Year-End Critics' Polls 2014

so much empty music AARRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGhhhhhhhhhh

UK consensus picks - there are 12 albums which appear in the Q, Mojo, Uncut and NME Top 50s:
Aphex Twin, Caribou, FKA Twigs, Future Islands, Jack White, Kate Tempest, Morrissey, Sharon Van Etten, Sleaford Mods, St. Vincent, The War On Drugs, Wild Beasts.

When people look back in 20 years time at these lists they will have the same reaction for Sleaford Mods as we do now at 90s lists with Carter USM.

Carter USM had a number one album and headlined Glastonbury, that's the bit that makes them baffling. Sleaford Mods is more like some random Fall album placing.

In the absence of a consensus rap pick, Aphex Twin easily wins the genre tokenism award this year

what genre is that?

EDM

feel like the gibbs/madlib album is the consensus rap pick thus far as it's def on the lists that historically have paid lip service at best to the genre, so it'll prob be on the more wide-ranging lists as well

I'm with NehruvianDOOM all the way as rap album of the year.

the guardian list begins...
http://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2014/nov/26/-sp-the-best-albums-of-2014

40. Tricky - Adrian Thaws
39. Sharon Van Etten - Are We There
38. Toumani Diabate and Sidiki Diabate - Toumani & Sidiki
37. Freddie Gibbs & Madlib - Pinata
36. Ex Hex - Rips
35. Peggy Seeger - Everything Changes
34. Jamie T - Carry on the Grudge
33. Scott Walker and Sunn O))) - Soused
32. Shabazz Palaces - Lese Majesty
31. Leonard Cohen - Popular Problems

kinda promising but they should learn how to spell sunn though for real

When is THE WIRE playlist coming out?

Amazed at the NME having such great number ones on both their lists.

Agree that it's pretty shocking they didn't find room for The Horrors. Especially when they got Interpol and Julian Casablancas in there.

I know it's too easy to mock the NME these days but they really should be ashamed for having that Kasabian single so high. I saw them dong it on Jools Holland and it reminded me of something from Nathan Barley.

Always annoys me how these lists come out earlier and earlier every year. Each publication wants their list to be the first one, so that readers/clickers won't bother reading any others. But there's a whole month to go.

Any major lists left to declare?

Kasabian sound and look like what would happen if Noel Fielding and Robbie Williams formed a band.

well, didn't noel f join kasabian on stage at glastonbury ?

i wouldn't know

wtf with this War On Drugs garbage

Right? Legalize it.

how many of the publications that failed to put beyoncé on their lists last yr due to timing are going to ignore it this year too

man I love that Shabazz Palaces album

it's really good, I should jam that on our Thanksgiving road trip tonight

beyonce - validated commercially, slagged critically because RELEASING IN LATE DECEMBER WTF

What's so vital in January and February that all the mags and websites have to publish lists in November and December before everything's even been released/digested? I sort of get it. No one wants to kick off a new year thinking about the last one, but Beyonce is getting snubbed and it ain't right.

(Personally speaking the album would've had a better shot on a Top Ten list of mine had she released in October or November.)

As I wrote above, imo it's less about not wanting to think about the old year in Jan/Feb, and more about the websites all wanting to get their clickbait in as early as possible.

xp

beyoncé is not getting "snubbed" as though she needs the validation of an EOY list

beyoncé is showing up EOY lists and the clickbaity desperation of their timing

i mean EOY lists are meant to be historical artefacts more than anything else. EOY lists from way back in the day like the 90s still get pulled up whereas individual reviews don't. in 20 years if anyone pulls up the 2013 lists and sees no beyoncé it'll just render that list a little more meaningless

Beyoncé don't need EOY, EOY needs Beyoncé. And anyway, she'll show them EOD.

i don't think beyoncé really cares about eoy critics lists (she's not solange), her eyes have always been on the long game of scooping the grammy aoty award. that's the reason she's releasing the otherwise pointless platinum edition now and putting the album on spotify and videos on youtube so as to give the album momentum before votes are cast. whether nme or p4k have it on a list is pretty small fry.

Putting Beyonce in a 2015 list would be so so lame.

Err, I mean 2014.

I think Beyonce should release a slightly different version of that album every year just so it can be put on EOY lists

Collab with Annie

bEOYncé

Also Caribou is a way more tokenistic pick than Aphex. RDJ is at least extraordinary at what he does.

When people look back in 20 years time at these lists they will have the same reaction for Sleaford Mods as we do now at 90s lists with Carter USM.

― strychnine, Wednesday, November 26, 2014 6:17 AM (5 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Carter USM had a number one album and headlined Glastonbury, that's the bit that makes them baffling. Sleaford Mods is more like some random Fall album placing.

― Matt DC, Wednesday, November 26, 2014 6:21 AM (5 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i mean...like who cares? who the hell knows what we'll think about anything in 20 years! the sleaford mods might have short shelf life but i love it right now, it's just real ragged and raw and different, feels fresh right now. it's just a drag way to look at music and life, like trying to be this remote "objective" opinion based on how something will hypothetically age or not age well...like some music is meant to be right now and immediate and some doesn't last but a lot of thrown together "trash" music that seemed like a gimmick lasted forever too! so who knows? but anyway better the mods than another dumb haircut band from england imo

i still kinda rep for 30-something actually too

*applause* (xp)

mods dont have haircuts?

xxp the jay-z song??

who the hell knows what we'll think about anything in 20 years!

This x 1000.

One guy has a England guy haircut, the other wears hats all the time probably bald, either way my point stands

I was pretty sure 20 years ago that in 20 years that Primus would still be central to my interests. Projections are worthless.

One guy has a England guy haircut, the other wears hats all the time probably bald, either way my point stands

― i did it all for the 'nuki (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Wednesday, November 26, 2014 1:34 PM (5 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Not so fast, I think there might be something to this mod haircut counterpoint that you can't handle.

Goddammit, I just pulled up Sailing the Seas of Cheese on Spotify and now I'm getting into it. Primus no longer central to my interests, but I can't use them as a punchline either.

Johnny I think it's finally time to step up to Frog Brigade

Frizzle Fry is the Primus Sweet spot IMO

i don't know if it's 'clickbait' as much as it is 'vestigial adherence to the structures of print media, which required lead times'