ILM's Top 77 Albums of 2012

^ first track on the blondes is built round a meredith monk sample fyi

i can see why that particular Fiona album snapped up so many critical nods: it's uglier, riskier and more unflinchingly inward-looking than the others. don't get me wrong, her other albums all have their own share of introspection and incredible lyrical turns; it's just that the sentiments of this one have nowhere to hide amongst the creaky, dead-end musical ambits and stark backdrops. the end result is that her revelations on The Idler Wheel.. have more of a point-blank impact. the earlier albums all had a lot of polish and glisten to them that provided reprieve from their more harrowing reflections.

great, have a look into that. xp

http://i.imgur.com/LUGMp5g.png

17. CARLY RAE JEPSEN Kiss (635 Points, 20 Votes, 4 First Place Votes) Spotify

wow 4 first place

awesome

was so not expecting this album to be anything more than "call me maybe" plus filler but there are so many charming golden-age-of-teenpop songs on it

the second drop into the chorus of curiosity >>>>>>

The people who loved this album REALLY loved it. I thought it was nice.

just realised that the Terje thing is essentially album length anyway. sometimes it can be difficult to make clear-cut distinctions between the two formats.

second time there's been a run of three i've voted for (neneh/vftl/sviib was the other)

Really curious about the two ppl who beat CRJ on Canadian Idol and what's happening in their careers

Only 1 point between Fiona Apple and CRJ!

Next year the increasingly-cramped graphic will have to include track count and total length.

the Terje thing is essentially album length anyway

It's only about 20 minutes long isn't it?

Inspector Norse - 6:36
Myggsommer - 3:20
Swing Star Pt 1 - 4:19
Swing Star Pt 2 - 6:42

oh shit, you're right sorry. i just listened to it all the way through and it seemed to last for longer than that. :)

Its album length if you're a grindcore band tbf

Enjoyed this album for a while but it didn't really stick. Sort of like Selena's album back then - better than expected and worth a good month of heavy rotation.

one third way through if its dream theater

Tiny Little Bows has everything going for it (Sam Cooke sample, slap bass). Has it been a single yet?

OFF!'s album from this year was like 16 minutes or something.

It's the Arps was basically Inspector Norse + some arpy sketches. They were okay, but I know which side of the EP the bread's buttered.

somebody on the CRJ thread compared the album to marit larsen which killed listening to it for me

The title Tiny Little Bows always makes me think she's singing about pasta farfalline

at its best the CRJ album just has melodies and charm for days, eg hurt so good

you can see why the people who love it really love it: it captures a strain of pop that a lot of (maybe older?) pop fans thought had been stamped out by trashy eurodance about sexting in the club - it really is impt that CRJ is a 26-yr-old rather than a teenager.

as abcfsk says it didn't stick as much as my first few listens would have predicted, but i've put it back on and am enjoying it v much

the duets can fuck off though

dumping the whole of the blondes record and crj record would make a good playlist imo, im gonna do that; both were on my ballot & i dont feel like i listen 2 them enough

yesssss for CRJ. nothing else gave me so much joy this year, i just want to dance around singing along to it with a hairbrush forever

the bonus tracks are also really key & essential, "Sweetie" is maybe my favourite track on the whole album - generosity for dayyyys

the duets can fuck off though

Yes!

stop fronting, Owl City lovers

Oh, I forgot about that key change in Curiosity. BOLD!

so many times i was on such a rush from "curiosity" and didn't press skip in time and ended up hearing fucking owl city's voice :(

Just checking - the Blondes album doesn't usually come with the tonne of remixes on the spotify link, right?

remixes all on disc 2 of the cd

The remixes were on the second CD it was sold with.

It's the Arps was basically Inspector Norse + some arpy sketches. They were okay, but I know which side of the EP the bread's buttered.

Rong.

http://i.imgur.com/l7WjbOg.png

16. SCOTT WALKER Bish Bosch (636 Points, 18 Votes, 4 First Place Votes) Spotify

TOO LOW!

TOOOOO LOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

now imagine him singing those words to the accompaniment of dead bat heads being beaten against a garbage can.

TOO HIGH

*fart noises*

Wish this had been much higher

wonder what Scott Walker saying TOOOOOOOOOO LOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWW would sound like oh wait maybe i don't. xps

Bish Bosch = my #1. Could only be this really. I only got to hear it the first time on Christmas Day but I kind of knew it would be my number 1 before that - felt like the year had been building up to its release. I don't think I'd anticipated the release of an album so much since probably the late nineties. It didn't disappoint. I'm still playing and deciphering it.

Scott going POLL! How low can you GOOOO

none of my votes have shown up but i would have 100% voted for scott walker, probably in my top 3, had i heard the entire album, based on 'epizootics!'

maybe i should give the whole thing a go. ditto swans

I'm now going to read all posts until the next placing in SW voice.

enjoy

dog latin smells

yes lj you should

My only regret about this album is that there was no Epizootics! style video to go with each and every track. Next time, Scott.

4 first places. Who were ya?

this Fiona Apple album is pretty cool

I will probably never play it again