ILM'S TOP 77 TRACKS of 2011 (Los resultados!)

"thong song break" = i shall not be listening to this in the morning or at any time

lol this is a lame joke you dork

benoit & sergio are soooooooooooo boring. do not get them at all.

i get why ppl would think they're boring. especially "walk and talk"

i voted "what ive lost" w/o knowing it was old

also i'm stoked on a lot of the indie stuff i didn't get around to this year: that Yuck song is great, and the Joy Formidable song was so good i listened to the whole album twice in a row yesterday

go team, however: still terrible. please tell me los campesinos didnt put anything out this year

they did, they put an amazing record

i'm sure it will amaze me.

also i'll never understand the "junior boys keep getting worse" narrative!!!!!

imo they go from strength to strength and "banana ripple" is a great track

I voted for Nadia Oh as my #1. I think its divisiveness is part of what makes it brilliant: it's a song about partying and decadence and wealth and silliness and made-up words so its only fair it's entirely loud and brash and obnoxious - in many ways, its the perfect dance/pop song for 2011 and the VEVO generation. Also - and this is especially true if you've had a few drinks - it sounds completely affected by its own messiness, in which I mean it's got those queasy background vocals that are slightly flat, the tempo is just a little too awkward, and those vocals stuttering and pitchshifted in parts, all adding up to the wtf-is-this sense that booze can give you when you're clubbing and you hear something a bit alien. It's got so much humour too: the dead-eyed "swag!", the opulent production, the Mean-Girls hand-flick of "gurl, do you follow?"

The rest of this list is really good, a lot of stuff I did or should have voted for has appeared so far so I'm really happy.

i'm pretty whatever about moombahton in general but i really enjoy that nadia oh track-- its just stupid enough

have totally underrated the Nadia Oh due to only hearing the radio edit. Listening to the original mix right now and while I'm not drunk, a lot of ^^what boxedjoy said is otm, especially about the humor.

pt 3. really not my favorite batch, in spite of a couple bright spots:

60 - DJ QUIK ft. SUGA FREE & TY$ "Nobody" (214 Points, 7 Votes)
Voted for the album, not the song. Total summer anthem. Suga Free is the funniest dude, but Quik's new verse and the goofy half-time break push it over the top.

59 - YUCK "Get Away" (218 Points, 6 Votes, 2 First-Place Votes)
OK, this isn't quite as bad as the other Yuck song I heard, but did I really in my life ever need to hear a British guy do Smashing Pumpkins karaoke?

58 - THE GO! TEAM ft. BETHANY COSENTINO "Buy Nothing Day" (219 Points, 9 Votes)
A band I forgot existed. They at least used to sound like themselves? I feel like they've discarded every distinguishing characteristic they used to posess. This is actively terrible.

57 - BATTLES ft. MATIAS AGUAYO "Ice Cream" (222 Points, 7 Votes)
Both these acts became useless at some point and it saddens me.

56 - WILD FLAG "Romance" (223 Points, 8 Votes)
Whoever it was who said something about old people playing at being rockstars otm.

55 - GANG GANG DANCE "Mindkilla" (226 Points, 9 Votes)
I hate these vocals. The rest is alright. The other GGD track was better.

54 - DANNY DAZE ft. LOUISAHHH!!! "Your Everything" (228 Points, 8 Votes)
Unlike Steffi, this isn't doing anything to dispel my notion that house has become deeply boring in the past couple years.

53 - KATE BUSH "Snowflake" (229 Points, 8 Votes)
Nice mood piece I guess? The piano sounds really lush. It's all kind of receding into the background, though.

52 - BEYONCÉ "1+1" (229 Points, 9 Votes)
Another one I voted for the album. I feel like the difference between the simple core song and the grandiose ambition is the central tention and a lot of what makes it great.

51 - KONSHENS "Nuh Pull It Up" (230 Points, 6 Votes)
It's summer, right? So breezy and great.

I think that more than most (popular?) recording artists, Kate Bush has her own distinctive musical vocabulary and I sort of think that those of us who have been fairly immersed in her work over the years partly relish the simple distinctiveness of the musical turns she makes. (I can't tell if I'm saying what I'm trying to say or not. Almost high from the stuff I've been taking for my sinuses today.)

I wish I had a better word than "vocabulary."

I think a lot of us are hearing a person in her music more vividly than we do in many cases. Maybe I should just speak for myself.

