ILM's Top 77 Tracks of 2012

I'd say he needs to make an actual damn Pulp album, or forget about it.

I saw his two solo albums in the HMV sale, £14.99 each

yeah the bruno mars song is arse

as is somebody that i used to know

who were they?

Compared to the past couple of years, I feel a good deal more connected to this list so far; i had already heard 23 of the 37 before the countdown began. As the 2012 tracks list in particular made me feel hopelessly out of touch, this is a good thing.

The ILM favourite 15 songs rolling collaborative playlist has also helped a good deal in this regard; it's where I first heard Javiera Mena, Alex Andwandter and several others.

Thought about voting for Cherry Thing but I'm too much of a fan of the original

What's the original, a Neneh Cherry solo track?

The Four Tet remix is certainly nothing to bother with.

It's a 1979 single by Suicide.

I'd say he needs to make an actual damn Pulp album, or forget about it.

I saw his two solo albums in the HMV sale, £14.99 each

― Mark G

His first solo album was one of the most disappointing albums I've ever bought. Never bothered with the second one.

Alex Anwandter *just* missed the cut on my ballot so pleased to see it so high. I should totally have voted for Bruno Mars as well, am a bit ashamed of myself now for not doing so. "Destiny" is OK but I voted for another Talabot & Pional track which I really hope will place.

lol @ people not being able to tell the difference between oblivion or genesis or at least remember what each is called

The titles on the Grimes album are completely arbitrary and it's a pretty samey record in general, I like it but I've not bothered with track names at all.

47. HAIM "Don't Save Me" [244 points, 9 votes]

This is terrific, and the better of the two Haims for me. If they can keep this up I'm really looking forward to the album. As I mentioned on their own thread, they're better at nailing a particular kind of 80s credits-of-the-teen-movie bittersweet rushiness than many of the bands who try their hand at that sound.

46. BRUNO MARS "Locked Out of Heaven" [246 points, 7 votes]

Ah the perils of bundling your anthemic chorus, it's got a bit of lumpy Killers stadium holler about it, and yeah the verses are better although I've never been a fan of the Police either. I'll never bother to listen to this again.

45. ALEX ANWANDTER "Como Puedes Vivir Contigo Mismo?" [250 points, 8 votes, 1 first place vote]

This is fun, but I prefer the Javiera Mena by miles.

44. SPIRITUALIZED "Hey Jane" [251 points, 10 votes]

I loved Spiritualized up to about 2001. Lazer Guided Melodies and Ladies & Gentlemen were really important records to me. But Spiritualized in rock mode have always been boring and the first part of this is phoned-in even by late Jason Pierce standards. Gets better when it gets all noisy in the second half but really quite poor overall.

43. JOHN TALABOT FT. PIONAL "Destiny" [253 points, 9 votes]

I liked rather than loved the album but this is one of the better things on it. It's not transcendent like his Teengirl Fantasy remix from last year though.

42. NICKI MINAJ "Stupid Hoe" [256 points, 9 votes]

Still awesome, although she really should have thought twice about the "I am the female Weezy" bit. That has not been anything to brag about for years.

41. NENEH CHERRY AND THE THING "Dream Baby Dream" [257 points, 9 votes]

I can't really rate this fairly because the original Dream Baby Dream is one of my favourite records ever and this doesn't match its glorious momentum, but it's nice enough on its own terms. The Four Tet remix is surprisingly banging by his standards, I like the second half where it goes both warehousey and skronky.

It's a 1979 single by Suicide.

Ah yes!

lol and a further search unviels a Springsteen cover too! wtf, no idea he had it in him.

Heh, I can imagine exactly how that Springsteen cover would sound.

Dream Baby Dream isn't exactly far out so I don't see why he wouldn't cover it.

ok i think we've reached consensus now, the bruno mars has better verses than chorus. quick someone do a re-edit so peepz can stop pointing it out.

xp The whole of Springsteen's Nebraska is heavily Suicide-influenced, as the Boss himself has acknowledged.

Given Streets of Philadelpha it isn't so surprising.

Can see how the Suicide original is better: the emotion is conveyed by the electronic drone in a way that an improv trio simply can't, as the urge to carry out minor, subtle breaks in the continuity the vocal demands is possibly too great. Quite a re-working though.

I quite like Luna's cover of "Dream Baby Dream"; bit of a standard, heh.

I've had Talabot's album on my iPhone nearly all year, so why I don't recognise Destiny very well is anyone's guess.

Nothing I've voted for has placed, so either I've suddenly became the hivemind or more likely most of my picks will miss the list. Expect 6 of mine to definitely place and and another 6 or 7 possibles.

71. G-DRAGON "Crayon"
I don’t think I get K-pop (or at least the few songs I’ve heard). This annoys me for the same reasons most EDM-pop does.

70. TY DOLLA $IGN "My Cabana"
Everything about this song is totally depressing.

69. FUTURE "Same Damn Time"
Only listened to the Future album once and wasn't too impressed but this works pretty well on its own.

