ILM Top 100 2005-2009: TRACKS

Let the games commence!

http://i47.tinypic.com/2mzwcd0.jpg

go go go!!! :-D

100. NE-YO "Because of You" (2007) [195.5 points, 7 votes, 1 first place vote]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atz_aZA3rf0

(No archival blurbs coming in this countdown. Too much work, not enough payoff. Plus, I'm exhausted.)

dang, thatsa lot of pts for 100th

You have no idea how high it goes.

awesome

99. DAMIAN "JR. GONG" MARLEY "Welcome to Jamrock" (2005) [197 points, 11 votes]

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

You are a fast tabulator!

I'd been tabulating all along, but yesterday was the shit hitting the fan.

both of those were among the 10 tracks that just missed out on my ballot, so happy to see them place regardless

ok with that many points per entry i cant decide if this is going to be shockingly boring or TOTALLY BIZARRE

98. CHAMILLIONAIRE ft. KRAYZIE BONE "Ridin'" (2005) [198.5 points, 10 votes]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtwJvgPJ9xw

Not going to be boring. How many days are you doing this over?

Probably five. Today thru Friday, and then next Monday and Tuesday.

I fucking love this Chamillionaire track, btw. Too low, imo.

oh man i was hoping that would be higher, fucking love that song.

Hmmm... it's times like this that I think that despite spending about 35% of my waking life attached to ILM, I must still be living under a rock as I've only heard the Damian track.

Didn't have the time/patience to vote in this poll. I looked at the choices and couldn't get very excited about that much on there compared to previosu ones. Strange because all-in-all I wouldn't say I was any less enthusiastic about music from the last five years than any other era.

wow my absolute last possible second number one vote for jamrock put it into the list. cool!

ok whoa im working out the statistics here and it looks like it takes (almost) 10 unranked ballots or 5 first place votes to get into the bottom 20% which is nuts

or obv some combination but you get what im saying

Wow that was fast!

Yeah, I'm now a confirmed fan of the 40, 39, 38... ballot ranking style. Lessens the opportunity for ties (of which there is only one in this top 100), and it inflates the numbers mega huge.

97. RÓISÍN MURPHY "Overpowered" (2007) [199.5 points, 10 votes]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlFjf1pWk2c

Not the Róisín track I was most hoping for, but I'll take it.

I'm a little worried now that my #1 may not even make the list given that even #100 has a first place vote.

xpost Does that mean that it'll be the only Roisin track? :(

Did I give too much away? (Sorry, yes.) :(((((

btw can use mod magic to edit if u want to maintain the surprise for peeps that havent made it here yet

I'm a little worried now that my #1 entire list may not even make the list given that even #100 has a first place vote.

Hmmm... it's times like this that I think that despite spending about 35% of my waking life attached to ILM, I must still be living under a rock as I've only heard the Damian track.

you say this every time! none of the songs so far are exactly obscure.

i love everything so far, tho voted for none of them :)

Did you click the youtube of "Ridin'" dog latin? Title may confuse a bit, not for nothing is it often referred to as "Ridin' Dirty".

Hey haha ilm has made/destroyed me, I'm 3/4 so far! :-O

i mean, obv if you haven't heard some/all of these, you should def click them youtubes, cuz these songs are great

Yeah I know Lex. I think the r'n'b/hiphop/urban contingent on ILM must be really into poll voting. Either that or just the most popular style on ILX by far. Not that it's a problem of course but it's just something I've noticed.

At work, so I can't click on YouTubes, but I'll be sure to download the whole bunch soon.

96. THE KNIFE "Marble House" (2006) [204.5 points, 10 votes]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=841r2p_dsJE

Second what lex said. This list is great so far!

aw, would have voted for that

i've heard this one. I can't remember off the top of my head how it goes as it's def not my favourite on Silent Shout.

Oh dear, goodbye work day. I'm with dog latin on the never heard half of these tip - I remember Jamrock being on the radio, I have the Knife album, and that's about it.

95. CAMERA OBSCURA "Lloyd, I'm Ready to Be Heartbroken" (2006) [204.5 points, 11 votes]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTa_RQC8ZxA

Hadn't heard "Jamrock" or the Ne-Yo track before. Love them both, although probably not enough to have voted for them.

btw everyone agrees that "not the best track on Silent Shout" isn't really saying much since the worst track on there is like a 7/10, right

Wait until you hear that Ne-Yo track for the 10th or 20th time. It will be in your blood.

Don't know if anyone agrees but videos so far also consistently excellent (except maybe the Chamillonaire one).

94. THE-DREAM "Fancy" (2009) [205.5 points, 8 votes]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SB1bBy_EgI

Oh god, that Chamillionaire track drags up horrible college party flashbacks.

Camera Obscura would have been in competition for my #1 track had I ranked them.

The way they move from minor to major key from "Hey Lloyd, I'm ready to"..."BE HEARTBROKEN," because being heartbroken is what actually makes her happy. Just a perfect song.

well, diminished, but you get the point.

I've not heard much Camera Obscura, but that song already scored big points with me for the Lloyd Cole titular nod.

How far do you plan to go today, Johnny?

Gonna do 100-81.

93. BIG BOI ft. GUCCI MANE "Shine Blockas" (2009) [206 points, 8 votes]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnbO8GE4V5M

surprised to see "shine blockas" show up!

camera obscura the only dud in an otherwise great list so far tho.

92. CORTNEY TIDWELL "Don't Let Stars Keep Us Tangled Up (Ewan Pearson Objects in Space Remix)" (2007) [207.5 points, 10 votes]

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

this is so cool!

91. LCD SOUNDSYSTEM "45:33" (2006) [208 points, 10 votes]

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

okay that's cheating, isn't it?

It was split into four parts when it was re-released, but in its original Nike+ incarnation it was a solid piece of music...making it eligible.

hahaha i didn't clock 45:33 on the list - it feels like cheating but i guess it has to be eligible here!

also an opportunity to say DEAR GOD i miss lcd soundsystem being great, that's the kind of thing i want from them

90. WASHED OUT "Feel it All Around" (2009) [208.5 points, 10 votes]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-ebZt_plw0

(I hope Whiney's not lurking. Chillwave, bro!)

Rocking 3/11 on "heard before", 0/11 on "voted". Sob. The Knife video is super-ace, incidentally.

Don't worry, there's still 89 more coming.

89. GIRLS "Lust for Life" (2008) [209 points, 8 votes]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuoTjYYqe4c

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

first song I recognize as being unambiguously unbearable

love this!

Agreed, but whatever. I'm still tired from the fights about Girls in the 2009 poll. xp

oh god no

fine fine i will shut up

s'all P4K faves from now on.

I had failed to notice this going on, so this is an awesome surprise. Didn't know that Big Boi track but it is awesome, so that's me one up already.

also, awesome.

88. LADY GAGA "Paparazzi" (2009) [209 points, 10 votes]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2smz_1L2_0

whoa wait waht

Huh? As in "too low" or "too high" or what?

too low imo

don't worry, "Bad Romance" will be super high up there

87. ROBYN "Be Mine" (2005) [209 points, 12 votes]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbtZx4sYzqE

yeah, surprised that "paparazzi" didn't place higher - not that i gave it many points myself

plus the results are coming a little too fast and furious. i kinda like the suspense & debate involved when they appear every half hour or so. suppose that takes more work, though...

Wow, I hadn't seen the Paparazzi video before. Pretty amazing stuff! I can believe it's the same guy who directed "Telephone". Major drop in quality.

I've been doing them roughly 10 mins apart, but I could stretch it out.

if stretching it out is too much work for you don't worry, i can understand it might get a bit wearing!

Never seen the "Be Mine" video. This poll unfortunately/fortunately coincided with me being separated from music and a proper, working computer.

xpost I don't mind the results coming fast. I need to get some work done.

so glad robyn is so low, at one stage in ilm's history that'd have been a threat to win. intolerable woman.

the best "paparazzi" visual is her performance at the AMAs imo - you know the one with blood and pianos and ending with her getting hanged - i still find myself eyerolling a bit at the actual video. though you're right, not the gigantic mess that the "telephone" video was.

still none of my actual votes but i LOVE most of these songs so, happy.

that tidwell pearson remix is living on in this list.

86. THE HOLD STEADY "Stuck Between Stations" (2007) [210.5 points, 8 votes]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnPgegu1EeE

^ not a Hold Steady fan by any means, but if I had to recommend a song to someone, it would be this one.

