ILM's Top 77 Tracks of 2017

Trying my best to get caught up on this list. A lot of pleasant stuff and some really bad stuff, but the first track that has really captured my attention and got me interested to dig further is the Richard Dawson one. Is the long-awaited Freak Folk revival finally happening? Does the rest of the album measure up.

keep thinking that Richard Dawson is the guy who wrote The God Delusion

I guess "Boys" will be in the top 20 but imo it's not even in the top 20 of the thirtysomething songs Charli XCX appeared on last year

^this

and xps to Brad I can't really figure out a #1 either. I'd personally be surprised if it was "Bodak Yellow". "DNA" seems like the safest bet but Kendrick is also the kind of artist who would likely suffer most from vote-splitting.

I would have totally voted for 'Mask Off' had I cast a ballot.

I'd say "Boys" was significantly lifted by its video, but I recently learned that no one watches those

I'd say "Boys" was significantly lifted by its video, but I recently learned that no one watches those

― rob, Wednesday, 24 January 2018 10:42 PM (two minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I'd add cultural impact as a factor - though this is hard to disentangle from the video. I saw "I was busy thinkin' 'bout boys" (or a snippet of that from the song) being deployed online as a lolronic self-descriptor much more than I actually heard the song in the wild last year.

I think Mask Off might win by virtue of being #8-15 on 35 different ballots and no one's #1.

^yes, but also, given the something like 6 'best song of the year' votes on that Bodak Yellow poll...

But is cultural impact usually taken into account for ILM voting?

Does the rest of the album measure up.

you shall find out next week!

(yes)

xp
I can buy that. I only watched it once, but the video definitely felt like an *event*
If it had come out back when tumblr was thriving, it would have been seismic on there

I'd say "Boys" was significantly lifted by its video, but I recently learned that no one watches those

― rob, Wednesday, 24 January 2018 22:42 (three minutes ago)

^^ Didn't vote for it, but considered throwing something the way of the Mandarin-language Howie Lee remix.

I'm gonna throw my hat in the ring and guess for Cut To The Feeling at number one. ILM loves Carly and that's a really great song, although it feels like it came out a long time ago now

The Chromeo remix salvaged "Green Light" for me, which was unbearably omnipresent in New Zealand

It was "bearably" omnipresent across the ditch, I'd say, though as #2 on my ballot I don't think it's the sort of thing that would ever have become unbearable to me. I like the airiness of the Chromeo remix and am also partial to a trashy one made by someone called "Riddler", which seems to come on every time I go to the gym and then unexpectedly popped up very briefly in a recent episode of The Good Place.

CRJ #1 is my guess as well

Mask Off is a masterpiece face it

bad liar gotta be in the top 20

You guys are collectively missing at least one as yet unnamed artist

rico nasty? nah

lmao sun-el musician??

please god 🙏🏻

Is it me? It's me, isn't it? I'm number one! I'm number one!

Ibibio Sound Machine? Haim?

Rihanna??

Hmmmn, my "ILx gonna ILx" guess'd be the Cut Copy massive turning out for the Horrors.

(would be nice if it was e.g. Nadia Rose, mind)

Is Miguel in with a shot? The album got a mixed response overall, but Told You So and Pineapple Skies got good reactions on here. He's had a good hit rate over the last few years.

oh god it'll obviously be him

idk reception has been a little lukewarm to Miguel

miguel isn't a #1 contender like in previous years but i am surprised he hasn't shown up yet

damn, didn't realize War and Leisure was released.

I think Miguel will certainly place in the album poll but I would be surprised if he had a track in the top 20

and further, Miguel can't be the person we allegedly haven't discussed yet, because we did - when "Lost In Your Light" placed.

just catching up - this was a fun roll-out! so many weird (in a good way) entries.

