ILM's Top 77 ALBUMS of 2011

the live video of judges is pretty amazing but i had to turn it off because this post kept popping into my head and i would LOL

He looks like he's going to die quite a lot of the time

or, contenderizer otm

feel like philip glass is a big part of what happened to indie in the 2000s

polyphonic, i am not criticising stetson for not being original, i just wanted to say that i don't dig what i heard in that live performance, that i have other sax players in mind who did this kind of thing in a more convincing way. but maybe i have to listen again as i did not listen until the end.

It's not really about being a sax record, it's more about the atmospherics than the role of the instrument. Constellation/Godspeed mentions upthread = otm. It's a post-rock record 1st+f'most.

I know what Alex is saying cos that video didn't really do a lot for me either beyond ~how does he do that?~. Would imagine it to be better live where you'd feel the full force of it.

why do we spend so much time arguing/worrying about genre classification on this thread?

why do you keep afflicting this thread with your presence after you said you wouldn't?

How would you compare Colin Stetson to, say, John Butcher? is his stuff generally more melodic, more song oriented?

Re: Colin Stetson
I played bari sax throughout HS, and while the growling over ostinatos is kinda old hat, Stetson has astonishing circular breathing technique. Mixing the pad noise contact mics, layrnx collar mic, bell mic and room mic is brilliant.

Circular breathing is also fairly dangerous as instrumental techniques go, as the pressure on cerebral veins. Don't know if Rahsaan Roland Kirk's stroke at age 39 was caused by circular breathing, but I wouldn't discount it.

why do we spend so much time arguing/worrying about genre classification on this thread?

― congratulations (n/a), Wednesday, February 1, 2012 9:59 PM (1 minute ago)

Because it contextualises how we approach the music we listen to and our expectations. Improperly compartmentalising something can fuck up yr appreciation of it - if you view Stetson as a free-jazz sax record you'd think it sucked balls, if you view it as a post-rock record it's the shiz.

or you could just listen to it

ok i'm never going to post on this thread again starting now

I prefer to not think about post-rock at all.

well i think colin stetson is really *neat* so thx to those who voted for it

not thrilling perhaps, but inviting and hypnotic. and the sounds themselves are gorgeous.
the longer i listen to it the more it makes sense. so there is obviously something hypnotic about it. but there is not a lot happening musically. it is a very minimal approach just going in circles with the occasional "shout". it has definitely got a very human quality to it, like listening to amplified breathing. but it seems to be the kind of stuff which is perfect prey for critics as they can project so much onto it. musically it seems rather poor though. all i have listened to is that judges video on youtub.

I prefer to not think about post-rock at all.

^^^

'43 (ft. b-legit)' off of graveyard shift is, by far, the track I played most off of anything that's placed so far. LOVE it.

1-2 combo into 'that candy paint' is killer too.

I voted for "Judges" in tracks (or at least I intended to, not sure now) because it represents what I like best about the album. Don't really like the spoken word pieces.

Looks like I missed a lot! Plenty of great albums here. Can we have a summary please?

I must be listening to a different Panda Bear than you guys, because to me it's a squillion times more interesting than Person Pitch, which was a sloppy mess of incongruous loops and out of tune harmonies; and miles better than the last two Animal Collective albums. It really sounds like he's hit that centre ground of all his influences - the Beach Boys meets Underground Resistance meets the Boredoms' later records. Last Night At The Jetty is the highlight for me - I've said it before, but it sounds like Kiss Me Baby from the Beach Boys' Today album turned inside out. I hear the title track as an attempt to subvert the early 90s techno template. Scheherazde has this eerie serpentine feel. Also very much like Benfica - which is a tribute to the footballing stadium in his Portuguese hometown.

I was rabidly excited about the St Vincent album, having discovered Actor through a previous poll ('09?) and falling head over heels in love with it. Sadly this doesn't live up to scratch - there are impressive moments and I adore Cruel (think that was my number one on the tracks poll), but there just aren't as many hooks and too many discordant bits on this record.

Julia Holter I'm happy did well - such a slight, beautiful little record. And yes, GOddess Eyes is lovely.

and many x-posts but thanks for the clarification on borden/ferraro/godin/halo, guys. have been suffering from a bit of a oneohtrix/pleasant synth music overload since the tail end of 2011 but I still have lots of love for the style when it's done right. will be checking this one out.