I finally sent my tracks ballot last night, just barely making it before deadline, which allowed "Marble House" to make the cut!

Good, now I know I don't need to listen to anything by The Hold Steady.

Is that the legit Stuck Between Stations video?

Okay, it is not.

85. JACKIE CHAIN ft. JHI ALI "Rollin'" (2008) [212.5 points, 7 votes]

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

(Excited! Dude is from my hometown.)

hahaha if you are very quiet and really listen you can hear ilx heads exploding in the distance post #86 for sure

YESSSSSS @ "rollin'"

haven't heard this before.

I was ready to trash anything by someone named Jackie Chain but it's actually pretty good.

Paparazzi is in a tough position when there are two songs by the same artist on the nominations list that are 100x better.

It is kind of hypnotic, yeah? xp

84. FEVER RAY "Seven" (2009) [212.5 points, 9 votes, 1 first place vote]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I26syp0abpA

Paparazzi is in a tough position when there are two songs by the same artist on the nominations list that are 100x better.

― skip, Wednesday, June 30, 2010 6:42 PM (1 minute ago)

down with bad romance being even with it, cant imagine what the second song yer thinking of is tho

I'm sure I'm an exception here, but IMO we've already got all The Knife/Fever Ray this poll needs.

I think both Just Dance and Poker Face are way better than Paparazzi, but what do I know.

summoning HI DERE to thread to look at the placement of #84 and become angry at himself for not voting

xpost hahaha yeah see i hate both of those songs so

if the 2009 poll is any indication there will be more

xp

"telephone" was on the poll, right? i probably prefer that as a song to even "bad romance"

I expected "Seven" to be higher, it is the best song on the Fever Ray album. The wordless chants and the synth chorus are breathtaking!

I was thinking Bad Romance and Just Dance but Poker Face is better than Paparazzi as well.

oh fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck

why didn't I vote ;_;

Btw, I think "Seven" and "Overpowered" are the only tunes so far I've heard before, so I guess I'm even more out of the loop than Dog Latin.

im not used to ilm polls where Tuomas doesn't compain about the lack of dance music :)

why didn't I vote ;_;

Because you NEVER do, and we're all sad you don't.

if we don't see at least 2 of the following tracks place higher, I will cry

Silent Shout
We Share Our Mothers' Health
The Captain
If I Had A Heart
When I Grow Up
Dry and Dusty

For some inexplicable reason "If I Had a Heart" wasn't nominated, otherwise I would've voted for it too.

83. FUTURE OF THE LEFT "Arming Eritrea" (2009) [213.5 points, 10 votes]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkTvISL53HQ

I'm sure I'm an exception here, but IMO we've already got all The Knife/Fever Ray this poll needs.

― the subject of many men’s thoughts (daavid), Wednesday, June 30, 2010 2:46 PM (11 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

i completely agree w/ this

That tune has a nice bassline in the beginning, but then vocals start... Christ, why do they let people with a voice like that to sing in the first place?!

(x-post)

it's so rare i get a chance to say this so i'll take advantage of the moment: tuomas otm

haha

People still make music like that in 2009? Who knew.

FOTL isn't a band I'd discover on my own but man do I enjoy it when I stumble back across them.

I like FOTL alright, but the vocals are definitely something you have to get past.

eh, not really, not unless you want all your bouncy aggro thrash music to be super tuneful too, in which case why not just listen to Tool?

i expect we share our mother's health and dry & dusty to score higher. should have spared some points for chamillionaire, only regret so far.

YAY FOTL

was going to respond to tuomas and lex but ehhhhhh whats the use

Love McClusky, don't love "Arming Eritrea."

I expect "If I Had A Heart" over "Dry and Dusty", even though I would have voted for D&D

eh, not really, not unless you want all your bouncy aggro thrash music to be super tuneful too

I don't mind dudes shouting over my aggro musics, but the FOTL guy sort of sounds like a character (oh hai, is Jello Biafra for the '00s!).

hah if i had even considered there being a chance of FOTL making the tracks list i would have ordered my ballot and put it at the top

everyone who sings anything ever sounds like a character...?

so people voted for "If I Had A Heart" even though it wasn't on the list?

IT WASN'T??????????

I thought I nominated it!

82. JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE "SexyBack" (2006) [216 points, 9 votes]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gOHvDP_vCs

It might have been nominated and we missed adding it to the list, but it got no votes. xp

i can see mclusky/FOTL dude's voice being an obstacle, but i love it. skinny, scrawny, angry nerd = a good foil for that kind of tough-guy rock.

and yeah, the only reason i piled points on "dry and dusty" is cuz there was no "if i had a heart" to pile more points on. ;_;

xp Nope, just checked. "If I Had a Heart" wasn't nommed.

ya if i was making a top 100 list arming eritrea wld def be in it, just didnt make my top 40

i don't know the results of this poll, but i will say that i was monitoring the emails for "rollin" votes cuz it's def my sentimental favorite, even tho i think i had it at #3 on my ballot -- i'm really happy i made it

"sexyback" is like the worst song on that CD

and yeah, the only reason i piled points on "dry and dusty" is cuz there was no "if i had a heart" to pile more points on. ;_;

The same with me, I love IIHaH way more than DaD.

Sexyback was obviously played out at the time but it has aged pretty well. And LOL at JT's back tattoo.

v. surprised to see Future of the Left here, I thought they were only particularly liked by my srs ex-hardcore dudes and their ilk. Maybe that just means I know nothing about them.

haven't heard SexyBack for a couple of years probably, and yeah relistening it's sounding good.

my serious ex-hardcore dude friends, that is.

81. JOY ORBISON "Hyph Mngo" (2009) [219.5 points, 9 votes]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aa_PDKKc2_A

ok i have steadfastly avoided Joy Orbison because thats like the worst name in the history of naming stuff, but if it made it into this i will finally give it a shot i guess

I've tried, but all I keep hearing is banging, repetitive and abrasive nonsense. Maybe fine for a minute, but not for 5 and a half.

Sexyback was obviously played out at the time but it has aged pretty well.

― skip, Wednesday, June 30, 2010 12:18 PM (43 seconds ago) Bookmark

My fave track from that album is What Goes Around... such a brilliantly written melody.

The Joy Orbison sounds like the music you hear in the Gap.

To summarize,

100. NE-YO "Because of You" (2007) [195.5 points, 7 votes, 1 first place vote]
99. DAMIAN "JR. GONG" MARLEY "Welcome to Jamrock" (2005) [197 points, 11 votes]
98. CHAMILLIONAIRE ft. KRAYZIE BONE "Ridin'" (2005) [198.5 points, 10 votes]
97. RÓISÍN MURPHY "Overpowered" (2007) [199.5 points, 10 votes]
96. THE KNIFE "Marble House" (2006) [204.5 points, 10 votes]
95. CAMERA OBSCURA "Lloyd, I'm Ready to Be Heartbroken" (2006) [204.5 points, 11 votes]
94. THE-DREAM "Fancy" (2009) [205.5 points, 8 votes]
93. BIG BOI ft. GUCCI MANE "Shine Blockas" (2009) [206 points, 8 votes]
92. CORTNEY TIDWELL "Don't Let Stars Keep Us Tangled Up (Ewan Pearson Objects in Space Remix)" (2007) [207.5 points, 10 votes]
91. LCD SOUNDSYSTEM "45:33" (2006) [208 points, 10 votes]
90. WASHED OUT "Feel it All Around" (2009) [208.5 points, 10 votes]
89. GIRLS "Lust for Life" (2008) [209 points, 8 votes]
88. LADY GAGA "Paparazzi" (2009) [209 points, 10 votes]
87. ROBYN "Be Mine" (2005) [209 points, 12 votes]
86. THE HOLD STEADY "Stuck Between Stations" (2007) [210.5 points, 8 votes]
85. JACKIE CHAIN ft. JHI ALI "Rollin'" (2008) [212.5 points, 7 votes]
84. FEVER RAY "Seven" (2009) [212.5 points, 9 votes, 1 first place vote]
83. FUTURE OF THE LEFT "Arming Eritrea" (2009) [213.5 points, 10 votes]
82. JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE "SexyBack" (2006) [216 points, 9 votes]
81. JOY ORBISON "Hyph Mngo" (2009) [219.5 points, 9 votes]

I'll pick it up tomorrow for #'s 80-61.

ok, i actually was ok with it, but never in a million years would i have guessed that the Joy Orbison track was released in the last decade, let alone 2009

all those songs are good!

more or less

I think so too (minus Girls and Joy Orbison, perhaps).

yeah of the stuff ive heard i can only work up a good frothing hate for Girls tbh

(well, and im also bored to death of the hold steady but its more of an inactive ehhhh)

Nice. Totally would have voted high for Roisin Murphy if "Sow Into You" had been an option, but she was high on my albums list.

