ILM's Top 77 Tracks of 2017

I recommend the Charli XCX version of "Don't Delete the Kisses" for anyone who's allergic to rock instrumentation or whatever

Passionfruit - the music to this isnt bad! the vocals are terrible and destroy it. 5
Deadly Valentine - Woolworths 'I feel love' but without the content 4
Rodent - unwanted christmas present from supposed aunt that isnt actually related 4
If We Were Vampires - all songs like this have this title, perhaps there is only this one 2
Baby Luv - this cant be real 2

Mon Lo - music playing in taxi 3
Which Fork / I'll Be - the youtube wouldnt play but i found it on soundcloud. the bit between 2:50 and 4:30 is pretty good! but the other parts less so. 5 and a half
I Dare You: sounds like they are marking time till bono shows up. 1
Unmask Me - BBC2. vocals are a bit of a trial 5 and a half
New York - urban outfitters. 3. now theres a chorus, changed it to a 0

Glutes - music for selling cars in cinemas. all the dynamism of a shouting sock 3
Truth - never heard before and might be overrating due to its risible competition. will come back to. might be a bit brash after a while. 6 and a half
Tinseltown Swimming In Blood. 80s film. no real opinion. 4
Lost In Your Light feat. Miguel. there is literally nothing here 0
Redbone - this is an interpolation of something well known? plodding 4

Aura - frequencies grind into brain like police shining flashlight into eyes. unlistenable 1
Girl Front - this is an interpolation of something again? that introey part isnt bad, then it overloads and becomes a mess. wish i could remember what the beginning bit reminds me of. 4 and a half
50/50 - completely unforgettable. for that i give it a 5 for not hanging around like some of these travesties do
Lost in California. exactly the same as the previous record. 5
Don't Delete the Kisses - absolutely no idea. 4

Feel like I'm much more in tune with the ilx hivemind this year than I normally am. Not necessarily a good thing, as it meant my ballot was more made up of other people's nominations than my own special favourites, which kind of indicates that I wasn't doing all that much independent listening last year. On the other hand, I can kind of spot where and why I'm intersecting so much now - for one thing, DJing w/ my BF meant I was much more up-to-date and in the mood for K-Pop, for another I actually kept up with past poll discoveries (Yemi Alade, Bicep, etc), which I don't alway get around to doing.

I'm not dialed into to k-pop so I thought LOOΠΔ/ODD EYE CIRCLE was a witchhouse revival record by name alone

Passionfruit - the music to this isnt bad! the vocals are terrible and destroy it.

i like "volumes" quite a bit. no other revelations yet

wolf alice video is atrocious jeez

― marcos, Tuesday, January 23, 2018 2:41 PM (seven minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

was actively rooting for their deaths 30 secs in. got a bit excited when manspreader seemed to have a stomach ailment but alas

had no idea people still watched music videos

i like the wolf alice song but some of their past videos made my skin crawl so i avoid them now

not really feeling this poll today, will probably check out the l’rain album and I need to give the new kamasi business a go too but much of the rest is just not my thing

Wolf Alice my first vote to place, v good song, spiritual vibe

I probably said this somewhere before but her talky singing thing on that track really reminds me of wendy james/transvision vamp

xp Had no idea people still haven't heard of Youtube.

That St. Vincent song is really bad.

xp Had no idea people actually watched youtube music videos rather than switching tabs and doing something else while the music plays

Wolf Alice vocals remind me of Life Without Buildings which was a big part of the appeal for me.

The L'Rain album would have been very high up my ballot if I'd heard it in time. Excellent stuff.

Too few of our old crew
Left on Astor

I guess St Vincent really loved hanging out at Starbucks

Wolf Alice vocals remind me of Life Without Buildings which was a big part of the appeal for me.

ha that very thought flashed across my mind too, but srsly that song is no 'the leanover'

L'Rain album would've been a good direction for St. Vincent imo

beyond the vocals those bands are nothing alike and are after totally different things? xp

yeah, i don't think i said they were alike beyond the vocals

had no idea people still watched music videos

― Simon H., Tuesday, January 23, 2018 2:59 PM (one hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

lol

I'm not dialed into to k-pop so I thought LOOΠΔ/ODD EYE CIRCLE was a witchhouse revival record by name alone

― husked, tonal wails (irrational), Tuesday, January 23, 2018 7:50 PM (two hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

lol, it totally looks like that! XD

That St. Vincent song is really bad.

