ILM's Top 77 ALBUMS of 2011

cool, voted for julia holter. it's great!

http://i.imgur.com/DacWw.jpg

34. Cut Copy — Zonoscope (392 points, 12 votes, one first place vote)

P4K: 28
P&J: 109

Spotify

I love that Holter record, so gutted I couldn't get hold of it on vinyl. Lots of people seem to lump it in with a bunch of the washed-out kind of electronica stuff but it's so deftly written, with nods to operatic narrative and early music, and gaaaah it's bloody great.

ok i am officially intrigued by the julia holter stuff

Remind me who Cut Copy are again? I think I always confused them with Crystal Castles for some reason.

It's almost this for me as well, verging on caricature the same way, say, early Swans does: yeah, yeah, I'm a slave, we're all meat, he's a bad boss, she despises her fuckhole, got it. For whatever reason, it's harder for me to connect with that sort of primal rage than it used to be--or maybe it's more that I've really distanced myself from such forceful and un-nuanced expressions of it.

― Clarke B., Wednesday, February 1, 2012 11:24 AM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i may be doing it wrong, but i don't take death grips anywhere near as "seriously" as swans/gira always seem to demand. it's fun and funny cartoon apocalypse music for jumping around to.

Still never figured out whether i liked that Julia Holter record as a whole or not, but it's certainly very interesting.

Remind me who Cut Copy are again? I think I always confused them with Crystal Castles for some reason.

lol i confuse them with futureheads

with nods to operatic narrative and early music, and gaaaah it's bloody great

i can see this ('tragedy finale') but idk culturally or w/e shes p squarely part of 'the washed-out kind of electronica stuff'

Zonoscope grew on me a lot through the year. It's obviously not in the same league as In Ghost Colours but it's still a really great album.

"Goddess Eyes" is brilliant, like a reincarnated "O Superman." Rest of the album doesn't quite measure up.

aldo, a whole lot of the DG record is actually demented party music, not hateful in any way unlike the examples cited (except towards cops, on "Klink")

[i]i may be doing it wrong, but i don't take death grips anywhere near as "seriously" as swans/gira always seem to demand. it's fun and funny cartoon apocalypse music for jumping around to.<.i>

I dunno, it's a similar vibe for me... Then again, I think some of that early Swans stuff is hilarious!

Remind me who Cut Copy are again? I think I always confused them with Crystal Castles for some reason.

A bit like Empire Of The Sun without the delusions of grandeur. Guitary / synthy Australian band. Quite nice.

Huh, I never even hear about stuff like J. Holter.

that Julia Holter lp is definitely best heard as a whole piece. I love the way the more ambient/musique concrete parts set off the moments when it comes into greater focus

apparently the second pressing of the lp has sold out

there are two good songs on the cut copy album -- the first two iirc -- and then it falls off a cliff more or less

sucks cuz 'in ghost colours' is one of the best albums

Agree on Cut Copy, the album doesn't grab me like their previous ones, but "Need You Now" is the jam. My #364.

all y'all playing the art of pretend forgetfulness game w/ cut copy need to gtfo

julia holter!!! didn't think that was gonna place at all. she was a late entry into my top ten list but i really adore it - the way she uses silence in between the more song-oriented parts is really effective i think

cut copy are like the nadia petrova of music, kind of stolid and consistent but the idea of them inspiring passionate fandom is the most perplexing thing

then again i did once watch a petrova match once where some demented fan was yelling GO NADIA after every point she won so it can happen i guess

Listening to "Goddess Eyes" now. I like this a bunch.

me too! o wow, thank you for mentioning this seandalai. so great. easily the best song i've yet encountered as a result of this poll. hope the rest of the album is comparable.

http://i.imgur.com/XMRbx.jpg

33. John Maus — We Muse Become The Pitiless Censors of Ourselves (398 points, 14 votes, one first place vote)

P4K: DNP
P&J: 130

Spotify

I completely forgot about Dawn Richard and Julia Holter. Definite runner-ups for my top 10.

TOO LOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

I love this ridiculous record.

I love that Holter record, so gutted I couldn't get hold of it on vinyl.

― emil.y, Wednesday, February 1, 2012 11:30 AM (10 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yr not kidding: "2 For Sale from $118.15" D:

John Maus is a hero

absolutely hate that john maus record and forever condemn anyone who endorses it. and love is real remains a favorite, so it's not like idgi. just a horrible misstep.

that john maus title is a bit jenny holzer

cut copy are like the nadia petrova of music, kind of stolid and consistent but the idea of them inspiring passionate fandom is the most perplexing thing

lol @ consistent

Didn't vote for this but thought it a lock for the top 10. Now I'm really intrigued as to what's coming up.

That will be me then, who you condemn forever... "Horrible misstep" gtfo

xxxp

Oh yay, excellent John Maus record, whatever to the haters!

Re. Cut Copy: I preferred Zonoscope to In Ghost Colours, but it's not as good as Bright Like Neon Love. Fun live too! Had completely forgotten this album came out this year.

joh maus is terrible obv

hello this is john maus, please listen to my new album on spotify

john maus sucks
cut copy sucks
everything sucks

Cool, voted for this. Not heard any of his earlier stuff yet though.

I can understand people not liking Maus, but I really don't understand all the "he's the worst" stuff.

hope the rest of the album is comparable.

fwiw the rest of the album doesn't really sound like this but don't let that put you off - the scope of it is kind of nuts, there's some found-sound/collage pieces, long drifting ambient passages, slow-churning mechanical stuff, free jazz-y kind of stuff, etc

<3 MAUS. Though, uh, there's a spelling mistake in that album title up there.

http://i.imgur.com/9oi4K.jpg

32. Panda Bear — Tomboy (402 points, 13 votes)

P4K: 32
P&J: 69

Spotify

john maus sucks
cut copy sucks
everything sucks
video games

xxp We, Muse, become the etc etc

i don't really get the maus hate either, i listened to that track that placed and it wasn't the kind of thing i nec want to hear more of but it wasn't offensive in any way

It's so weird. I rather like that Panda Bear album, but it feels like it came out years ago

that john maus title is a bit jenny holzer

― first period don't give a fuck, second period gon get cut (lex pretend)

it's from Badiou (so i gather)

panda bear really does fucking suck though

that "would you buy music by a convicted murderer" thread - if they were convicted of murdering panda bear i would be morally obliged to buy theior products

the maus hate is tied up in whatever nonsense he gave in that pfork interview right?

Maus was my #1, by the way. I'm not sure if it's the best album of the year, but it's the album I'll go the most bonkers nuts about defending. Lex, 'Hey Moon' is not the most representative track, though it is a highlight of the album. I doubt you'll dig it, to be honest, but I think it is wonderful.