Year-End Critics' Polls 2014

I am curious insofar as it's interesting to see what I've heard that actually pops up on lists. that's about it though.

xp

Especially if/when you already think most of the people doing the bulk of the talking are idiots with terrible taste.

― Humorist (horse) (誤訳侮辱), T

Just to add in here - I dont think anyone is an idiot and i dont think anyone has terrible taste, its more that it feels like being taken to the Louvre to look at the great works of art when you were a child, and really you just wanted to play in the garden and look at the trees and it didnt matter which tree was the important one

Yes, when I die I will stop listening to new things because I might like them. I'd say that's pretty much what "dying" means to me.

Oh forget it, I'm obviously not against "listening to new things because I might like them", sheesh

...when it makes others miserable

that's part of my raison d'etre, yes

http://media.giphy.com/media/yQskUomixQk00/giphy.gif

Like, is forkclovestofu still just not being "open minded" enough wrt drake or katy perry? When do we stop trying to like things, when we die? When can we say "it's not for me" and move on?
― brimstead

in any case, every time i have this discussion with people IRL, we all understand each other clearly and every time i have this discussion on the internets, I always end up going back and forth fruitlessly for hours so maybe the fault is with the way I'm phrasing myself in print.

And I'm "obviously" not in favor of "disabling one's critical faculties", nor of making music less fun. For me some of the most fun I have in music is wandering into some kind of thing I've never heard of or neglected or assumed I wouldn't like, and discovering that it has something to which I respond.

But I totally agree that nobody "has" to engage with anything, songs or artists or genres or anything else, whether they're being "talked about" or not. There's a lot of music, and not that much time. If you have something you'd rather explore than country music, for example, I think that's very totally fine. Nobody should try to make you feel bad for it. They're allowed, in my opinion, to try to entice you into giving it a chance. But it's also way too easy, especially online, to aim for "enticing" and actually hit "condescending" or "judgmental"...

And also, I hate jazz. Which is a blanket statement, as forks says, and not quite accurate (I like giant old-school jazz orchestras), but I guess to me that kind of inward personal generalization is merely sad, whereas the outward version ("jazz if crap, why are you idiots wasting time talking about it?") is offensive.

I think I've told this story before, but this convo reminds me of a good friend, who was working one of his first "real" construction jobs in the 80's. his boss was like a mentor, my friend looked up to him and learned a ton of stuff. said friend was a big industrial music fan, TG, SPK, Neubauten, the usual. one day the subject of country music came up and my friend went on at great length about how awful it was. at the end of his tirade, his boss looked at him and said, with great scorn, "why don't you just say the only thing you CAN say - that YOU don't like it?"

i'll cosign on everything glenn's saying there

So instead of getting scruffy and pissed every time someone plays a song by an artist you dislike, you're going to get scruffy and pissed every time someone says the hallmarks that identify a given genre of music are things they dislike and, therefore, they don't like that genre of music.

constructing new buildings by day, einstrurzende neubaten by night

Nakh OTM.

not what I was trying to say, I give up xxp

my comment was to forks!

ha, sorry! I am having a very busy/intense day and should probably only be posting on the aging parents thread

I'm scruffy to begin with, but to me "the hallmarks that identify a given genre of music are things they dislike and, therefore, they don't like that genre of music" sounds like a logical proposition, but actually isn't. The part after "therefore" isn't a necessary consequence of the part before. Lots of the things in any genre don't individually display all of the genre's "hallmarks", and lots of those "hallmarks" are subject to a fair amount of variation. In fact, maybe those "hallmarks" are actually stereotypes. E.g., you don't like cookie-monster vocals therefore you don't like death metal; but not all death metal has cookie-monster vocals, and not all "growled" vocals actually sound like Cookie Monster, and not all songs that have cookie-monster vocals sound the same as a result. So maybe you suspend your certainty and end up discovering that when bands combine growled and operatic vocals, it sounds amazing to you.

Or maybe you tolerate it but always think to yourself "this would be a lot better if it was just the operatic dude"

www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/20-best-metal-albums-of-2014-20141211

All trees in a forest seem similar but if you ask the ranger, there are countless variations

That list reminds me that The Melvins were staying in the same hotel as most of the out-of-town guests at Fluffy Bear's wedding and we kept running into them at the lobby bar

the Norwegians have 500 words for growl

So instead of getting scruffy and pissed every time someone plays a song by an artist you dislike, you're going to get scruffy and pissed every time someone says the hallmarks that identify a given genre of music are things they dislike and, therefore, they don't like that genre of music.

