ILM's Top 77 Albums of 2013

Actually, in America, Follakzoid....

pumped to see follakzoid here

I can see where emil.y is coming from. I once heard a band's sound described as "spastic funk", and even I winced.

Huh, there's a whole Wikipedia page documenting how the term "spaz" is considered much more offensive in UK than in US:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spastic

Follakzoid album is nice 'not really concentrating on what's going on' music. I mean that in the nicest way. Lex is right, perfect if you want to focus your mind on something other than music, but don't like eerie silences very much.
he was agreeing with me! good old invisible me.

anyway, super weird that people are all into arctic monkeys?!

Just catching up on the list.

Ciara - This for me is like most of her other albums, good but not great. Think I could make a brilliant 20 track playlist of hers and be happy with that. Livin' It Up is up there with C.R.U.S.H and Echo as one of my favourite songs she's done.

K. Michelle - I only played this once when going through a bunch of the nominated albums last month. I liked it but really couldn't get past how amazing V.S.O.P. was. Need to go back to it and check out the songs mentioned on this thread.

Arctic Monkeys - I like a decent amount of British indie but this band make me feel like Lex feels about all male indie bands. I've never understood the appeal of them in the slightest. I heard them describing it as a hip hop record before it came out then I heard the singles which were the same old thing just slowed down a little. Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High sounds like a poor attempt at a Pet Shop Boys song title.

anyway, super weird that people are all into arctic monkeys?!

fwiw that only really lasted 5 songs for me but I'd still go back to the first two on the album

oh dear, these Lorde bonus tracks are... something else

77 JULIANNA BARWICK Nepenthe (270 points, 9 votes, 1 first place vote)
76 FALL OUT BOY Save Rock and Roll (270 points, 11 votes)
75 MELT-BANANA Fetch (272 points, 10 votes)
74 BILL CALLAHAN Dream River (273 points, 9 votes)
73 LORDE Pure Heroine (276 points, 11 votes)
72 THEE OH SEES Floating Coffin (282 points, 8 votes, 1 first place vote)
71 FÖLLAKZOID II (284 points, 9 votes)
70 GORGUTS Colored Sands (286 points, 8 votes)
(tie) 68. KELELA Cut 4 Me (295 points, 10 votes)
(tie) 68 CUT COPY Free Your Mind (295 points, 10 votes)
67 f(x) Pink Tape (300 points, 8 votes)
66 DANNY BROWN Old (300 points, 11 votes, 1 first place vote)
65 FACTORY FLOOR Factory Floor (301 points, 11 votes)
64 CIARA Ciara (308 points, 13 votes)
63 PARQUET COURTS Light Up Gold (308 points, 13 votes, 1 first place vote)
62 K MICHELLE Rebellious Soul
61 ARCTIC MONKEYS AM (311 points, 11 votes)

I would have voted for the Parquet Courts album but isnt it a 2012 release?

discoveries
- the föllakzoid album, which really makes me think of neu!
- the title track of the cut copy album which makes me think of the good old baggy madchester days

i didnt really discover anything new in this batch but it did get me to listen to julianna barwick again which is nice

lol "pay my bills" is something else

okay I was starting to feel a full-on groundswell of hatred for Lorde thanks to the extended version but "Biting Down" is actually really, really cool and makes up for a lot of the nonsense that preceded it

Voted for: Föllakzoid, that's it I think
Happy to see: Julianna Barwick, f(x), Kelela
Haven't heard but will investigate further: Bill Callahan, K Michelle

Parquet Courts was released in 2012 but on a very small label and was reissued in 2013 which is when most people heard it.

Hot dang! (XP, also first-listening to 'Pay My Bills')

I kind of get the hip-hop feel from some of the songs on the Arctic Monkeys album. Songs like "One for the Road" and "Arabella" do remind me of "2001"-era Dr Dre at points.

i also want to fuck melt banana

― just (Matt P), Monday, January 27, 2014 10:14 PM

If I'd made this statement, I'd have been torn to pieces. Just sayin' like.

omg coochie symphony is totally millie jacksonesque

Fall Out Boy/Arctic Monkeys: Hey this sucks

nah branners u wdnt have. & having seen them live i have felt the incontrovertible feeling that the lead singer is extremely attractive (as well as awesomely talented)

http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ls9wmut7xy1r3pkjeo1_500.gif

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

― le goon (J0rdan S.), Monday, January 27, 2014 4:15 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

this is not really true, btw, US radio loves the shit out of that song.

happy to see the K. Michelle place, thx for the props on my blurb y'all

xp -- is that the cuet vampire weekend guy, Alfie?

is that a gene vincent costume?

http://media.giphy.com/media/CfzbVsMs4EuBi/giphy.gif

i also want to fuck melt banana
― just (Matt P), Monday, January 27, 2014 10:14 PM

If I'd made this statement, I'd have been torn to pieces. Just sayin' like.

