ILM's Top 77 Albums of 2013

the end of today's results are really going to be a roller coaster of emotions for lex

(we have one more coming up before we end today)

is v.s.o.p. the consensus best song off this? it's pretty good.

"Pay My Bills" is pretty dope

very weird that vsop didn't place in the trax, thought it was a top 20 lock tbf

if vampire weekend places low he will be happy
xps

digging K. Michelle so far

"all my life i've been struggling and stressing / that's why i come up in this bitch with aggression" is a line on the first song that really lays out k michelle's deal. a more hot-headed mary j blige taking out her earrings and throwing elbows and cursing everything in sight and singing AS LOUD AS SHE CAN because in half the scenarios she's by herself, either waiting for her lover or pondering life after he's left. it's real and raw

"sometimes" - the SINGING. the way she frames it as a prayer for absolution that she'll never grant herself. "a man who don't give a fuck about me"
in the video for "the right one" she ends up toasting marshmallows on a bonfire of her ex's stuff. "you want ratchet, well i'mma be that"
"pay my bills" - this song made my jaw drop on first listen and tbh still does. pure aggressive carnal desperation. it's all about her pleasure and satisfaction and nothing else is in the picture

I never did get around to checking out this album :/

is v.s.o.p. the consensus best song off this? it's pretty good.

it's a great single and i love it but i wouldn't say it overshadows the rest of the album - mostly because the album lives up to it rather than any slight on it obv

"I Don't Like Me" is confessional w/out being sickly, and that's a testament to how committed she sounds.

Great first paragraph there lex

I heard pay my bills for the first time on the nominations playlist, it's awesome

Sometimes is the really amazing one.

http://i.imgur.com/e1n2UOk.jpg?1

61 ARCTIC MONKEYS AM (311 points, 11 votes)

Spotify

lolol

lol

XD

Good album. I'm surprised it's the album that's reignited their popularity: they just scored their first #1 on the modern rock chart (whatever that means) and their show here this week is sold out.

i am never going to listen to this album

let's carry on talking about k michelle everyone!

happy arctic monkeys placed so low, could've done without them beating k michelle -_- one of the worst bands to ever exist imo

lol cad

"Fireside" is my jam on this one.

Alex Turner's ridiculous hair is at a new peak too.

hey lex, come over my listening thread later, we shd hang out & have an AM listening sesh/h8-off. bet I can h8 it more than u (this is obv a priori; who knows, it cd be a masterpiece)

they just scored their first #1 on the modern rock chart (whatever that means) and their show here this week is sold out.

― Bryan Fairy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, January 27, 2014 4:14 PM (41 seconds ago) Bookmark

this is because of a car commercial tbf

I wonder if blunt force would get the arctic monkeys to shut the fuck up

James Blunt tried and couldn't.

Really enjoyed not listening to this.

i love the first AM record, stopped caring at all after the second one

but i voted for this album. sorta smooth & vibey... different look for a british rock band but they def pull it off. just a nice, easy listen which def has its value

this was the first AM album I ever listened to. idk they sound like a snappier version of QOTSA?

Voted for both Arctic Monkeys and K Michelle <3

cad otm

i know a lot of people, who I generally consider to have good taste, that previously disliked this band yet love this album.

i also enjoyed what shipz wrote about k michelle on his EOY list:

19. K. Michelle - Rebellious Soul
If Keyshia Cole amped up the Mary J. Blige formula with more working class grit and indulgent vocal gymnastics, K. Michelle throws the whole thing off its axis by going to further extremes on both counts. The result is borderline camp, to the point that song titles like "Pay My Bills" and "Hate On Her" and "Coochie Symphony (Interlude)" helped make K. Michelle as much a Black Twitter meme as she is a popular R&B artist. But the vocals, production and songwriting on Rebellious Soul were all high quality enough to make the album function on its own terms as an album worth repeat plays, K. Michelle establishing herself as a female protege of R. Kelly that can actually keep up with him in terms of outrageousness and personality.

Jordan otm

I wish the Arctic Monkeys album wasn't so dull, their music really benefits from a bit more excitement than what they've been able to muster on recent releases.

prefer Favorite Worst Nightmare to the first, whose mix bothered the fuck out of me. The third album is a legit nightmare, the fourth okay.

shipz otm too

one big difference I hear between Keyshia Cole and K. Michelle is that half of Keyshia's recordings are out of tune

we shd hang out & have an AM listening sesh/h8-off. bet I can h8 it more than u (this is obv a priori; who knows, it cd be a masterpiece)

i think everyone gets to reserve a few artists that they point blank refuse to allow near their ears and arctic monkeys are one of mine. nope nope nope nope nope they utterly repel me on every level

also "I Don't Like Me" is incredible

to repel you even more, I could post a photo of what Alex Turner's hair looks like from behind.

is this list normally this guitar oriented?

i previously disliked arctic monkeys and i don't completely love this record but i do like it esp the first track (which i think is currently the single?)

i think everyone gets to reserve a few artists that they point blank refuse to allow near their ears and arctic monkeys are one of mine. nope nope nope nope nope they utterly repel me on every level

― lex pretend, Monday, January 27, 2014 4:18 PM (45 seconds ago) Bookmark

but lex it was billed as their R&B record, you should really listen to it! it will be hilarious

"Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High" has a nice cadence.

also: happy DJP's liking K Michelle!

K. Michelle album so far is evoking Elle Varner for me more than anyone else

this is obv a good thing

also "I Don't Like Me" is incredible

one of those songs which really stopped me in my tracks - she lays it all out in the most baldly uncompromising terms, from the statement of fact in the title to her enunciation. i say k michelle is confrontational and that seems to apply to her relationship with herself as well as, it seems, everyone else in the world

I liked "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" but have never otherwise cared about them.

Everything I've read about this album suggests it's basically the Arctic Monkeys doing QOTSA and I have minimal interest in that because they're clearly not going to be doing the good QOTSA with heavy riffs and screaming.