catching up w/ this thread after being busy w/ other things, agree with many points mentioned, even if they are somewhat in conflict. yes i should be open-minded. i am really loving tejano, narcocorridos, and mexican border music a SHIT load right now and also some weird thai music from sublime frequencies and also a shit load of joni mitchell (as i've been mentioning constantly) and also a bunch of buck owens and george jones and marty robbins and and and and and and a bunch of other shit.... and i just feel like i am scratching the surface of all these artists and genres even if i've been listening to them for years. i'd like to think that's open-minded. fuck if i'm gonna spend time with some glossy country pop bullshit longer than one curious listen to see if anything's there. i will always hold the right to correct myself later, there is always some possibility that i'll hear something in that spin #1 country song later that i am not hearing now. but if not, i don't really give a shit. there is always amazing new shit to hear and if something doesn't sit right, fuck it, you know?

AND at the same time i LOVE that i can post to ilm and say "hey, what am i missing here" and there are a bunch of posters that will highlight everything cool going on in that kira isabella tune. i might not see it but i am grateful for you folks who will stan for it.

i am really loving tejano, narcocorridos, and mexican border music a SHIT load right now

for a different thread, but i'd like to hear recommendations in these genres.

yeah, i've never heard anything on the narcocorrido front that i could make heads or tails of; a top five artist recommendation would be greatly appreciated
"there is always amazing new shit to hear" otm and of course there is always amazing older shit to hear!

"there is always amazing new shit to hear" otm and of course there is always amazing older shit to hear!

If you never heard it before, its new

I've been reading a lot of lynda barry and her humanistic, non-ego based, everything-has-value philosophy really sums up how i'm trying to live my life when i'm at my best
http://thenearsightedmonkey.tumblr.com/

The rest of Wondering Sound's genre lists to date (metal already posted here):

25 Best Country Albums of 2014
http://www.wonderingsound.com/list/best-country-albums-2014/

1. Miranda Lambert - Platinum (RCA Nashville)
2. Sturgill Simpson - Metamodern Sounds in Country Music (High Top Mountain)
3. Angaleena Presley - American Middle Class (Slate Creek)
4. Lee Ann Womack - The Way I'm Livin' (Sugar Hill)
5. Hiss Golden Messenger - Lateness of Dancers (Merge)
6. Eric Church - The Outsiders (EMI Nashville)
7. Hurray for the Riff Raff - Small Town Heroes (ATO)
8. Christopher Denny - If the Roses Don't Kill Us (Partisan)
9. Lydia Loveless - Somewhere Else (Bloodshot)
10. Dierks Bentley - Riser (Capitol Nashville)
11. Shovels & Rope - Swimmin' Time (Dualtone)
12. Sam Hunt - Montevallo (MCA)
13. Sunny Sweeney - Provoked (Thirty Tigers)
14. Caroline Rose - I Will Not Be Afraid (Little Hill)
15. Old Crow Medicine Show - Remedy (ATO)
16. Doug Paisley - Strong Feelings ( No Quarter)
17. Lucinda Williams - Down Where the Spirit Meets the Bone (Highway 20)
18. Amy LaVere - Runaway's Diary (Archer)
19. Robert Ellis - The Lights From the Chemical Plant (New West)
20; Billy Joe Shaver -- Long in the Tooth (Lightning Rod)
21. Alice Gerrard - Follow the Music (Tompkins Square)
22. Nikki Lane - All or Nothin' (New West)
23. Brad Paisley - Moonshine in the Trunk (Arista Nashville)
24. Dom Flemons - Prospect Hill (Fat Possum)
25. Rosanne Cash - The River & the Thread (Blue Note)

Best R&B Albums of 2014
http://www.wonderingsound.com/list/best-r-and-b-albums-2014/

1. Trey Songz - Trigga (Atlantic)
2. Toni Braxton & Babyface - Love, Marriage & Divorce (Motown)
3. Omarion - Sex Playlist (MMG/Atlantic)
4. FKA Twigs - LP1 (Young Turks)
5. Tinashe - Aquarius (RCA)
6. PartyNextDoor - PartyNextDoor Two (Ovo Sound/Warner Bros)
7. Shlomo/Jeremih - No More (We Did It)
8. Teyana Taylor - VII (Getting Out Our Dreams)
9. Fatima - Yellow Memories (Eglo)
10. Ty Dolla Sign - Beach House EP (self-released)
11. Mary J Blige - The London Sessions (Capitol/Matriarch)
12. Kelis - Food (Ninja Tune)
13. Neneh Cherry - Blank Project (Smalltown Supersound)
14. Brenmar - High End Times Vol 1 (self-released)
15. Kehlani - Cloud 19 (self-released)
16. SZA - Z (Top Dawg Entertainment)
17. Daniel Caesar - Praise Break (self-released)
18. Mariah Carey - Me, I Am Mariah . . . the Elusive Chanteuse (Def Jam)
19. Micah Freeman - Heartspace Vol 1 (self-released)
20. Ariana Grande - My Everything (Republic)
21. Chris Brown - X (RCA)
22. Katy B - Little Red (Columbia)
23. Keyshia Cole - Point of No Return (Interscope)
24. Pharrell - Girl (I Am Other/Columbia)
25. August Alsina - Testimony (Def Jam)