― these birches is awful (Branwell Bell), Monday, January 27, 2014 10:49 PM (4 minutes ago)

I assumed it was "I want to fuck the music" rather than the people, but I will go with "oh fuck off you terrible cunt" if it is in fact the latter. Also there was a pretty gross Lorde looks post upthread too. As I said, I'm a little behind on this thread.

I am completely mystified by Alfred's taste in men.

read the last posted gif caption

he looks like the actors from 80s teen movies I swooned over when I was in junior high/high school.

it was a joke about the word "annoying"

77 JULIANNA BARWICK Nepenthe (270 points, 9 votes, 1 first place vote) - nothing can top the episode of 'my so-called life' where she plays a homeless teen angel but im sure this is good
76 FALL OUT BOY Save Rock and Roll (270 points, 11 votes) - havent heard
75 MELT-BANANA Fetch (272 points, 10 votes) - matt groening rocks out
74 BILL CALLAHAN Dream River (273 points, 9 votes) - i didnt like this that much, probably because its really mediocre
73 LORDE Pure Heroine (276 points, 11 votes) - have never heard lordes music, cool that she gave ppl a reason to blog tho
72 THEE OH SEES Floating Coffin (282 points, 8 votes, 1 first place vote) - great live band, always have a blast at their shows, would never listen to them outside that context though
71 FÖLLAKZOID II (284 points, 9 votes) - i bought this one day on impulse and its still sitting in the shrinkwrap on my floor
70 GORGUTS Colored Sands (286 points, 8 votes) - havent no idea what this is
(tie) 68. KELELA Cut 4 Me (295 points, 10 votes) - cancerous
(tie) 68 CUT COPY Free Your Mind (295 points, 10 votes) - its weird when bands keep existing
67 f(x) Pink Tape (300 points, 8 votes) - best record so far, lots of fun
66 DANNY BROWN Old (300 points, 11 votes, 1 first place vote) - whoever said this was a really good record that he had no interest in listening to, well i feel that
65 FACTORY FLOOR Factory Floor (301 points, 11 votes) - havent heard
64 CIARA Ciara (308 points, 13 votes) - havent heard
63 PARQUET COURTS Light Up Gold (308 points, 13 votes, 1 first place vote) - not a 2013 record
62 K MICHELLE Rebellious Soul - havent heard would like to though
61 ARCTIC MONKEYS AM (311 points, 11 votes) - lol of course

i'd do a run down but so far the list's been made up of things i've had a cursory listen to over the year but figured i'd come back. i think parquet courts were the only things i voted for so far. f(x) is sounding good. surprised i haven't heard gorguts' album but i tried one out years and years ago and found the guy's voice just a little too hoarse and hollow. maybe that will change. i still don't get factory floor although i have a sneaking suspicion they could one day become my favourite band for some reason. the danny brown album is great. follakzoid is very pleasant.

nothing can top the episode of 'my so-called life' where she plays a homeless teen angel but im sure this is good

lol

parquet courts was 2012...i totally would've voted for it this yr. it got big-ish and got a re-press this...spring? anywho.

bill callahan -- way too low. album sounds gorgeous & the lyrics have really snuck up on me lately. "ride my arrow" and "small plane" are stuck in my mind right now, but i really don't think there's a weak link in the record. and yes, that includes all the lilting flute sounds.

Oh, yeah! f(x)!!! So happy, and surprised. Such an incredible album,

forgot about that follakzoid, but it is great. worthy of listening for anyone who voted in the NEU! poll. just remembered i need to snag a copy of it still. couldn't get into thee oh sees record this year, and have been utterly bored with any/all arctic monkeys i've heard. also thought that cut copy record, while enjoyable, was probably their weakest effort. the less words wasted on FOB, the better. i forgot melt banana existed -- hoping a used copy comes through the store so i can snag a listen/dismay and/or wig-out some chilled-out record shoppers.

