ILM's Top 77 Tracks of 2016

Black Beatles itself is a decent enough song, I came around to it a bit. Its goodness is 100% down to MWMI

― left hand hierarchy (imago), Thursday, January 26, 2017 1:24 PM (thirty-six seconds ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

alt-facts

thank u gr808/sean

Making a list of people sniffing at "Your Best American Girl" with Weezer comparisons and the like so I can remember to mistrust everything they say about music from now on.

"Black Beatles" sounds fabulous on the radio. It makes the Biebs and the rest sound sickly. That's all.

What is it that people find charming and/or addictive about Rae Sremmurd's personalities? IDK I'm overreacting coz of all the ridiculous shit being flung at Mitski but to me they seem repellent over like all of the other artists in the 77 except Bruno Mars

blood orange on my albums ballot too. i didn't vote in the tracks poll but if i did i might've put "best to you" on there

weezer did not even remotely cross my mind when first hearing this mitski song wtf

Catching up...

YAY!! @ Rae Sremmurd and Shura. The video for "What's It Gonna Be" was my favourite art of 2016.

black beatles is the pinnacle of meme rap it's all downhill from here folks

"Black Beatles" sounds fabulous on the radio. It makes the Biebs and the rest sound sickly. That's all.

A farting goat on the radio would make Biebs sound sickly; it's not a particularly high bar to clear.

Speaking of, pouring one out for "Whose Billy Goat Is This?"

the amount of low & high end that gets sucked out of Black Beatles and compression that gets added in for the radio is really apparent

What is it that people find charming and/or addictive about Rae Sremmurd's personalities? IDK I'm overreacting coz of all the ridiculous shit being flung at Mitski but to me they seem repellent over like all of the other artists in the 77 except Bruno Mars

― left hand hierarchy (imago), Thursday, January 26, 2017 2:28 PM (one minute ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

didnt this get discussed in the 2015 poll?

What is it that people find charming and/or addictive about Rae Sremmurd's personalities?

tbf this seems to be a problem a lot of people have, generally you're either down with their puckish vibe or you find them totally repellent

see also the 1975 lol

I'm not familiar with Weezer because they were fucking dreadful but whatever Mitski's doing with her guitars and melodies it's not interesting. I really thought I'd like it after reading about it but no.

"Cranes In The Sky" was a really great antidote, for me, to that ubiquitous social media thing of celebrating excellence in marginalised groups, which is obviously a good thing in general and if you're having success can be very uplifting but if you feel like shit it just makes you feel worse. "Cranes In The Sky" was so careful in its sound and words - the whole album was - that it felt like someone picking their way delicately through sadness to get to the other side, rather than bashing it over the head with self-help aspirational quotes.

I cosign the Lotic remix of "Formation" heavily - he uploaded it the day after the election and it was all I could listen to, interspersed with the Solange album, as I kept veering between rage and numbness. So much music I listened to this year has a political context.

"Black Beatles" doesn't but it's a tremendous song, tremendous production, love the Rae Sremmers. Solange or Beyoncé would've felt a more fitting #1 but still no complaints.

oh and lol I love 4 of the top 5 but voted for none of them bc I voted for their albums. We live in auteurist times!

The 1975 is essentially the cool version of Maroon 5 at this point

didnt this get discussed in the 2015 poll?

― Spottie, Thursday, January 26, 2017 2:32 PM (four minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

and wasn't lj the engine of this discussion

yes let's not do it again please

your country breakdown

USA (38⅔): Rae Sremmurd, Mitski, Solange, Beyoncé (4), Ariana Grande, A Tribe Called Quest (2), Maxwell, Mr. Fingers, Angel Olsen (2), Avalon Emerson, Migos, Kanye West, Weyes Blood, Kevin Gates, Fifth Harmony, D.R.A.M., Chance The Rapper (2), YG, Young Thug, Britney Spears, Anderson .Paak, Grouper, Bruno Mars, King (2), Jeremih, Brandy Clark, Abra, Miguel, Cellars, Case/Lang/Veirs (⅔), The Weeknd, Chairlift
GBR (16½): Shura, David Bowie (2), The xx, Pet Shop Boys, The 1975 (3), Anohni, Radiohead (2), Låpsley, Robyn & Kindness (½), Riton, Danny L Harle, Underworld (2)
CAN (4⅓): Leonard Cohen, Jessy Lanza, Carly Rae Jepsen, Comet Control, Case/Lang/Veirs (⅓)
NOR (4): Lindstrøm, DJ Sotofett, Röyksopp, Jenny Hval
BAR (3): Rihanna (2), King Bubba FM
BEL (1): Melanie De Biasio
POR (1): DJ Marfox
CHI (1): Alex Anwandter
FIN (1): Oranssi Pazuzu
GER (1): Traumprinz
RUS (1): Kedr Livanskiy
JPN (1): Famm'in
NGR (1): Yemi Alade
TTO (1): Olatunji
FRA (1): Christine And The Queens
SWE (½): Robyn & Kindness (½)

plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose

the amount of low & high end that gets sucked out of Black Beatles and compression that gets added in for the radio is really apparent

― example (crüt), Thursday, January 26, 2017 1:31 PM (five minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Yeah like where it really sounds great is in the club

so mitski is like... the 2016 EMA?

is the weeknd not canadian?

there were a lot of entries that sounded like EMA to be fair.

