(TOP 5 TODAY, MOFOS!) Yo P&J, I'm really happy for you, Imma let you finish, but ILX had the greatest 2009 poll of all time! All time! (2009 ILX Albums Poll Results)

21 -- St. Vincent - Actor (167 points, 12 votes, #1 vote/s) (13 in p4k, 12 in p&j)

http://img51.imageshack.us/img51/2109/stvincentactor.jpg

I know this is really dumb, but I can't get past that cover. I can't imagine liking whatever music this woman makes.

I think the cover is kind of tongue-in-cheek.

someone post a youtube or two of any song from the FOTL album that's as good as "arming eritrea"

Not a whole lot of YouTube options, but you can check out "Stand By Your Manatee" or "Lapsed Catholics" on lala.

Or you could read the song titles. That album would be a contender on song titles alone.

I think I've given up on Zombi & Oneohtrix Point Never placing

oneohtrix made it into my top 5 fwiw. another really long, really awesome record (opn, mungolian jet set, and dam funk are all over 2 hours iirc)

yeah Z S that is dumb :) every other photo of Annie Clark i've seen she's in make-up so it's a nice contrast.

I know, it's ridic. Does it annoy anyone else, though, by chance?

50 -- Gucci Mane - Burrprint 3D (89.5 points, 9 votes) (dnp in p4k, 195 in p&j)
49 -- Matias Aguayo - Ay Ay Ay (91 points, 11 votes) (dnp in p4k, 226 in p&j)
48 -- Girls - Album (92 points, 10 votes) (10 in p4k, 10 in p&j)
47 -- Baroness - Blue Record (92 points, 11 votes) (41 in p4k, 19 in p&j)
46 -- Camera Obscura - My Maudlin Career (93 points, 8 votes, 1 #1 vote/s) (dnp in p4k, 30 in p&j)
45 -- Fall Out Boy - Folie a Deux (96 points, 6 votes, 1 #1 vote/s) (dnp in p4k, dnp in p&j)
44 -- UGK - UGK 4 Life (96.5 points, 10 votes) (dnp in p4k, 311 in p&j)
43 -- Henrik Schwarz, Âme and Dixon - The Grandfather Paradox (98 points, 9 votes) (dnp in p4k, 816 in p&j)
42 -- Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest (98.5 points, 10 votes) (6 in p4k, 6 in p&j)
41 -- NOMO - Invisible Cities (101 points, 7 votes) (dnp in p4k, 356 in p&j)
40 -- El Perro Del Mar - Love Is Not Pop (104.5 points, 8 votes, 2 #1 vote/s) (dnp in p4k, 1558 in p&j)
39 -- Meanderthals - Desire Lines (104.5 points, 9 votes) (dnp in p4k, 877 in p&j)
38 -- JJ – jj n° 2 (104.5 points, 9 votes, 1 #1 vote/s) (35 in p4k, 105 in p&j)
37 -- Horrors - Primary Colours (106.5 points, 11 votes) (dnp in p4k, 65 in p&j)
36 -- Neko Case - Middle Cyclone (107 points, 12 votes, 2 #1 vote/s) (21 in p4k, 3 in p&j)
35 -- The Mountain Goats - The Life Of The World To Come (110.5 points, 10 votes) (45 in p4k, 80 in p&j)
34 -- Lady Gaga - The Fame Monster (111.5 points, 10 votes) (dnp in p4k, 31 in p&j)
33 -- Mariah Carey - Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel (112 points, 8 votes) (dnp in p4k, 332 in p&j)
32 -- Broadcast & The Focus Group - ...Investigate Witch Cults Of The Radio Age (112.5 points, 9 votes, 1 #1 vote/s) (dnp in p4k, 88 in p&j)
31 -- Miranda Lambert - Revolution (115 points, 9 votes) (dnp in p4k, 25 in p&j)
30 -- Junior Boys - Begone Dull Care (115 points, 10 votes, #1 vote/s) (dnp in p4k, 199 in p&j)
29 -- Röyksopp - Junior (116 points, 9 votes, #1 vote/s) (30 in p4k, 301 in p&j)
28 -- Omar-S - Fabric 45: Detroit (123 points, 10 votes) (dnp in p4k, 134 in p&j)
27 -- Mungolian Jet Set - We Gave it All Away...Now We Are Taking It Back (128.5 points, 10 votes) (dnp in p4k, 744 in p&j)
26 -- Lily Allen - It's Not Me, It's You (136 points, 10 votes, 1 #1 vote/s) (dnp in p4k, 22 in p&j)
25 -- Dâm-Funk - Toeachizown (138 points, 13 votes) (dnp in p4k, 47 in p&j)
24 -- Death - ...For the Whole World To See (145.5 points, 12 votes) (dnp in p4k, 151 in p&j)
23 -- Rihanna - Rated R (152.5 points, 16 votes) (dnp in p4k, 125 in p&j)
22 -- Future Of The Left - Travels With Myself And Another (163 points, 11 votes, 1 #1 vote/s) (dnp in p4k, 67 in p&j)
21 -- St. Vincent - Actor (167 points, 12 votes, #1 vote/s) (13 in p4k, 12 in p&j)

