun of a list where the blurbs for albums outside the top 40 talked about the record "owning the year" or being "the best record of 2012"

Exactly. The often hysterical praise and context-setting in blurbs is what needs oversight.

I mean, if someone is out there writing "this album pulled my back from committing murder/suicide" blurbs about that Chairlift album, there are deeper issues beyond whether the album is any good or not that I'd be loathe to actually engage

xpost to some dude - that just means that the writers (or editors) are bad, or they have a distorted sense of how things matter in general versus how they matter to them. but what i'm talking about is not passion or hyperbole. the listmakers themselves are absent from the writing they do about the music that they say matters (or imply matters by putting it on year-end lists). they don't seem to be concerned to make the personal connection. (and by extension, they seem to have trouble finding anything larger than a personal connection to hang the meaningfulness of their chosen records on - for lack of good narratives at the moment, coherence of listening audiences, etc.)

But explaining why the album matters IS a personal connection.

I still have no idea what you are looking for when you use the word "meaningfulness" and I feel like you are simultaneously criticizing these lists for only going for a personal connection and not bothering to make a personal connection.

in summation: what happened, I am confused

alfred, i certainly wouldn't want to deny that it could be. but doesn't that depend to some extent on how the explanation is given, and on how it's written?

dan, i think that as presented the onion list is a good example of what one sees in many year-end lists. there are very few personal connections actually manifested in the writing accompanying the lists because the writers/editors allow the impersonality of the format to exclude those connections. so the end results come to seem universally samey and vaguely like empty exercises.