― billstevejim, Tuesday, January 23, 2018 8:45 PM (one hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Cosign. I'd say it's probably my least favorite track that's placed so far. Even worse than "Blue Pedro".

Only thing I thought was any good on the St Vincent album was Pills, and apparently that's the track everyone agrees is terrible.

That Dua Lipa song is wretched.

I like Pills, but I generally just let the whole album play any time I've listened to it.

I judge every new Dua Lipa song by comparison to Be The One, and none of them come out of it at all well

be the one isn’t even her best single jesus chrisf

Lost In Your Light has more in common with shambhala pop than with top 40, which is a) probably why I like it more than any of her other songs and b) why it seems completely at odds with top 40 trends (or "wretched").

Like, the Miguel-ness of that song is very present, but it also sounds like some Robyn ish from 7 years ago.

Chocolate-covered gummy bears? Not ruling those lil' guys out. (ulysses) at 7:54 23 Jan 18

Passionfruit - the music to this isnt bad! the vocals are terrible and destroy it.


yep yep yep

I agree that "Be The One" is the best Dua Lipa song. But most of what she's put out is very good.

Voted for:

Atelje - was in the running for my #1 but opted for an unweighted ballot in the end. Sunny, lovely pop song with echoes of West Coast
GoldLink - the smoothest
Charlotte Gainsbourg - original is fantastic, Soulwax mix is epic
Childish Gambino - Yeah, it's a ripoff of Rather Be With You, but that's one of my favorite songs ever. Huge impact this year and I'm all for 70s funk sounds not by Bruno Mars getting played on mainstream pop radio

Love, opted for the album instead:

Kamasi Washington - actually voted for "Knowledge" too as it was my favorite part of the album but totally get voting for Truth as like a synthesis of the album.
The XX
Destroyer - were people really disappointed by the album? Not his best ever, but top 5 album for me, hope it places relatively high
Bicep
Tornado Wallace

Just missed my ballot:
Passionfruit, Unforgettable - In both cases pretty great songs that I couldn't quite bring myself to rep due to the essential lameness of the main artist. Swae Lee killed it tho.
Nilufer Yaya - Discovered on the Pitchfork list lol and actually voted for "Golden Cage" which I highly recommend checking out

New discoveries I'm digging:
MAMA, L'Rain, Laurel Halo

The only St. Vincent song I've heard is 'New York', which probably explains why I can't bring myself to try out her other stuff.

I am definitely hoping to see "New Rules" ahead

That song is veeeeerrrrry atypical, but also each album is kinda different? If one album isn't yr thing, another one might be. xp

xp hardly, i have been disliking drake for a long time. i am just always annoyed when he's on an otherwise enjoyable song.

New Rules >>Be the One >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Lost In Your Light, imo

:O

xxp - Agreed. St. Vincent isn't generally my thing but I would give other albums/songs a change.

lost in your light inspiring more divisive reactions than i thought possible

every time i listened to it i inevitably listened to it five times in a row

Same

*doing exactly that right now, as it happens

Lost in Your Light would be an excellent song if the shitty bridge were replaced by a Hammond organ solo

XXp no, of course, just making a joke about Drake always being rubbish but sometimes having reasonably nice production behind him

The correct order for me is

Be The One > New Rules > Hotter Than Hell > Lost In Your Light > Blow Your Mind

but I like all of the above. Her only misstep is her latest single, IDGAF, imo.

Lost in Your Light would be an excellent song if the shitty bridge were replaced by a Hammond organ solo

88.9% of all songs would benefit

The only St. Vincent song I've heard is 'New York', which probably explains why I can't bring myself to try out her other stuff.

Actor wasn't bad and was pretty different from this stuff. I was startled by how unable I was to connect to this last album at all. That said, the way people write about her always makes me want/expect more guitar virtuosity than I usually end up hearing on the albums. Probably more a live thing.

She can shred any ol' time, but tbh she's more of a textural guitarist.

none of my votes placed on Monday but I had two and a half show up today:

"Deadly Valentine" - I haven't heard the Soulwax remix, but voted for the original version which is sublime breathy disco;
"Baby Luv" - a heady subject is tackled with very plain ingredients, but sometimes a simple thing done well yields glorious results;
"Don't Delete The Kisses" - most of the joy in this for me is the contrast between hurried whispered verse and shouted cathartic chorus; that and its circular form, as though the longing is neverending.

A mixed bag of a list so far for me! Pleased to see "Volumes", "LMK" and "Lost In Your Light", pleased to learn about L'Rain and Yemi Alade, perplexed to see "Redbone" and "LWYMMD".