ILM's Top 77 Tracks of 2014

nay, but it is added to a list somewhere xps to gr80

when i saw dawson he was on a bill with *deep breath* a dutch folk musician, a drumming duo, an african folk musician, a legendary post-punk band and a jazz improv trio

Also not to be whatever but Dawson is fine but hardly unique in his approach to folk music and I think there are dozens I rate much higher

how many beards were there xp

xyzzzz, just saying it's unhealthy to dismiss something alien on first listen, as i've learnt with, say, pop-rap

iirc some Reactions to Katie Gately basically equate 'this is ok, not my thing'. And its fine, why should you force yourself to engage something that doesn't communicate in any way? Music isn't medicine.

how many beards were there xp

― mh, Friday, January 23, 2015 2:38 PM (14 seconds ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

richard dawson was alone in this regard. the drumming duo were female, as was the drummer/singer of the legendary post-punk band

xyzzzz music is not medicine but i can say that i have benefitted enormously in a cultural sense from, say, forcing myself to listen to rap music

Also not to be whatever but Dawson is fine but hardly unique in his approach to folk music and I think there are dozens I rate much higher

― Wu-Tang Clannad (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Friday, January 23, 2015 2:38 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

go to the dawson thread & post youtubes pls

It only makes sense that a pop-friendly board's EOY poll results would favor pop over niche genres like metal and avant-garde. The shunning of commercially-successful rock, indie & country might seem less axiomatically preordained, given the broad run of ILM's enthusiasms, but hostility to the former two genres has long been common among many of our most pop-centric posters. It's sometimes expressed directly, as when that War on Drugs track placed, but often takes more passive forms. However it's expressed, the message is clear: this poll exists to enshrine the primacy of certain genres over others. ILM is validated in its own eyes by its appreciation for chartpop, dancepop, rap and R&B. To the extent that they dominate the EOY poll, the system works. When indie and rock intrude, eyes roll and tempers flare. This simply reifies ILM's anti-rockist origins.

how many beards were there xp

― mh,

lol

Richard Dawson is an interesting one. Yes, there are similarities with other avant garde guitarists like Bill Orcutt and Derek Bailey, but those dudes strike me as being very deliberately deconstructionist to an almost academic degree whereas Dawson's playing style is 100% expressionist and very audibly so. His lyrical approach and the regional, historical and autobiographical references he incorporates into his work are truly unique. Also, the influence of art and world music in his work is as strong as any English folk music. Not to mention the way he amps his nylon string guitar through a Fender, which is considered highly unorthodox but achieves a very particular tone. There's a reason Wire mag has been going crazy over him this year.

xyzzzz music is not medicine but i can say that i have benefitted enormously in a cultural sense from, say, forcing myself to listen to rap music

― my shoes are deception (imago), Friday, 23 January 2015 Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

haha oh poptimism look at what you've done ;-)

Hope you liked Rattle, imago, KB in particular is a top-notch lady.

as a subscriber to the wire (full disclosure) I think the reason they like musicians like him is that he hits a lot of checkboxes and is good enough to enjoy the music, too

Louis we have a whole thread on weirdo folk for like 2 years

I'm not dissing him! All solo guitarists tend to find their own voice and sound, one of the reasons I like it so. I'm just saying there's people who haven't heard Orcutt etc acting like he feel from heaven and isn't part of a long tradition. But he's good and glad he's getting notice

those dudes strike me as being very deliberately deconstructionist to an almost academic degree whereas Dawson's playing style is 100% expressionist and very audibly so. His lyrical approach and the regional, historical and autobiographical references he incorporates into his work are truly unique.

― quinoa: how's it spelt? (dog latin), Friday, January 23, 2015 6:43 AM (41 seconds ago)

to put it more bluntly, and this has nothing to do with his actual bona fides, dawson's work reads as almost anti-academic, as naive art. "here, i made this weird thing in my garage, check it out."

But like omg the show I saw Paul Metzger play, unreal compared to Dawson

It only makes sense that a pop-friendly board's EOY poll results would favor pop over niche genres like metal and avant-garde. The shunning of commercially-successful rock, indie & country might seem less axiomatically preordained, given the broad run of ILM's enthusiasms, but hostility to the former two genres has long been common among many of our most pop-centric posters. It's sometimes expressed directly, as when that War on Drugs track placed, but often takes more passive forms. However it's expressed, the message is clear: this poll exists to enshrine the primacy of certain genres over others. ILM is validated in its own eyes by its appreciation for chartpop, dancepop, rap and R&B. To the extent that they dominate the EOY poll, the system works. When indie and rock intrude, eyes roll and tempers flare. This simply reifies ILM's anti-rockist origins.

― deliberately clunky, needlessly arty, (contenderizer)

as someone who has read ilm for 15 years i can tell you that mark s, tom e etc never meant 'popism' to become like 'rockism' and have a superiority complex over rock. They simply wanted non-rock music to be treated equally.

