ILM's Top 77 Tracks of 2014

sorry i mentioned holly herndon below katie gately i wasn't trying to compare them

lol i was just referring to how both singles are oblique and ponderous

idk they seem totally comparable? based on these two songs, at least.

gwyer's track got nice about halfway through though

XP *too

The Katie Gately stuff is so fierce and dynamic, almost nauseatingly so in places but it a ruddy thrilling ride

Holly Herndon was a kind of ideal primer for loving the fantastic Giant Claw record from last year. Looking forward to finding kindred stuff in 2015.

Agreed re Gwyer not really being as closely comparable as the above.

Holly Herndon also someone I admire in theory, and she's obviously very onto important issues (including cool collabs, esp. Metahaven), but there's something also a bit art school po-faced about it all. Appreciate 'Home', more than Chorus, for obvious political reasons.

Feel like you might get trapped in a conversation about gluten with her.

Or she might say, "oh my god, you're funny", after you tell a joke.

Johnny Fever, Dyl was confusing my comment on Karen Gwyer with Katie Gately, but I commented on Imago comparing Herndon with Gwyer. Gately is roughly in the same genre as Herndon, I guess, but Gwyer isn't.

oh lol i'm totally lost between the kgs

I felt good about wasting my #1 vote on a song only I was going to vote for at the time, but now I wish I'd played it a little differently.

The other great kg of the year was koo koo by gabi - Craig, imago, go watch that video

imago said katie gately and holly herndon get compared a lot but if we're crudely reducing to women who make experimental techno in 2014

That's what I was responding to, I guess. I don't think comparing those two women in particular is crude or sexist. They're definitely speaking the same musical language to my ears.

having your #1 not place builds character imo

yes

haha tru

Am familiar with GABI - that track is mint.

would like to thank everyone for getting us brought day one with only a single Hot Chip joke

Didn't vote for Katie Gately but her + Julia Holter was my favourite concert of 2014.

― seandalai, Monday, January 19, 2015 4:19 PM (5 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I got completely mixed up, now I realise I meant Karen Gwyer here :(

*through day one

If I'd been online I would have posted one when Robyn placed xp

My #1 was a Finnish rap tune, so it never had a chance of placing here... But I listened to that song in 2014 twice as much as any other tune, so it would've felt like cheating not to put it at the top of my list.

Fantastic imagery gr80.

This has been a very interesting first day - I think i only voted for "tchelete" but who cares when the results feel unpredictable in a good way.

The Holly Herndon video tickles me in all-new ways.

Catching up now, no tracks I've voted for yet. Prince Johnny was a late scratch.

Two tracks I voted for, Water Fountain and Tchelete. Lots of good discoveries, most of all Ninos do Brazil and Ana Tijoux.

My #1 was a Finnish rap tune

Yhdentekevää? Really really liked this stuff on the Spotify playlists, as did my gf (who is in fact saying right now: "it was the best!") :)

69 NICKI MINAJ "Anaconda" - voted for this. defensively qualifying that vote by saying that most of the stuff i really loved in 2014 wasnt nominated so its probably not in my personal 20 best but i still really like this a lot. trying to explain why makes me think about this article erstwhile ilmer tom ewing wrote for the music website pitchfork about music that 'stands the test of time'. ewing felt like that was kind of a meaningless or maybe nonsensical way of praising music but i disagree i think theres something really great about music thats 'lasted' long enough to ingrain itself into both public and private consciousness. its a testament. also i like the way she rhymes troy and boy

61 HOLLY HERNDON "Chorus" - thinking about girls with woven gold belts, indoor carpeting, a painting of the old microprose logo, anne carson, eating with paper utensils, cheap white wine, annie ling, laughing at jokes you cant quite hear, square leather backpacks in soft pastel colors, the ice trilogy. voted for this, really love it.

lamp ffs dont deprive us of knowing which tracks you havent heard

that style of rundown didnt seem v well received last time...

I think I was the only grumpus in that regard, but I'm over it this year.

My #1 was a Finnish rap tune

Yhdentekevää? Really really liked this stuff on the Spotify playlists, as did my gf (who is in fact saying right now: "it was the best!") :)

Yeah, that's the one, glad to hear someone else liked it too. It doesn't help that I find the female MC in the group is ridiculously cute, though it feels kinda silly to have "musician crush" at the age of 35. :)

The day I stop having crushes on musicians is the day I've died inside.

This was brought up in a revive of the 2008 albums results thread, but would a mod like to go back and hunt down the pre 2010 albums & tracks poll results and standardize the titles of them like we've done for the past five years? It would make them much easier to find when searching. Hint: musically liked to spell tracks as "trax".

Good start to the list! My only votes were Tijoux and R&R, but I had fun discovering Sombra da Lua and Tchelete. That Shakira song placing seems totally random.

Just caught up. Voted for Ninos du Brasil and Holly Herndon (though 'Home' was much higher on my ballot). Obviously I was the Katie Gately #1 voter.

