ILM's Top 77 Tracks of 2012

All the Le1f/Zebra Katz/Angel Haze etc placing is a reasonable counterpoint to whoever was arguing in the Keef thread that ILx doesn't talk about uh non-regional thug stuff.

yeah that was a pretty hilariously rong characterization of azealia banks-era ilm

Walker is aiming at the classical art song tradition from an untutored angle, but it takes a similar listening environment/frame to be appreciated. It's not for your AM radio.

Dark York is one of my favorite albums this year but "Wut" is pretty far from my favorite thing on it. I like my Le1f darker and weirder.

Oh, this Angel Haze is nice.

All the Le1f/Zebra Katz/Angel Haze etc placing is a reasonable counterpoint to whoever was arguing in the Keef thread that ILx doesn't talk about uh non-regional thug stuff.

ilm talks about it, but i guess that was more about how the rap thread doesn't talk about it because it's not "proper" rap or whatever

http://i.imgur.com/r2C3aUy.jpg

25. BAT FOR LASHES "Laura" [342 points, 13 votes]

Spotify / Youtube

tho i do think it's kinda weird she gets so much love on ILM because she's basically just doing like NYC battle rap type punchline stuff...not that i'm complaining! i hope to see some iron solomon tracks placing higher up the poll

― My Lol's Beyond (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Wednesday, January 23, 2013 2:09 PM Bookmark

idk, Nicki has a pretty firm grounding in this stuff too, although she's strayed further from it obv

i never gave a fuck about bat for lashes but that song is a stone cold 10/10 joint

voted for "Wut" and am glad I did--love that screen cap!

― Public Brooding Closet (cryptosicko), mercredi 23 janvier 2013 20:22 (36 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

it's so good that i was like "nah i don't even need to hear the rest of this album"

First time I'm finally listening to this one.

surprised there aren't any big songs about throwing shade yet considering that term seems to be wayyyyyyy more used than reading around the internet

― prolego, Wednesday, January 23, 2013 4:49 PM (19 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i had definitely seen it before but a recent NYer article made me think the phrase originated in the gay/trans community?

tho i do think it's kinda weird she gets so much love on ILM because she's basically just doing like NYC battle rap type punchline stuff...not that i'm complaining! i hope to see some iron solomon tracks placing higher up the poll

her more emotional/cathartic stuff won't place here but it's a key to her appeal/what makes her stand out

I really wish I liked anything on the new BFL album as much as even some of the lesser tracks from the previous two. She was a total dud to me on this go-round.

surprised there aren't any big songs about throwing shade yet considering that term seems to be wayyyyyyy more used than reading around the internet

― prolego, Wednesday, January 23, 2013 4:49 PM (19 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

ime "throwing shade" is more of an internet phrase now where as "reading" is pretty much a gay/trans thing

good song

The library.....is open

holy shit, i never checked out the latest B4L stuff because i'd dutifully done so with everything she released before and i never felt it despite it being tailor-made for me stylistically, but this song is fucking great

HAven't had a chance to listen to or catch up with the whole countdown but I'm extremely pleased the Scott track placed. It's the pop hit of the album, and when that video came out it felt like an event (for me at least). My #2 track of the year.

i didn't feel the need to vote for any bat for lashes outside of the album context but still glad to see it place

wasn't there another B4L single this year that had a faster tempo and was more of a jam?

ime "throwing shade" is more of an internet phrase now where as "reading" is pretty much a gay/trans thing

― J0rdan S., Wednesday, January 23, 2013 2:15 PM Bookmark

it originated as a (black/latino) gay/trans thing tho

oh I guess 'all your gold'

I'm quite a fan of Ima Read too. Ominous shit.

Really like the idea of this track being "a stone cold 10/10 joint," even if I don't completely agree!

Yeah this B4L track is pretty great. But I'm a sucker for female vocals w/ piano. It's really good though!

her more emotional/cathartic stuff won't place here but it's a key to her appeal/what makes her stand out

― lex pretend, Wednesday, 23 January 2013 22:15 (2 minutes ago)

Yeah; probably would have voted for "Wicked Moon" but bet-hedged on "Werkin' Girls", and IIRC emil.y voted "Cleaning Out My Closet" at #1.