Best Jazz Albums of 2014
http://www.wonderingsound.com/list/best-jazz-albums-of-2014/

1. Steve Lehman Octet - Mise en Abime (Pi)
2. Sean Jones Quartet - Im-pro-vise (Never Before Seen) (Mack Avenue)
3. Trio 3 & Vijay Iyer - Wiring (Intakt)
4. Pharoah & the Underground - Spiral Mercury (Clean Feed)
5. Mitchell/Taborn/Baku - Conversations II (Wide Hive)
6. Oliver Lake Organ Quartet - What I Heard (Passin' Thru)
7. Melissa Aldana & Crash Trio - Melissa Aldana & Crash Trio (Concord)
8. Orrin Evans' Captain Black Big Band - Mother's Touch (Posi-Tone)
9. Kris Davis Trio - Waiting for You to Grow (Clean Feed)
10. Farmers by Nature - Love and Ghosts (AUM Fidelity)
11. Miguel Zenon - Identities Are Changeable (Miel Music)
12. Billy Hart Quartet - One Is the Other (ECM)
13. Darius Jones & Matthew Shipp - Cosmic Lieder: The Darkseid Recital (AUM Fidelity)
14. The Westerlies - Wish the Children Would Come on Home (Songlines)
15. John Ellis & Andy Bragen - Mobro (MRI)
16. The Bad Plus - The Rite of Spring (Masterworks)
17. Steve Wilson/Lewis Nash Duo - Duologue (MCG Jazz)
18. Omer Avital - New Song (Motema Music)
19. Sam Newsome - The Straight Horn of Africa: A Path of Liberation (CD Baby)
20. Get the Blessing - Lope and Antilope (Naim Jazz)
21. Jane Ira Bloom - Sixteen Sunsets (Pure Audio)
22. Tyshawn Sorey Trio - Alloy (Pi)
23. The Cookers - Time and Time Again (Motema Music)
24. Angles 9 - Injuries (Clean Feed)
25. Rafael Karlen - The Sweetness of Things Half-Remembered (Pinnacles)
HM. John Coltrane - Offering: Live at Temple University (Impulse)

These seem like lists put together by people who know what they're talking about but wow does that R&B list run out of ideas around #20.

i disagree with a lot of that r&b list but it's enjoyable anyway bc it's so obviously just one person's taste. you won't find the trey songz album on anyone else's list, not even most r&b heads, and def not at no 1. sad that k michelle came out too late for most lists. that shlohmo/jeremih thing was terrible tho.

it's my ambition to listen to everything ever.

hang your egoless progressivism from any tree, geek.

I am not an expert but am a bit suspicious of a jazz list that doesn't have any of the outstanding releases by Jemeel Moondoc, Micheal Blake and Rudy Royston. Didn't they listen to any of them?

Or maybe you tolerate it but always think to yourself "this would be a lot better if it was just the operatic dude"

― the farakhan of gg (DJP), Thursday, December 11, 2014 10:48 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

TBF in metal it's usually the other way round.

The Jemeel Moondoc is indeed outstanding and a shoo-in for my Quietus jazz roundup, but I must admit I don't know the others (I'll check them out though, thanks for the heads up). That's mainly down to gaps in my own knowledge, but I'd also say that from my own experience, most jazz labels do not have much of a PR budget, if any, meaning that it's quite likely that many writers won't have heard their releases unless they've actively sought them out.
I expect there are various reasons for a lack of consensus in jazz polls: the fact it's a marginal music with no one big trendsetting magazine or website a la Pitchfork, the sheer number and variety of releases, multiple releases by the same artists splitting the vote etc.

Would recommend checking out the excellent Burning Ambulance list upthread, it is a very strong 25 with no padding. It also introduced me to the brilliant Sarah Manning and Jerome Sabbagh lps.

Yeah, it's a good un. A few of my favourites on there along with several to check out.

