ILM's Top 77 Albums of 2013

is it premature to say RIP CREEP

I found myself defaulting to this constantly, in so many situations. Even socially! ha xp

It's a pretty perfect "almost bedtime" album.

Found it really odd that the MJC album didn't get more love from P4K, RA, Fact, etc. Good crossover stuff. Maybe that it's crossover is the problem?

i totally expected it to cross over too, she'd built up a really strong reputation, her 2012 dj kicks was very well received...but it didn't really happen. which is the fault of all the publications in question rather than the music's failings obv

i wonder if creep will place somewhere soon

lol xps!

I never listened to the first two Arcade Fire albums, but during noms I figured I'd drop Reflektor on to gawk since everyone hated it so much. It's fine??? Overlong and corny in its pretensions, but I would've thought that would elicit boredom, not rage. But then again people stumped for the new Vampire Weekend and THAT filled me with rage, so...

My albums ballot ended up being all female artists/acts because that's primarily what I listened to this year, and I realized that my enthusiasm for them was much greater than for the male acts I was considering. My one regret is that it meant leaving Pale Green Ghosts off the list, which I thought was excellent.

i like the hopkins record a lot and didn't feel like it was aping its influences quite as much as people made it out to. very impressive & pretty sound design on the whole thing. not quite as good as holden or darkside in the pure sound dept but those are surely to come still

I am an unreconstructed vibesist, so it's not surprising I fell for MJC gotta say

I found myself defaulting to this constantly, in so many situations. Even socially! ha xp

oh absolutely. perfect for everything from chilled afterparties to the much-maligned dinner parties to cooking* with the bf

*him not me

boredom, not rage

false binary, as far as music is concerned

lol most unnecessary footnote in ilx history there lex

terrible album art

i miss dinner parties :/

Lex, did you ever listen to Diamond Mine? I know you dismissed it as Britpop when it came out (which it isnt) but I would be interested in knowing what you think of that record.

Two albums in a row featuring ILM posters! (Three? Is one of you Jon Hopkins?) I dug the Matmos record a lot.

i loved mjc remix of "shades of grey" years ago tho, might check this out

not into this MJC at all. I dont swim in this lane admittedly but it just sounds super dated.

Lex, did you ever listen to Diamond Mine? I know you dismissed it as Britpop when it came out (which it isnt) but I would be interested in knowing what you think of that record.

nah and not really that interested to hear it, soz

Two albums in a row featuring ILM posters! (Three? Is one of you Jon Hopkins?) I dug the Matmos record a lot.

― some dude, Tuesday, January 28, 2014 1:39 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Wait, does Maya post on ILM?

I dont swim in this lane admittedly

Likewise.

but it just sounds super dated.

But maybe this is why I like it?

Wait, does Maya post on ILM?

No, but I'm Tricky

Dan lives the life I wish I did.

DJP, I want the $$$ I paid for Blowback plz

get in line

a queue forms

ok last one for today

Two albums in a row featuring ILM posters!

Yeah but I have a lot of clients

*recoils* so it was YOU

we are ending the day with an electronic duo who took home MULTIPLE grammy awards this past weekend and also put on an unforgettable -- some might say undeniable -- performance

http://i.imgur.com/1JfWqdF.jpg

42 FUCK BUTTONS Slow Focus (408 points, 20 votes)

Spotify

Hee, I always forget that flamboyant goon tie is involved with that lot. His solo work is so much better! (But sorry for dissing yr friends.)

xxp

oh you terrible bastards

(that should be 41 of course)

is it just me or are there so many more album covers than usual without the act's name or album title on them?

I was let down even by the first Arcade Fire album, after some extremely passionate hype I bought it the day it came out and was disappointed. I always felt they lacked decent songwriting, though in retrospect the debut does remain the most emotionally convincing. Every new album I listen several times and just can't get into 'em. More confused than annoyed by the devotion they inspire among a lot of fans.

nice.

I tried to like the Fuck Buttons album and failed, just couldn't grab on to anything

can't even remember if I listened to this fuck b*ttons album but I enjoyed falling asleep to their glastonbury set

fyi I'm two songs into Reflektor and this album is actually a good amount of fun to listen to

my only complaint is that I half feel like I've been playing it for half an hour

Also for a while it seemed Arcade Fire's sound was kind of getting more similar to The Killers and vice versa, except I think Killers actually have some great songs.

is it just me or are there so many more album covers than usual without the act's name or album title on them?

― lex pretend, Tuesday, January 28, 2014 8:52 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

It's not you. I've seen a few bits and bobs around the net remarking on this. might have something to do with the resurgence of vinyl. a lot fo people like to stick framed vinyl art on their walls etc...

i voted for fuck buttons; they were decent enough live but the album has been a pleasant "getting geared up" LP for most of the year

kinda hate that arcade fire album

xxp

might have something to do with declining importance of irl shops too

yeah what's the point of putting type on a cover if 90% of the people are just gonna see it in jpg form anyway

fuck buttons - i was interested in them for a short while in around 2009 but just feel like their brand of noise/dance lacks the payback i want. it's all big crescendos and little release. i could imagine stuff like this being good on a very loud system, but pfffff...

Gee I'm an unenthusiastic shit today...

this is not at all what I assumed Fuck Buttons sounded like

I'm a type junkie, so I'll always prefer type on a cover to no type on a cover. Unless you are lame and use comic sans or some other joke font, because you can fuck off if you do.

both days have ended with a British guitar act that I loathe with an incredibly violent passion, lol kiu ILM :D

wtf fuck buttons are not a "guitar act"

there is a marked lack of button-fucking so far, I feel slightly cheated