The 1975 is essentially the cool version of Maroon 5 at this point

― ornate orchestral arrangements (DJP),

...with worse hair

anyhow congrats Ariana Grande, first time in the top 77. closest previous attempt was bang bang at 80.

Nah, Mitski actually has a past and future. EMA was a blip.

anyhow congrats Ariana Grande, first time in the top 77. closest previous attempt was bang bang at 80.

― danzig, Thursday, January 26, 2017 9:41 PM (thirty-four seconds ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

did none of the Yours Truly singles make it?? goodness

I'm not really fussed about Rae Sremmurd generally but 'Black Beatles' was a dead cert for my #1, so many hooks.

The Mitski song doesn't grab me at all but 'Cranes in the Sky' and 'Formation' are both great.

Thanks to the pollrunners! Really enjoyed the rollout this year. Excellent images as usual.

Mitski has a future? She's picked a day when she's gonna disappeeeeeeeear

is the weeknd not canadian?

― danzig, Thursday, January 26, 2017 9:40 PM (two minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

lol I swear I got this wrong last year as well

Huh, I never realized the Kindness guy was a British.

Mitski is the same kind of boring sniffly indie rock music we've heard on this list many times already, except with heavier guitars (eww).

Lol @ "many times already". I'm having trouble even imagining what this refers to. Like, are you including Case/Lang/Veirs, Comet Control, Weyes Blood, Radiohead, David Bowie, ... in the same category?

i wasnt trolling, i feel like the catharsis in the mitski song & underlining video comes from a place of exceptionally juvenile and self-defeating spite

ofc no one should mutilate their psyches to fit in anywhere and with anyone but the song gives you no sense of what the terms of structural submission/domination are or of any desire to examine them and find a path beyond. there is vague culture clash and the strange glory of striding away from it. v hopeless depressing song imo

didnt this get discussed in the 2015 poll?

― Spottie, Thursday, January 26, 2017 2:32 PM (four minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

and wasn't lj the engine of this discussion

― who is extremely unqualified to review this pop album (BradNelson), Thursday, January 26, 2017 2:37 PM (thirteen minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yup

your country breakdown

USA (38⅔): Rae Sremmurd, Mitski, Solange, Beyoncé (4), Ariana Grande, A Tribe Called Quest (2), Maxwell, Mr. Fingers, Angel Olsen (2), Avalon Emerson, Migos, Kanye West, Weyes Blood, Kevin Gates, Fifth Harmony, D.R.A.M., Chance The Rapper (2), YG, Young Thug, Britney Spears, Anderson .Paak, Grouper, Bruno Mars, King (2), Jeremih, Brandy Clark, Abra, Miguel, Cellars, Case/Lang/Veirs (⅔), The Weeknd, Chairlift
GBR (16½): Shura, David Bowie (2), The xx, Pet Shop Boys, The 1975 (3), Anohni, Radiohead (2), Låpsley, Robyn & Kindness (½), Riton, Danny L Harle, Underworld (2)
CAN (4⅓): Leonard Cohen, Jessy Lanza, Carly Rae Jepsen, Comet Control, Case/Lang/Veirs (⅓)
NOR (4): Lindstrøm, DJ Sotofett, Röyksopp, Jenny Hval
BAR (3): Rihanna (2), King Bubba FM
BEL (1): Melanie De Biasio
POR (1): DJ Marfox
CHI (1): Alex Anwandter
FIN (1): Oranssi Pazuzu
GER (1): Traumprinz
RUS (1): Kedr Livanskiy
JPN (1): Famm'in
NGR (1): Yemi Alade
TTO (1): Olatunji
FRA (1): Christine And The Queens
SWE (½): Robyn & Kindness (½)

― lex pretend, Thursday, January 26, 2017 4:38 PM (twelve minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

no latin american presence again huh

CHI

Don't you just hate it when a song gives you no sense of what the terms of structural submission/domination are?

oh missed that one xp

I swear this exact exchange took place last year as well lol

haha probably

I'd replace Kindness with Voigt as he doesn't really have any presence on the remix afaik. He does have Indian heritage too though (grandson of Amina Desai).

r|t|c must have wild opinions about impressionist painters.

w/e jackasses. "i incoherently hated myself but now i incoherently hate u instead, finito" is some bleak shit to me, sorry

With Ana Tijoux, I think.

Xxxpost

Thanks gr8080 and sean, fine work on the rollout and stats as ever.

I'm about to go all Marie Kondo on my record collection, pick up every record and ask "does this give me a sense of what the terms of structural submission/domination are?" If not, throw it out.

i'm sure if you have a third go at this joke you'll nail it

wading through this now, v enjoyable list this year, well done all

Mitski: The absolute ordinariness of the music combined with the 'I'm way too different to be here' sentiment in the lyrics is so paradoxically all-american it hurts...