Fester’s Lucky 13: 2014 Year-End Summary
http://fastnbulbous.com/lucky-14/

Top 100 Albums of 2014 | 2014 Breakdown: Genre Lists | Shows, Videos | Movies, Television, Books

01. Truckfighters - Universe
02. Colour Haze - To The Highest Gods We Know
03. Wovenhand - Refractory Obdurate
04. Spiders - Shake Electric
05. Pallbearer - Foundations Of Burden
06. Electric Wizard - Time To Die
07. Slough Feg - Digital Resistance
08. Witch Mountain - Mobile Of Angels
09. Shellac - Dude Incredible
10. Blues Pills - Blues Pills
11. The Sea Kings - Woke In The Devil's Arms
12. TV On The Radio - Seeds
13. Dark Blue - Pure Reality
14. The New Christs - Incantations
15. Wo Fat - The Conjuring
16. The Oath - The Oath
17. Castle - Under Siege
18. Brimstone Coven - Brimstone Coven
19. Satyress - Dark Fortunes
20. Demon Eye - Leave The Light
21. The Skull - For Those Which Are Asleep
22. Earth - Primitive And Deadly
23. Serpent Venom - Of Things Seen And Unseen
24. The Gotobeds - Poor People Are Revolting
25. Motorpsycho - Behind The Sun
26. Goat - Commune
27. Together Pangea - Badillac
28. Les Big Byrd - They Worshipped Cats
29. Apostle Of Solitude - Of Woe And Wounds
30. All Them Witches - Lightning At The Door
31. Hits - Hikikomori
32. Ogre - The Last Neanderthal
33. Mansion - Uncreation EP
34. Purson - In The Meantime EP
35. Alunah - Awakening The Forest
36. The Well - Samsara
37. Death Penalty - Death Penalty
38. Opeth - Pale Communion
39. Dawnbringer - Night Of The Hammer
40. The Estranged - The Estranged
41. Electric Citizen - Sateen
42. Messenger - Illusory Blues
43. Chris Forsyth & The Solar Motel Band - Intensity Ghost
44. Comet Control - Comet Control
45. Wedge - Wedge
46. The Socks - The Socks
47. smallgang - san
48. YOB - Clearing The Path To Ascend
49. Nação Zumbi - Nação Zumbi
50. Gallon Drunk - The Soul Of The Hour
51. Greenleaf - Trails & Passes
52. Interpol - El Pintor
53. Spoon - They Want My Soul
54. Black Moth - Condemned To Hope
55. Ovvl - Screech
56. Heat - Labyrinth
57. Monolord - Empress Rising
58. Moab - Billow
59. Total Control - Typical System
60. Ought - More Than Any Other Day
61. Hands Of Orlac - Figli Del Crepuscolo
62. Satan's Satyrs - Die Screaming
63. Godflesh - A World Lit Only By Fire
64. Swans - To Be Kind
65. Floor - Oblation
66. Dwellers - Pagan Fruit
67. Lé Betre - Melas
68. Jeremy Irons & the Ratgang Malibus - Spirit Knife
69. Spiral Shades - Hypnosis Sessions
70. Occultation - Silence In The Ancestral House
71. Hornss - No Blood, No Sympathy
72. Tony Allen - Film Of Life
73. Juçara Marçal - Encarnado
74. Black Trip - Goin' Under
75. Mars Red Sky - Stranded In Arcadia
76. John Garcia - John Garcia
77. Cardinals Folly - Our Cult Continues!
78. Lo-Pan - Colossus
79. Hessian - Bachelor Of Black Arts
80. Papir - Papir IIII
81. Sigiriya - Darkness Died Today
82. Fu Manchu - Gigantoid
83. Saturn - Ascending - Live In Space
84. Big Red Panda - Big Red Panda
85. John Gallow - Violet Dreams
86. Boris - Noise
87. Flying Lotus - You're Dead!
88. Lecherous Gaze - Zeta Reticuli Blues
89. Temples - Sun Structures
90. Bong - Stoner Rock
91. Real Estate - Atlas
92. Wild Beasts - Present Tense
93. The Twilight Sad - Nobody Wants to Be Here and Nobody Wants to Leave
94. Helms Alee - Sleepwalking Sailors
95. Mode Moderne - Occult Delight
96. Sungod - Vision Space
97. Post War Glamour Girls - Pink Fur
98. Seven That Spells - The Death And Resurrection Of Krautrock: IO
99. Grumbling Fur - Preternaturals
100. Gold Codes - Gold Codes

Happy to see the Ryan Adam's album getting some love.

best list yet

04. Spiders - Shake Electric

wow, their lyrics are horrible, and badly sung too

Spiders album before this one was terrific. best bits sounded like Heart

LOOOL yeah, for you xxp

Nice to see Motorpsycho's Behind The Sun in that list.

yeah that is a good one! genuine prog but doesn't feel explicitly retro to me

their band name isn't doing them any favors though

well I only speak for myself
xps