Good list so far. I think I voted for "Fancy," but enjoy a ton of these other songs. Voted for other stuff by Ne-Yo, the Knife, LCD, Gaga, Fever Ray -- all of which I confidently expect will place a bit higher.

Love the Camera Obscura, Future of the Left, Washed Out, Girls tracks. I am a corny rockist asshole.

Yeah I like the Girls track a lot as well. I guess listening closely his voice is annoying, but it's a nice tune and the out of tune guitar sounds good.

I think I like everything! I guess I am undiscerning. I'm most meh on Welcome to Jamrock, probably for the awful reason that I heard it eight million times playing FIFA 06 and now hearing it is just nothing but that game to me.

hate the band Girls so much

Love these polls precisely because if I hadn't read, but not voted in, the 2009 poll my actual ballot for this poll would have looked completely different. For instance I only heard/checked out 'Shine Blockas' and 'Fancy' 'cos of the 2009 poll, loved them and voted accordingly this time round. Of the 20 revealed so far I'm familiar with most solely because of the last poll. But I hadn't heard the Camera Obscura or the Jackie Chain both of which were pleasant surprises.

have never heard girls, and while i've heard the hold steady, i wouldn't know one song from another. based on listening to most of that joy orbison track, however, i'd be real surprised if either could outsuck it.

listen to girls and report back

seriously, it will change your life

somehow i'm 14/20 for songs i really like => love, but...0/20 for songs i voted for (i was SURE i voted for "rollin"! but apparently not! obv several of those were b/c i voted for the albums)

the andreas saag house remix of "hyph mngo" is even better than the original, which i love, and which was one of the anthems of sónar this year - it's one of those trax which sounds incredible suddenly pealing out of a huge soundsystem, i never really got it until i heard it like that.

"sexyback" is a jam, def one of my favourites off the overrated fs/ls. "i'll let you whip me if i misbehave" - rrr come here justin~

and while obv i really dislike girls, robyn, camera obscura, there's no real ~PAROXYSMS OF RAGE~ yet

The Cortney Tidwell gets awesome about 5 mins in, but up until then it's unremarkable imo

If I hadn't heard "Fancy" for the first time a couple of days after I sent in my ballot, that would have placed even higher.

Good job so far people. Less Electrodribble than imagined though I'm sure there's more to come, you guitar-hating heathens.

Hyph Mngo is the first of mine to place. Love it. There's so much more to it than the 90s things it sounds like, but they're quite subtle things, nice instrumental backing flourishes and so forth. It's all about the breakdown anyway, that's the beautiful bit.

A little alarmed at seeing it so early though, it rules out about half my ballot in one go.

okay, so i listened to the girls track a couple times, and it sounds exactly like i thought it would, based on what ppl have written. it's just lazy indie sugar pop w smarmy vocals. more cloying than JO, but more fun, too. if it weren't for the gross singer's gross affectations, i'd probably like it a lot.

It's all about the breakdown anyway

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3204/3021508818_ab6199d864.jpg

like if you just took the "lust for life" instrumental and had the len girl saying "steal my sunshine" every once in a while, it would be awesome.

good mash-up idea

If not for "45:33," this would make a pretty good mix cd.

Could lose the guitar tunes imo (though I do like Arming Eritrea) but yeah, you've been dj'ing at casa Klata tonight and it's been nice.

so far only song I voted for is "Ridin." but I voted for THREE other Ne-Yo songs (plus another he wrote), so as much as I dislike "Because Of You" I'll take it as a good omen for the chances of his other songs.

kinda surprised by the heavy presence of 2009 tracks so far, but maybe they're just getting out of the way early.

The first time I heard "Hyph Mngo", I thought it was really weird and original, but in a passively appreciative way. I didn't really care for it at all. Now I think it's fairly ordinary track (like jj said, more like some kind of early 90's rave thing) but I actually like it. Go figure.

(I didn't vote for it though)

I'd have voted for the remix of "Because Of You" with the Kanye intro, but I took this to be the original; instead I went with another Ne-Yo song.

like if you just took the "lust for life" instrumental and had the len girl saying "steal my sunshine" every once in a while, it would be awesome.

― interstellar overdraft (contenderizer), Wednesday, June 30, 2010 4:26 PM (32 minutes ago)

would listen!

i'm 2/20 ("rollin'" and "arming ertirea", though i could have sworn i voted for "ridin'"). like a bunch of these tho

and i'm pretty positive at least half of my other picks will place

I think 0 of mine will

(actually I have no idea)

i'm surprised that people haven't been demanding that the "lust for life" voters be outed so we can be hanged in the city square

a la 2009 poll

J0rdan has a good point

Who do we blame by default?

nice. glad "fancy" made it. probably my favorite Dream track. this list is awesome so far and only 2 of my 40 have made it at this point.

I guess my favorite new-to-me discovery in the first 20 is the Jackie Chain track. I said it above, but that song's beat and cadence is so hypnotic. I let it loop five times in a row before I even realized it.

that jackie song is so classic -- it creates such a perfect atmosphere -- that beat is truly amazing

you've heard the track it samples, right? robert miles' "children"?

Yeah bonus points for sampling a truly horrible track and making it listenable. I think only Eminem has done it better before. I'm not crazy about it TBH but I have to admit it's got a great flow.

Yeah bonus points for making sampling a truly horrible terrible track and making it listenable. I think only Eminem has done it better before. I'm not crazy about it TBH but I have to admit it's got a great flow.

yeah, most inspired sample of anything that will end up in this poll

100. NE-YO "Because of You" (2007) [195.5 points, 7 votes, 1 first place vote]
I'm very surprised at myself for quite enjoying this one. A nice catchy hook, a real swing to the rhythm, and while I didn't listen too closely to the lyrics, they sound a bit more interesting than a lot of stuff I'd generally write off as landfill contemporary r'n'b.

99. DAMIAN "JR. GONG" MARLEY "Welcome to Jamrock" (2005) [197 points, 11 votes]
This is a big stomper - really goofy. Overplayed, perhaps - and the initial oomph disipates on repeated plays. Still it's a big summer party anthem and I like it.

98. CHAMILLIONAIRE ft. KRAYZIE BONE "Ridin'" (2005) [198.5 points, 10 votes]
Don't have an opinion on this yet. It hasn't grabbed me or anything. Will report back.

97. RÓISÍN MURPHY "Overpowered" (2007) [199.5 points, 10 votes]
Hmmm... This is nice in a post-Knife, post-Moloko, post-Melody AM kind of way. Actually this is pretty great!

96. THE KNIFE "Marble House" (2006) [204.5 points, 10 votes]
Not my favourite off Silent Shout as I mentioned. Still, as Dan P says, this does not make it a bad track.

95. CAMERA OBSCURA "Lloyd, I'm Ready to Be Heartbroken" (2006) [204.5 points, 11 votes]
I assumed this band were going to be some kind of shoegaze revival thing, but instead it's nice upbeat summery jangle pop, and on a day like today there's nothing wrong with that. It reminds me of the Concretes a little bit.

94. THE-DREAM "Fancy" (2009) [205.5 points, 8 votes]
Never got the hang of this guy. His stuff is just that bit too smooth and formica-finished for me. It's like what would happen if a bunch of high-spec kitchen appliances decided to make silver-tongued sex music. Guess that's why people like it.

93. BIG BOI ft. GUCCI MANE "Shine Blockas" (2009) [206 points, 8 votes]
Remember this from the 09 poll - really great.

92. CORTNEY TIDWELL "Don't Let Stars Keep Us Tangled Up (Ewan Pearson Objects in Space Remix)" (2007) [207.5 points, 10 votes]
More moody Knifey stuff, this time with a bit of a Bjork influence too. Keeps you guessing and doing things you don't expect it to.

91. LCD SOUNDSYSTEM "45:33" (2006) [208 points, 10 votes]
Possibly my favourite moment of LCD Soundsystem. The piano chords, the "Shame on you" bit... it's a wonderful bit of music. Been jamming it loads recently.