Favourite new discovery: Ana Tijoux by a long chalk, but I'm also pretty into the Davido track. The Usher rhythm is really cool but I felt like it didn't go anywhere with it.

really cool to see people liking the ana tijoux, definitely check out her other stuff esp the new album. but don't just take my word for it:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/32863603/Screenshot%202015-01-18%2022.11.33.png

lmao oops

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/32863603/2014-08-15%2017.38.44.jpg

well if waste man likes it

All three of those things almost make me want to rescind my statement of admiration. But nah, that track is really great.

xp that's no way to talk about tom york ahaha

Ffs mark me down as another who inexplicably forgot to vote for Holly Herndon.

lol emily

Finally got around to listening to today's tracks, here's what I think:

Nicki Minaj - Lookin Ass: I'm happy to see this place, even though I didn't vote for it. Nicki kills her verses, but the vocal samples grate.

Owen Pallett - Song For Five & Six: I really loved this album and regretted cutting it from my ballot. I also cut "I Am Not Afraid" during my last round of cuts. I never really considered "Five & Six" a highlight from In Conflict, but that was very silly of me it turns out. The highlight is when the strings blend with the synth during the final minute.

Tune-Yards - Water Fountain: I somehow entirely missed the new Tune-Yards album even though I enjoyed the last one quite a bit. I'm pretty sure I heard the NPR stream, then forgot about it. "Water Fountain" reminds me a bit of Diplo-era MIA, which is a good look for T-Y. Doesn't really click for me until the end, when the track explodes.

Ninos Du Brasil - Sombra Da Lua: Never heard this before now. Just got back from two weeks in Brazil, so I'm really feeling the Samba percussion. I would wild out to this in a club but would likely never listen to this by myself. Wish it were longer, weirdly.

King - Mister Chameleon: Hadn't heard this one either, turned out to be totally different than what I expected from the first moments. It's totally gorgeous, with a unique melody. I'm ashamed that I've missed this until now.

Katie Gately - Pivot: I hear a lot of "Comfy in Nautica" in this one, but without the pop ambition (however little that was). I can appreciate the experimentation and the construction of this track without ever wanting to listen to it again.

Ana Tijoux Ft. Shadia Mansour "Somos Sur": I'm floored. Listening to this makes me realize just how little I pay attention to lyrics in my first go-rounds even when listening to rap in English. I respond to charisma, delivery and song structure and this song checks those boxes. So energetic, so vital.

Usher - Good Kisser: An amazing track that I completely forgot to vote for. Didn't seem to need my help anyway. Love the way the arrangement expands and contracts, with so many interlocking vocal and instrumental hooks.

Nicki Minaj - Anaconda: Not a fan of Nicki's flow on this song or her groan-worthy punchlines. Reminds me of Encore-era Eminem's jokey songs in a way, and that's not a good look.

Davido ft. Mafikizolo - Tchelete: This is super-energetic and danceable and I love it.

Röyksopp & Robyn - Do It Again: Far from my favorite Röyksopp, far from my favorite Robyn. I do love the part where Robyn says, "The anticipation, you know it's like mm-mm-mm"

Shakira - Empire Hadn't heard this one either. I can't get past the typically corny lyrics or Shakira's weird hiccup-y delivery, though I do like the melody. I'd almost definitely prefer this in Spanish. Reminds me weirdly of a mixture of Massive Attack's "Teardrop" on the chorus.

St. Vincent - Prince Johnny: Narrowly missed my ballot, voted instead for "Huey Newton," which will certainly not place. "Prince Johnny" is beautiful and dreamlike, but what truly makes the song are the ugly elements, like the compressed percussion and the overblown guitar lines.

Duke Dumont ft. Jax Jones - I Got U: It's no "Need U," but what is. It's very consciously trying to be a "summer jam" and it mostly succeeds. It's very bright and warm. The steel drum hook reminds me a lot of this, and the rest of the track evokes "Rather Be," though I prefer that.

Caribou - Silver I used to like this guy a lot, but I haven't paid nearly enough attention to him since he released Andorra, which I loved. I still haven't listened to Our Love all the way through yet, and as a result haven't heard this yet. The vocals have a strange echo/reverb, which make the track sound like it was recorded underwater. It's much better during the hypnotic instrumental section of the end, though Snaith owes one to Gold Panda/Charli XCX for the vocal sample.

Against Me! - FUCKMYLIFE666: I somehow skipped this entire record and after hearing this I regret it. Actually, scratch that, I've skipped the entirety of Against Me!'s career. Of course I know the story of Laura Jane Grace by now, and knowing the story definitely enhances the experience of the song. That said, "FUCKMYLIFE666" would succeed even without the backstory, sounding like a souped-up, hookier version of the Mountain Goats.

Holly Herndon - Chorus: Stitched-together, glitchy vocals, but I like this more than Julia Holter or Julianna Barwick or whoever I'm thinking of. I also like it a lot better than that Katie Gately track from before.

http://www.samosapedia.com/e/waste_fellow xposts

Really enjoying the image format for this rollout, bravo!

"Anaconda" is the only song of these I've heard, didn't care about it. Sampled the Davido, and I'm not sure yet if it's for me, but I was intrigued enough to wanna try again - may work better for me w/o the video.

Oh yeah, I wanted to mention that the Davido video is chock full of fly motherfucking outfits.

I seriously could listen to nothing but tunes like "Tchelete", "Skelewu" and "Khona" for the rest of my goddamn life.

great job gr8080, as expected.

0/17 lol