No, that totally makes sense. People still buy Kate Bush to hear the work, however it may sound, because the interest has been fostered over years and decades. Same reason people still buy Neil Young records or whatever.

vocals on ggd - mindkilla are a little kate bushy is places

Although I would want to emphasize that I'm not indiscriminate. I have said before that I most lost interest with The Sensual World (though I was much younger and need to revisit that whole album now) and definitely did not like the Red Shoes when I finally heard it, not that long ago. The Neil Young comparison is interesting though because I think there are some similarities between Bush and Young, though I'll be damned if I can attempt to describe them, especially at the moment.

I am in favour of a slowroll and more discussion generally, and also think everything from #40 on should be pushed back to Sunday or Monday so that Australians don't miss out due to public holiday

i don't even hate the rapture but a) this is 2012 b) "thong song break" = i shall not be listening to this in the morning or at any time

it is a piano house jam! you might hate it but do at least try it

xxp: the vocals on the Kate Bush song don't bug me nearly as much tho

Finish it on Thursday, please. I'm really busy Friday :/

and yeah, I don't have any sort of investment in Kate Bush like some of you do, but I totally understand how that brings forth nuances in a performers work that may not be obvious to the less invested

i think in terms of how i think of them as musicians getting older, paul simon is the comparison i would make

to kate bush i mean

good job dismissing wild flag as "old people playing at being rockstars" immediately after praising dj quik

Quik & Suga are oldsters sure, but the Wild Flag song sounds like it's going for some Youth Generation Anthem thing that really rings false, whereas Quik/Suga are just goofing off and being themselves, you know?

i'm assuming he doesn't know

Konshens was very high up on my list, very pleased to see it place. Don't understand criticisms about the beat upthread - it's totally insane!

finally 2 things i voted for today:
GANG GANG DANCE "Mindkilla"
best track on Eye Contact, closest sibling to House Jam

FRANK OCEAN "Swim Good"
so so smooth. true its not his best vocal performance but doesn't really detract either. good subtle tension between relaxed and uh emo

indie's been my bread and butter for the last 18 years so thanks spotify playlists for getting me to vote for Schoolboy Q, Big K.R.I.T., Kendrick Lamar, Mr. Lucci, Niki & the Dove

zan with that lean or weed & shoes could place

did toot it & boot it place last year? i remember tpp & i both had it as #1 but can't remember if it hit 77

i have a feeling that goons will have quite an influence on the album list more. hiphop was more about really good mixtapes in 2011 and no real singles to pick from them imo. Like it would be easier just picking Return of 4EVA than just 1 KRIT song? I dunno.

maybe this is why i wasnt into much rap this year? hate mixtapes

r.i.p. the goon influence

maybe jay r - fuck'd up will place !! was on my ballot, rev made a thread about it

I voted for it, don't think that many people really picked it up.

last lot for today:

50 - CONFOUNDED "Little Dog" (235 Points, 7 Votes, 3 First-Place Votes)
Lol. I only made it two minutes in. I wonder if that's plus or minus how far I'd make it into the real version, but I'm not in a hurry to find out.

49 - FRANK OCEAN "Swim Good" (240 Points, 9 Votes)
I still think this guy is pretty much weak sauce, especially as a singer. But his biggest problem is lack of charm, rather than chops. The way he breaks up the word "funeral" bugs the fuck outta me. I can never remember how this song goes, which is fine.

48 - TEENGIRL FANTASY "Cheaters (John Talabot Remix)" (243 Points, 11 Votes)
Oh man, I love the vocals on this. This is way better than the other Talabot joint. Totally classicist, but in the best way.

47 - KATY B "Easy Please Me" (244 Points, 9 Votes)
One thing I love about Katy B is her casual touch and I feel like it comes across best in this song. She's not up in the club, she's chilling at her neighborhood regular. Even as she's wary, she's easygoing. I'm glad someone commented on my favorite line, "Now I love a bad boy mentality, but I don't want to be visiting no jail." That's real.

46 - CREEP ft. NINA SKY "You" (245 Points, 10 Votes)
This has this perfect balance of warm, intimate vocal and cold, distant track playing with, off, and against each other, the Ninas trying to seduce and envelop the track and never quite succeeding. I wish I would have had room to vote for this.

45 - BENOIT & SERGIO "Walk and Talk" (246 Points, 9 Points)
It's those fucking k-hole vocals again. This would be a lot better as an instrumental but still not that great.

44 - WAKA FLOCKA FLAME ft. KEBO GOTTI "Grove Street Party" (248 Points, 10 Votes)
YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. That main synth line is soo weird and alien sounding and I love it. Voted for the album last year, didn't really need to vote for this again.