weird & unexpected list

xxpost yes. i saw a music video of hers that also annoyed me.

wait i dont get it...she looks really pretty?

idk what's unexpected on this list? the only ones i'm "surprised" by are the ones i haven't heard of - someone tell more about this death, please?

actually surprised dâm-funk was so low - agree with kev that it works better in its five-EP format - this is a v minor quibble that didn't stop me voting for it of course. he's such a nice dude as well.

expected rihanna to show up but still good to see her reasonably high. i guess not wanting to be beholden to ~context~ is understandable, but in this case the context is really crucial and those who actively tried to ignore it were mistaken. it's a psychologically true and impressively unflinching portrait of a domestic violence victim which doesn't just take the easy "you go girl, get that man out of my life" route but encompasses everything from admittances of weakness, violent revenge fantasies and the way in which the self is broken down and remade.

also it's pretty good seeing all the "dnp in p4k"s - in yr FACE, useless website.

surprised to see jr boys, lily, st. vincent, horrors, jj (amongst others) where they are

lex death is pretty much straight up punk - "lost" album from the 70s.

it's awesome if you're into that kind of thing

jj def had lots of boosters à la air france the year before (quite possibly exactly the same people)
horrors had a lot of "hey actually this isn't bad" among british people (not defending that obv)
lily - surely not a surprise after "the fear" placed so highly?
junior boys - all formerly-great bands have a loyalty-based hangover of votes even after their peak, considering their past two albums are pretty much the epitome of ilm it'd take much worse than a slightly dull retreading of similar territory to get them out of the list altogether

i don't know anything about st vincent though the name rings a bell - folky, i'm guessing? is she "twee" or "quirky"?

She's associated with Sufjan Stevens, if that helps.

i dont think you would hate her, you might like her voice

xp

expected rihanna to show up but still good to see her reasonably high. i guess not wanting to be beholden to ~context~ is understandable, but in this case the context is really crucial and those who actively tried to ignore it were mistaken. it's a psychologically true and impressively unflinching portrait of a domestic violence victim which doesn't just take the easy "you go girl, get that man out of my life" route but encompasses everything from admittances of weakness, violent revenge fantasies and the way in which the self is broken down and remade.

― لوووووووووووووووووووول (lex pretend), Friday, February 12, 2010 5:02 PM Bookmark

I agree with all that, but as an album, it's a lot more admirable than enjoyable. I don't think it's any conincidence that it's the first thing since Neko Case with a lower than 10 ppv average.

horrors had a lot of "hey actually this isn't bad" among british people (not defending that obv)

lol @ this

begone dull care seemed pretty boring at first, but it slowly took over my life without me realising it

eh, i got pretty addicted to listening to it. still do, though it's shifted from the front end to the middle + "cold case love" now.

i shall check out st vincent this weekend, i don't really have an opinion on sufjan stevens.

xps re rihanna

lex please check out sufjan stevens

for our entertainment of course, even tho doing so might place you in immediate harm

know, it's ridic. Does it annoy anyone else, though, by chance?