68. NICKI MINAJ FT. 2 CHAINZ "Beez in the Trap"
Didn't vote for this but still love it a lot. I have no idea how popular she is over here beyond the ubiquitous hits - according to Wikipedia this got to #131 :(

67. NICKI MINAJ "Starships"
Not so keen on this one, it’s ok I guess. gr8080's Jurassic Park fact is awesome though!

66. DAWN RICHARD "Faith"
Didn't vote for any individual tracks off Armor On but this is a good pick.

65. JAPANDROIDS "The House That Heaven Built"
Wow, that "OH OH OH OH" hook is annoying. Reminds me of bad '90s britrock, 3 Colours Red or someone.

64. GURU "Lapaz Toyota"
Don’t know anything about afrobeats but this is pretty likeable.

63. DONKIE PUNCH & LORENZO "Snapbacks n Tattoos"
Don't know anything about Jackin' House either, I assumed it would be some sort of Trax revival thing. This is ok, gets really good about 3mins in.

62. NICK HANNAM & TOM GARNETT FT. TOM ZANETTI "You Want Me"
Not blown away by this but it’s decent enough.

61. TAME IMPALA "Feels Like Only We Go Backwards"
I can hear what they're aiming for here but it sounds kind of flat. The video is great though.

60. KEITH FULLERTON WHITMAN "Issue Generator (for Eliane Radigue)"
I have this guy’s Multiples CD but never investiaged further, this is cool, if not something I’d listen to loads.

59. HAIM "Forever"
This is pretty good as far as ‘80s revival stuff goes, it’s not quite ‘Boys of Summer’ or ‘Love Is a Battlefield’ but it’s better than I expected (I think I heard another song of theirs I didn’t like).

Hopefully I'll get caught up with 59-41 before the countdown recommences.

here's hoping

threw hey jane on the bottom of my list because i like how it reconfigures itself in the final movement

The last part of the song always reminds me of Blur's "Tender."

yeah I had the same thought

The Fever Ray thing...take away the hand claps and you got this slow, churning drone going on which I found similar to something like "If I Had a Heart" and maybe something about the way she sings the chorus.

I'm expecting much good today my friends. I'm trying to see some dance music on this run.

Why are people acting like verses being better than the chorus is an unusual event? It happens all the time.

sure. it's maybe a little unusual for big chart hits, though.

"Starships" a prime example.

Nicki Minaj verses being better than Nicki Minaj choruses is VERY common

I was one of the #1 votes for "Fineshrine"; I played that song and "Obedear" (which I forgot to nominate) so many times

I have been meaning to track down some live Purity Ring videos because I'm really, really curious how their aesthetic transfers to a performance; a lot of the production revolves around drenching the vocals in reverb and almost burying them under massive waves of bass so that they pierce through due to the difference in register and I wonder how effectively they can capture that live, plus I wonder if the vocals are as clear as they are on record or if her voice is fuzzier outside of the studio (which I think would kill some of the tension I vibe off of in the songs).

they have these glowing lamp things that are hooked to midi triggers and the guy plays them, its kinda neat looking

watching a clip of "Obedear" now, it's pretty fantastic

I really adore Megan's voice; the women in Dirty Projectors could use a little bit of her clarity of tone

I woke up with "Luz de Piedra de Luna" stuck in my head.

dan i was gonna say we should go see purity ring at the paradise next week but it got moved to house of blues, lame

I've been singing it to myself for the past hour xpost

what day? I'd probably still go

wednesday

super tempting, I will follow up on the Boston thread *thinks, taps chin*

I woke up with "Luz de Piedra de Luna" stuck in my head.

― The Reverend, Wednesday, January 23, 2013 3:43 PM (25 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

2 days running now. 'hasta la verdad' is threatening it's dominance of my brain as today moves on tho.

*****
Nicki Minaj "Starships", Guru, Jessie Ware "Running"

****.5
Javeria Mena, Alex Anwandter

****
Nicki Minaj "Beez", Dawn Richard "Faith", Japandroids, Haim "Forever", Angel Haze, Mungolian Jetset, Haim "DSM", Neneh Cherry & The Thing

***.5
Andres, Pulp, Keith Fullerton Whitman, Jessie Ware "Wildest", Hot Chip, Santigold, Purity Ring, Bruno Mars, John Talabot, Nicki Minaj "Stupid"

***
Dawn Richard "PWT", AlunaGeorge, G-Dragon, Donkie Punch & Lorenzo, Nick Hamma & Tom Garnett, Cher Lloyd, Grimes

**.5
Chromatics

**
Tame Impala, Twin Shadow, Spiritualized

*.5
Future

*
Ty Dolla Sign, Burial

guys just get the whole album .... xp

got it! (if you're referring to javiera mena). it's great but those two are sticking out on initial listens.

I make a motion to do this poll over again, but this time make sure Tuomas votes.

Tuomas participation is definitely missed, but I think the polls will move along just fine.

ALRIGHT

40-21 today

*rubs hands*

*touches birdman's chin*

:D

*spotifies furiously*

*stunts like my daddy*