ILM's Top 77 Tracks of 2019

I have 3 locks to place, all in my top 10, all heavily discussed last night (maybe we should stop doing that lol)

had to skip to save some surprises but i understand the fun in guessing :)

Gone - this didn't even register so I skipped it after two minutes, what has happened to charli xcx

Come on, you haven’t even listened to the album and as usual it is all over the place. Don’t judge based on this track. I’m sure you’re baiting but still

I'm really not! Will check the album when it places next week, but Gone was dire imo

the charli album is a weaker version of pop 2 with some awkward attempts at concessions to the mainstream thrown in, i didn't end up coming back to it much. "gone" is one of the better tracks imo but it's just a weaker rehash of "backseat". a shame because pop 2 was a near-perfect triumph

yeah I did like Pop 2 plenty

Imago, on a scale of one to ten how irksome would it be if I pointed out that 'composition' doesn't mean what you appear to think it means?

obviously 'composition' is being used as flippant doublespeak for 'melodic intricacy', we've already done this, every track here has been composed, yes i'm aware

decent original but nina kraviz version of gone is where it's at i tell u

2020 year of nyan cat 2 pls

a track not so much composed as generated ;)

^2020th new answer

Before things get going for the day can we take a moment to admire Moka's restraint in not titling this thread 'I'm gonna ride my horse down the Old Town POLL' or some other atrocity?

Poll Town Road, surely

Yeah I prefer this more standard naming convention. Much easier to find in years to come.

hello DAM! oops now this is awkward. i promise i didn't dislike the Rosalia that much, I just think Millionaria and Yo x Ti etc are so much better than the ones that have placed!

― opden gnash (imago), Thursday, 30 January 2020 11:07 (one hour ago) link

Lol the 'No Flex Zone' phenomenon resurfaces...I haven't heard either of those Rosalia songs; I voted for Con Altura bcz it was catchy as hell and omnipresent and I kind of have a weird preoccupation with pop reggaeton singles rn. But trust me, there are loads of songs on my ballot that you prob would've hated--this segment of festival season always finds me a little lost at sea--but luckily for all of us I didn't save my ballot & won't be asking for it back later

This was prob my favorite rap song of the year, but then again I'm pretty copacetic listening to rap where I can't understand ~75% of the words

https://youtu.be/ccBC0w1tlVM

really the negativity is made sweeter by the total defensiveness regarding weyes blood, who almost all of us like

that 'ice cream' beat making me miss Blue Pedro haha

exceeeept...this year's Blue Pedro has probably won the whole thing

really the negativity is made sweeter by the total defensiveness regarding weyes blood, who almost all of us like

― american bradass (BradNelson), Thursday, 30 January 2020 12:37 (fifty-three seconds ago) bookmarkflaglink

i believe the hot meme is: xyzzzz living rent-free in my head

I do kinda wish I'd voted for summon the Fire as its far and away the album highlight and the track that most brings to mind Channel the Spirits

hey folks, i have a doctor's appointment at 10 and should be home by noon EST; please hold the fort for the next four hours and we'll do the final fifteen between noon and 2.30pm EST at which point i will validate all your prognostication (and parking).

Do one now! For England!

(good luck with doctor and do whatever you wish tbrr)

Imago, on a scale of one to ten how irksome would it be if I pointed out that 'composition' doesn't mean what you appear to think it means?

― Matt DC, Thursday, 30 January 2020 bookmarkflaglink

Prog is the word here. Middle-class notions of complextiy. That and being above it all (see Pom writing off a 'boring sex anthem' as 'juvenalia'). They hate it all but are here because they can't stand not making noise. Having an opinion, being loud and being seen to struggle with something outside their comfort zone is all. Cretinous behaviour.

you wanna go huh

threadban lj and xyz

Fyi I'm fairly sure lj is the one who called it a 'boring sex anthem'. I said I could get down with a sexed-up beat like that but not with such juvenile lyrics, because 'baby are you coming?' is just about the unsexiest thing in the world when repeated ad nauseam.

Its not just mere complaining about a poll result as ritual either. Its a performance, but on it goes.

You're on a mission aren't you?

Your agitprop is no performance, I'm sure.

all I'll say for now is that you might want to check out my ballot before ascribing me a narrow 'comfort zone'

Also: I have no idea why you haven't gotten banned yet, you tedious bully. Cut the ad hominem bullshit.

I think enough people have called you out on your broken record reactions and you are calling me tedious?