43 - NADIA OH "Taking Over the Dancefloor" (255 Points, 9 Votes, 1 First-Place Vote)
Yeah, the song is slight, but so what? The dembow beat remains total catnip to me and "up in the clubbington" always makes me smile.

42 - JOHN MAUS "Hey Moon" (257 Points, 8 Votes)
Is this supposed to be memorable?

41 - THE RAPTURE "How Deep Is Your Love?" (257 Points, 11 Votes)
This is OK, but these guys don't really feel like they have a raison d'être anymore.

tired of all these 2010 grove st. snobs, that shit was a SMASH in 2011

I don't care about ppl voting for it this year, and I always come down on the "year of impact" side of this issue, but it for me personally it made its impact last year.

yeah i guess. i voted for Flockaveli and LTTP in the albums poll last year, but was happy to vote for songs from them in the tracks poll this year.

i cant remember if i voted for 'zan wit that lean' but i dont think any of my rap pix were particularly goonish this year. mostly i was bummed that cloud skatin' didnt even got nominated so i voted for indie dance 7"s

i voted for 'walk & talk' half as a nod towards b&s oeuvre but i do think its a fantastic track but i dig that disaffected glide so much...

i have no real opinions abt any other song that placed today except the cheaters remix which is p good

Anyway, I'm glad a lot of people are enjoying "Inténtalo." I'm pretty sure this is the first commercial hit in this genre. I'm excited to see how it develops, how it unfolds in and outside of Mexico.

And the latest fauxmarc recommended (mostly) tribal mixtape:

http://soundcloud.com/panamerika/tropic-all-mixtape-por-javier

good lookin out

it is a piano house jam!

btw did that Magician solo single get nommed? forgot to look for it when I was slashing the xls down to a longlist

Stop saying the songs I like are bad. I'll kill you.

(I guess I lied and it's not really mostly tribal, but the other part is moombahton. Where is scott?)

Thanks rudipherous!

tired of all these 2010 grove st. snobs, that shit was a SMASH in 2011

yeah, it made my list because i heard it in the club all year. "thugged out ecstasy rap" so otm. i liked "round of applause" too (not quite as much) and almost nominated it, but i didn't want to split waka's votes.

rev on fire ITT! couldn't agree more re: benoit & sergio.

Unlike Steffi, this isn't doing anything to dispel my notion that house has become deeply boring in the past couple years.

thought i might like the steffi but it feels much too...plain? rev- i definitely share your sense of dissatisfaction with house lately, but i'd include "yours" with the evidence. lex right on comparing it to "the l word", which i prefer but ultimately cut from my ballot.

slept on the konshens! so far i voted for waka and creep. wondering if miguel or jojo will place. felt like those were votes of mine that might actually make it (other than the obvious ones). kinda thought something like jam city might place low. doesn't seem likely if he hasn't already.

glad to see so many tracks i voted for showing up!

66 - TUCCILLO "Disco en Paradiso" (200 Points, 8 Votes, 1 First-Place Vote) - thank u ILX for alerting me to this one, so jaunty
63 - STEFFI ft. VIRGINIA "Yours" (208 Points, 10 Votes, 1 First-Place Vote) - 2011 was a good year for accessible yet bobbins-y vocal house tunes
54 - DANNY DAZE ft. LOUISAHHH!!! "Your Everything" (228 Points, 8 Votes) - again, 2011 was a good year... this one has been showing up in all kinds of mixes and i'm never disappointed when it does
48 - TEENGIRL FANTASY "Cheaters (John Talabot Remix)" (243 Points, 11 Votes) - after i heard stirmonster play this at public works i became even more obsessed with this than i already was
45 - BENOIT & SERGIO "Walk and Talk" (246 Points, 9 Points) - one of my noms! top 5 for me for sure, tho i like p much all the b&s songs i've come across

tho i did not vote for them, i am damn pleased to see invisible conga people, john talabot, locussolus/l&pt, john maus and the rapture place. i'm also p down with the junior boys, quik, and kate bush tracks

xp: Yeah, you're right. "Yours" doesn't do anything that hasn't been done before, but it does what it does well.

"yours" isn't a track that slaps you across the face, but it grew on me in a big way and now listening to it is like sinking into a warm bath.

listened to the talabot remix of "cheaters" again and it just doesn't do it for me, i mean i love the chords right from the start, but then there isn't really anything else that kept my interest.

my favorite thing i didn't vote for is "grove st. party"