Voted for: The xx, Red Velvet, Yaeji, Mondo Grosso (I was the first place voter for "Labyrinth" - so gorgeous)

Considered voting for: Kelela's LMK, Nilufer Yanya, Kamasi Washington, Kedr Livansky, The Mountain Goats, Alvvays, Atelje, Susanne Sundfor, Wolf Alice, Lil Uzi Vert, Lorde, and all the K-pop tracks that wasn't Red Velvet

Kedr Livanskiy, Kamasi Washington and Wolf Alice were definite standouts when I was going through the noms list, and I voted for a different Lorde track ("Supercut") which I guess isn't going to make it now.

My ballot was less K-pop heavy than usual and tbh I had sort of given up repping for K-pop after so many years of having minimal representation on the EOY poll. But it turns out it didn't need my help this year! I mean, TWO LOOΠΔ tracks - that's incredible. I guess more people are keeping up now that most of it is on Spotify + increased TSJ coverage? Holding out hope for "Palette", another one I actually voted for, but maybe it's just a little too understated for ILM.

I couldn't follow dance music as much as last year was a particularly busy work year for me so am glad the bobbins crew stepped up. Enjoyed a bunch of tracks I heard via the noms list - might have ended up voting for any number of Avalon Emerson tracks if I had heard them sooner. The S.A.M. track is lovely too, very Superpitcher circa 2005.

Favourite discoveries:
70 TAYLOR ALXNDR "Nightwork" [153 points, 6 votes] - didn't see Tim's thread until after I had already voted but yeah, this is fantastic.
TIE-54 L'RAIN "Which Fork/I'll Be" [170 points, 5 votes]
25 SERGE BEYNAUD "Akrakabo" [276 points, 8 votes, 2 first place votes]
28 KARA-LIS COVERDALE "Grafts" [256 points, 7 votes, 1 first place vote] - this is intriguing.
38 RICHARD DAWSON "Ogre" [216 points, 5 votes, 2 first place votes] - not normally my thing but I actually kind of like this?! Don't know if I can sit through a whole album of it though.

It's HAIM, isn't it?

Which was the group I was hinting at earlier as possibly genreating some groans and mentions of ILM being on autopilot.

That or the ILM voting body really liked that Blink-182 styled cover of The 1975's Girls.

It's HAIM, isn't it?

― MarkoP

The only way I'd be happy to see a Haim song appear at this point is if there had been a bunch of write-in votes for their Shania cover.

the haim album was quite good despite the underwhelming singles, i doubt they'll show up now since no one seemed too enthusiastic about any of them

Charly Bliss haven't been mentioned yet. I assumed people were just going to vote for the album (because that's what I did), maybe they'll sneak in somewhere?

Feel like i'm totally outside the ILM hivemind, but love y'all..hopefully shining places

iirc only one Charly Bliss song was nominated, surprisingly. I guess it could make it since no vote-splitting? I think most people opted to vote for the album instead though. xp

Grafts is good. I didn't get a chance to check it out thoroughly earlier.

Did any of those posthumous Prince tracks gain traction here? I wonder if Prince in top 20 is a possibility.

other curiosities about this year's poll so far: no metal (a result of doing the metal poll afterwards?) and not much in the way of shambhala thread stuff (though that was pretty dead this year)

Akanamali will make the top 20.

The Arcana will be top 10.

iirc only one Charly Bliss song was nominated, surprisingly. I guess it could make it since no vote-splitting? I think most people opted to vote for the album instead though. xp

Glitter was my #1! I'm not counting on it placing though

Whelp, was holding out hope some bobbins picks of mine would make it, such as SW., Four Tet, Blanck Mass and Terje's Jungelknugen (Four Tet mix), but it's lookin' grim.

I voted for Maskindans over Jungelknugen

xp - fwiw, I had Blanck Mass in my top 10, so fingers crossed. The rest of my ballot was mostly filled with Europop and Drab Majesty tracks (both sorely missing in this poll).

I thoroughly expect most of those acts to make the albums list (maybe not SW but who knows). Terje/Four Tet would have been ILM catnip in previous years so it might appear although reaction seems to have been fairly muted.