ILM's Top 77 Tracks of 2014

Not a fan of his voice - sounds too boy-bandish to me - but this is a great song. If I picture it with Usher's voice it gets 1000x better.

also http://i.imgur.com/lV5pYGz.png girl in "Touch" video http://i.imgur.com/lV5pYGz.png

I don't like Touch much because it is a romantic song that does not conjure, for me, romance, but then I do not club

Liking the Young Thug more and more in retrospect tho

"touch" is basically a perfect song, there's something about it that texture that just feels so right

I'm not sure what I was expecting Shift K3y to be, but it certainly wasn't speed garage? I love this. The Lorenzo remix isn't doing nearly as much for me.

oh shit i forgot to post link to the lorenzo remix, sorry:
http://youtu.be/61B4LNJyf_U

Shift K3y dude has heavy j0rdan vibes imo

i love it so much!

Ooh this Shift K3Y is nice. Hadn't heard of it before.

peak euro from moka itt, i for one am in awe

― J0rdan S., miércoles 21 de enero de 2015 15:27 (5 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Sorry for asking but what does 'peak euro' stands for? Not familiar with the phrase.

another good version of the shift key song http://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ

I couldn't get into Stoner but I loved Danny Glover lots and voted that high up (multiple xps)

another good version of the shift key song http://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ

― lag∞n, Wednesday, January 21, 2015 10:34 AM (1 minute ago) Bookmark

compliment

shift key one is weird, in places its like it could almost be quite good but its also simultaneously too irritating, but it has some plus points tucked away in there which is more than most of the others

the lorenzo version is straight up horrible

the original is way way way better, the whole appeal is its bubblegum aspect and despite the excellent drums the lorenzo mix pretty much excises that

Forgive me, but I'm playing catch-up:

MONDAY:

Nicki Minaj – "Lookin Ass" – Nicki's rapping here has the bulldozing, incantatory power of Eminem's "Lose Yourself", and Detail's spare, propulsive production only enhances that furious drive. Love everything about this.

Owen Pallett – "Song for Five and Six" – Not "my kind of thing" in general, but this was my favorite In Conflict track on the first pass and holds up beautifully half a year down the road. Vision getting a little blurry even now…

Tune Yards – "Water Fountain" – Pop as I imagine David Byrne imagines it, for better and worse. I miss the noisy, brick-gnawing edge of Whokill standouts like "Bizness" and "Gangsta", but this does build to a satisfyingly rackety conclusion. Not great, but good for what it is.

Ninos Du Brasil – "Sombra da Lua" – Wow, first real discovery of this rollout: trippy, menacing and deeply hypnotic housemusic. Know nothing about NDB, but I now need to hear more. Thank you, ILX.

King – "Mister Chameleon" – Pleasantly soothing & sinuous R&B, though not in a style for which I particularly care, and the songwriting isn't strong enough to transcend it.

Katie Gately – "Pivot" – A loose collection of interesting noises and moments, but no more than that. Would like to have liked this, but inclusion among such bracingly immediate pop tracks does this sort of experimental esoterica no favors.

Ana Tijoux – "Somos Sur" – Lots of fun, sounds like ideal summertime party music. Agree w/ Tuomas, though: rap (especially political rap) relies so heavily on direct lyrical communication that I can't help but feel I'm missing half the picture here, even when reading along in translation.

Usher – "Good Kisser" – Completely brilliant, best track to place so far.

Nicki Minaj – "Anaconda" – Initially took this as dumb good fun and still enjoy the rapping, but the Sir Mix redux novelty appeal wore off quickly, and the 2nd half is cold garbage.

Davido – "Tchelete" – A pleasant surprise, though the lack of variation winds up stranded somewhere between wearying and hypnotic.

Royksopp & Robyn – "Do It Again" – Not a fan of either artist, so no surprise this isn't doing much for me.

Shakira – "Empire" – Her voice (or use of it) grates, and lines like "the stars make love to the universe" don't help, but that chorus is unfuckingdeniable.

St. Vincent – "Prince Johnny" – I like St. Vincent well enough, but this track isn't a personal favorite.

Duke Dumont – "I Got U" – I got bored.