I'm still not sure I completely understand the point of 'meta-music' like onephtrix point never and flylo and James ferrero - it's all very clever, but is it enjoyable? I dunno. The Ford & Lopatin should' e been amazing, instead it was just quite good. Brilliant production, but not a lot to come back to.

and many x-posts but thanks for the clarification on borden/ferraro/godin/halo, guys. have been suffering from a bit of a oneohtrix/pleasant synth music overload since the tail end of 2011 but I still have lots of love for the style when it's done right. will be checking this one out.

― (⊙_⊙?) (Alan N), Wednesday, February 1, 2012 10:14 PM (3 minutes ago)

NB: the last two tracks are the strongest - make sure you play it through.

theres a track called 'pacific twilight' off the borden et al record on youtube, i know ive posted it to ilx before but its a decent example of what the record is 'about'

'43 (ft. b-legit)' off of graveyard shift is, by far, the track I played most off of anything that's placed so far. LOVE it.

1-2 combo into 'that candy paint' is killer too.

― (⊙_⊙?) (Alan N), Wednesday, February 1, 2012 10:11 PM (6 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Dammit for real was about to post these exact same words, like word for word... word. For real. ^5 Alan

feel like philip glass is a big part of what happened to indie in the 2000s

Can you explain this? Apart from hearing some Glassian (though maybe more accurately Reichian) motifs on some of Sufjan's stuff, I don't know that I hear him as a broad influence. Dan Deacon?

- it's all very clever, but is it enjoyable?

Goodness yes, it's beautiful.

Not sure it's accurate to put Ford & Lopatin in the same box as Ferraro...F+L album felt like they were honestly trying to create a pop record in the same vain as the last M83. Where they (and M83) fall down imo is in not writing good enough pop songs even if they nail the textures/drum sounds/whatever.

I'm still not sure I completely understand the point of 'meta-music' like onephtrix point never and flylo and James ferrero

please explain how flylo is at all 'meta-music'?

hahaha high five to spottie ottie dope

also, not a ferarro fan but the appeal of oneohtrix is really apparent to me. it's like, 'do you like spacey analog synth sounds? here, have some.'

Colin Stetson was my #1, good work everyone!

i'll go to bat for Panda Bear: I really don't think this album fits comfortably into any niche; not part of the sub-animal collective scene that's rampant and hardly even related to the lo fi beach boys collage of Person Pitch. It's its own idiosyncratic soup, pretty monochromatic and totally lacking in cool beats or almost anything en vogue in 2011. hymns from a morass i guess. Kept going back to it anyway.

yeah, 'indie' is meaningless there obv. i'm thinking of gybe and arcade fire in particular, that sort of slow 'epic' diatonic progression w variation. definitely james blackshaw but i guess he's later. i get the same feeling/mood from philip glass scores (pseudo-portentousness?). xp to jaymc

i like the colin stetson album but i'm not sure how i feel about the vox. makes me think i like the textures more than the compositions and the impulse behind them? this is tied in w/ the way i feel about philip glass i guess.

Hey three of my votes made it (Maus, Stetson, Shabazz). What a great day!

Thrilled to see so many flip out over Stetson; I had counted it out. That means I still expect five of my votes, and if other albums I expect to place show up too, that will p much make it the greatest top 20 ever!

Also: Kerr, I think u might owe me a Coke, bro ;)

except for 'music for 18 musicians' and lots of other pieces i guess, maybe i'm holding on to bad associations from the jackson pollock biopic or whatever

You should do Panda Bear's PR Cosmo

i really love that shabazz palaces album

this colin stetson album is fantastic!

"Tomboy" by Panda Bear is out now! Critics have called it an "idiosyncratic soup", "pretty monochromatic". Buy it today!

You should do Panda Bear's PR Cosmo

lol didn't think i was giving it a ringing endorsement

xpost ahaha

lots of good stuff in this poll. i was listening to the stott album and realized it was better than i'd remembered, then remembered i'd actually voted for it. i've had that revelation twice now, i guess...

loving that Nguzunguzu mix - guess i should read that thread huh

too soon for predictions?

Digging into Stetson a little more -- not surprised that there's a Tim Hecker remix of one of his tracks, or that it's great.

Judging by what we've had, I still have no idea what'll come up. I know the albums countdown is usually a bit more indie/rock/alternative than tracks, but the disparity's so noticeable this year it's as though it were two different boards.

Anyone want to predict surprising inclusions/absences in the top 20?

peaking lights better be in there

New Order reissues fill up the top 10?

too soon for predictions?

i've no idea at all - there are 5 on my ballot that i assume will place (all quite obvious). another 2 that could plausibly be top 20. but this entire list has been full of the unexpected and most of my own curveballs can prob be written off now :(