90. WASHED OUT "Feel it All Around" (2009) [208.5 points, 10 votes]
This band is overrated. The fact this is the best track off their mini-album is testament to that.

89. GIRLS "Lust for Life" (2008) [209 points, 8 votes]
Hahaha! The vitriol this track has caused, oh my! Yes it's the epitome of lame, cloying, ulcer-mouthed complaint rock; something we thought we'd seen the back of a long time ago. But now it's back in hipster clothing. I kind of decided I'd force myself to listen to the Girls album and get some objectivity about it, because this to me neither boils my blood nor makes me want to go gaga. It seems the whole record rests on stripped-down sunny jangle-pop with almost consciously self-pitying lyrics, that sits somewhere between the Kinks, Ariel Pink, Times New Viking, and some third-rate grunge band. But given its dues, there's a keenness of melody and even something endearing about the fact they're doing this kind of thing without too much hassle. The songs themselves all resonate in a way that makes them seem almost familiar, like he's taken the tune from somewhere else and adapted it.

88. LADY GAGA "Paparazzi" (2009) [209 points, 10 votes]
Missed the Gaga craze to be honest. I don't see what makes her supposedly so amazing when we've had Christina, Madonna, Grace etc doing better songs with better fashion imo. Still this is really really really catchy. I daren't even think about it or it'll get stu...papa..paparazzi.. too late.

Also, this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEiXdOOTaFs&feature=player_embedded

87. ROBYN "Be Mine" (2005) [209 points, 12 votes]
Haven't heard this yet.

86. THE HOLD STEADY "Stuck Between Stations" (2007) [210.5 points, 8 votes]
I keep meaning to find out about this band, but there's something so interminably dull about the prospect of doing so that each time I try, I pass out before I get to soulseek. Well I can see why. I think this is the kind of music you've got to listen to when you're bored and you just want something boring to complement the mood. The only thing that stops it being entirely tedious is the guy's vocal, which I'm sure a lot of people won't like but I'm kind of digging.

85. JACKIE CHAIN ft. JHI ALI "Rollin'" (2008) [212.5 points, 7 votes]
I'd never heard this before, but in a way I felt like I didn't need to. From the intro I knew exactly what it was going to do and where it was going to go and how the drums were going to sound and what the guy's voice was going to sound like. Even the "Children" sample, rather than lifting the track makes it sound generic as hell. Aren't you guys bored of this kind of thing yet?

84. FEVER RAY "Seven" (2009) [212.5 points, 9 votes, 1 first place vote]
Fever Ray's had a lot of hype, but nothing on that album has moved me like Silent Shout. Maybe I just OD'd on that record and Heartbeats, so now I hear her voice and it's like being trapped in 2006 all over again.

83. FUTURE OF THE LEFT "Arming Eritrea" (2009) [213.5 points, 10 votes]
"Booooo! Angry rock music! Oh no! He'll damage his voice, mummy make it stop. Why?!!! Can't we put on The Dream again??" Shut up you horrible little bleeders and let these Welsh wonders do what they do best - being the best fucking punk rock band in Britain today, bar none. Loving this album - tough, intellectual, experimental, funny, what's not to like?

82. JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE "SexyBack" (2006) [216 points, 9 votes]
Like someone pressing pause on and off on a cheap tape player. This is a really weird track to have done so well.

81. JOY ORBISON "Hyph Mngo" (2009) [219.5 points, 9 votes]
It took me a short while to completely get into this post-dubstep piece of disco-ball fluff, but I love it. Who on earth said it was abrasive upthread? This is smooth as silk!

I mean Hyph Mngo isn't abrasive the same way, say, Lightning Bolt is, but its repetitive nature kind of feels like rubbing steel wool on my brainstem.

Damn a lot of the songs at the bottom are really popular. Sort of regret not ranking my ballot... I assume only the populist songs on my ballot will make it. Either way turning out quite interesting.

tbf, we're working with five years crammed into 100 spots. The odds of some super obscure choice clearing that threshold are slim (though I won't say it doesn't happen...Cortney Tidwell remix and Jackie Chain, for instance, aren't commonly cited songs among even the talkiest music folks).

btw can i just say...

OUT IN THE STREETS THEY CALL IT MUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDAAAAAAAAAA

:-D

the "welcome to jamrock"/biggie mash up probably would've made my top 10

Here's the first half, btw, for anyone who wants to catch up: ILM Top 100 2000-2004: TRACKS

I just noticed, though. Why the heck did we do it in August of 2004? There are probably a few songs that fell in the gap between the two polls.

LIVE FROM THE WAL MART

LETS GO GET SOME VIDEO GAMES

OOOH OOOH AAAAAAHAAAA

dog latin, I like your break-down, even though you're dissing the one track of mine that's made it (Stuck Between Stations).

everyone's heard the Jamrock sample source, right?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aBopPKr6uU

Just listened to the songs I hadn't heard before...

Liked: Girls, Big Boi (unexpectedly!), Cortney Tidwell
Meh: Ne-Yo, Washed Out (if you're just going to pick one chillwave song, why this? Oh, wait...), The Dream, Camera Obscura, Chamillionaire, Future of the Left
Disliked: Hold Steady (most inexplicable appearance), Jackie Chain (like a happy version of that Salem thing)

e-rob - I like that much better than anything in the results so far.

ha, well it's not entirely fair judging against some of Sly & Robbie's best work.

[i]"Booooo! Angry rock music! Oh no! He'll damage his voice, mummy make it stop. Why?!!! Can't we put on The Dream again??"<i/>

lol and not far off from my reaction to that song...alright, being half-Welsh I'll try it again

It reminds me of the Concretes a little bit.

they share a producer. and bodily fluids

wow i'd never heard the cortney tidwell track before, it's great. with a few exceptions i am liking this list a lot so far.

Cortney made my top five! :D

10 people voted for Washed Out??!!?!?!

they just did it to wind you up

so far two of my votes, Marley and Jackie Chain. "Hyph Mngo" was literally the last track I removed from my ballot.

two for me too, just Big Boi and Jamrock. lots of different tracks making it by artists I voted for tho.

I wish I had ranked my ballot. I was all twisted up about the difficulties of ranking songs from totally different styles, but I should have just not worried so much about that and given lots of points to the tracks that needed my help the most. I would like to have seen some reggaeton on this list but doubt any will make it (except maybe Gasolina).

80. YEAH YEAH YEAHS "Zero" (2009) [221.5 points, 9 votes]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmGNo8RL5kM

Alright let's goo!!

alright, a new day!

boo, another boring '09 GAPDY pick! something we didn't just see in last year's list a few months ago please!

Amazing - something people liked before makes the list! Quit moaning.

lots and lots of 09 stuff. was last year a sea-change year for music or something; so much so that things from before sound old hat?

i'm just kidding. but seriously, i'm looking forward to seeing more stuff from '05-'08, it's just not as exciting to see repeats from the yearly poll we just did. (xpost)

"Zero" is a great choon though.

like, I squeezed the top 4 singles from my '09 list way down at the bottom of my ballot for this, partly because I just don't rate the year that high, partly because I'm more interested to see how the canon from previous years has already changed shape.

"Zero" kind of seems really old to me now, though. Is that just me? Maybe I've just heard it so many times, but it almost seems as old as "Date With the Night" and "Maps," even though there's a six year difference.

I never really gave the new YYYs a chance partly because of that, JF...it's like Maps but less timeless. In one ear and out the other.

I didn't really mean it like that. I meant that this song has already managed to enshrine itself so well within the YYYs identity that it's hard for me to fathom it only having come out a year ago.

fwiw, i agree w/ that skip. it's v disposable 2 me and id never mention it in the same breath as maps

79. CHROMATICS "In the City" (2006) [223.5 points, 8 votes]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFOxribt3kA

aaah yeah

Virtually everything on this list is making me think "WTF, people still rate that?" I do love how Lex is pretending he didn't really like that Robyn track at the time though.

fwiw, i agree w/ that skip. it's v disposable 2 me and id never mention it in the same breath as maps

I never liked "Maps," or any Yeah Yeah Yeahs, before "Zero." I think they appeal to different listeners.

The exception is the Courtney Tidwell track which should be at least 50 places higher.

Interesting...I would have voted for this a year ago but I've gone off most of the IDIB camp...

xxxp youre right this wasnt even hard to find:

'Be Mine' is perfect in every way, from the swoop of the strings to the jitter of the beats to the jacking of 'Time After Time' to the amazing lyrics.