Caribou – "Silver" – I could see this working extremely well under other circumstances, but by the cold & caffeinated light of day, it's merely pleasant.

maybe we'll still see "make it good" given how many ppl are like "i voted for that one instead," including me

Think we'll see it given gr80's intimation of a spoiler upthread

or won't see it? having a hard time reading the right meaning into that spoiler

great to see shift k3y regardless

"make it good" is wonderful (especially so considering how different it is) and i never understood why they shoved it on the b-side (b-side! who the fuck even does those any more) instead of making it the follow-up single (which never came afaik). hearing "touch" in the wild really made it though

i assume if "make it good" was still to come gr80 wouldn't have posted it!

I've not got into Touch at all, it almost feels like it's already pitched up in the mix, which would be fine in that context but on its own I keep getting this sense that it's slipping by me faster than it should.

http://i.imgur.com/SZakFOe.jpg

34 INDIANA "Solo Dancing" [336 points, 11 votes]
http://youtu.be/WSrktmE963I

nice

*considers "touch" placing a ghost placement for "make it good," moves on*

here's a song i have never understood the appeal of

Seems clear that Ninos Du Brasil is the top discovery for everyone this poll.

Listen to the Joe Goddard remix, emo. it might settle.

i've heard it, still unconvinced

i do like the joe goddard remix

the video for this song is kinda bad

i like "solo dancing" but can't get particularly excited about it.

Extremely happy to see this place. Really surprised this was actually a decent sized hit in the UK.

surprised to look back at my ballot and find that i somehow didn't vote for "solo dancing"! brilliant song. love how focused she is, it has this feline prowl about it.

the joe goddard remix is boring, the banger is the chris lake remix

Lmbo this video. It's...erm...heavy with symbolism. Song is cool too.

i do like the joe goddard remix

the video for this song is kinda bad

― dyl, miércoles 21 de enero de 2015 15:54 (4 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

The video makes it seem like the song is about masturbation and I don't really get the message from the lyrics alone, and if so it's much more subtler. I prefer to think it's actually about dancing and ignore the video.

Awesome run.

lol at the choking the chicken bit

xps

Yeah! today has been the best run of songs so far safe for you guys ruining the thread with your weird comments.

The "Solo Dancing" video was foisted upon her by the record label; she's been in artistic control of all her others, before and since.

It's really weird how that works, with videos, in that they seem to operate at two extremes: enhancing a song or capsizing it.

TUESDAY:

Against Me! – "FUCKMYLIFE666" – Glaringly misplaced among these results, which I suppose means completely alienated from contemporary pop. Not my favorite track on the album, but damn I'm a sucker for this kind of turbocharged heart-stomp.

Holly Herndon – "Chorus" – Pleasantly dissociative and strongly reminiscent of recent Oneohtrix (both the music & the video). Nothing to write home about.

Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars – Uptown Funk – Sure, it's an 80s R&B pastiche, but fake can be just as good, right? And folks are right in describing it as a clutch of momentarily appealing bits with little by way of songwriting to hold it all together, but I'm okay with that, too. (Rev OTM about Jame's Brown's "Living in America" as a reference point, tho I do hear a fair bit of MJ in here too.)

Jennifer Lopez – "I Luh Ya Papi" – Gak.

Against Me! – "Transgender Dysphoria Blues" – This one, this one right here. This is what I'm in it for, much more so than FML666, which isn't bad by any stretch. I'm not proud of the helpless pleasure I take in this sort of formally constrained yet fired-up country punk, but in their defense, Against Me! freight it with an emotional intensity and resonance few acts in any genre can match.

Nicki Minaj ft. Ptaf – "Boss Ass Bitch" – Can't hold a candle to "Lookin Ass". Her rapping is excellent here, no issue w/ that, but the production is just so static. :/

Haim – "If I Could Change Your Mind" – Perfectly adequate sub-Fleetwood Mac something or other. Okay, but clearly second tier even in its niche.

Migos ft. Young Thug – "YRN" – Hilarious and endearing in the best way, one of my favorite tracks to place so far. Could happily listen on near-endless repeat.

Alvvays – "Archie, Marry Me" – Would have sounded GREAT c. '92 on Egg Records or Slumberland or w/e. Sounds okay now, but I'm inclined neither to swoon nor fulminate. Melody reminds me of Game Theory's "Like a Girl Jesus".