Sadly I'm with JF here - prior BfL kinda filled a Siouxsie shaped hole in my listening, and the trad/stripped down arrangements that fill the new album just don't give me enough glitter to keep me engaged.

it originated as a (black/latino) gay/trans thing tho

― The Reverend, Wednesday, January 23, 2013 5:18 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark

right right. i guess my point is that it makes sense to me that there was an "i'ma read" and not a "throwing shade" in 2012.

Maybe it's just that "superstar" is a lyrical red flag for me, wherein I can't take the song seriously after that. Unless it's the Carpenters.

this B4L song really reminds me of http://youtu.be/k-iQyGlKiKw (big compliment obv)

I dig "Laura," but "All Your Gold" is more of a jam, IMO.

Yeah, All Your Gold was the only track/single from the album I binged on for a little bit.

her more emotional/cathartic stuff won't place here but it's a key to her appeal/what makes her stand out

― lex pretend, Wednesday, 23 January 2013 22:15 (2 minutes ago)

Yeah; probably would have voted for "Wicked Moon" but bet-hedged on "Werkin' Girls", and IIRC emil.y voted "Cleaning Out My Closet" at #1.

― etc, Wednesday, January 23, 2013 2:19 PM Bookmark

yeah, "Wicked Moon" was my favorite Haze song of that stripe this year. I kind of feel like she doesn't really have the musicality to pull off the emotional shit as well as she'd like tho.

I really like "Laura" even though I didn't like her previous album at all. Still need to check out the full 2012 album. This is the prettiest song of the year. I voted it #4 on my ballot.

i regret not voting for "cleaning out my closet". it really is a punch in the guts.

my favourite haze love song this year was "gypsy letters" - the one that actually surprised me with its musicality, with how pretty it is

it originated as a (black/latino) gay/trans thing tho

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lx5ozkoLw81r2k1h6o1_400.png
http://cdnimg.visualizeus.com/thumbs/1c/e9/cult,classic,cult,movie,cult,movies,documentary,dorian,corey,gay-1ce9161dcc2444b3b75584ed4eb53074_h.jpg

"Laura" is a beast of a song, really really fantastic performance

"Laura" is just so unshamefully pretty. Part of what makes it great for me is how easily it could have fallen into kitsch. like, one slip and it would be too much melodramatic and unbearable.

put "laura" in the "this is pleasant enough but i don't get what makes it special" pile for me

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

24. JESSIE WARE "110%" [351 points, 12 votes]

Spotify / Youtube

yeah, great vocal performance on Laura. It's also more stripped down than anything else on the album, and really stands out

disappointed in the "110%" placement... was in my top 10 from the first time i heard it

On my second listen of Laura, I'm coming around to it...

I think if you listen to more than like two Angel Haze tracks the idea that she's just about battle punchlines really becomes unsustainable. "New York" and "Werkin Girls" feel like exceptions rather than the rule IMO.

"Wicked Moon" and "Gypsy Letters" were probably my two favourite other AH tracks, yeah.

ol girl has my heart forever after sampling pun for a song that sounds like it came off 'velvet rope'

amazing song. was in my top 10 iirc

xp idk I find the "carve my initials" bit really distracting...otherwise a flawless song

I love Jessie Ware but I find "110%" kind of barely tolerable. It's too cutesy for my tastes and too cutesy for her album, where it sticks out like a sore thumb. The Pun sample is great tho obv.

I've always really liked Natasha Khan's voice but really felt like she used it as more of a supporting instrument rather than taking center stage as a really excellent singer (probably "Moon and Moon" is where she comes closest to something like the range on display within "Laura" and surprise surprise that's also primarily just piano and voice)

I do think the album as a whole suffers a little for not having something on it in the vein of "Glass", "Horse and I" or "Two Planets" though; the thing I really like about her work is the balancing act between pretty and driving, and the thing that really slays me about "Laura" is how the song packs all of that bombast into a ballad.