― The Lex (The Lex), Tuesday, August 16, 2005 11:13 AM (4 years ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

lol!

it's one of the few "what was i thinking" moments of my music listening career

I didn't really mean it like that. I meant that this song has already managed to enshrine itself so well within the YYYs identity that it's hard for me to fathom it only having come out a year ago.

― Johnny Fever, Thursday, July 1, 2010 2:08 PM (19 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

I know you didn't, just going off on a tangent.

"In the City" is really boring.

It's still a good song, it's one of the few where Robyn actually works (the others being Who's That Girl and With Every Heartbeat). She's much better doing sincerity then she is doing wacky.

hey i try not to fuck with polls beyond year-end but there's tons of good tracks on this so good job everyone.

78. THE FALL "Blindness" (2005) [225.5 points, 9 votes, 1 first place vote]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPg3A9Mz-cI

No one? I know there at least nine of you who like this, and one of you very much.

i never really pay attention to the Fall anymore, but this one is pretty great.

Do you like The Fall - Y/N?

77. MAXWELL "Pretty Wings" (2009) [227 points, 9 votes]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkPy4yq7EJo

xp Y

...Waow! Didn't really expect to see "Blindness"!

alright! another track i voted for, albeit another '09 one.

My third track to place - all from '09.

You're contributing to your own disappointment? xp

I'm liking the bottom 20 a lot more so far. The Maxwell song is well constructed though.

Usually content to sit back and watch with these as I don't really feel confident enough in my musical articulacy to contribute by and large, but as no one was repping for Blindness, then I will just say that the John Peel version was probably the last incontrovertibly truly great, stands-with-their-early career Fall songs. The momentum and shifts in intensity were remarkable and the sinister, vision of future/satire of present, minimalist lyrics, the different stanzas with their different vocal styles, from high-pitched fear, to desert dry commandment, all contribute to make this one of their finest moments. Top ten for me, I'd imagine, top five even. (Word of warning to anyone who's interested, album version I'm kinda lukewarm about, JP session is the one to go for).

As for the reset, love Shine Blockas (thanks ilm!), one of my favourites from last year, and thoroughly enjoying sitting back and seeing what's going to turn up, esp those gems which I've never heard before, which are such a feature of the countdowns.

76. ÂME "Rej" (2005) [228 points, 10 votes]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51MZQBFKmgg

I'll throw in a word for "Blindness" as well. Just incredible -- one of those songs that was in my top 45, then was cut at the very end from my ballot. In retrospect, I probably should've cut something else instead.

C'MON "REJ"!!!!!

My first vote! That track literally is mdma to me.

and good to see that despite the nominations list, ILM dance crew is still repping

Ah Rej - a real creeper of a track. Kind of infamous for being a "nothing" tune, until you hear it in a darkened room at Plastic People at full volume.

Surprised it wasn't a little bit higher tbh.

it's still getting played and seems to be popular w/the UK funky DJs who take their cues from techno - cooly g's played it, and braiden dropping it into his set at sónar this year was <3 <3 <3

Hey, that Joy Orbison tune is pretty good! I never would've guessed something called "Joy Orbison" sounds like that, I thought it was gonna be indie pop or something. Can't see how anyone could think it's "abrasive", unless you feel all techno/house is abrasive.

Rej is cool too! I should've voted for it, I'm not sure why I didn't.

REJ! AWESOME! HANDS IN THE AIR!

And I wouldn't call Rej a "nothing" tune - it's much more tuneful than, say, that The Fall monstrosity.

i've never heard a track by the fall. everything i've ever read suggests that i shouldn't.

I'm sure their absolute crappiness is one more thing on which you and me would agree.

Tuomas OTM re: Joy Orbison.

I love The Fall but am pretty certain you wouldn't, lex! :)

Yeah - Rej has definitely not aged at all. I heard it played out at a club a few years ago (maybe by Luke Slater?) and even then it had been out for ages, but it didn't seem old at all.

Think it's just got that timeless feel to it. Incidentally it is a fucking travesty that Mandarine Girl is not nominated in this poll. If only I'd bothered to nominate...

lex, you oughta play "Blindness" so you can at least say you've heard something you are certain you'd hate.

totally forgot abt rej, so glad it made it

That track kicks ass! Love the treatment on the lower notes.

I think I've said this before, but the Fall vocalist sounds exactly like a wino I once heard in a local karaoke bar trying to interpret a Finnish schlager version of "Delilah" without knowing how to sing nor remembering the lyrics, so he basically just mumbled whatever came to his mind, with an occasional "my... my my... DELILAH!".

Incidentally it is a fucking travesty that Mandarine Girl is not nominated in this poll. If only I'd bothered to nominate...

there were so many obvious dance classics missing ;_;

75. GHOSTFACE KILLAH "Shakey Dog" (2006) [228 points, 11 votes]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wf_BsCiJ6Sc

the high end of "rej" is like a pointillist painting of a cloudless, starry night sky

And I wouldn't call Rej a "nothing" tune - it's much more tuneful than, say, that The Fall monstrosity.

― Tuomas, Thursday, 1 July 2010 16:17 (5 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

i've never heard a track by the fall. everything i've ever read suggests that i shouldn't.

― لوووووووووووووووووووول (lex pretend), Thursday, 1 July 2010 16:18 (4 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

I'm sure their absolute crappiness is one more thing on which you and me would agree.

― Tuomas, Thursday, 1 July 2010 16:19 (3 minutes ago) Bookmark

Okay, okay we get it already.

I didn't vote in this thing, but if I had've done, then Blindness would have been right up there. Such a monstrous song. Loving MES rocking the Alvin Stardust glove in the youtube vid btw.

I think I've said this before, but the Fall vocalist sounds exactly like a wino I once heard in a local karaoke bar trying to interpret a Finnish schlager version of "Delilah" without knowing how to sing nor remembering the lyrics, so he basically just mumbled whatever came to his mind, with an occasional "my... my my... DELILAH!".

― Tuomas, Thursday, 1 July 2010 16:26 (6 minutes ago) Bookmark

You like ODB right?

I think I've said this before, but the Fall vocalist sounds exactly like a wino I once heard in a local karaoke bar trying to interpret a Finnish schlager version of "Delilah" without knowing how to sing nor remembering the lyrics, so he basically just mumbled whatever came to his mind, with an occasional "my... my my... DELILAH!".

This sounds awesome.

yeah srsly

Someone ought to set Mark E Smith straight about the fact he can't sing very well.

Voted for "Shakey Dog," such an excellent track from a really, really great album. Still think Fishscale is on par with Supreme Clientele, which seems to be contrary to the general ILM/critical consensus in 2010.

"shakey dog" - best storytelling of the last 5 years

Really like "Blindness" and "Rej". Didn't vote for either though. "Overpowered" is, I think, the only one from my ballot to make the list, thus far.

74. MGMT "Time to Pretend" (2007) [228 points, 13 votes]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9dSYgd5Elk

wow is that really from 2007? jesus

not a fan, not a hater, expected the backlash to shove it off the bottom of the 100 tbh

oh fuck OFF mgmt, such a tedious song

wow is that really from 2007? jesus

Oracular Spectacular was released digitally in October 2007, and then in physical form in January of 2008. I think "Time to Pretend" was the official single around the same time of the album's digital release, though.

man i am a happy tons of songs i voted for on so far...

Still think Fishscale is on par with Supreme Clientele, which seems to be contrary to the general ILM/critical consensus in 2010.

I agree.

Would have voted for 'Rej' had I heard it before. Tremendous!

'Shakey Dog' is my favourite cut off of 'Fishscale'. That said I didn't vote for it but glad to see it here.

73. DJ QUIK & KURUPT "9x Outta Ten" (2009) [229.5 points, 10 votes]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHe18yE2kXM

There are some excellent cuts on the back half of Fishscale... hidden darts, as Ghost would say.

Voted for "9x Outta Ten" -- kinda wanted to throw a vote to "Hey Playa!" instead, but figured "9x" had a higher shot at placing, so...

yeah i went for hey playa cuz i thought that would be the consensus pick :/

Whoops!

I prefer "Hey Playa!" -- though just barely, both are pretty top-notch.

MGMT might be slightly icky, lightweight and overplayed indie-electro, but Time To Pretend and Kids are still welcome when I hear them over shop speakers. They remind me of a complicated summer-come-good, and falling in love with my current gf, so I get a nice nostalgia from those two songs.

prefer Hey Playa!, although I only found out about it through the 09 poll. Since picking it up it's really grown on me. I love the Moroccan TV sample in that track - "Amazing!"