Spoon – "Inside Out" – My ideal Spoon track still = "I Turn My Camera On", which is to say minimal, funky and playfully relaxed. This is all those things, only less so.

D'Angelo & the Vanguard – "Sugah Daddy" – I criticize Spoon for riding on vaporous vibes, but love this unreservedly. Why? Because the funk here is bottomless, not some decorative accoutrement. Like the Migos track, I could listen all day.

FKA Twigs – "Pendulum" – Oh hell yes. The album's uneven, but the best tracks are stupendous, unlike anything else I heard in 2014.

QT – "Hey QT" – I can't help but hear this as Uffie 2.0, though with two scoops of ironic distancing and half the trashy fun. It's fine, catchy as hell, but nothing I need in my life.

Katy Perry – "Dark Horse" – Can't deny that it's got pop appeal, hooks, etc., but still a gloppy, directionless mess. Unwanted.

Jessie Ware – "Champagne Kisses" – Awesome and news to me. Rest of the album anywhere near as good?

ILOVEMAKONNEN – "Club Going Up On A Tuesday" – Love the amateur weirdo vibe and can't deny the hook, but it all gets annoying p quick.

Rita Ora – "I Will Never Let You Down" – Was enjoying this until the grossly overstated chorus kicked in. Yuck.

Aphex Twin – "Minipops" – Impeccably arranged and rather chilly, which is to say par for the course.

Todd Terje – "Delorean Dynamite" – Love this track, but I'm a complete sucker for the arpeggiated space disco thing. When properly executed, the sound bypasses my critical faculties (such as they are) and mashes some internal "like" button over which I have no control. Not Terje's best, but still works just fine.

Katy B – "Crying for No Reason" – Have yet to really like anything by Katy B, and this isn't breaking my streak.

Shamir – "On the Regular" – J0rdan hilariously OTM about "Tuneyards R&B", and I imagine it would quickly become horrid if overplayed, but having only heard it twice this past year, my memories are still fond.

Javiera Mena – "Otra Era" – Gorgeous. One of the most welcome discoveries of the rollout so far.

Didn't see this on the nominations list or I would have voted for it.

never heard of this.

happy that Phantogram's placing was apparently helped by my cheerleading for the song, was really the best thing on alt-rock radio last year, which I know doesn't really count for much around here

Also very happy to see Indiana place. I've seen her live many times over the last three years, including her first ever show, and I've written about her often - so there's a strong sense of personal investment.

was it you who said that the dude who co-wrote tasmin archer's "sleeping satellite" also co-wrote "solo dancing" mike?

So you seem to be well informed on her, mike. What was the reaction she had about the label turning solo dancing into a sexual innuendo in the vid?

I am probably the only person who keeps trying to listen to Phantogram and realizes I accidentally have Pharmakon on my phone and listen to that instead and keep forgetting to load up Phantogram :/

WEDNESDAY

Pooley – "Guru" – Speaking of pleasant discoveries, this is excellent. Liking it quite a bit more than Monday's Davido track.

D'Angelo & the Vanguard – "Prayer" – What I said about "Sugah Daddy", only moreso. Would probably have gone top 10, had I voted.

Tkay Maidza – "Uh-Huh" – Oh hell yeah. Another brilliant track by an artist of whom I've never so much as heard. More, please!

Phantogram – "Fall in Love" – I do not like Phantogram. There, I said it.

Young Thug – "Stoner" – A bit too thematically on-the-nose to work for me, though I do like the staccato verses and vaped-out sound palette. Prefer YT as added flavor in other people's tracks, tbh.

Shift K3Y – "Touch" – Have no use for candy-glossed, pseudo-romantic dance pop, so I'll leave the evaluation to those who do.

Indiana – "Solo Dancing" – Nice! Like D'Angelo's deep-fried funk, Terje's space disko and Against Me!'s country punk, Indiana are playing with a sound I'm predisposed to love (floridly carnal after hours electropop a la "Call Me" and "Invisible Light"). It's not like they're doing anything all that interesting with it, but I am what I am.

okay, back to yr reg sched prog...

yeah that phantogram song is a banger, i didn't expect it to place at all