But yes, lots of hostility to crit friendly guitar music on ilm now. Though chart rock/mall rock/pop punk/chart emo etc is beloved by pop fans on ilm very much. So its not all anti-rock pop/rab/dance/rnb fans. Just anti indie/metal really IMO.

anyone know what the highest placing track was for which the artist or album it's from didn't have its own thread?

great post dog latin, yeah Dawson is efflorescent, generous & maximalist - he's synaesthetically speaking a painter of intense depth and detail as well as startling violence - he is very literary. as jho said at the time

Rattle were really great! :D like three or four of their songs settled into the most absorbing of grooves. aw they were so humble though, clearly in awe of The Ex and saying as much! the whole gig was one of the best i've ever seen - so utterly overwhelming, everything so wonderful

No-one's hostile to metal, most people just don't like it that much and consequently never engage. It's not exactly the most welcoming of genres.

xp probably one of the rap tracks?

contintuing re dawson: going solely on the evidence of the track that placed here, he's offering his work to you with a wink and a grin, suggesting you wash it down with a beer, a toke, whatever

imago did you not just say The Ex initially because you thought we wouldn't know who that was or what

xp de la torre?

Yes, there are similarities with other avant garde guitarists like Bill Orcutt and Derek Bailey, but those dudes strike me as being very deliberately deconstructionist to an almost academic degree whereas Dawson's playing style is 100% expressionist and very audibly so.

Imagine a Prof. Bailey and Prof. Orcutt!

His lyrical approach and the regional, historical and autobiographical references he incorporates into his work are truly unique.

iirc Asda was menitoned somwhere?

;-) ;-) etc etc

No-one's hostile to metal, most people just don't like it that much and consequently never engage. It's not exactly the most welcoming of genres.

― Matt DC, Friday, January 23, 2015 6:51 AM (22 seconds ago)

yeah, i see metal as marginal - not included or excluded, really, just over there somewhere. the hostility is reserved for rock and pop.

mh i didn't say the ex because i was describing the sorts of act on the bill ffs

I will cop to my OWN occasional hostility towards certain indie acts and rock acts appearing - usually with far more virulence than towards any rap or chartpop - because it feels like a wasted opportunity to showcase something interesting. This is a really bad attitude though and it is just as prejudicial. I will try to cut it out.

yeah, i see metal as marginal - not included or excluded, really, just over there somewhere

Agree with this, I think it usually gets a reasonable consideration when it places. Unless it's FALSE like Deafheaven or something, hehehe.

Matt granted its hostile to outsiders (tho mostly not on ilm bar a few high profile posters) but ive found 'outsiders' being equally hostile. Look how many lol metal type posts that get made sometimes.

Anyway nobody can complain that there's no metal in this poll because quite simply metallers didn't vote when they could have. Im not complaining at all about none in it. I wouldnt expect any in a tracks/singles poll a its not that type of genre.
I'd just hope that the metal poll maybe tipped non-regs into hearing a few albums they voted for in the album poll.

Im just merely suggesting that some fans of niche genres dont vote due to what they perceive (rightly or wrongly) as hostility.

the qualities that make things interesting kind of appeal to a subset unless the overall package has some mainstream appeal, imo. the more avant appeal of, say, fka twigs is counteracted by the fact she's singing about pretty universally relatable things

folk guy sing-songing literary tales is kind of a diff thing

maybe it flattens the interestingness down to a kind of novelty for the young thugs

Though chart rock/mall rock/pop punk/chart emo etc is beloved by pop fans on ilm very much. So its not all anti-rock pop/rab/dance/rnb fans.

― Cosmic Slop, Friday, January 23, 2015 6:49 AM (4 minutes ago)

not much chart rock, mall rock, pop punk or chart emo on the rollout this year, though. there was even some grumbling about against me!, the only representative of those segments to make a strong showing.

I'd expect a lot on the albums poll. Plus in recent years fall out boy, paramore etc did get in the tracks poll.

Yeah FKA Twigs is closer in sound and approach to Katie Gately than she is to, say, D'Angelo, but it's all about perception.

I think the one album that bounded into my ballot due to the metal poll is really more dark psych-folk than metal, but still, thanks to you guys for bringing it to my attention.

I'm just saying pop/rap/dance etc fans dont hate on all rock - they like some - indie generally isn't one of those.

emil.y do you mean Menace Ruine?

my gf doesn't like AM! so much as i do (she likes 'em ok) but is a great fan of emo - AM! are more pop-punk, more in keeping with the poll results - not all the pop-ish rock genres should be automatically lumped together

yeah do you mean Menace Ruine? :D if so then she might have a chance of the 77

reckon emil.y means wovenhand tbf

as far as metal goes, i'm sorry i didn't vote this year, or nominate anything, or push for the tracks i thought others might like ("blow your trumpets gabriel", "laser enforcer", "out of the city", etc). not complaining, just observing.

lol, like i could have gotten the slough feg single up to #372 or something. maybe.

I do mean Menace Ruine, yeah.

i read a ton of ilm but i always seem to miss out on whatever nexus of discussion spawns consensus picks for the tracks poll

the only acts that ppl were notably hostile to imo were war on drugs and QT PC MUSIC and thats completely fair and warranted other than that there seemed to be a pretty typical range of opinion around each song regardless of genre, indie fans just bewildered after going to the trouble of selecting music that generally codes tasteful and respectable

Id be quite happy to see both Menace Ruine and Wovenhand place though yes they're more dark folk/countryish (WH) than metal. It's music metal fans like rather than metal.

xp but spoon got more abuse than anyone (i hated the song too fwiw)

ppl did hate the spoon its true

i was hostile to both caribou trax because his latest direction feels like betrayal -_-

oh god yeah & ugh spoon lol

i liked the spoon and loved the seasons waiting on u for the record

bruno dont forget bruno