Hey Playa! >>> 9x Outta 10 but I'd expect both to place here.

both were among a bunch of songs i had to leave off b/c i was voting for the album instead

72. GANG GANG DANCE "House Jam" (2008) [230.5 points, 11 votes]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2fYdX0P7I4

xp ditto ("Shakey Dog", too)

it's from the Travel Channel, not Moroccan TV iirc

I don't think that's what he meant.

didn't get around to voting in this, but happy to see "rej," "9x" and the GGD track. well balloted, voters.

(i also love the "rej" remix that's all on acoustic instruments.)

love that GGD track, though i prefer "first communion" and "princes" - wonder if they'll show up later or if "house jam" is the surprise consensus pick

YES! First track I voted for!

xp - thinking about it I prefer First Communion too, especially the way it comes in after Bebey on the album. Picked House Jam instead for one reason or another - was First Communion nominated?

71. KANYE WEST "Love Lockdown" (2008) [230.5 points, 12 votes]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZwMX6T5Jhk

Love Lovedown is okay, I hope Paranoid makes it from that album.

denizens of the funky house thread will be aware of this already, but the dj naughty remix of "love lockdown" is a must-hear - http://rapidshare.com/files/235235593/Kanye_West_-_Love_Lockdown__DJ_Naughty_Remix_.mp3

(that's a link i just found on the internet, didn't u/l myself)

First Communion was not nominated...I so wanted to vote for it! St.Dymphna is a pretty late discovery for me, but it placed high on my albums ballot!

I find anything Kanye did after Late Registration pretty much execrable...

xpost that...could have potential.

Voted for both "House Jam" and "Love Lockdown" -- very happy they placed. Wasn't really expecting "Love Lockdown" to do so, given the abundance of Kanye singles in the nominations list.

Yeah the UK funky mix is good...I'm not the greatest on these things, but it sounds like it was hastily made in some cheap computer application, you can hear the joins/pieces stuck together with duck tape.

70. GRINDERMAN "No Pussy Blues" (2007) [232 points, 9 votes]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nxqlb1--uKc

that fucking song, it's seriously amazing (re "Love Lockdown")

"Shakey Dog"--what a masterpiece! obviously it's the lyrics that make it so, but i could listen to that bassline solo and be very happy. This could have taken the tracks poll imo, but I guess i'm in that contingent that thinks the rest of Fishcale is a little disappointing.

"Rej" also great--would have voted for that if I'd heard it before. anyone want to enlighten me on what microgenre it fits into? if it does...

so many late retractions from my ballot are showing up

"Rej" also great--would have voted for that if I'd heard it before. anyone want to enlighten me on what microgenre it fits into? if it does...

it would've been minimal techno

looking forward to tuomas letting us know that this grinderman fellow sure got a lucky break getting signed with a voice like that

do people really only listen to music if the vocalist is a technically great singer? Cuz my folks always justify the shit they listen to like celine dion or subo with " but x is a terrific singer"

I suppose that should be for a thread of it own rather than here if someone starts it.

Celine Dion IS a terrific singer, though. 60% of her songs are terrible but she is an undeniable talent.

I didn't vote for a lot of metal but I have a feeling that what I did vote for is not going to make it.

I didn't really vote for any metal tracks. For me metal is more of an album experience for me, so I don't pull a whole lot of individual tracks out.

69. HOT CHIP "Ready for the Floor" (2008) [237.5 points, 11 votes]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AW94AEmzFhQ

73. DJ QUIK & KURUPT "9x Outta Ten" (2009) [229.5 points, 10 votes]

holy shit this is great, best thing ive slept on in the list so far

xpost yeah i dont think i voted for any metal tracks either really

oh shit sorry, let me fix the formatting so it doesnt look like we are moving backward in time

I don't really listen to abrasive rock music at all anymore, I used to love the Fall and I liked The Hold Steady's first album in HS, but I haven't even checked out either of those band's songs that made this list b/c I'm just not really interested and I know what to expect. But FOTL's Arming Eritrea is a really great song that gave me flashbacks to when I used to really love aggressive rock music; its weird to feel old neuro-pleasure-pathways lighting up after my brain has been re-routed for so long.

More like "Ready for the Bore," amirite?

Hot Chip might be the first thing here that makes me actively angry. (LOLGIRLS, I guess, but I think the difference is that Hot Chip sounds close to something I'd actually listen to, except done horribly wrong.)

See also: "Ready for the Snore."

xp to self

Wish I had voted in this poll btw, really enjoying it so far. Rej is prob my favorite song to make it so far. Also looooved "Rollin" which I'd never heard before.

It sounds like dance music of, for, and by anal-reticent dweebs.

Rej has always been missing something for me. I guess the nightclub experience is what it needs

btw for those new to "Rollin'": rollin rollin rollin we aint slept in weeks

It sounds like dance music of, for, and by anal-reticent dweebs.

Cosign. This is exactly my problem w/r/t Hot Chip. See also: Cut Copy, who are similarly inexcusable.

Rollin' has been the nicest surprise of this poll

I guess I'm now officially an anal-reticent dweeb. Love Hot Chip, liked the first Cut Copy album (tolerated the second).

how do you like that stuff and think the Joy Orbison track is horrible???

A musical past rooted in things like Depeche Mode, ('80s) Pet Shop Boys and New Order I guess.

68. THE XX "Crystalised" (2009) [239 points, 12 votes]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pib8eYDSFEI

I have the same '80s loves, yet despise Hot Chip/Cut Copy and love the Joy Orbison track. Go figure!

xp

Voted for the xx, this track. It's a good one.

I can't remember if I voted "Crystalised" as my #1 in the 2009 tracks poll earlier this year or not, but I probably did. I still love it, but I don't listen to it obsessively like I did 6 or 8 months ago.

I much prefer "Islands". Actually, "Crystalised" might be my least favourite track on that album.

Conversely, it's about the only track on the album I ended up loving (besides the instrumental that starts the album).

I have avoided hearing the xx until now. Here goes...

"Islands" and "Shelter" equal it IMO. "Intro" is pretty much my clear favorite on the album though.

"Intro" is straight-up Seventeen Seconds-era Cure style.

Okay, guys... get your torches and pitchforks ready...

67. ANIMAL COLLECTIVE "Fireworks" (2007) [240 points, 11 votes]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztvr09J7KK4

should I listen to this before swearing vengeance upon everyone who voted for it?

No. Go with your gut.

huh so thats what the xx sounds like

haha wait, you'd never heard them before?

i cant talk to you with that username

jesus christ

Wait, people actually listen to the xx??

HOW the fuck do ppl listen to anco

this is like the worst song i've ever heard

Hippie drum circle gone so, so bad.

"My Girls" is great and, as I explore more of their catalog, it's becoming clearer to me that it's awesomeness is a total accident.

like the apostrophe in my last post

think those of us in the anti-AnCo camp are in for some pain.

also HI DERE totally OTM

Ha! I will out myself. I proudly voted for 'Fireworks'. #2 in my ballot if iirc(39pts). So yeah it's my fault. Love this sooooo much.

MY GOD THIS HASN'T FINISHED YET

hahahah rejected post by me from 2 minutes ago

I'll 'fess up: I voted for this AC track. And no others.

Animal Collective kind of makes me want to remove my eardrums just in case.

a 7-minute animal collective track is a brand new circle of hell all in itself

UGH that band need beheading

Good news is AC probably won't hit Top 5-10 in this poll, simply due to what's likely to be an insane amount of vote splitting btw eight individual tracks (if I recall correctly).

the albums list otoh...

if the US military had been aware of AC, they'd have found it ideal torturing music imo, and they wouldn't even have needed to turn it up. or even play it on loop.

I only managed 20 tracks. I wish I had just voted for all of the AC for the lulz. So be grateful ilm!

Still love Fireworks, didn't vote for it or any of their well-known tracks though...in a giddy rush of non-tactical voting, I gave 38 and 37 points to Animal Collective-related obscurities which won't be troubling HI DERE or the other horrible haters.

Was surprised by the xx there - I expected them to sound more interesting than that. People should just listen to New Order instead.

Never heard Animal Collective before, but that tune sounds like a folk song that should've been accompanied only by some acoustic guitar strumming only. Why did they add those awful cymbal clashes and other crap on the background?