Oh, yeah! f(x)!!! So happy, and surprised. Such an incredible album,

― Frederik B, Monday, January 27, 2014 11:28 PM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

am discovering this right now. it's fucking amazing. if all pop was this good I swear ILX wouldn't have heard a peep of dissent from me about pop music ever :D

wtf at all the arctic monkeys hate upthread.

then again, I don't really like this album much anymore, mostly because I absolutely burned myself out on the record when it came out.

x-post: OTM! Fell in love with Airplane, then was completely blown away by the album. Every song - except for Goodbye Summer, imo - is incredible.

That entire Ciara album is so solid!! I'm surprised it's this low!

Also Factory Floor at first seemed like one of those collections of songs that didn't function all that engagingly as a singular album but then a few months later I listened to it a lot more and it grew on me. But it's still not in the same league as the Daniel Avery or Jon Hopkins albums.

I think I have 5 definites still to come but I'm kinda unsure about another 5. 4 I hoped might wont now I think.
If any of those 5 "maybes" do place it will be tomorrow but I'd be surprised if it was more than 2. Looking forward to the rundown. I always enjoy the lower part of the poll more than the upper. Wish it was a top 100.

Can't believe that there's a band called Freakazoid

Thrilled to see f(x) place

FYI while f(x) has the attention of ILM this is the song that got me into f(x) and made them stand out from the rest of the k-pop sphere

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8ZrPFMr_nY

It sounds maybe a bit dated but it is also a 100% certified and approved (*dusts off an appropriate ILM buzzword of yesteryear*) banger

Whoops sorry for the embed

nice, I like it more than the one Lamp linked

here's our rundown, plz note my wife is generally not a poptimist:

77 JULIANNA BARWICK Nepenthe - ooh pretty soundtrack music, reminds me of Grouper??
76 FALL OUT BOY Save Rock and Roll - emo sure has gotten fancy, not a bad thing imo. nice high notes on the vocals!
75 MELT-BANANA Fetch - love this but wish they would change it up a bit more radically, bands like this fall into the always-making-the-same-album trap sometimes, it helps that this band is really good
74 BILL CALLAHAN Dream River - i'll check the youtube… 6 1/2 mins?!? OK, it sounds good. I can appreciate this guy and I like this a lot more than previous stuff. my wife informs me that she likes his voice. my issue w/ him is that he seems like a version of Nick Cave who is too cool and/or pensive to ever get really angry,
73 LORDE Pure Heroine - stripped down production makes this works, dig the hit, couldn't make it through Buzz Season
72 THEE OH SEES Floating Coffin - Lamp mostly OTM, see also "making the same album" issue, which I don't have an issue with aesthetically but it can induce listener fatigue/apathy if its a genre you aren't really invested in
71 FÖLLAKZOID II - I already have a bunch of Neu and F/i and Wooden Shjips albums but this is good, would buy used
70 GORGUTS Colored Sands - not a metal fan, gave up about 90 seconds in
(tie) 68. KELELA Cut 4 Me - two songs in & this is boring.
(tie) 68 CUT COPY Free Your Mind - 30 seconds in - "hey this is awesome", 45 seconds in "OMG his voice, yuck". L: "his torpy (sic) voice has got to go:"
67 f(x) Pink Tape - 10 seconds in L is shaking her head and moaning, but I can see it at a party for sure. 2 mins in and she refuses to listen to any more
66 DANNY BROWN Old - we both preferred this to f(x), nice car jams
65 FACTORY FLOOR Factory Floor - 2 minutes in, l: "so far so good, as long as they don't start singing". wow "Two Different Ways" REALLY sounds like Chris & Cosey
64 CIARA Ciara - no thanks, Laurie says it reminds her of D'Angelo, lol wife tom
63 PARQUET COURTS Light Up Gold - the shorter songs are butter but this isn't even close to best rec of the year and I am tired of defending it, it is almost a guilty pleasure in a 90's revivalism kinda way, hate to say.
62 K MICHELLE Rebellious Soul - L: "she's got some style, now this one I like" - I dig the piano parts
61 ARCTIC MONKEYS AM (311 points, 11 votes) - this dude reminds me of some classic rock singer. L: "there's some weird under-tune going on, but he's trying to tell to much of astray". skipping ahead, this is OK but I can;t see coming back to it. I bet this guy has a Bolan poster on his wall.

Callahan's sensibility is much closer to Cohen (as discussed above) than Cave. Anger's def not his thing, but neither is aimless pensiveness.

whoops that should be "lol wife otm"

Nothing Ciara has done sounds remotely like D'Angelo