That cover makes me feel slightly sick. I did manage to listen to some of the songs though and I can see the appeal, though it's nothing I am drawn to. Did photoshop the cover picture to make it disturbing? (Am I missing something obvious?)

love st vincent but still haven't really heard any sufjan (that i remember)

As usual I am despairing that a couple things I thought might make it are going to make it. (Need a whirled/douche voting block.)

wait someone tell me what the big deal over the cover is, i'm srsly confused

lex death is pretty much straight up punk - "lost" album from the 70s.

― vag gangsta (k3vin k.), Friday, February 12, 2010 5:06 PM Bookmark

I think "straight up punk" is kind of a misnomer in their case. Their roots in late 60s/early 70s hard rock are a lot more visible than most of the bands that got labeled "punk" in the next couple years.

The sound like:

xxxx://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVygQDHzbNI

i know what sufjan stevens sounds like already! a couple of songs anyway. one of them, the first i heard, sounded incredible at first, but that was only because of a ton of drugz, it didn't sound so good sober. the others sucked in a negligible kind of way but not, like, violently irritating. this was all like four years ago.

Just noticed the value-added cross-list comparisons on the results list. Impressive.

eh, i got pretty addicted to listening to it. still do, though it's shifted from the front end to the middle + "cold case love" now.

― لوووووووووووووووووووول (lex pretend), Friday, February 12, 2010 5:14 PM Bookmark

only needed 2 plays of the Rihanna album to realize I wasn't going to get anything other than narrative out of it

"cold case love" is def far and away the best song there, and def worth keeping

initially: "russian roulette", killer single
then: whoa @ the "fire bomb" lyrics AND hook
then: "wait your turn", "hard" and "g4l" while striding through london rain every day /// "cold case love" if a bit emo
then: "rude boy" is a fucking banger, isn't it - what i WAN-WAN-WANT is what you WAN-WAN-WANT, give it 2 me baby like BOOM-BOOM-BOOM

^^all of these rated r tracks have been obsessively looped by me

my problem with the rihanna album is that my favorite joints ("cold case love" aside) are the ones on the back half like "rude boy" & "te amo" & "photographs" which seem like they were not written specifically for this album -- i do dig the ballads tho

my least favorite song on the album is prob "rock star 101"

i guess how much you love the rihanna album might depend on how much you're into the "wait your turn"/"hard" opening one-two punch

(i HEART them both)

<3 "wait your turn"

my appreciation of the rihanna album is also reinforced by how much i enjoyed writing about it, and how much i enjoyed reading other people on it - it seemed to catalyse lots of people into good writing

hard is the only thing thats really jumped out at me from this album but i havent really got around to it yet

it will be interesting to see where she goes from here... i don't really feel like she can go back to "shut up & drive"/"please don't stop the music" type songs but idk if this hard-edged rock thing is gonna work out -- would def like to see her engage w/ more dubstep/dancehall stuff (but not in a perfunctory jr rotem "s.o.s." teen pop type way)

"Hard" is ok, but "Wait Your Turn" just feels sluggish to me.

would def like to see her engage w/ more dubstep/dancehall stuff (but not in a perfunctory jr rotem "s.o.s." teen pop type way)

this would make sense if you substituted "Pon di Replay" but I'm not sure what S.O.S. has to do with dancehall other than that Rihanna was vaguely associated with it at the time

yeah idk -- "pon di replay" is a fine example -- i always thought that song she did with sean paul was underrated in both their catalogs. i definitely think there are cool places that she could go & wants to go and could likely get away with but i'm pretty sure that they'll pull a clarkson on her and hope they can hit it with a "my life would suck without you", which would suck for us

"Break It Off" is awful

Re: St. Vincent

It was a good year for femme Art Pop, what with Bat for Lashes (whose yet to place), Florence (who won't), and Cortney Tidwell (also likely out of the running).

But Annie Clark (aka St. Vincent) is the best of the lot, to my ears. For those fearing folky acoustic somnolence, don't. Clark is a noise/experimental guitarist that 30 years ago could have found a home in a number of no wave bands. The orchestrations are lush, the tone varied but sometimes aggressive. If I can recommend a live performance from the year, it would be St. Vincent playing Marrow on Letterman. It's not entirely reflective of the album, which only hits upbeat peaks three times, but she's no folky.

..other words, St. Vincent is more this decade's Arto Lindsay, than any artist on the Ectophiles' Guide.