66. JUNIOR BOYS "In the Morning" (2006) [240.5 points, 12 votes]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiI-3uRfaSc

Okay, why does the singer's voice keep getting more and more whiny? Was someone squeezing his balls in the studio?

(That was about the Animal Collection song.)

Tuomas what kind of singer does a band have to have for you to like them?

wish i could have used my picks 30-40 to take points away from Animal Collection

"in the morning" is solid A+

yeah it's a total jam

I wish I had just voted for all of the AC for the lulz.

Srsly almost did this myself...

Tuomas what kind of singer does a band have to have for you to like them?

basic competence would be a start? idk i like loads of "weird-sounding" singers, but the voices i object to are just amateurish, where it's clear the singer has no idea what they're doing or how to communicate whatever they're trying to

<3 "in the morning", though not my fav off so this is goodbye

Tuomas what kind of singer does a band have to have for you to like them?

Basically, I like singers who can sing well. Sometimes a vocalist can have a cool trick that makes up for lack of skills, such as with Grace Jones, but I don't think irritating nasal whining or drunken mumbling is such a trick. I like ODB and mumbling is okay in rap, but that's because it's not about singing.

(haha, x-post with Lex)

I like ODB and mumbling is okay in rap, but that's because it's not about singing.

How is AC any more so "about singing" than rap??

Well, clearly they've written a tune with a melody that the vocalist tries to reproduce with his voice. That's not what rappers do.

Junior Boys is nice, but maybe the only reason I prefer it to MGMT is that I haven't heard it as often.

staying well out of this AnCo debate btw

Though to be honest, I don't like whiny rapping that much either, that's why Ghostface is often a bit too much for me.

65. OF MONTREAL "The Past Is a Grotesque Animal" (2007) [241.5 points, 10 votes]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2p9fDJsHNo

Junior Boys doesn't sound at all like MGMT, thank god xpost

^^^ Would have voted high for this had I got my tracks ballot in.

Also, is it just me or is Tuomas turning into Geir somewhat?

wow. what a goddamn song.

I stopped listening to of Montreal about 9 or 10 years ago, but I'm pleasantly surprised by this. I'll have to look fer Hissing Fauna now.

^yes this song (and album) was the first thing I've really liked by them in a long time

Voted for Of Montreal, absolutely relentless track that still feels like it could go on for 10 more minutes. The subtle rhythms and little gaps he uses in the vocals are great--"the passsst is a grotes....que animal" for some lines then he's right on top of the beat on others. They put on an amazingly tight live show too.

really great lyrics too

Curious what all the AnCo are too long/can't sing crowd will say about this. Not that there aren't differences here, but...

well i don't like of montreal either so

Also, is it just me or is Tuomas turning into Geir somewhat?

― emil.y,

In this thread its been the lex who he has been agreeing with. I even asked Tuomas a question and the lex answered! lol

I like ODB and mumbling is okay in rap

worst geir ever

well, cuz it was a point i'd made too!

don't like of montreal either

xp

64. FEVER RAY "When I Grow Up" (2009) [243 points, 11 votes]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4F-CpE73o2M

(^ one of my favorite videos in years. Martin de Thurah can't create enough things, imo.)

clearly they've written a tune with a melody that the vocalist tries to reproduce with his voice. That's not what rappers do.

I find this sentiment almost completely insupportable, tbh.

I know , Lex. It was just funny!

Voted for this Fever Ray track. Incredible.

^ pitchfork hipster

Very nice. warming up to Fever Ray--I think i found it to be genuinely too unsettling at first.

booming post imo xp

love this fever ray track.

(just a reminder, HI DERE didnt vote so the low placing for this is also his fault)

man no pussy blues is so heavy :)

63. NELLY FURTADO "Maneater" (2006) [243.5 points, 13 votes]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLolag3YSYU

This song never gets old. I've probably listened to it 500 times in the last four years.

ok see now i hate the fuck out of that song xpost hahaha whoops

i rate "fireworks" as the canon animal collective song, altho i did not vote for it

imo "maneater" is far, far inferior to "promiscuous" and "say it right"

maneater is inferior to say it right, but i like it a lot more than promiscuous

that makes five songs so far that have made it...awesome!

imo all the big singles from that album are boring and i only really fuck with "no hay igual" and "all good things" -- but i totally realize i am chilling alone in challop canyon there

Five for me too.

maneater placing better than sexyback seems weird to me

imo "maneater" is far, far inferior to "promiscuous" and "say it right"

― hell hath no furry (J0rdan S.), Thursday, July 1, 2010 11:38 AM Bookmark

^^^

still don't get fever ray at alllll

My favorite Nelly Furtado song from 2006 was relegated to b-side status: "Undercover"

But since it was on the "Maneater" single, that was one of my favorite one-two punches of the year.

say it right >>> no hay igual >>> promiscuous >>> maneater

but i still really like "maneater"! that grinding bass. the verses are better than the chorus.

Voted for this Fever Ray track as well. Such a great slow burn. Unlike with some artists, who wear their influences on their sleeves (e.g. Gaga, LCD, The-Dream), I enjoy hearing subtle allusions to other work on this track; KDA really doesn't sound like anyone else. The intro synth chords sort of recall George Michael's Father Figure to me; and some of her melodies bring to mind Kate Bush or an introverted Cyndi Lauper (especially on Seven).

?! The chorus is an explosion of cyborg sex awesomeness! xp

xxp i don't know...i also love the grinding bass on the verses (actually it kinda reminds me of The Fall), but that's a killer chorus, and I love how the verses and chorus are subtly out-of-sync with each other...it's a thrilling track!!!

Maneater is definitely the song that made me get into that album...and then she dropped Say It Right, and it was all over...

there was a better "when i grow up" that was released b/w 05-09 but i don't htink it was nominated

oh i like the chorus, i just LOVE the verses - they feel so taut and tense, about to pounce

xps

xp not true! i voted for it

and i think nom'd it

"Maneater" didn't even place in the 2006 poll! "Sexyback" was #11.

62. KANYE WEST "Can't Tell Me Nothing" (2007) [249.5 points, 15 votes]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSpCf8-AE94

Catching up - that Jackie Chain song is wonderful, going to be my song of the summer I suspect.

Never really agreed with the drunken mumbling thing on MES, yes he does that, but he also does crisp-as-a-poppadom stuff, flow very much like ODB imo, can hold up a rhythm and then dive down in to it, smear all over it and then give it a kick up the backside. Anyhow, mustn't go on. (popularit of anco is a mystery to me, mind).

many xposts.

xp Loose>>>>>>>>>>>>the stuff I've heard from FutureSex/LoveSounds...I mean, I voted for four Nelly Furtado tracks, and no Timberlake tracks, and that's slightly bogus...I SHOULD have voted for What Goes Around and Love Stoned, but still, to these ears, Nelly's stuff with Timbaland is way cooler than Justin's.

ugh we're going to get every nominated Kanye track in this list aren't we

I only voted for one, and not either of the tracks that have shown. (Only artists I voted for two tracks from were Beyonce and Lil Wayne.)

that's a well-placed 'ugh', some dude...

Would probably have voted for both of the Kanyes that have shown up and none of the others. But there'll be at least one more to come, I bet.

i don't think i voted for "can't tell me nothing" but it's hold up really well imo

it has one of the weakest sloppiest lamest most poorly assembled beats i've ever heard on a hit rap song, it's just so ungainly and awkward

the MIDI organ, the choppy vocal sample with the cheap-sounding filter, the way the ride cymbal hits are practically louder than the snare, it's an unlistenable mess

That Kanye is ok (Love Lockdown is ugh) but it sounds completely obvious in 2010. Lol at Will Oldham though.

i actually voted for it, i like it for some reason. also my bonnie prince billy stanism probably figured into it but i can't help it.

haha i totally forgot about the 2nd video for that song.

is "flashing lights" gonna place?

i actually like the goofiness of can't tell me nothing

i hope so, it's the only one of his solo tracks i voted for (xpost)

best part is when galafinakis says "can he stay faithful in a roomful of hoes" and gestures to the cows standing behind him

I just want to publicly apologize for not including "Shine Blockas" in my ballot...I hadn't heard it, but that's no excuse; y'all were frothing about it in 2009 Tracks poll...I'm truly and deeply sorry.

flashing lights is the only kanye i voted for, too

61. AMY WINEHOUSE "Rehab" (2006) [250.5 points, 12 votes]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUmZp8pR1uc

still hate that song.

