ILM's Top 77 Albums of 2012

Yes, Wild Nothing!!

also i feel like the "but it's not a coherent album all the way through and i don't like some of it" criticism is just...redundant w/r/t roman reloaded since that's patently not what she was aiming for. it's a 30-track (inc the re-up) album designed for the itunes generation and to appeal to every audience she possibly can. and that whole "throwing every possible thing at the wall and seeing what sticks" isn't even a criticism of nicki any more, it's what she does, it's part of her appeal, that manic gonzo "i'm going to try EVERYTHING" attitude - why do you think she's splattered in paint on the cover?

a moment too for her completely batshit grammy performance of roman holiday

local boy done good

I always love the way Mountain Goats albums open and this is no exception

a moment too for her completely batshit grammy performance of roman holiday

I thought that was one of the most awesome things I'd ever seen on tv, but it was weird and uncomfortable according to most of my fb friends.

who's that other band i always get confused with wild nothing? british, "dramatic" falsetto vocals, two singers?

wild beasts. i always get them confused with wild nothing. the sad thing is i like wild beasts but i never listen to them because i can't remember if they're the one i like or not.

lol

haha

the Grammy performance was amazing but didn't really distract from the song itself being a hot mess

mountain goats from like 'all hail west texas' to present is one of the greatest long runs of records ever imo. like the modern day equivalent of what neil young did in the 70s or something

I think Wild Nothing inhabits some of the same space as Twin Shadow, where several '80s aesthetics -- new wave, dream pop, jangly indie -- intersect. Although Twin Shadow's probably more on the synth-pop side and Wild Nothing more college rock. I think I also like them for the same reason I like bands like Pinback and the Sea and Cake: crisp guitar, wistful vibes.

I thought that was one of the most awesome things I'd ever seen on tv, but it was weird and uncomfortable according to most of my fb friends.

it's so weird to me that this seemed to be the consensus, rather than it going down in history as one of the most awesome grammy performances of. all. time.? #kanyeshrug

oh god i forgot the boys didn't make the trax poll either

RRRR
pull up in a RRRR
wrist on BRRRR
pussy on PRRRR-RRRR

nicki purring got so many rewinds from me this year. plus, that video is as amazing as "stupid hoe"

also possibly my fav album cover of the year, cosmic cacodemons and all

Never heard Wild Nothing but I like Pinback a lot, maybe I should give them a go. (xposts to jaymc)

I like this Mountain Goats record a good deal, and the standout tracks are amongst the high points of their catalog. However, it doesn't work that well as an album for me. I tend to skip around, dive in and out, and I haven't gotten hooked like I have with some of the prior albums.

I agree with that when I'm not listening to the album, but whenever I start to play a song off of it I end up playing the rest of the album in its entirety from that point forward

like right now, I just planned on jamming out to "Amy aka Spent Gladiator 1"* and now I think I am all in until at least "Counterfeit Florida Plates"

* I typoed this as "Amy aka Space Gladiator 1" on the MG thread and I have to consciously think about the actual song title to keep from making the same mistake repeatedly

also "White Cedar", fuck

"White Cedar" gives me goosebumps. It was almost uncomfortable live; my whole body twitched when the horns came in. Helluva way to open a show, too.

http://i.imgur.com/CEeBxJy.png

37. ANGEL HAZE Reservation (381 Points, 14 Votes)

yessss angel haze, kinda thought she might be higher though :(

the two battle rap bangers both placed on the trax poll, but the more emo stuff is kinda key to her appeal: gorgeous, poetic love songs like gypsy letters, gothic fantasies/nightmares like wicked moon

I bloody LOVE everything I've heard of Angel Haze.

she's great

...and suddenly this became an ILX albums poll. *heaves sigh of relief*

her Classick mini-album is great too of course.

that jofo song "blood rushing" is so gorgeous

http://i.imgur.com/Tp253La.png

36. CHAIRLIFT Something (382 Points, 14 Votes, 1 First Place Vote) Spotify

Yes to both of these. Things are coming around.

I love Something. There are a lot of bands who are doing a similar thing, but no one seems to come close in terms of pure pop catchy hooks. These guys really remind me of something like the Pretenders' mid-late 80s AOR-era 'Get Close' album, which often got played in the car when I was a kid. Also, Tango In The Night Mac. But this is much more than some trendy retro shite - every song exhibits strong, solid songwriting and incredibly satisfying production. I'm just amazed at how big a leap this was compared to their previous effort, which was to all extents a fair-to-middling 4AD tribute. Can't recommend Something enough.

huh every time I tried Chairlift previously I felt pretty disconnected from what they were doing but "Sidewalk Safari" is pretty cool

Great run so far, and very ILX.

although this album I though would be a lock for the top 20.

For whatever reason, this and SVIIB album were compared to each other on ILM early last year. I sorta get that, but not really. Anyway, I definitely enjoyed this more over the course of the year than the new SVIIB album, but I didn't end up voting for either.

I am enjoying this a lot today but there is no way I would ever pick it over So7B

I liked it more that So7B as well, but neither came within 400 yards of making my ballot.

Because I'm getting a later-than-normal start today, I'm just now leaving for work after posting this one. Will resume asap...

http://i.imgur.com/bjv71fq.png

35. LANA DEL REY Born to Die (392 Points, 11 Votes) Spotify

gmafb

haha that looks like JF just lobbing a bomb into the thread and running away

does anyone have anything new to say about LDR though?

I was the sole #1 voter for Chairlift, btw.

I guess I should finally check this out.

okay I'm going in

(30 seconds elapse)

okay fuck no

That cover looks better in black and white.

xxp LDR that is.

haha that looks like JF just lobbing a bomb into the thread and running away

haha, kinda!

Really digging Chairlift, don't know how this passed me by.

I had no idea people rated this album...If I dislike the singles (maybe apart from VG), will I have any time for the deep cuts?

LDR really feels like years ago now.

save us JF

I had no idea people rated this album...If I dislike the singles (maybe apart from VG), will I have any time for the deep cuts?

that depends, how do you feel about singers who constantly sound like they are mooing in pain?

probably not. i only like "summertime sadness" and "this is what makes us girls" of the deep cuts.

i'm still mystified w/r/t the extreme reactions she elicits. some of her songs really work, a lot of them really don't, ehhhhhhh.

there's one song where she sings in this ludicrously overblown sexyvoice "kiss me in the D-A-R-K tonight" and i always hear it as "kiss me in the DPRK tonight"

xps to seandalai