Post whatever the hell you want, just stop verbally assaulting specific ILXors, alright? We've been making light of it but this place is frankly worse for your targeted vitriol. Keep it impersonal ffs.

every song that places is fair game for criticism, and every criticism is fair game for 'wtf are you talking about', that's how it works here, p simple, I'm happy to have my criticisms called out a la Matt above but this is absolute cunt behaviour and I really wish I knew what you were really doing. anyway I'll leave it now before Matt actually threadbans us both

Threadban xyzzzz and not anyone else. And do it quick, ffs.

you lot all slinging around 'comfort zone' like some sort of insult when there's a brilliant little discount shoe shop round here called comfort zone that sells great value plastic shoes for old people and i bet they would never dream of torturing their clientele with the likes of weyes blood and vampire workmen

Anyway, I've got two more locks coming today and probably zero else. And since I have no clue what else people *really* liked in 2019, I can't even predict anything. But please, people, make predictions or something instead of this bullshit happening now.

I've got 25 absolute locks on my ballot that no-one's even mentioned yet!

piss baby are you coming?

Can we get back to posting our ill-informed opinions, then? I have some.

I predict a lot more whinging.

i guess i'm wondering if "lose you to love me" will place

Aawww I hope so! I voted for it

I'll be so happy if Money Machine shows up in the top ten, lol. Had no idea it was so popular but love it. I don't think my #1 will show up. I was a bit unsure of what might happen to it, it felt like this very personal treasure, but I kept seeing people on twitter going 'hey, that album was disappointing, but, um, is [...] the song of the year?'

i've given up on the zventa sventana track placing but its particular oddness is very ilm

you lot all slinging around 'comfort zone' like some sort of insult when there's a brilliant little discount shoe shop round here called comfort zone that sells great value plastic shoes for old people and i bet they would never dream of torturing their clientele with the likes of weyes blood and vampire workmen

― ymo sumac (NickB), Thursday, 30 January 2020 bookmarkflaglink

Bet they'll cope with 'juvenalia'.

Will take that as a yes then. I thought 77-31 was A-, 30-15 was more like C+

30: Zero12Finest featuring ThaMagnificent2 – “Baby Are You Coming?” – This is something I haven't heard before, every thirty seconds it does something new and unexpected.
29: The Comet Is Coming – “Summon the Fire” – Oh, this is the Sons of Kemet guy? Yeah this is very cool, sounds like the theme tune to a sci-fi detective series.
28: Chari XCX featuring Christine & The Queens – “Gone” – Had this in unweighted section, sounds like Christine has brought Charli back to those dark synth sounds from early 2010s, as much as I love her new stuff it's good to hear those again.
27: Sun-El Musician and Ami Faku – “Into Ingawe” – Really nice production, doesn't make a huge impresion on me otherwise.
26: Ciara – “Thinkin’ Bout You” – 317 points – Not mindblowing in any way, but think there's room for this sort of thing, and it's precision-engineered to fit that gap.
25: Vampire Weekend – “Harmony Hall” – Pleasant, won't listen to again
24: Rosalía and J Balvin featuring El Guincho – “Con Altura” – Sure I'm missing something with this, perfectly fine again, but can't get into groove and there's no buildup so
23: Sharon Van Etten – “Seventeen” – Feel like there are lots of these anthemic tracks which are well-rated by all and idgi
22: Fireboy DML – “Jealous” – Not that this isn't really nice, just kind of hard to get excited about.
21: Purple Mountains – “All My Happiness Is Gone” – I know this was the lead single, but Nights That Won't Happen towers over it.
20: Caroline Polachek – “Door” – Ok I guess, idgi
19: Grimes and i_o – “Violence” – Chose to ignore the silly video, the song feels like it has elements of everything I've liked by her in the past, just sounds like she's chosen to shift them to the background. If she shifted them to the foreground I would like it a lot more.
18: Weyes Blood – “Andromeda” – Think my problem here is that I just don't particularly care for 70s soft rock, and if I do occasionally want to scratch that itch I have the originals to go back to, have no need for more.
17: Ariana Grande – “Ghostin” – I don't know why this is here. It's perfectly nice.
16: Billie Eilish – “Everything I Wanted” - Ok, this is better, enjoy the subtle progression, her songs are so delicately constructed, nothing wasted.

yeah i've changed my mind now that lj isn't making it worse by responding, threadban xyz