ok the poll is def tipping away from me at this point

way too low for rehab imo

no

no no

LOVE "rehab", especially now enough time has passed since its ubiquity that i can appreciate it again. such a classic pop single. (didn't vote for it though! this is becoming a pattern, this is how tough the trax ballot was for me. nearly voted "back to black" but again, er, didn't. i mean all these songs i didn't vote for are still easy 10/10s.)

man amy used to be such a fox ;_;

Wednesday's results:

100. NE-YO "Because of You" (2007) [195.5 points, 7 votes, 1 first place vote]
99. DAMIAN "JR. GONG" MARLEY "Welcome to Jamrock" (2005) [197 points, 11 votes]
98. CHAMILLIONAIRE ft. KRAYZIE BONE "Ridin'" (2005) [198.5 points, 10 votes]
97. RÓISÍN MURPHY "Overpowered" (2007) [199.5 points, 10 votes]
96. THE KNIFE "Marble House" (2006) [204.5 points, 10 votes]
95. CAMERA OBSCURA "Lloyd, I'm Ready to Be Heartbroken" (2006) [204.5 points, 11 votes]
94. THE-DREAM "Fancy" (2009) [205.5 points, 8 votes]
93. BIG BOI ft. GUCCI MANE "Shine Blockas" (2009) [206 points, 8 votes]
92. CORTNEY TIDWELL "Don't Let Stars Keep Us Tangled Up (Ewan Pearson Objects in Space Remix)" (2007) [207.5 points, 10 votes]
91. LCD SOUNDSYSTEM "45:33" (2006) [208 points, 10 votes]
90. WASHED OUT "Feel it All Around" (2009) [208.5 points, 10 votes]
89. GIRLS "Lust for Life" (2008) [209 points, 8 votes]
88. LADY GAGA "Paparazzi" (2009) [209 points, 10 votes]
87. ROBYN "Be Mine" (2005) [209 points, 12 votes]
86. THE HOLD STEADY "Stuck Between Stations" (2007) [210.5 points, 8 votes]
85. JACKIE CHAIN ft. JHI ALI "Rollin'" (2008) [212.5 points, 7 votes]
84. FEVER RAY "Seven" (2009) [212.5 points, 9 votes, 1 first place vote]
83. FUTURE OF THE LEFT "Arming Eritrea" (2009) [213.5 points, 10 votes]
82. JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE "SexyBack" (2006) [216 points, 9 votes]
81. JOY ORBISON "Hyph Mngo" (2009) [219.5 points, 9 votes]

Today's results:

80. YEAH YEAH YEAHS "Zero" (2009) [221.5 points, 9 votes]
79. CHROMATICS "In the City" (2006) [223.5 points, 8 votes]
78. THE FALL "Blindness" (2005) [225.5 points, 9 votes, 1 first place vote]
77. MAXWELL "Pretty Wings" (2009) [227 points, 9 votes]
76. ÂME "Rej" (2005) [228 points, 10 votes]
75. GHOSTFACE KILLAH "Shakey Dog" (2006) [228 points, 11 votes]
74. MGMT "Time to Pretend" (2007) [228 points, 13 votes]
73. DJ QUIK & KURUPT "9x Outta Ten" (2009) [229.5 points, 10 votes]
72. GANG GANG DANCE "House Jam" (2008) [230.5 points, 11 votes]
71. KANYE WEST "Love Lockdown" (2008) [230.5 points, 12 votes]
70. GRINDERMAN "No Pussy Blues" (2007) [232 points, 9 votes]
69. HOT CHIP "Ready for the Floor" (2008) [237.5 points, 11 votes]
68. THE XX "Crystalised" (2009) [239 points, 12 votes]
67. ANIMAL COLLECTIVE "Fireworks" (2007) [240 points, 11 votes]
66. JUNIOR BOYS "In the Morning" (2006) [240.5 points, 12 votes]
65. OF MONTREAL "The Past Is a Grotesque Animal" (2007) [241.5 points, 10 votes]
64. FEVER RAY "When I Grow Up" (2009) [243 points, 11 votes]
63. NELLY FURTADO "Maneater" (2006) [243.5 points, 13 votes]
62. KANYE WEST "Can't Tell Me Nothing" (2007) [249.5 points, 15 votes]
61. AMY WINEHOUSE "Rehab" (2006) [250.5 points, 12 votes]

Tomorrow's results:

Come back and see.

oh man if id just made a ranked ballot i could have gotten arming aritrea up to #70. and i didnt even do a full list of 40, so it wouldnt have hurt any of the other choices i really cared about. stupid stupid me.

rehab is horseshit btw

love "Rehab" but prefer "You Know I'm No Good", voted for the album instead of either

ok to be fair my reaction to amy winehouse in general goes along with my irritable response to the whole "look its faux-motown soul, but NEW and FRESH for the kids" marketing thing that was going on there for a while with her a several others.

i am so pleased arming eritrea got on the list...so pleased. the last minute and a half of that song is the greatest thing ever.

the whole "look its faux-motown soul, but NEW and FRESH for the kids" marketing thing that was going on there for a while

I would've preferred Adele be the representative of that stuff on this poll, but she wasn't even nommed.

winehouse's songwriting slant and vocal delivery are singular (and emotionally affecting) enough to sidestep the marketing angle - though the marketing does epitomise adele, who's basically the cut-price, "safe" amy sans scary crack or ink

spotify list btw, will update, (without Jackie Chain and DJ Quik and Kurupt, sadly, two of my favourite songs so far, outside of The Fall - I fact I wouldn't be at all surprised if I played 9x outta 10 more than any other track last year).

good post lex

i don't know why "rehab" was the one that got so much critical and commercial adoration at the time. i liked a lot of amy's other singles better.

glad to see "when i grow up" made it. i nom'd it but didn't end up actually voting for it, weirdly enough.

man rehab is such a goddam great song, can't imagine what horrible anti-plane you all are dwelling on

xposts

yeah, a while back matos and i were talking about back to black and he was like "the thing about it that no one ever says is that it's one of the best singer-songwriter albums EVER", which i am inclined to agree with

winehouse's songwriting slant and vocal delivery are singular (and emotionally affecting) enough to sidestep the marketing angle

This is true, and I like Winehouse...don't get me wrong... but Adele is an easier fit into my own personal desire to have a modern-day Dusty Springfield.

not sure i have any desire whatsoever to have a modern-day dusty springfield, certainly not adele

Do you not like Dusty, Rev?

I've only heard "Son of a Preacher Man". I prefer Aretha's version.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H71YMS0DjOQ

no sound on my computer :(

i don't know why "rehab" was the one that got so much critical and commercial adoration at the time.

lead single, party-friendly jam...def the most "populist", though i also preferred some of the other singles.

some of her lyrics on back to black are just devastating (also: funny!), tho i guess (hope) we'll have a chance to talk about that in the albums thread. on "rehab", what i love best is how she makes the jaunty, irresistible arrangement and absolutely unstoppable tune her armour, her self-defence - the force of the music enables her defiance, and it only cracks on lines like "ooh, i just need a friend".

anyway, whether i like dusty or not isn't the issue. the point is that if i wanted to listen to dusty, i sure as hell wouldn't go to adele for my fix.

some of her lyrics are great, but it's her incredibly expressive voice that really gets to me, esp on tracks like "back to black"
xp

the point is that if i wanted to listen to dusty, i sure as hell wouldn't go to adele for my fix.

Well yeah, Dusty Springfield will always be my first choice when I'm in the mood to listen to Dusty Springfield, but I really like some of the ghosts that are flying around on 19.

Reverend, check "I Only Want to be with You," my one fave Rusty song.

I think I should give Amy Winehouse another shot given that I've been listening to a few things in the past year or two that I think aren't so far removed.

yeah, a while back matos and i were talking about back to black and he was like "the thing about it that no one ever says is that it's one of the best singer-songwriter albums EVER", which i am inclined to agree with

I'd go with this too. I didn't think I actually liked 'Rehab' much - I voted for the two no-one ever talks about (hi!) - but playing it just now and boy does it sound great.

Rusty is Dusty's twin brother? xp

LOL sorry. I'm at work and 1/2 my brain is elsewhere.

"I have always been a great fan of Rusty!"

Sure, I get that--it's just a hardcore go-to song for me.

(my computer shorted so xxxxpost)

Rusty Springfield aka Arthur Brown

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69K0bdOAChw

no point in posting stuff for me to listen to, my sound card doesn't work